Short, Light, Free Chapter 157

My name is Luqiao .

I am an orphan .

I don't have many memories of my childhood, but I did remember spending most of my time in an old chapel .

There were same-aged children around me, but I knew that we were very different .

They had parents who dropped them off at nine in the morning and picked them up at five in the afternoon .

I would wait for all of them to leave with their parents before following the priest back to his home .

I remembered asking the clergymen where my parents were, but they would just shake their head awkwardly in response .

I followed a different priest home every day .  

Some houses were very big while others were small . Sometimes, I had a room of my own, but most of the times, I had to sleep on the sofa or the floor .

Some sofas were soft, some were hard; some were long, some were short .

On cold days, I would get a blanket .

There were five priests, but I could no longer remember most of their names except for Friday's priest . His name was Dahai .

I remembered him better because he took care of me on the weekends .

He had a wife and a daughter . During the weekends, he would bring me and his daughter to the park .

Although I had to sleep on his sofa on Saturdays and Sundays, I found it more comfortable than a bed .

When I started becoming more conscious, I found the reason for all of these .

I understood why people called me a Christian child, why I was coined the chosen one .

It was an old chapel, where religious services took place over the weekends .

There were five priests, and on dull days, they would open educational classes .

Classes, they called it, but it was really no different from kindergarten .

They looked after the children and instill some Christian teachings into them .

This went on for a few years and they gradually started seeing results and profiting from it .

After gaining a bit of reputation, some things happened .

Father Dahai told me about it on the weekend when he had had too much to drink .

He started talking about the two-hour lecture he'd given on a fateful Sunday .

When everybody had left and when he was getting ready to close the doors, he heard a strange weeping sound .

He followed the source and was led to a wicker basket on a seat at the last row .

There were three layers of blanket in it and an infant's cry radiated clearly throughout the hall .

I was that infant, and on me was a piece of note .

According to Father Dahai, the person who wrote the note must've been a cultured man .

He did not keep the note, but the main idea was that he did not want me anymore .

Father Dahai tried ways, like posting on the newspapers, to search for my lost parents .

Nevertheless, it was a planned abandonment so there was a high chance that my parents wouldn't acknowledge me .

After a discussion among some of the priests, they decided to bring me up with funds from the church .

Initially, I stayed at Father Dahai's home, but he gradually established his own family and suggested for me to spend the day in church and weeknight in each priest's house .  

I spent my days watching other children leave the church and never return .

My name is Luqiao, not because of what was written on that note, but because the church was located in Tai Zhou .

Luqiao district to be exact .

I had no passport and identity .

There was an adoption application form, which Father Dahai filled up and submitted to the public security bureau .

I also had a certification with me to prove that I hadn't committed any crimes .

Because of my lack of background information, I was unable to study, and the church's funds were barely enough to support my daily expenses . The priests had to gather funds themselves to raise me up .

All of them had hopes that I would follow in their path eventually .

Since I was little, they made me memorize the Holy Bible and play the piano .

I had to understand the songs of praises and spread the love of God to the people through music .

Practically all members of the church regarded me as a potential candidate to take over the church .

At 21, I had successfully become the church's pastor .

3,000 a month for salary and they took care of my unemployment, medical and old-age insurance, and official reserves meant for housing .

I was a Christian, but my faith wasn't pure .

I grew up to realize that we were charlatans, scamming people in the name of Christianity . The local people were happy to place all trust in us, thus completing this ecosphere .

The teachings were meant to rope in more followers and the church earned through their daycare services .

They opened a nursery school in the church's name and I was in charge of educating the children on the Holy Bible and getting them to recite its contents .

I did not go to school but I had enough knowledge to impart to these kids .

Days passed simply and I felt confined at times .

Because I would always discover strange things, I started thinking about the history of the church .

If we were all fake priests, why was there a church in the first place?

How did the five priests become who they were? I tried probing for the answer but I couldn't get a satisfying response .

The church was very big, and I found out that the oldest renovation was done in March 1906 .

I wasn't able to find its establishment date, however .

I couldn't find such information on the Internet and all I knew was that the church was around after the invasion of the eight-nation alliance .

One curious fact was that no matter how many renovations had taken place since 1906, the west tower was never touched .

It also seemed that the government did not have the right over this land and had been, till today, unable to demolish this old construction .

Ever since I became a priest, I worked five days a week, from Monday to Sunday .

Weekends were left to professionals like Father Dahai . Frankly, I was more of a nursery teacher than a priest .

The priests would take turns working for a full day over the weekend, which meant that one would stay till the end and close the doors .

I took the Wednesday shifts, and when I got bored one day, a crazy thought popped into my head .

The attic on the west side . . . what was in it?

I saw a metal door with the Tree of Life engraved on it .

Could that be the door of truth?

I decided there and then that I had to see what was behind that door .

The Fathers would disapprove, but my idea was simple .

I would smash the door, take a look at what was inside, and move to another city to work .

On one Wednesday, when everyone was gone, I closed the doors and took out a flashlight .

I walked to the resting room and retrieved an ax from the cabinet that I had prepared beforehand .

I walked slowly to the west side and up to the attic .

I had asked the Fathers, more than once, about what was in there but none had paid attention to me .

Was it a storeroom or simply an empty space?

I was about to find out .

I arrived at the door and saw three thick and rusted locks on it .

I tried tugging at them but nothing happened, so I aimed and hacked at them with the ax . It was rather loud but I had to do it a few more times .

Finally, the locks came off together with the handle . I had successfully unlocked the last defensive line .

I opened the door and was greeted by extreme darkness .

