It was that time of the service when the people came around with baskets.
"Offer your donations as we make our contributions to Her up above," the man in white robes would speak aloud. Ian's parents would always give him a coin or two to put into the basket when the people came around, insinuating offerings to the cult.
The Cult of She.
Ian and his parents had been part of the cult for as long as he could remember living. From a child to his age as of current, it'd been his lifelong religion to pursue Her followings. Ian never knew why his parents had joined in the first place, but he'd been born into the tradition. He was given birth to as a child of She. He was baptized in Her waters. Ian remembered the sacred water speaking to him. It was a blurry and wavy voice that echoed through the water's ripples as his head was dipped into the baptism lake. All had gone silent except for a unanimous sound that spoke into his ears. It was intangible, but Ian could understand it, like it was the word of a foreign language he recognized.
"˙˙˙plᴉɥƆ"
It called Ian its child.
The worship services would always take place in different locations. The place of communion was never constant. The meeting location was always changing, and it was because the cult had never been recognized as an official religion. More importantly, the Cardinal Nexus did not permit religions. The Cult of She was always on the move, as even simply gathering together was putting all the members at risk for an irregularity. What Ian didn't understand was why his parents were willing to go so far as to risk their normal lives for the sake of some beliefs.
"Never forget Her teachings. Never forget Her existence. Her only lasting connection to Earth is through our belief in Her alone, so we must maintain this tether that ties us to Her realm up above."
Ian would only filter the announcer's words as blabber as he spoke. Instead of truly listening and understanding the teachings, he would sit and day dream as the hour passed by.
"You must all sleep before the red sun at midnight. Never make contact with the red sun. It is a sin. The Blood Moon is evil."
"This is why you're never allowed to stay up too late, Ian," his mom whispered.
Ian brushed it off with annoyance. "Tsk… They're only saying that just because…"
"Because what?" His dad jumped in. "Because it's a lie? Why would they take the time to announce it if it was a lie? It'd just be a waste of time, wouldn't it?"
"That's why coming here is a waste of time."
Ian's dad sighed. "There's a reason your mother and I have stuck to Her beliefs for this long, Ian. There's a connection that we can feel only in this group's presence, and soon, I'm sure you'll feel it too."
"As if…" Ian rolled his eyes. "I never wanted to be part of this in the first place."
"Eventually, you'll want to stay."
His mother's words left an eerie lasting impression in his heart. Ian never truly understood why his parents were so devoted to something they couldn't see. It made no sense to him. Although Ian was brash with his parents during service, he loved the care and attention they gave to him outside of it. Part of why Ian resented the time spent in the cult was because it took away the time he had to spend with his parents on the weekends. And on weekdays, his parents were very busy people. Ian just wanted to do more things with his parents when they had the time, but that time was always taken by the cult.
Then the day came, when everything would change.
"We've done it, Ian!"
His parents came home chanting joyously.
"What? What happened?"
"We've become the CEO's of our very own company! It's called Sedia Corporation now! We've reached the top!"
Ian's face lit up. "Woah, really?!" He ran to his parents and the three gathered together in a large hug. He was happy that his parents had garnered so much success after climbing the same ladder for so long. But deep inside, Ian knew what this meant. Now that his parents were the heads of a corporation, it meant they had more responsibilities, and more responsibilities meant less free time.
"Mom, dad…"
"What is it, Ian?"
He strayed his gaze. "Never mind…"
The three celebrated that night with a lavish dinner in the colorful downtown of Vesp District. Soon, these lavish dinners would be common. Expensive clothing would become the standard. High-end cars would enter the driveway, and a maid would be hired to clean and maintain the Sedia household—a newly bought mansion on the outskirts of Vesp District's hilltops that overlooked the city. It came a time when Ian's parents had become so busy with holding up the Sedia Corporation that he saw the maid more often than his own mother and father. And then of course, the only times when they were available—the weekends—were taken up by the time wasted during the cult's worship services. Ian abhorred it.
