The House Of The Unholy

The ringing of the bell by Tinyo on the central altar signals the start of the mass. The friar takes the center stage; looks over to the flock of people before him and gesture for them to stand up with his arms raised up

When the friar's oration starts, everyone silently listens with the exception of some crying children who must have found the overwhelming horde of church goers suffocating. Murmurs are also heard audibly from behind complaining of the scent the people make; since some came to the mass straight from their work at the farm that morning.

"Glory be to the Father, to the Son and the Holy Ghost…" the friar starts

Teo has his mind wandering somewhere while pretending to be attentively listening to the friar. Somewhere in his memory, he keeps tracking back to the time when they were still servicing as altar boys in the church. He was aged ten, Isko was eleven and Lito was eight years of age.

The smallest among the altar boys, Lito was a frail looking little boy; wide – eyed with crooked teeth. He always had a blank stare and colorful imagination. Often times he, Isko and Teo would play pretend that one of the benches in the altar was a carriage and that Lito was the coach; or other times they would ran off the church yard pretending that they were civil guards and bandits with their toy guns made out of dried twigs. When heavy rains fell down, Lito, Teo and Isko would bathe on it running off the nearby rice fields like wild animals. Out of the sculpted mud they made toy soldiers and animal figures with Lito's mud sculpture always ended up the best looking.

The church had its silence disturbed by audible ahhs and oohhs by the church goers as Fray Luciano assures the people that the bandits would be kept at bay and their town will be spared from the attacks

"The Lord almighty will not let His people suffer, He will not let those who turn against Him ever harm those who are faithful to Him" the friar's voice is echoing

He then swiftly turns the page of the bible that rests on the table as he quotes it;

"1 Samuel 15-23, For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king," he pauses

"As Faithful members of the church, I ask of you to double the tributes that you have been regularly giving," he quips

Fray Luciano pauses against the sea of disagreeing faces in front of him

"I understand this sounds as an additional burden on your already tired body, the Lord sees how tired you all are but He will deliver you all from the evils of these bandits. We have to deploy additional civil guards that would regularly patrol the town. They would guard the fields and our streets for we have an obligation to our children, we owe them a safer town to live! "

That is when the people all agreed with Fray Luciano. They cheer the friar who for them acts as a beacon of hope. They feel that their safety lies in the hands of the priest standing before them. They are faithful that he knows how to protect the town from the impending attacks of the bandits. To these people, the friar acts as an intermediary between them, the sinners, and the Supreme Being, God Almighty; that no one's prayer can be as powerful as the priest's. They believed that their collective pleas are inaudible to the Lord as oppose to the friar's voice.

The bell rings in the altar as Fray Luciano now holds the chalice up in the air as he gestures the people to stand up as the communion starts

Teo leans towards Isko and whispers to him,

"Lito had a bad fall and hit his head," he pauses, "Fray Luciano and Tinyo said so. The Burned Man did not take him and it certainly did not return for us,"

Then Teo stands up to join the communion. Isko follows after and join the line towards the altar. Not a long moment has passed until it is Teo's turn to receive the body of Christ. Before the friar, he says his 'Amen', nods his head and returns to his seat to recite a silent prayer. If only he bothers to turn his head up he would have seen Isko leaving the line even before his turn to take the communion bread, ostia, and takes his seat back beside Teo.

Once the communion is finished and the people got back to their seats, the church turns silent as the people pray headed by Fray Luciano quoting the bible again;

"Psalm 91: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, The Lord is my refuge, and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation."

"The Lord is my refuge!" the church goers answer in chorus their collective voice echoing all over the fortress church.

The huge bells ring aloud as it signals the mass has been concluded. The people stand up and rush to the wide doors until the crowded church slowly empties. Teo and Isko walk through the door towards where the carriage is parked

"What you whispered to me back then was still clear," Isko still whispering

Teo pauses walking as he turns towards Isko

"I prayed for Lito's soul earlier for him to finally find peace. I hope you did too," he takes air in, "you have to free him,"

Teo then walks past Isko towards the waiting carriage where Chuy, is waiting. The old servant nods his head at his Segnor and looks past at Isko walking from behind as the old man smiles;

Teo looks back at the old servant as he invites him and Isko into the waiting carriage. The huge bells continue ringing proudly; their mighty voice echoing throughout the church all through the town and the nearby rice fields