Once school let out, Trinity called her dad to let him know that she wasn't going straight home, and that they were all gonna go over to Rachael's house.
"Don't worry, Father Kiran! She's not running off anywhere. We're both here with her! We'll just be at my house for a little while. I'll have my mom drop her off later!" Rachael called out, loud enough for Trinity's father to hear her, which calmed him down knowing that his daughter hadn't been making up an excuse.
"You three have fun, but stay safe. It's too dangerous out there right now with that thing running on the loose." Father Kiran stated out of concern for the three girls.
"We will, dad! I'll call you later!" Trinity replied before hanging up the phone.
Rachel didn't live too far from school. She only rode the bus this morning, to be there for her friend when she needed her the most right now. So the three of them began walking to Rachael's house, instead of getting on the bus.
"At least none of those nasty boys will try anything since you won't be on the bus this afternoon!" Jessica said while giggling. "I bet they had everything planned and ready, but now they're just gonna have to be disappointed!"
"Sucks to be them!" Rachael commented.
Trinity just smiled at both of them. "Thanks guys!" She felt lucky to have two such good friends who would always stand beside her when she needed them the most.
Once they reached Rachael's house, they all headed straight for her bedroom. Rachael pointed at Trinity as soon as everyone was inside. "Spill!"
"Excuse me?" Trinity asked, confused. She went to sit down on Rachael's bed. One leg curled in, while the other draped over the edge of the bed.
"Why are you asking why we are taught that they are evil?" Rachael demanded.
Trinity frowned. "I was asking y'all why you would think they would be. I won't answer until you guys do."
Jessica sat next to Trinity and grabbed her hand. "The thing is, neither of us know what you want us to say. You don't want to hear 'because the bible says so', but that is our only knowledge that we have into our faith's history."
"That's exactly my point!" Trinity mentioned. "Why should we be so quick to condemn him, without first getting to know him?"
"You aren't seriously considering the possibility of him actually being a decent person, just because he happened to save your life! Why are you even contemplating the notion that he might not be evil? One good deed does not make up for what he is!" Rachael exclaimed.
Trinity arched a questioning eyebrow at Rachael. "You're assuming, right now. Tell me an honest reason to explain why he might be evil?"
Rachael pulled a chair over to sit beside the both of them. "Alright. Honesty it is then." she said as she nodded her head, reluctantly. "Honestly, aside from what the bible tells us, you're right, we really don't know. We can go back and forth with our assumptions as to one way or the other. Although, my question I have is, are you trying to convince us, or are you trying to convince yourself? Because you don't seem too certain, yourself either."
Trinity gave a guilty laugh. "You're right. I'm not certain, I'm conflicted. Every time I think I have him figured out, something happens that changes everything. However, I truly feel like he's more misunderstood, rather than evil. Although..." her mind drifted back to what she had seen yesterday morning in the alley, and Lucifer's words that she couldn't get out of her mind.
She quickly shoved that thought out of her mind before it could make her nauseous again.
"Although...?" Jessica urged on.
Trinity sighed. "Although there's still so much that I don't know yet." She didn't feel comfortable explaining details that she didn't fully understand yet.
"So how about, you tell us what you do know so far!" Rachael suggested. "Then we can go from there. What makes you think there is more to the story when it comes to him being a demon?"
Trinity had been considering that question all throughout the second half of school. How she would be able to compare real life situations, to what she knew about Zyxel so far. Just as he had done for her, when trying to explain his situation to her. "Well, let me compare a few things here, to help you both see what I have seen from him so far."
"Fair enough." They both agreed to hear her out and listen to what she had to say.
"Alright..." Trinity took a deep breath before letting it slowly. "So, how is a prison set up? You have the prisoners who have done something wrong. And then you have the guards whose job is to keep the prisoners in line, until they have served out their sentence and are released back out into society, hopefully as a better person. Right?"
They both kept quiet, not sure where she was going with this, and neither of them wanted to be the one who got caught in answering something that might lead to sympathizing with the demon.
"When it comes to hell, who goes to hell and why?" Trinity asked the both of them, since no one was speaking up.
"Bad guys!" Jessica answered immediately.
"And what happens to them there?" Trinity asked.
"They get burned for their sin and for every evil deed they have ever committed." Rachael answered this time.
"So if they are being punished in hell for doing evil things, then wouldn't the role of a demon be similar to that of a prison guard?" Trinity asked, leaving both of them speechless.
Rachael stood up and began pacing back and forth inside of her room. The whole room stood silent for a moment as they both waited for her to answer what was on her mind.
Rachael's face contorted through different emotions. She nervously bit her lower lip as she spoke next. "I'll admit that you do have a certain point to your reasoning there. But, are you certain that he isn't trying to manipulate you for something? He could have made you see anything he wanted you to see, if it meant corrupting someone as devoted to her faith, like yourself."
Trinity sighed and shook her head. "I'm not certain at all, but from the moment I've met him, I was never once afraid of him, not once. Amara, on the other hand, just gives me the chills."
Jessica squeezed Trinity's hand that she was holding. "Then doesn't that prove that he must have manipulated you? I mean, Amara has been nothing but kind to everyone. She healed an infant that had an unknown and currently incurable disorder, and wouldn't have survived. She has all these plans to help improve humanity, and help us to overcome our sin. How could any of that be bad? Whereas, what has Zyxel done? Create storms that had killed hundreds of humans? Think about it! Who among those two has done the most good, and who has done the most evil?"
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(Questions in the Author's Comments below!)
Books I am currently writing:
- The Forbidden Luna
- Divine Banishment