The Congregation of light

PART II : (The Congregation of Light)

Since the ritual with Paulino I started feeling this fear towards something unknown. It happens when I am alone.

Traveling alone was a challenge. In any case pa wasn’t great company.

After I arrived to this city I didn’t have where to sleep. The logic was to find a place where others who have no home slept together.

And so I did. I found old people smelling like wine. One who was close asked me what I was doing there. I said, “same you are doing”. And he said, “but you are not save here”.

“If you are save why wouldn’t I?”, I asked.

Because I am old, and you are young”, he said.

“What makes it different”, I asked and he said, “It’s a whole of difference go back to your home”.

“Don’t worry”, I said, “I have protection”, and I show him my cross-made of palm. He raised his shoulder and turn to sleep. I started singing just in case, but I heard someone telling me to share up.

I had slept there only tow nights when a small group of people came to wake me up.

“Do you want to come with us”, I heard.

“Who are you”, I asked.

“We belong to the Congregation of light”, a woman said.

I didn’t understand but the old man, to whom I considered my friend said, “go with them, they are a bit crazy but they will gave you food, bed and clothes”.

I turned to whisper to the old man “why you say that they are crazy?”.

And he said, “because they will want you to get into some kind of religion but you can just go along”.

“And why you don’t go with them”, I asked.

“They don’t want an old man who can’t stop drinking, go ahead I am tired of you singing every night”.

“I thought we were friends”, I said.

“I went to tell them about you, no one wants you here so you can be going now”. He said

It was just a little of my sense of proud that was hurt. I got on my feet and said, “You looked like a nice person, a bit like grand pa but you are not like him, if it’s what you want I’ll go with this people”.

I look to that woman and said, “I will go with you, thanks for inviting me”.

We walked out and after making a few steps I turned to see if my words caused some effect on the old man.

In case he shown that he felt sorry I would go back and sat next to him.

In that couple of days we went along great, we were looking in the trash for useful things and visiting a place where they gave us food for free, but I was wrong. He did nothing but just being there doing his thing as if I had never existed.

It was some sort of religion that they were teaching. I never understood much about it. the good news was that I would be sleeping with twelve guys in the same room.

No bad presence could ever resist such a smelling and a high number of people snoring at the same time.

They gave me clothes, rules to follow, and classes to learn things that might help me to find a job.

There were seven bunk beds. I got bed number nine and went to sleep. For first time I stopped feeling myself cold at night.

The old man who was my friend at the park had taught me that the best way to keep one warm was using newspapers. He even gave me a newspaper that was only one day delayed. I kind of mist him, he was the nearest thing to a friend that I've ever had.

However, the blanket that the congregation gave me was much better than paper.

Few minutes after I lay on my bed I heard “pst pst”. I looked up, a face above with bright eyes was looking at me”.

“Who are you”. I heard.

“Cobo”, I said.

“I am Pepe, I have bed number ten”. He said.

“It’s great to know”, I said.

Then I went to sleep till Pepe started moving me to wake me up, “You have to get up Cobo, it’s one rule about doing exercise at seven in the morning before going to the showers”.

“I don’t exercise Pepe, and I won’t take a shower, maybe tomorrow”.

“Oh no, you can’t do that, you have to get a shower every day and run for twenty minutes no matter that you are not used to it”. He said.

“Okay, lets go”, I stood up and went with Pepe. Every body was running in a line, I was the only one with no clothes to exercise, and I was number nine in the line, everything was number nine, my place in the table, my bed, my place in formations, also my place to practice marching for ceremonies.

I found six little packets with clothes on my bed. Tow was for exercising and sports, one was clothes for excursions and camping. The three packets come with shorts. Pepe said they had that kind of activities.

Tow other packets were normal clothes, long trousers and shirts to use them daily. There was also one other packet with socks, underwear and tow pairs of shoes.

I told to Pepe that I felt myself as a millionaire in the military, I had never had so many clothes. Pepe laugh and said that they treated us a bit like that but we were free to be normal people once being out of the building.

“So once out of the building we may forget about this fanatics?”, I asked to Pepe.

‘”Yes, though you have to keep the clothes outdoors, any of those you have in the packets, it is like saying that you belong here. Neighbors will always knew that you are one from the congregation of light”.

“Told you”, I said.

After having a shower I put on the casual clothes which happened to be identical to Pepe’s clothes and to everybody’s clothes. Pepe guide me to the table to have breakfast.

Before starting breakfast everybody made some sort of pray.

The woman whom I met the night before step behind me and said, “Could you tell to your roommates who you are?”.

“I am Cobo”, I said.

