Chapter 46: Angel

"Sophia, Sophia, it's time to get up. Didn't you say we were going to church together today?"

"Ah well, Dad, it's still early."

"It's late. It's already half past nine."

"what?"

Sophia, who was half asleep and half awake, fumbled around the bed with her right hand and found her cell phone. She opened it and looked at the time. It was already 9:20. She squinted at the gap in the curtains and saw only a faint light shining on the floor.

Rubbing her eyes, she stood up like a zombie, walked to the curtains and pulled them open.

Dense dark clouds had covered the entire sky that she could see at some point, tightly wrapping the entire Manhattan city like a rag, making the city dim in the early morning, just like the last moments of sunset.

"Damn it, the phone assistant just said last night that it would be sunny today. Could it be reporting the weather in the phone's place of origin?"

Sophia complained a few times in dissatisfaction, then quickly cleaned up.

Today is not a day off, she took a special leave to accompany her parents to church. Her mother's symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are getting worse and worse, and have even begun to affect her normal walking.

Her parents were both devout Protestants. In the past, they often went to St. John's Cathedral to pray, where they had many memories.

So after my mother's illness was diagnosed, my father often took her to church and sat there all day long.

The church is also one of the few places where a mother can feel particularly peaceful. Even if she acts as if she doesn't know anyone, she will still pray to the Lord, hoping that the child in her arms is safe.

The child referred to is naturally Sophia.

Even though she is an adult now, her job as a supermarket cashier will soon be replaced by intelligent equipment.

After changing clothes, washing up, patting her face without putting on makeup, she kissed her mother who was feeding her cereal.

"Oh, this brand of cereal is still alive. I remember it was the flavor I hated the most when I was a kid."

Sophia picked up a piece of bread and spread blueberry jam on it.

"It's almost done. I heard the business is not doing well now. This flavor is your mother's favorite."

"You told me this now. No wonder my complaints were useless before."

After chatting about daily life for a while, the family set out for the church at around 9:30.

"It seems like I haven't seen weather like this for a long time. It's going to rain heavily soon."

"There are always a few days every year when we set out."

My father didn't think the weather was strange, perhaps because he was old and had experienced a lot.

It took some time to get to the church. Sophia pushed the wheelchair while her father greeted the pastor he knew.

"Little Sophia, oh my god, it's been a long time since I last saw you. The last time we met, you were the one who caused trouble and got chased all the way!"

"Pastor Brand, no one will dare to confess to you like this." Sophia rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Kelly, lovely Sophia can already talk back. It seems that she has really grown up. May God bless the devout and kind Smith family. All the suffering is only temporary. God loves the world."

Brand squatted down, gently patted Sophia's mother's hand and comforted her.

Sophia didn't care. To be honest, although she was born in a Protestant family, she didn't have much faith in God.

Except for OMG and holy shit that he always says.

She seriously doubted that statistically, anyone who could say these two sentences could be considered a believer.

They found a place to sit down and stayed in the church for a while, listening to the subtle yet continuous prayers from her mother. Sophia secretly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and wanted to breathe some fresh air.

"Mum, how about we go for a walk in the garden?"

Her mother stopped, turned her head and stared at Sophia for a long time, then slowly nodded.

Sophia pushed the wheelchair to the garden, and her father followed. "It's a bit cold. I should have brought more clothes. I'll just walk around to prevent Kelly from catching a cold." The father looked up and saw the dark clouds circling, but he didn't care about that. He was more concerned about whether the sudden drop in temperature would make Kelly cold.

Sophia thought this kind of wind was cool, but she would not refute her father's words.

The blowing wind blew hair and fallen leaves, and there was a damp, sharp and fresh smell in the air, which was both pungent and a little sweet.

Walking to the statue, the father looked up at the statue he had passed countless times and fell into memory: "Sophia, do you know? Your mother and I had our first kiss here."

Sofia couldn't imagine what kind of person would choose a church as the location for a first date!

It's really a good idea for the two of you to go this way.

Oh, when will I meet my Mr. Right?

Sophia was bored as she listened to her father's love story while looking at the statue. The more she looked, the tighter her brows became. She looked at the sky and then at the ground. Her father was confused by her posture.

"Sophia, what's wrong?"

Sophia hesitated for a long time, then she pointed at the head of the statue and asked hesitantly: "Dad, it doesn't seem to be raining now, right?"

The father nodded. Although the clouds were thick, it was indeed not raining yet. Then he raised his eyes and looked in the direction Sophia pointed at, staring intently at the head of the statue. He saw two lines of tears slowly flowing from the statue's eyes and dripping onto the chest.

My father opened his mouth wide and looked carefully at the rest of the statue to make sure that only the eyes were oozing water and no other parts of the statue were oozing water.

People passing by also heard what Sofia said, took a look, then covered their mouths and exclaimed "OMG".

There weren't many people in the garden, but they gathered together and attracted other newcomers.

As time went by, more and more people gathered around.

"Please make way, make way! I am Pastor Brand, please let me in first."

Pastor Brand came running over, and when he saw so many people, he realized that what the reporter said was true.

As an old pastor, he still had some authority among the believers, and people made way for him to the front of the statue, which was next to the Smith family.

"Oh, Smith, did you see it first?" Brand asked after looking closely at the statue crying.

"No, Sophia saw it first." Smith pointed at Sophia.

Sophia nodded and described her findings.

The people around him were listening carefully.

"Is this a miracle? Could it be some kind of, uh, principle? I seem to have seen something similar on the news." Sophia used her limited vocabulary to organize less offensive language.

Brand didn't refute, but nodded seriously: "I need to confirm it."

As a devout believer, Brand did not need the so-called apparitions to consolidate his faith. On the contrary, he was very reluctant to see apparitions happen. After all, this kind of situation, apart from mass, often foreshadowed bad situations.

The only thing to be thankful for now is that the one shedding tears is not Jesus, but the angel Michael.

The most famous achievement of this angel is probably that he fought a long war with Satan and defeated him with his steadfast faith.

No, thinking of this, Brand suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

The foreshadowing that Michael, who defeated Satan, is crying is too straightforward.

Could it be that Satan and the devil will return to the world? !
No, no, no, this is a scientific principle, yes, don’t scare yourself.

For the first time in his life, Brand tried to use science to convince himself not to believe in mystery.

But Murphy's Law is also a kind of science.

So, under the gazes of many incredible eyes and the exclamations of OMG, the legendary Archangel Michael who defeated the devil Satan
He moved.

(End of this chapter)