Naira’s forte has never been schoolwork. And once again, she's failing most of her classes. She understands she’s been spending entirely too much time with Credence. The weeks following their first established date, they’ve been to the movies, they’ve gone bike riding, and they’ve been to karaoke night at the local bar.
“Alright, I can only miss one more class, then I’ll tell him I won't be able to see him as much as I want to,” she thinks to herself, “aw he’s gonna be so heartbroken.” She pouts, understanding this moment would be inevitable.
She sighs, pulling her phone out of her pocket. Quickly dialing Credence’s number, she waits for him to pick up, tapping her foot on the floor.
“Sup, I’m helping out at church today. You can tag along if you wanna,” he suggests right as he answers.
“You go to church?” Naira asks curiously since she hadn’t pegged him to be the religious type.
Credence lets out a chuckle. “If you’re asking if I believe in a God, then eh… sometimes, but that's not the reason I’m here. I’m not really the churchy type, shit creeps me out. The pastor doesn't have me pay rent for the room I have here, so I try to help out as much as I can when I’m not too busy,” he explains.
“Look at you being all generous! You're a sweet guy, you know that?” she replies, nodding as if he could see her.
“And one of many talents,” he hits back, flirting and making her cheeks glow red.
“I’ll be there,” she answers.
As they bring the call to an end, she puts on a long black skirt and a plain brown top that goes along with her ankle boots. She grabs her keys and makes her way to the church.
“Oh, wow,” she whispers to herself, astonished at the sight. An incredibly large cathedral-style building with crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling surrounds her. There are a few elderly people sitting down on mahogany wood pews, conversing amongst themselves. One of them sees Naira and gives her a warm smile, which she reciprocates.
“Well, what do you think?” a familiar voice says behind her. He places a warm and innocent kiss on her neck that almost melts her entirely.
Credence spins her around, causing Naira to smile and kiss him before answering. “Don’t know what I expected, but this is pretty dang snazzy.”
“It is,” he replies, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Follow me, there’s someone I want you to meet,” he adds. As they walk, all she can hear are the heels of their shoes echoing all around the building, she looks up in disbelief of the grand structure. She’d always rode past this building on the trolley ride from school but assumed it would be another copy-paste cathedral. It is apparent the cost of such an elegant building would be beyond comprehension.
“Is this her?” a teenager with a kind smile, and eyes as beautiful as precious opal asks before standing up, and sticking his hand out toward Naira.
She was entranced by his eyes, but jolted back to her senses and shook his hand. His hand was soft and delicate. “Damn that's soft! Feels like a princess’s hand. Has this kid ever worked a day in his life?” she thinks to herself.
“You’re beautiful. I can see why Credence hasn't been able to stop talking about you,” the teenager said, smiling at the lovebirds, and punching Credence on his arm, softly and playfully. At this Credence rolls his eyes with a sheepish smile.
Naira smiles back at the young boy. “Thanks, what's your name?” she asks as he goes to sit back down.
“My name is Dominic. Sorry, I should’ve told you that before,” he said, hand on chest, “my mind has been everywhere lately.”
Credence places a hand on his shoulder. “Everything’s gonna be alright kid. You've done this like a thousand times,” he says, looking at him. “Look, I can go up there with you if you need help loosening up.”
Dominic gazes back at the two, and they see an urgency in his eyes. “Please do, I know I'm supposed to have this stage fright under control, but it’s just that I can feel them looking and judging. It’s hard to explain, but it really messes with my performance.”
“No need to explain. Just give me some time to warm up and I’ll be right behind you,” Credence replies,lightly patting Dominics back. Dominic nods and smiles. Just as Credence and Naira turn to walk away, a deep voice calls out to them.
“And this must be her, what a pleasure it is to finally meet you! He’s been telling us all about how he’s going to marry you in this exact church. We’ve even placed bets that he’ll cry, even though he swears on the Lord’s name he won’t,” the man bellows out a hearty laugh. Naira can even hear Dominic’s soft giggling as he and his friends laugh at Credence. Credence smiles while looking down scratching his head, clearly embarrassed, and Naira laughs while slipping her fingers between Credences.