The lady wasn't satisfied with that and said, “tell us more about you”.

“Okay”, I dance, I sing, I am looking for a job, I plan to buy a truck and return to my community. It's not a perfect place but guess there's not such thing as a perfect place anywhere”.

“Great”, she said. Then she told to the others, “Tell him something about us guys”.

Number one said, “You can stay here or you may leave but if you leave you won’t be welcome anymore”.

“I will remember that”, I said.

And number tow said, “You may go out or stay but you have to be on time for meals and go to bed after dinner”.

“fine”, I said.

“You may learn how to cook or how to make bread but if you don’t want to learn you don’t have to”.

“I don’t think I am good at it”, I said.

Then number four said, “You have to follow rules and use this clothes and also assist for one hour for a talk after breakfast,everyday.

“What’s the talk about”, I asked

And the woman said, “It’s about how to enlighten your life”

“I don’t mind”, I said.

Number five said, “You can’t do drugs, smoking, no alcohol and you can’t sell yourself in the street”.

“I don’t do any of those”, I said.

“No bad words in Spanish neither in English, you can’t fight and no sex at all is allowed”.

“I don't understand”. I said.

Then every body laugh and other guy who hadn’t spoken yet said, “you can’t, not with yourself included ”.

“I know what you mean”, I said.

The next one said, “If you come to enlighten your spirit you could stay here for ever”

“For ever?” I said. “Doing what?”.

Other guy said, “You can’t break the rules but if you fail you won’t be expelled but you will be punished”.

That sort of catch my attention and I said, “How is that I would be punished”.

“Punishment, punishment, punishment”, everybody said at the same time.

The woman smiled and said, “they are trying to scare you it’s not really a punishment”.

Then Pepe said, “Nothing to worry, you might have to stay one day long in a room so you can think on what you did wrong, and you can’t go out till next morning to join us to exercise.

“But they will gave you food and lots books”. Someone said.

“One day long including night?”, I asked.

“ Cobo”, Pepe said, “One day means day and night”.

“Oh no”, I said, I can’t do that.

“Then you won’t brake the rules”, the lady said.

Actually following the rules was easier than it sound.

Something new I found was that I could stay longer in warm water in the shower after everybody left the place.

It’s not only that I wasn’t used to showers with warm water but also that I was able to sing. The only moment and place where I was able to sing, even if I was alone the chant would protect me in that place full of light.

When I told to Grand pa what happened with the sorcerer Grand pa told me that he would gave me a melody and a song that was an enchantment very effective to fight that bad presence that already found me.

Then I used to sing this song when I was in the shower, feeling the water falling on my body.

This boy is no evil
This boy is powerful
Sings to the moon a runa
And the boy becomes a faun.

This faun is not evil
This faun is powerful
Sings to the sun in praise
And this faun grows while dance

I sing and dance with a runa
I sing and dance in praise
That the spirit that haunts me
Appear before this faun

When Grand pa though me this song I said that I definitely didn’t want this presence to appear before me.

And Grand pa said that I needed to see in order to negotiate and stop it to do any harm to me. In any case, the song was enough powerful to keep me safe, even if I was not ready to see it.

When I moved with pa he didn't want me in his room. I had to stay in my room.

He hated everything that Grand pa had thaught me. He used to say that those stories are bullshit. But I had probe that pa was wrong. I saw something in that trance that pa wouldn't ever be able to understand.

Then pa started complaining because I had to sing till I went sleep.

I learned to sing like whispering and still pa kept complaining.

Traveling alone was my challenge and now I was there in that strange congregation praying non sense things, but they had the shower with warm water, food and roof. what else could I ask.

There I was one day when Pepe saw me in the shower and asked me, “what are you singing?”, he was naked and he step into the shower with me.

“It’s a song”, I said, “I always sing, it sounds a bit Andaluz but it’s not, and it’s in the language of my grand pa”, I explained.

“I like it”, he said, “You may continue I’ll listen”.

I kept singing looking up to the light of the windows and somehow I started feeling something. Pepe was touching me.

I hesitate, I was not sure if jumping out of the shower, give him a punch or not paying attention at all.

I choose for the last one, actually it didn’t feel bad. It was similar to a massage that Aunt Beth used to gave me when I was very little.

I kept singing but looked at him. The water was falling on his head making his dark skin look bright.

“You are very brown, I am a little brown too”, I said.

“No you aren’t”, he said, “And you are not white as white people that I know”

“Oh well, then what color do you think I am?”, I asked.

“I’ve never seen this color, I actually think you have no color at all”.