I switched my flashlight on and turned it toward the room .

My name is Luqiao . I am an orphan . I don 39 t have many memories of my childhood, but I did remember spending most of my time in an old chapel . There were same aged children around me, but I knew that we were very different . They had parents who dropped them off at nine in the morning and picked them up at five in the afternoon . I would wait for all of them to leave with their parents before following the priest back to his home . I remembered asking the clergymen where my parents were, but they would just shake their head awkwardly in response . I followed a different priest home every day . Some houses were very big while others were small . Sometimes, I had a room of my own, but most of the times, I had to sleep on the sofa or the floor . Some sofas were soft, some were hard some were long, some were short . On cold days, I would get a blanket . There were five priests, but I could no longer remember most of their names except for Friday 39 s priest . His name was Dahai . I remembered him better because he took care of me on the weekends . He had a wife and a daughter . During the weekends, he would bring me and his daughter to the park . Although I had to sleep on his sofa on Saturdays and Sundays, I found it more comfortable than a bed . When I started becoming more conscious, I found the reason for all of these . I understood why people called me a Christian child, why I was coined the chosen one . It was an old chapel, where religious services took place over the weekends . There were five priests, and on dull days, they would open educational classes . Classes, they called it, but it was really no different from kindergarten . They looked after the children and instill some Christian teachings into them . This went on for a few years and they gradually started seeing results and profiting from it . After gaining a bit of reputation, some things happened . Father Dahai told me about it on the weekend when he had had too much to drink . He started talking about the two hour lecture he 39 d given on a fateful Sunday . When everybody had left and when he was getting ready to close the doors, he heard a strange weeping sound . He followed the source and was led to a wicker basket on a seat at the last row . There were three layers of blanket in it and an infant 39 s cry radiated clearly throughout the hall . I was that infant, and on me was a piece of note . According to Father Dahai, the person who wrote the note must 39 ve been a cultured man . He did not keep the note, but the main idea was that he did not want me anymore . Father Dahai tried ways, like posting on the newspapers, to search for my lost parents . Nevertheless, it was a planned abandonment so there was a high chance that my parents wouldn 39 t acknowledge me . After a discussion among some of the priests, they decided to bring me up with funds from the church . Initially, I stayed at Father Dahai 39 s home, but he gradually established his own family and suggested for me to spend the day in church and weeknight in each priest 39 s house . I spent my days watching other children leave the church and never return . My name is Luqiao, not because of what was written on that note, but because the church was located in Tai Zhou . Luqiao district to be exact . I had no passport and identity . There was an adoption application form, which Father Dahai filled up and submitted to the public security bureau . I also had a certification with me to prove that I hadn 39 t committed any crimes . Because of my lack of background information, I was unable to study, and the church 39 s funds were barely enough to support my daily expenses . The priests had to gather funds themselves to raise me up . All of them had hopes that I would follow in their path eventually . Since I was little, they made me memorize the Holy Bible and play the piano . I had to understand the songs of praises and spread the love of God to the people through music . Practically all members of the church regarded me as a potential candidate to take over the church . At 21, I had successfully become the church 39 s pastor . 3,000 a month for salary and they took care of my unemployment, medical and old age insurance, and official reserves meant for housing . I was a Christian, but my faith wasn 39 t pure . I grew up to realize that we were charlatans, scamming people in the name of Christianity . The local people were happy to place all trust in us, thus completing this ecosphere . The teachings were meant to rope in more followers and the church earned through their daycare services . They opened a nursery school in the church 39 s name and I was in charge of educating the children on the Holy Bible and getting them to recite its contents . I did not go to school but I had enough knowledge to impart to these kids . Days passed simply and I felt confined at times . Because I would always discover strange things, I started thinking about the history of the church . If we were all fake priests, why was there a church in the first place How did the five priests become who they were I tried probing for the answer but I couldn 39 t get a satisfying response . The church was very big, and I found out that the oldest renovation was done in March 1906 . I wasn 39 t able to find its establishment date, however . I couldn 39 t find such information on the Internet and all I knew was that the church was around after the invasion of the eight nation alliance . One curious fact was that no matter how many renovations had taken place since 1906, the west tower was never touched . It also seemed that the government did not have the right over this land and had been, till today, unable to demolish this old construction . Ever since I became a priest, I worked five days a week, from Monday to Sunday . Weekends were left to professionals like Father Dahai . Frankly, I was more of a nursery teacher than a priest . The priests would take turns working for a full day over the weekend, which meant that one would stay till the end and close the doors . I took the Wednesday shifts, and when I got bored one day, a crazy thought popped into my head . The attic on the west side . . . what was in it I saw a metal door with the Tree of Life engraved on it . Could that be the door of truth I decided there and then that I had to see what was behind that door . The Fathers would disapprove, but my idea was simple . I would smash the door, take a look at what was inside, and move to another city to work . On one Wednesday, when everyone was gone, I closed the doors and took out a flashlight . I walked to the resting room and retrieved an ax from the cabinet that I had prepared beforehand . I walked slowly to the west side and up to the attic . I had asked the Fathers, more than once, about what was in there but none had paid attention to me . Was it a storeroom or simply an empty space I was about to find out . I arrived at the door and saw three thick and rusted locks on it . I tried tugging at them but nothing happened, so I aimed and hacked at them with the ax . It was rather loud but I had to do it a few more times . Finally, the locks came off together with the handle . I had successfully unlocked the last defensive line . I opened the door and was greeted by extreme darkness . I switched my flashlight on and turned it toward the room .

Chapter end