“Now, Credence, I knew you were no saint, but to lie on the good Lord’s name,” she says, lifting her hands up in the air, “you’re such a bad boy,” she adds mockingly as he rolls his eyes with a smirk.
The tall man lets out another ground-shaking laugh that made everyone in the church turn to look at them, and laugh along. “That's right dear, he’s been talking big game while you were away,” a lady sitting in the rows further back says while laughing.
“That’s my wife, Melissa, and I see you've already met my grandson, Dominic. I'm Thomas. It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you’ll be staying to see the performance,” the man says while wiping a tear from his eye.
“Of course, she will Pops. I’m actually going up there with Dom. I remembered the lines, so it shouldn't be a problem,” Credence assures while checking his phone.
Thomas smiles. “Well, isn’t this a treat! I might go up there myself. It’s been quite some time.”
As Credence walks away, Melissa pats the space beside her, gesturing for Naira to sit with her. They make small talk and get to know each other better, Naira explaining how she and Credence met while Mellissa gives tried and true advice only a lady her age could give. An hour later, the noise from the packed church dies down, and Naira looks forward to see Credence up on stage, the candlelight flickering on his caramel skin. The conductor clears his throat, and Melissa softly turns to face Naira. “You'll need these dear,” she says as she hands her a box of tissues. Thomas begins singing in a wall-shaking baritone that started building from an unnoticeable hum. Credence and the rest of the choir begin to join in, and Naira instinctively closes her eyes. At first, she didn't recognize his voice, but as she focused on every sound, she could hear him, as if it were only the two of them in the room. An exquisite countertenor comes into play. As Naira listens closely, she notices the lyrics sound Elven, a language she is familiar with due to one of her college courses.
Credence’s voice bounces.
His voice is golden.
She feels him in her soul holding her, kissing her, and walking her through this decadent experience.
Thomas’s voice grows louder and more mournful; the calm flame turning into a roaring one.
As Credence fans the flames, Naira’s heart begins to pound trying to keep up, each breath growing deeper and heavier than the last. Just when she thinks she’s become lost in the intensity, an angelic coloratura soprano seems to rescue her. She opens her eyes, not believing her ears, and sees the person that holds the magnificent voice is Dominic. He looks as if he’s in pain, and she can sense it in his eyes. Naira closes her eyes once more and can see the picture he’s painting. Thomas’s voice has laid the foundation. Credence has begun to build the house, and occupying this home, now dancing in the empty house, is Dominic. He runs through the halls looking and searching for his friends and family, no matter how loud Thomas and Credence may be, his wails of anguish won’t allow him to hear them. Credence and Thomas can no longer be heard. In one last long breathtaking note, Dominic douses the once roaring flames; the winds that once fed them no longer blow. Dominic’s note carries throughout the building, sending shivers down Naira’s spine.
The building held silence for a brief moment. An eruption of applause takes its place, bathing the church in clamor. Naira begins to clap as hard as her hands will allow her until she realizes her face is soaking wet. As she tries to understand what she was feeling, she looked over at the tissue box. “Told you, dear. The same thing happened to me the first time too. I’ve attended dozens of performances, but none have touched me the way this one does,” Melissa softly said, rubbing Naira’s back to comfort her. Naira wipes her face, still trying to find words as she claps even more. “These men have a gift, especially Dominic,” Melissa speaks again, and Naira lets out a heartfelt chuckle of relief, and is finally able to answer.
“Has Dominic always been such a good singer?” she asks, to which Melissa smiles and nods. After a minute of silence, she turns towards Naira and holds her hands between her own.
“He’s had a tough life so far. I like to think that the good that comes out of it is this,” she says, looking around the church until she finds him. “The talent this boy has, the feelings he makes others feel,” she pauses and shakes her head as a single tear falls down her face.
Naira feels her heart grow in her chest as she empathizes with Melissa. “Thomas and I met eleven years ago. Dominic, little Dominic was only six at the time, but as soon as he saw me, he hugged me as if I were his real grandmother.” Naira hangs on to every one of Melissa’s words.