I looked to my skin, It never occurs to me to think on what color I was.

He smiled, I thought I should smile as well but felt something. He was pulling my dick and it was getting hard.

I stopped singing. “What are you doing”, I asked.

“What you think I am doing”, he said.

“It is totally forbidden in my community, we are men both”

“Yes”, he said, “and it’s totally forbidden here as well”.

“We will get in troubles, remember the rules”. I said against my will because actually I was feeling so good.

Pepe went on his knees, I looked down. He took my penis into his mouth.

“Stop”, I said, but it was the greatest thing I had ever felt in my body.

He kept doing it till my milk went out. Pepe hold my dick and swallowed all. He kneel up and hug me.

“Was you serious when you said you haven’t done this before?”, he asked.

“Yeah, I was!”, I said. And I hug him too.

“I don’t believe you, I am sure you like to everybody, can’t be true what you are saying”.

He went close to my face and kissed me in my mouth. It was much to understand where I was standing. All I wanted was to stay in the shower next to him and hug him.

Till then I wasn't exactly sure that I am gay, but the emotion I had was the closest thing to that. I had never hug someone like this, it was totally new.

We stayed like that till I heard a voice, “What you think you are doing”. It was the woman who had been telling about the rules.

Pepe just said, “Uphs”.

“Put on your clothes and follow me”, she said.

Pepe and I went to put on our clothes, “what is going to happen now”, I asked to Pepe.

“Don’t worry”, he said, “Just a whole day reading books that’s it”.

“You mean in that room all day and night”.

“Yeah, it’s what I mean”. Pepe said giving me another kiss.

“It’s all your fault, you most tell her that I didn’t do anything”.

“You didn’t do anything?, come on, you did as much as I did, the fact that I suck you doesn’t means that you are entirely innocent”.

“But I am”, I said.

“You are behaving selfish”, Pepe said, “ you just want to look innocent and you are not”.

“You most tell her that it was your fault, I insist”, I said firmly.

“Fine”, Pepe said, he went to talk to the woman and said, “It’s all my fault, I went into the shower with Cobo and made all this happen, actually he didn’t do anything”.

The woman didn’t answer, “follow me”, she said.

She talked to our leader, his name was Mauricio, telling to him we did and she gave him some instructions.

Mauricio went close to us and said, “Pepe will be in detention tomorrow, come with me Cobo”.

It wasn’t a room as I imagined, it looked more like a little library with a single bed and a bathroom.

“You will stay here”, he said, “I will bring everything you need”.

From that moment my torture started. I was entirely alone. I started feeling dizzy, later I was already in panic. I started dancing, dancing and singing.

This faun is not a boy
This boy in powerful
This faun dance with the moon
This boy dance a runa
Shit
Shit
This faun is powerful
Shit
Let me out of here
Shit

Once I went tired I stopped dancing and kept singing, I forgot my cross of palm in my other clothes. The air started moving as if bad spirits started coming, as prelude to that thing with no flesh that chases me every time I am lonely.

Minutes were like hours and hours were like days.

And there was something worst, the light of the evening getting weaker and I wasn’t able to find how to turn on the light of that room.

The door went open, Mauricio arrived with dinner. “How can I turn on the light”, I asked.

“There’s not light in this room, you better go to sleep when it gets darker”.

Mauricio was our leader but he wasn’t much older than me, I thought he had to kept some roommate spirit and have some mercy on me.

“Listen”, I said, I can’t stay alone, that thing will come and I will die, you have to let me go”.

By then I was already crying and begging. The last thing I wanted was to stay all night alone.

I started singing again but didn’t stop crying.

“Calm down”, I heard. ”They don’t mean to make you suffer. This is only for you to find peace”, he said.

“No peace, let me out please”, I said.

Suddenly he opened the door and said, “you may go and have dinner with our friends, if you need something talk to me”.

It was a relieve finding the other guys in the table and I sat among them. Pepe was next to me since he was number ten. I turn to look at him.

“Why are you here”, he said.

“”They let me out”, I said.

“So now they believe it was all my fault”.

“No, it’s not that, I can explain”, I said.

“Share up, I know why nobody likes you, you are very pretty but you are a big poop”.

“A man is not pretty”. I said.

“Oh yes, you are the closest thing to a pretty girl, a skinny selfish girl. A little body, incredible butt, black hair, black eyes, no color on your skin, and also a crap, a crap just as it is”.

It was useless trying to fix things with Pepe, I was just happy that he was there.

This story will continue.

I made my self story in in three parts:

PART I "The Sorcerer"
PART II "The Congregation of Light"
PART III "The Priest"