BAILEY'S P.O.V.

An hour before we attended the Forlot church, I finally got to sit down and read Forlot's origin. I was overjoyed when I read that Forlot was and still is built on the Holy Trinity. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I really wanted to tell my sister that, but knew that she would explain to me once again why she was convinced that Christianity was a cult.

I am going to be real with you readers. Okay, fictional real. I was sad and disappointed that Betsy did not want anything to do with the great news. The Lord does command us to not force the unbelievers to Him, for they have to come willingly. So because I love God and wanted to honor Him, I respected what Betsy believed. Unfortunately, that was not good enough for her, which was a shame because she was being a toxic atheist. There are some good atheists in the world who act nothing like my older sister. You lucky ducks.

There was only one time that I shoved my beliefs down her throat, and I doubt that it should even be counted. I was a small child when I did it. Betsy was in the hospital. I do not remember why, but it was serious. She was lying in a hospital bed, and I was jumping all around the room while holding my Bible and preaching to her about Jesus. That is when she confessed to me that she was not a believer.

Keep in remind that I was younger when I did this. I wanted her to be a loving Christian like me, so I recited some Bible verses from memory. She hated what I was doing so much that she kicked me out of her room and forbade from coming in again. I teared up and cried.

Since then, I have matured. I respect those whom I strongly disagree with in hopes that nonbelievers will respect my relationship with Jesus.

Notice that I did not call Christianity a religion? True Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship.

Since that the church was not far from the Forlot hotel, my and Paige's families decided that it would be great for our legs if we walked. We took our sweet time down the sidewalk and to the church.

I assumed that Betsy would be staying in our hotel room with the pets, however, she insisted that she join us at church. Nobody forced her to go. She willingly volunteered. Curiosity came over me, and I asked her why she was going to church.

"You hate church," I said. "Unless you are giving it a try."

For the first time in a while, my sister smiled at me. She wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close to her. "Bailey," she said. "I have a feeling that you, as well as the other Christians who will be at this church, will be free once I ask all my questions."

I swallowed a lump in my throat. Her statement sounded chilling. And threatening. What did she mean by what she said? Was she going to try to convince us Christians that God was not real?

Yes. Yes, she was.

We reached the Forlot church and entered. It was a pretty big building both on the outside and inside. The floor was yellow with a red design, and the walls were blue with a purple design. The first thing that Paige and I found strange was that there were no chairs. Churches are supposed to have some chairs...right? There also was no stage for the preacher to stand on and talk from.

"Maybe this church could not afford chairs and a stage," Paige whispered to me.

"No place to sit?" Betsy questioned. "All the more reason that churches are a scam."

"We should find Cindy," I told Paige. "She can probably tell us why there are no chairs or a stage."

"Did someone say my name?"

Cindy appeared from a separate room and trotted over to us. She wore her casual clothes like that she did yesterday and gave all of us a warm smile.

"Good, good. You guys are here. Welcome!" Cindy greeted. "The Forlot church is different from the churches in the real world, so I will have to go over what we do."

"Your church sure is different," Betsy remarked. "You do not have chairs."

"Actually, we do have chairs. We are getting them out now."

As if on cue, the people who ran this church came out with enough chairs for everyone.

Cindy added, "I forgot to mention that this used to be a black church. Most of the visitors were black people, but people of other colors were also allowed. It changed and is now owned by my husband. The previous owners and the members were so fond of my husband that they passed the church to him. This church is really his second home."

My sister decided to challenge this. "In other words, your husband stole the church from them."

Cindy seemed a bit surprised that she would say that. "He did not steal the church. He earned it. The previous owners were retiring and gave it to him because they knew that he is a child of the King."

"A king?"

"God."

"You mean the Being who does not exist?"

Cindy pointed a finger at her. "You must be an atheist."

"That I am."

"You know that you are obligated to leave these grounds if you have a problem with what we believe."

"It is not a problem for me. It is a problem for you."

"Excuse me?"

"You Christians are against people who are gay. People who are transgender. People who are bisexual. Do I need to go on?"

Cindy massaged her forehead. "I was hoping to avoid such topics."

Betsy played with a strand of her hair. "Christians should be fined and arrested for discrimination."

"That is enough!" I screamed.