“Thomas tells me he and his late daughter had adopted him, though she never got to spend much time with him before that wretched cancer took her, bless her soul,” she continues, making a praying gesture with her hands. “Dominic was only two when Thomas became his legal guardian. When he contacted the orphanage, they told him that Dominic was found in a park in the freezing cold with a single blue ‘Donny doll’ blanket to protect him from the elements,” Melissa’s voice trembles as she tries her best to continue her story. “Thomas told me his daughter was a very private woman. They had a falling out, and he hadn't heard of her passing until the orphanage contacted him,” she says as she watches Credence and Dominic talk with Thomas and the others on stage.
“I recall he didn't let Dominic sleep in his own room until he was eight, and I was fine with it. I knew that Thomas wanted him to know that no matter wh-what, he’d always have his-his papa,” she stutters as more tears roll down her face. She looks back at Naira and squeezes her hands. “These are all good boys, dear. They all care about and look out for each other.” Naira searches the stage for Credence, and Melissa catches her. “Credence is such a good boy. He treats everyone here like family,” she added.
Naira couldn’t help but question if this man was way too good to be true. And as if Melissa could hear her thoughts, she spoke again. “I've only ever seen him lose his temper once. When some drunken bloke followed Dominic and his pals to the church screaming various obscenities. A real shame so many people are rude to the Others,” she shakes her head. “Took more than nine officers to try and hold Credence back with tasers, mace, batons,” she takes a breath, “they just didn't faze him, he would've bludgeoned the poor sap. Luckily, Thomas returned just in time to calm them all, luckily before SCU was called, a miracle the charges were dropped too,” she smiles.
Blown away by the story, she tries to recover, while still wanting to hear more. She can’t help but feel guilty since every time Credence and her had spent time together, she’d only spoken about herself, and never truly asked about his past. “How did you all meet Credence?” she asks.
“Unfortunately, it’s nothing too remarkable. We saw a poor lad down on his luck. He’d been asking for a job all around town, but everyone closed their doors to him, thinking that all vampires were either legacy vampires, or trying to take jobs away from people who actually needed them. And of course, he could have joined one of the legacies, but it wasn’t him. It wasn’t Credence. Despite what anyone said, no amount of protest would make us turn our backs on someone in need. It’s not right, it isn’t humane. So, we decided we’d help him out. We lost some members of the church, but he’s been family ever since,” Melissa says while gathering her things to leave.
“Wait… did you say, vampire?” Naira asks in shock.
And as Melissa notices the surprise on her face, she speaks to calm her down. “Oh dear, did you think he was like us? I’m so sorry, he’s still a very good boy, hasn't got a rude bone in his body.” As the woman replies, Naira understands her question didn’t come out the way she had intended.
“Oh no, I don't have a problem with Others. I just… was confused, cause he walks in daylight and all…”
Melissa chuckles and begins walking away again. “Oh my! You gave me quite the scare,” she runs her fingers over her forehead and into the air, gesturing relief. “After fifty-some-odd years of being a vampire, day walking isn’t a chore at all. I hear sunlight doesn’t harm them anymore at that point,” she finishes explaining.
Credence locates the two, and approaches them with his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. Naira catches his sight, and both Melissa and her walk over to him. Melissa quickens her pace just enough to reach Credence before Naira. “She’s a kind soul, Credence she’ll do right by you if you do right by her. This one’s a keeper,” she whispers to him while cupping one side of his face with her hand.
He smiles and hugs Melissa before he walks to Naira, kissing her. “So, how’d you like it?”
Naira holds both of his large hands. “Dude I loved it! I cried my eyes out. I didn't know you could sing like that.” He kisses her on her forehead.
“Thanks babe, you wanna say bye to Dom and Thomas before we step?”
“Sure! I’ll be back in a second.”
She walks over to a seated Dominic talking amongst his friends in the choir. “Sorry to interrupt guys,” she smiles at them and shakes their hands. “Dominic, I loved your singing, you blew me away!”
Dominic looks up towards Naira.
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