//------------------------------// // Prophetic Word // Story: The Day My Life Began // by Authora97 //------------------------------// Wednesday. They weren’t my favorite day of the week, but it wasn’t my least favorite either. They were in the middle of the week. Criminal Minds and CSI came out on Wednesdays. But, before I could even get ready for the show, I had to go to youth at my church. Going to church was always a problem with me. It was boring when I was a kid, stupid and boring, but my dad being a preacher I knew I had to go. The only cool part was being allowed to go to Sunday School, then I would just play Veggietales songs. So, for an hour, I would listen to the same old songs and the same old speeches. My parents changed churches when I was eleven. It was in an old office building. Well, I think it still was an office building. During the week it was a construction company, or something, and on Sunday it was a church, and on Wednesday it was a Youth Ministry. Youth was kinda the same every week. Bring a bible, a water bottle, your phone, and a charger, and you were set. We sang a worship song, the leader talked about a bible verse, then the rest of the hour would be spent with everyone talking. It was led by Mr. Armsy, a man I have known since I was three months old. He got married two years ago, so his wife would come to Youth. Ms. Armsy was born in Virginia, and it showed. He was big, kinda like my dad. He was pale. He had ginger hair, that was all floppy. He had a beard too, he grew it out some years ago. He always wore a faded plaid shirt, and torn up jeans. His glasses covered his brown eyes, resting on his giant nose. Mrs. Armsy was pretty. She was thin, but had some meat on her bones. She had light brown hair falling to her shoulders. She usually wore a nice dressy shirt, with a long skirt that reached her ankles. Her eyes were brown too, but a darker shade. She wore...I guess we call them ‘hipster glasses’, except she actually needed them. Where we sat all depended on how Mr. Armsy felt. The church wasn’t very big, about the size of two classrooms. There were two doors: one connecting to the rest of the building, and one connecting to the nursery. Chairs were placed so people could see the pastor’s sermon, and could be moved depending on the event. Sometimes we would sit out there in the Main Room, or we would sit in the Nursery. It could fit the chairs in, surprisingly. Mom would always drop us off, since I didn’t have my license here. Not even a Stor-stupid permit. Oh. That ‘stop swearing’ thing is working! The kids who came were mostly kids from my school. You had to be at least thirteen to attend outh, so it wasn’t much. Charlie, the troublemaker with daddy issues. Penny, Charlie’s tagalong who had a ‘secret’ crush on him. Adrian, the lazy one who liked food. My brother, Derek, the Golden Child. Bennett, the drummer. Tyler, the drummer’s best friend. These were the regulars. These were my peers. Aren’t I a lucky one? Me? I was the unstable girl who sometimes dressed in black. I was the one always on my phone. I was the one who barely said a full sentence on a bad day. I was Derek’s older sister. I was Mr. Spencer’s only daughter, the Preacher’s Daughter. Mr. Armsy put down his guitar, finished with the song. The other kids actually looked a bit excited. Meanwhile I was sitting on the nursery’s old couch, working on some of the final details for the Wedding. I still had the problem of figuring out what to do about Mia and Twilight in the Catacombs. “Guys.” Mr. Armsy said, his voice having a slight Southern twang to it. It was actual a comfort. “This week, we thought we would do prophetic word first.” Okay. Time for Christianity lesson. Prophetic word is God telling us stuff. Lesson over. “Could everyone close their eyes while Olivia-” His wife. “-prays over us?” The others gave noises of approval. Just wanting to get it over with, I shut my eyes. ‘There was an image. It was just of Garfield the cat.’ I blinked. It felt I only had half the picture. Like it was hiding something from me. As a girl who had psychic visions for a few years, I can tell when it’s not the full message. “Alright, what words did people get? Morgan?” That’s what I get for sitting next to Mr. Armsy. Curse my need to sit on this really comfy couch. “I got Garfield the cat.” I shrugged, not entirely caring. “Wow. That’s interesting.” Mr. Armsy cheered, going on the person next to me on the couch. “Penny?” It took the girl a second with her response. She stuttered a bit before finally getting the right words out. “I saw a dragon, but it was light purple. And, it’s fire was bright blue instead of orange.” Huh...just like Lilac. “Huh. Cool. Charlie?” “I saw someone climbing up a mountain, and then there was an avalanche.” Charlie explained. “And what?” Mr. Armsy asked. I rolled my eyes. It was an unspoken rule in these things. You have to say something nice. Not violent, like the person dies. “But,” Charlie stammered. “God came and protected them. Helping the person up the mountain.” “Adrian?” Looking over at Adrian, I wondered what he got this week. Every week, no matter who we were getting this messages for, Adrian always got food. Not apples or bananas. It was burritos, tacos, and hot pockets. Stuff he probably had for lunch. “Um...I saw...a raspberry.” ‘First Lilac, and then raspberry?’ I thought, looking over at the other people who hadn’t gone yet. ‘I’m a little concerned now. Never ignore a coincidence.’ “A raspberry?” Mr. Armsy asked. “Yeah...it was kinda big, and it fell from...wherever it is that raspberries grow.” Adrian explained. Mr. Armsy ‘ah’d’. “Very nice, Adrian.” He turned to my brother. “Derek? What did you get?” Derek straightened out in his chair. “I saw something, and I heard something.” “That’s great!” Mr. Armsy cheered. “How about you tell us what you saw, then tell us what you heard?” “Okay.” Derek nodded. “I saw...what looked like...a large car...the person was driving with someone, but then person disappeared. But then more people got into the car, almost too much. They had to sit up on the roof of the car, in the trunk, on the floor.” Damian chuckled. “Kinda everywhere.” Everyone in the room chuckled, the mental image of that many people in a car making us laugh. It was probably like a bigger version of a clown car. “Now, what do you think that means, Damian?” Mr. Armsy asked. “That this person will take an overcrowded car on a road trip?” “No.” Damian shook his head. “This person was alone, but then he... or she, I don’t know...wasn’t alone anymore. I kinda reminded me of that song, Jesus take the wheel.” “Very nice.” Mr. Armsy said, dragging out the very. “And what did you hear?” Damian nodded. “‘I will always have your back’.” ‘Call Hallmark. Let’s make a card out of that.’ I thought, almost rolling my eyes. “Tyler? Bennett? You two get anything?” Mr. Armsy asked the last two teens that hadn’t spoken. “Uh.” Bennett began. “I got...uh...a flower...” “A flower?” Mr. Armsy. “Yeah. I don’t know what it’s called, but it was purple. Like the dragon. And it was kinda bunched together.” Bennett said, pointing at Penny. My eyes widened. “How do you know it’s the same purple?” Penny asked. “It was...was light purple.” “Lilac.” I said, to the confusion of the others in the room. “The color light purple is either lilac, lavender, or pastel. Pastel isn’t a flower, and lavender is a little darker than lilac.” I explained. “The flower was a lilac.” “Lilacs are a symbol,” Mrs. Armsy commented. “It’s said they mean the coming of spring, which means new life.” She wrote in down on her notepad. “I also got lilacs.” I gulped. This didn’t sound good. I was getting very nervous. “Huh.” Mr. Armsy looked around the room. “That’s interesting. Tyler, did you get anything?” Tyler nodded. “Um...I saw a horse, it was brown, and it’s hair was-” “Mane.” I corrected. “A horse’s hair is called it’s mane.” “It’s mane,” Tyler rolled his eyes. People hated when I corrected them. I wouldn't need to if they got the facts right. “was black.” Mr. Armsy nodded, looking over towards his wife. “Did you get all of that, Olivia?” Mrs. Armsy nodded. She lifted up the notepad, covered with the things my fellow teens said. “Well, the Lord showed me a tiger, with raspberries in his mouth.” Mr. Armsy explained. The youth minister turned to his wife. “Do you know who these words are for?” ‘Story, if you care about me at all, don’t give them to me.’ I thought, mentally crossing my fingers. “Yes I do.” Mrs. Armsy tore off the paper, folding it up. “They go to...Morgan.” ‘I’m going to kill you, Story. I swear.’ I thought. “Here ya go, Morgan.” Mrs. Armsy said, handing the paper over to me. “Do you know what those words mean?” Mr. Armsy asked. Slowly, I nodded. I took the paper from Mrs. Armsy, staring at it like it had done me a great wrong. I read the list over. Garfield. A purple dragon breathing blue fire. Someone climbing a mountain during an avalanche, and God helping the person up the rest of the way. Raspberries. A person driving alone in a car, and then the car is filled with people. Jesus Take the Wheel. I will always have your back. Lilacs. A brown horse with a black hai mane. A tiger with raspberries in it’s mouth. I don’t know what scared me more. The tiger with raspberries in it’s mouth, or the car filled with people.