Priest Isaac had finished his duties with the local community and went back to the van.

— We can go now.

— Amen — said Jay.

— Already tired, my son? — Asked the priest.

— He found the thirteenth, father! — said the deacon Isaiah, promptly waiting for the priest to do something.

— Oh! Was it today? — The priest asked, starting the van, smiling.

— Yes — answered Jay. — It all happened as I told you, reverend.

— Jay! — Made the priest.

— Yes, reverend — Jay smiled.

— What I told you?

— And what I told you? — Jay replied.

— You shouldn’t have kissed him!

— And what? It’s not like we are dating or anything. I was just… giving something back.

— You shouldn’t have done that! What the boy will be thinking now?

— I’ve told you before. He wants revenge. He wants to kill me. And you know I don’t care about it at all. I still trust in his pure heart and that he can do better for his own sake. Why don’t you trust me a little more?

— You remember what you’ve told me about this. I’m worried about you. He might…

— Take my place at the school. Putting everyone against me for his own sake instead… I don’t care. At least I kissed him.

— Uhhh… — made the three deacons at the same time. — Jay kissed a boy! Jay kissed a boy!

Jay smiled.

— Why are you so happy? — Insisted the priest. — He’s life is misery and you condemned yourself to something even worse!

— I disagree — answered Jay. — If loving him is my undoing, I have no regrets. I accept my sacrifices diligently.

— You are not serving the Lord, you are being foolish!

— Reverend, maybe if my Lord would punish me for such little foolishness that is loving someone, I would be worried about what the Lord will do with you, priest Isaac.

— Hahaha…. — Isaac burst into laughing. — You have no idea what you are talking about! Don’t tempt your Lord, son, and all will be fine!

— You still like to lie to everyone like that, don’t you? Always about how things will be fine if you leave it to the Lord’s hands. Well then, I leave it to the Lord to decide what you will do to me when all this is over. I pray for the day you will realize you, and no one else, killed me, because you didn’t know what you were doing to me.

— You are grounded, little one. What about that? — Priest Isaac said with eyes firmly on the road.

— You can’t ground me. I’m eternally grounded already. If you could at least open your heart to realize how people actually suffer… — Jay then stayed in silence, cleaning a tear from his right eye and expressionless face.

The priest and the deacons ignored Jay for the rest of the drive.

…

The next day, Judah couldn’t sleep at all imagining what the church boy could do with his phone and what his father would do to him if he knew he lost it.

— Already up? — Asked his father, while yawning.

— Didn’t sleep… — Judah thought of speaking his mind but stopped midway.

— Ready for your first big robbery? — His father smiled.

— Su... Sure… — Judah couldn’t control himself, divided about going and running away.

— I will get the car. They will love to see you so early there! They won’t even notice what happened to them!

Judah’s father was so happy inside himself imagining that, if his son would be caught, he would go to jail or worse.

“He will really learn this time! I’m a genius!” he thought to himself.

Not long after, Judah’s father took him to the entrance of the Universal Church of the Lord. The whole place was a bigger complex at the back. On the left side, a big farm, where everything the boys, the priests and the people helped by the church might need was produced. Right behind the cathedral, a big open garden, where sometimes the mass is given on the Holy Day of the Lord’s son to a bigger public. To the right from the garden was the class building where the boys attended, and right behind it was the path through the woods that lead to the big house where the choirboys and the priests live. Crossing the farm, on the other side, there’s another school, but this one is solemn to girls and ministered by nuns and the superior mother, who also work at the Universal Church of The Holy Mother, far from the farm, and a much smaller church compared to the other one. Boys and girls sometimes meet each other on rare occasions, but they are forbidden to see each other otherwise.

Crossing the big garden there’s another path, leading to the closest river, with some cascades, both used by the church faithful at the healing mass day once a month. The river water is deemed holy and to have healing properties. To diminish the mosquito population in the area, the church uses small fishes created on the farm for that purpose. They are also served on the No Meat Day for everyone in the kermesse celebration. Besides that, going up the riverbed, there’s a small grotto from where the river’s water starts to flow. Right above the rock that pours water, it was made an altar for the Agony of the Holy Mother holding the dead Lord’s son figure, which is illuminated all day and all night. The church placed some steps to help people to get there, but the entire place is still humid and slippery.

The whole place around the parish complex is an environmental preservation park, and the churches, farm, and schools are a historical heritage. That means, the farm and churches can’t grow in size nor be altered, and the Universal Church is also in charge of the preservation area.

Not that Judah cared for anything like that. His first thought about the place was how it was old and countrified. He was a city boy after all.

At the entrance, when Judah’s father was looking for a place to park his car, he saw the first and only modern monument the church had at the front, the black cross. Made from black marble to look like a cross no matter from which direction it was seen, it had four hands, instead of just two, and it created the illusion to be a normal cross. Additionally, it was sometimes called ‘3D cross’ by some boys.

When adopted as the parish logo, the final design also included a way to show a six-pointed star, meaning it united the Old and the New Testament from the sacred books in one.

— What the hell… — made Judah, going around the black cross. — It doesn’t change!

— What are you looking at? — asked his father, harshly.

— Nothing! — Judah said quickly, hoping his father wouldn’t beat him in front of other people.

— I’m going in and look for someone — he said, pointing to the open church doors. — You stay here and try to not call anyone’s attention. Understood?

— Yes, boss!

— Don’t call me boss here, you s___ head!

— Sorry, boss…

— You! — His father threatened him with his hand up high and Judah cowered from it.

His father then passed his hand in his hair, to pretend it was something else.

