2. So different

The new family is so different than ours

Ellie seemed shocked that I wanted to be her friend. I smiled and assured her that we are now friends. After I went back home, I could not stop thinking about Ellie. She was not like any other girl I know. The fact is that Ellie would not survive in school. She would be teased and an outcast! Still, there was something special about her that made her interesting. Maybe it was that she was so obedient and did not think about popularity. She was like the Amish people.

Dad did not think much about them and said they would probably lower the value of property in the area. He was afraid more “Religious freaks” would move to the area.

Mom was the most positive about the family. She thought that modern society was so worried about economics and having as many things as possible. She thought that we forgot the spiritual side of our lives and why humans really do exist. Mom really thought it was refreshing and inspiring to have a family that put God first living close by. She really wanted our family to be friends with them and learn from each other.

Mom wanted to show them that despite we had everything that one could desire, we were still believers. To do this, Mom invited them to our Church. They said that they had to think about it, but after a few days, they agreed to come. Mom was so excited that they would come, that you would think it was Christmas Eve. We had to get up earlier to get ready for the event. I had to wear the best dress that I had. I hated the dress as it was frilly and was something mom would have worn when she was a child. Then she put my hair in pigtails and ribbons at the end. I hoped God would appreciate all the trouble we were going through.

We met the Sullivans at the Church. Oh, I forgot to tell you that was Ellies last name. Well, now you know. Anyhow they were at the Church wearing the poor clothes they always wore. It was obvious that they didn't put any effort into impressing God.

The service was the same as usual. The priest said what he usually said and we sang the songs that someone wrote 200 hundred years ago. Then the priest talked about how much God loves us, and if we did not like it we would be in hell for eternity. The Sullivans stood up in the middle of the service and walked out. I looked at Ellie and she had a sad face. I couldn't believe that someone would dare to walk out of the service.

The priest must have thought the same, as he talked to mum and dad after the service. He told us that the Sullivans were obviously members of some religious cult and we should be careful with them. They would brainwash us until we joined the cult. If we joined a cult, we would lose our possessions, identity, and freedom. We would be slaves for some man that has fooled so many people.

On the way home in the car, Dad was smiling and told us that the priest was very wise. Mom, on the other hand, was frustrated. She asked should we not love one another, or was that just when we were at Church?

I was just happy to get out of my dress when I came home. Granny was visiting us and it seemed like the only thing we talked about was the Sullivans. I wondered what we talked about before they moved here. Granny must have noticed this too, as she said that she noticed that mom was obsessed with this family. She joked when she asked mom was she thinking of converting to their strange religion.

Mom didn't get to answer, as Dad came in with a huge smile on his face. He told us that he just spoke with his boss and he was just got a promotion at work. This meant that he had to go on a trip for a week or two weeks. He had to help an important client. So the rest of the day was helping Dad pack. Mom tried to be happy about his sudden trip and said that she and I would have fun together.

The next day after school mom was waiting at the door. She told me that we had to visit the Sullivans and hope they were not mad about the service. I do not understand why Mom was so worried. In a way, it was rude of them to leave something we invited them to.

Mrs. Sullivan apologized for leaving the Church. She said that they felt uncomfortable there. It was like we were not really praying. We were just reciting prayers that we recited every week and singing songs that we had no relationship to. She said that God's spirit was not in our church and it was torture for them to be there.

Ellie and I let the adults talk and sat under a tree. I told her about my dad and his promotion and he was away on a business trip. There was silence after I said this, and Ellie put on a sad face again. She did not understand why some people wanted promotion after promotion and just wanted to be richer. The prophet thought that money and the race to get more money. It only causes pain and stress.

“God will provide for us. It says so in the Bible”

I felt like she was against my dad and the way she lived. This confused me as we were a normal family. We were the ones that did not stick out. I told her this and asked her would she like to have some nice things in life, like nice clothes and a cell phone and whatnot. Ellie had to think about this and finally said that she was an Angel of the prophet. She was happy and did not need to be a slave to society.

I was not in a good mood when I came home. Mom, on the other hand, was in a great mood. She had another book that the prophet wrote himself. This was a book on how people should live and how the town “Paradise” should be like heaven on Earth. I had no intention of reading that book.

To be honest, I was tired of my neighbors and their religion. Why could they not keep their religion private like everyone else? It was good that Granny visited. I told her what Ellie said, and she said its best not to be around the Sullivans. We baked a cake to think about something else. Mom did not help, as she was engrossed with the book she had. I could see that this worried Granny. She confessed at one stage that she was afraid that Mom was being converted to this religious sect.

Dad finally came home and he was disappointed that mom only wanted to talk about the prophet's book and she wanted Dad to read it. He had no intention of doing that. He nearly exploded in rage when mom said that she invited the Sullivans for food. I never heard my Dad sigh so much. In the end, he surrendered. He must love mom a lot to do this!

The dinner with the Sullivans came. It was simple food. There was no wine but we had water. Dad said a quick grace before meals. This was something we usually never done. I thought this was sweet as it was nice giving thanks to God for the food we were about to eat. This was not good enough for the Sullivans, so we had to say Grace before meals their way. This felt nearly as long as the Church services! Mr. Sullivan went on and on and when we thought he was finished, he just continued. I was afraid that the food was getting cold. When the prayer was over, we started eating. My family did not say much. The Sullivans were talking about how great the prophet was and how great their lives were.

It did not help that mom was asking so many questions. They talked that they lead simple lives that consisted of work and prayer, and not having access to anything. They felt so close to the prophet and God. This made Dad question why the prophet has such a high status. When the Sullivans spoke, it was as if the prophet was God's right-handed man. There was silence as the Sullivans did not answer Dad's question.

The dinner ended in the worse possible way. Mom said that she had a great idea. Our family would live as simple as we could for a week. We would not look at TV or go online or use our cellphones. We would try a week at being like “Angels of the prophet” and living a simple spiritual life.

This upset dad, and he told mom that he wanted to speak with her in private. I do not know why they thought it was private. We could hear everything they said. Dad started by saying that he did not want to be an “Angel of the prophet” or join any religious cult. He was happy with his family and job and the way we lived.

Mom thought different than Dad. She said that we had a comfortable life, but there was something that was missing. She wanted a deeper spiritual life and a life where she was closer to God. We did not have to join another religion, but they could inspire us.

I was not asked what I thought.

Dad ended up surrendering and said we could be simple people for a week. He was doing this because he loved mom so much!

When my parents came back, Mr. Sullivan was smiling. “Now that this is settled, I think we should invite you to one of our prayer meetings. It is only polite that you were so kind as to invite us to your Church, we should invite you to one of our prayer services.”

Miss Sullivan clapper her hands and said this was so exciting.

I was still thinking about how I would survive a week without my cellphone.

To be continued