"Offer your donations as we make our contributions to Her up above." The man in white robes cleared his throat, making eye contact with Ian's parents briefly before looking away. "For those members who have been blessed greatly by She up above, kindly increase your donations to ensure that She continues to guide you."
Everyone in the service took a glance in Ian's parents' direction. Ian, and his parents, knew exactly what was expected of them. CEOs of a corporation meant big money, and the cult knew of this. Ian knew those donations weren't being offered to any 'She' up above. He knew full well where they actually went—straight into the bank accounts of the cult members in robes.
"Offer your donations as we make our contributions to Her up above. And to those financially fortunate as guided by Her, must donate increased offerings to share her gift with the rest of us."
The robed man's requests were becoming more and more blatant, but everytime Ian's parents would always give the same amount of donation as any other time since joining the cult—two dollars. Finally came the time when the cult leader lost all shame and said:
"If the Sedia family may kindly offer their donations in place of every member's contributions to Her up above."
The people with baskets then all came to their seating place, ready to take as much money as Ian's parents could offer. Every other member gazed in their direction and watched. Ian couldn't believe it, that the cult had been trying to take advantage of his parents' wealth the entire time. As everyone's eyes stared violently at Ian's parents, they did the same thing they'd always done.
They put two dollars into the basket.
After the worship service that week, Ian's parents never got the notification for the whereabouts of the next worship service.
"You know they were all trying to use you, right?!" Ian yelled.
"It was for a greater cause." His dad tried to justify the cult's reasoning. But Ian only shot back.
"If it was, then why didn't you guys donate as much as they asked for? You both knew they were trying to rip you off because they know you guys are rich!"
"Whatever it is, honey, we don't have much time to spend with that cult anymore anyways. We're too busy in charge of Sedia Corporation," Ian's mom said.
Ian agreed. He liked where the idea was leaning—towards officially disbanding from the Cult of She. And when they did, it would guarantee more time for Ian to spend with his parents. So Ian looked forward to the following weekend, the first weekend in years that they wouldn't have to attend a cult worship service, a weekend when Ian could relax with his parents in his presence, a weekend without having to hear the monotone mumbles coming from the man in white robes.
That weekend finally came, and Ian was overjoyed. With the excess money Ian's parents had, they took a day trip to the beach in Arshay District which was just by the ocean. Ian had finally gotten what he'd been craving all these years: a day when he could enjoy some time with his parents without having to worry about any responsibilities. The day that they'd be normally attending a boring worship service was overwritten with an activity-filled event in the summer waters. Ian went to sleep content that night, replaying the memories with his parents from that day over and over again in his head.
CRASH—!!!
Ian was startled awake in his sleep. It was the middle of the night when he'd heard numerous glass windows shatter in his house. This was followed by the sounds of numerous footsteps rushing up his stairs where he heard his parents' bedroom door be barged into.
"Woah, woah, woah! Hey—! HEY—!!!"
SHLRK—!!!
Blood had splattered across the wallpaper. Ian could only hear his mother's screams remaining.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?! WHY—!?!"
SHLRRK—!!!
More blood was spilled, and frightening screams ensued before all went quiet. Then, the sounds of tumbles and footsteps hurried back down the stairs and outside of the house, where Ian was left shocked in his bed, unable to move from what he'd heard alone. When he'd finally mustered up enough courage, Ian left his room, slowly creaking the door open, and made his way to his parents' room.
Trails of blood speckles could be seen leading down the stairs. Ian felt his head sway at the thoughts that began to compile. When he entered his parents' room, his breath had been stolen.
Only their mutilated bodies remained. His parents' heads were nowhere to be found. As their bloodied bodies were found sitting up against the bedroom walls, something else was drawn with blood in place of where their heads were supposed to be. They were circles. Big, round, circles drawn with the bloody remains of Ian's parents.
Ian could only stand in silence and shock as he realized what the drawings were. They were the symbols that represented the Cult of She. The circles that symbolized the Cult of She were circular, and meant to look like the sun, but Ian remembered a teaching mentioning that these symbolic circles were called something else.
The Moon.