— Get up, you little piece of s___. Pretend you are a good boy for your boss. And don’t say anything about our plans. You get the gold and don’t let them catch you or I will abandon you here. Did you hear me?

— Yes…

Judah’s father left him outside and entered the main church. The boy got distracted by how calm and peaceful that part of the city was. So many sounds from the woods. Cicadas or crickets, Judah wouldn’t know. Birds were singing and flying, and even some big eagles flying around the top of the hill where the grotto was located. Judah started looking at the eagle flying and his body simply moved after it. After some minutes not caring where he was going, he ended up at the grotto. He saw someone there and got close, trying to not call anyone’s attention.

That person was crying, but not sobbing. His face was tearing up without his face changing into any sad or happy expression. Warm tears rolled nonstop.

— So, you finally came! — Said Jay, clearing his face. — For a moment I thought you would run away, but it seems your father still gets the better of you.

Mentioning him made Judah mad.

— Listen here you little piece of s___! — Judah threatened with his index finger up.

— You even talk like him! — Jay smiled.

— Shut up! — He shouted. — You are gonna give my phone back or… or… or else!

— Hahah, I can’t — Jay stood, not afraid of Jay. — The priests don’t let us have phones here, anyway. You should tell your dad… But he probably knows that by now.

— How… Urgh… — That infuriated Judah. — How the f___ng hell does you know those things?!

Jay pointed up and Judah followed, finding the holly figure above.

— Okay, I know now, you are some kind of gifted person! The Lord made you a gifted person who knows things! That’s great! — He said sarcastically, still not believing in it.

— Not really. The Lord created everything and thus, everything is connected with the Lord. We always think that knowledge is locked behind secrets and more secrets when it’s actually free for everyone able to see to know it all. You should understand this at some point…

Judah was even more confused by that.

— Who the fuck is you?

— I’m Jay! — And he held out his hand. — Sorry for all the trouble yesterday, but it was the only way, and a pretty good one, I must say, to not let that policeman get you. Believe me, he wouldn’t be easy on you at all.

— How do you know those things?! — Judah shouted again, making his voice rise a pitch higher.

— Don’t ask me to say something that you can’t understand now.

— Not you! You will not say I don’t know things around!

— Sorry, you misheard me. I didn’t say that you can’t, I said that, now, you can’t, but in due time you will. You being here and simply finding me as the first person in this huge place shows that we were fated to meet here. And the Lord’s son and his Holly Mother are our witnesses.

Judah looked up again and got distracted by the holly figure. Jay smiled.

— You really look cute when you zoom out — Jay giggled.

— Get off! I’m not homo!

— That’s not what our kiss said yesterday…

— You are doomed!

Judah started chasing Jay and the short one was laughing gladly. Judah was big, but Jay was faster. He knew the place and whenever Judah was about to reach him, Jay would appear far away from him.

— Stop getting away! — Shouted Judah.

— Get me first! — Jay said.

Judah was about to reach for Jay, as he was getting nowhere to get away if he was cornered at the big house wall. Jay willingly stopped there.

— Gotcha! — Said Judah, putting his hands on the wall and enclosing Jay, both panting.

— Okay, you got me — Jay smiled.

— Wait… How did you kiss me if you are so short? — Judah realized. If he tried to kiss him like that, he would kiss his forehead at most.

Jay smiled again.

— I have my ways… — Jay looked Judah in the eyes and got lost in them for a moment. — It’s still so nice to be around you…

— What are you… — Judah started, but Jay's eyes were tearing up, yet, his expression never changed. He couldn’t know if he was happy or sad. — Why are you crying?

— This? — Jay cleaned the tears up. — Sometimes I feel something warm feeling me, like, I should be happy or something, but I never know why for sure. Seeing you finally here makes me comfortable.

— I feel like I know you from somewhere…

— How could you remember… always forgetting things here and there… — Jay looked away. — I still remember your eyes…

Judah forgot where he was and touched Jay’s chin, making him look Judah directly in the eyes. Jay’s hair was covering his right eye and Judah moved the hair away, finding why his eye was covered.

— What… — Judah looked and didn’t find any iris, only darkness and it was dragging him in.

— Am I interrupting something? — Asked Pete, followed by all the other boys.

— No way he is real! — Complained Si.

— Uuh! The couple was kiss-kiss already! — Said Matt, being annoying and making a silly face.

— They didn’t kiss, did they? — Asked Andy.

— Why nobody wants to kiss me? — Complained James.

— We shouldn’t trust him — said Phil.

— Yeah! — Nate followed.

— Nobody believes me when I say he is trouble. But did somebody hear me? No! — Completed Jake.

— What’s going on? — Asked Tommy, from behind them.

Jonny and Jude remained quiet about it.

— So… — Jay looked to Judah and he turned away. — This is the thirteenth boy, Judah. Hope you guys remember what the Lord’s son did for all of us and welcome him and make him comfortable no matter what.

— Cut it out, Jay! We know you don’t say it seriously whenever you bring the Lord into the conversation! — Assured Si.

— Well, I could ask you to love him, but you guys know I want a piece of him myself… — most boys laughed, while some giggled. — Whenever you want to do knowing what he came to do here, I hope you understand that it’s not easy and he needs all the help he can get. Okay?

— We need to get going, guys — said Pete. — Priest Isaac will be here any moment.

— Yeah, the shorty is right — followed Andy and all the other boys did the same.

Alone again, Judah's eyes widened.

— What did you tell them about me?

— Nothing much — Jay smiled. — Just that you came to find the Lord’s son.

And he held Judah’s arm and brought him to have some breakfast with the other boys. Judah completely forgot about his phone or his father for some time.