Saint David (dewi_sant) wrote in forgotten_gods, @ 2010-08-27 09:40:00 |
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Current mood: | excited |
Current music: | The Crystal Ship ~ The Doors |
Moving on
Who: St David dewi_sant
What: A catalyst for change
When: Sunday 22nd August
Where: St Davids, Philadelphia
Warnings: None.
Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
David lifted his face from his clasped hands, raising his gaze towards the ceiling.
When had things ended up like this? He let out a soft sigh, and closed his eyes tightly.
Our kingdom come, Our will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven
He tried, not for the first time, to remember Heaven, but all he got from his memories was the dream of peace and light. When he'd come back, it had been like he'd been in a very deep sleep, having a lovely dream, and then he was awake and it was around 500 years later and he was a Saint, with responsibilities.
Ah, but things were different then.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us
Bread. That was the thing, wasn't it. It was easy enough to live on bread flavoured with salt and herbs, when things like Nutella and Marshmellow Fluff didn't exist. If there was something David couldn't say no to, it was a big, thick, delicious sandwich. He was getting hungry just thinking about it. But he still had the tiny twinge of guilt every time he ate a peanutbutter and jam sandwich (and he couldn't get used to saying 'jelly' instead of 'jam'. Jam is jam, Jelly is jelly, and Jell-O is a brand name.) He snapped the rubber band around his wrist to stop himself thinking about it.
Lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil
David opened his eyes again, watching the clouds pass by on the outside of one of the stained glass windows. For a church named in his honour, it certainly was missing the certain focal point by not having a lovely big window with his image on it. Not to be misunderstood, because what they had was nice, but still. Old Testament. Nothing wrong with a few saints on windows.
For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever.
No, it was no use. He sat back in the pew, scratching the back of his head with one hand. Why couldn't he focus today? Why didn't he find the solace in prayer that he usually did? He felt- Unsettled. That was it. Restless. He couldn't think of a reason why that should be. He'd been trying to do slightly different things with his volunteering. He'd babysat Mrs Griffith's budgies last week, even though his cat Tilly had eyed them up every day they were there. He'd changed his hours at the nursery, and they were pretty good about that kind of thing too, since they knew how much voluntary work he did. He'd even switched up his own house, turning the sofa and TV so they were on a different wall. It hadn't worked nearly as well, though. He'd put it back right away.
"Davy? Are you still coming?" David looked up, roused from his thoughts by Maria Tripp, one of the older ladies who ran the women's society.
"What's that?" he asked, looking around at where she stood near the door to the vestry.
"Are you coming for coffee? Or tea, for you. Everyone is already through. You'll miss the good biscuits."
He smiled gently, amused. He didn't usually like being called Davy, but he made an exception for Maria, since she looked after his cat so often. Certainly not Dave though. Dave was right out.
"Sure. Thank you, I'm coming," he said politely, standing and moving to the aisle. Maria smiled and shook her head.
"Oh Davy, you have such a sweet way about you. When are you going to find a lovely girl and settle down? Or boy, if that's your flavour. I don't know. I'd have thought your accent would be a draw for them, but I've never seen you out with anyone. It's such a shame for a nice young man like you to be living alone like you do. Don't you get lonely?" she said, patting his arm consolingly as he joined her.
"Oh Maria, you know you're the only woman for me," he said, gently teasing, and she waved him off with a laugh. "Besides. I'm not quite the type to-" David stopped dead in his tracks. Lonely. Was he lonely? He'd been by himself in this community for so long- how long now? He'd been in Georgia for a bit, and come back here maybe fifteen years ago? Yes, it must have been. It was hard to have immortality go unnoticed in small towns, but the anonymity of the big city intimidated him somewhat. And yet... maybe he did miss his saintly brethren. It had been so long since he'd last spoken to a peer, someone who he didn't have to lie to about his nature.
"Actually, Maria... before we go in, I have a favour to ask. Do you think you could take care of Tilly for me?" he asked, an idea forming in his head.
"Well of course, how long for? A weekend?"
"Actually- indefinitely. I don't know when I'll be back. I need a holiday. A very long holiday. I have relatives in..." Where had they been last he heard? Oh yes- "...in New York. I'm going to go visit them."
"New York? Nasty big noisy place if you ask me. What do you want to go there for? We have the Fall Fair next month. You were going to help with the vegetables," Maria tutted. David was even more resolved to go than before. He'd put this off for far too long.
"I need a break. I haven't had a holiday in ages. I'll rent out my house, you can mind my cat, it'll be fun! Do you mind if I don't stop for tea after all today, Maria? I need to go and take care of some things. I mean to leave as soon as I can. But I'll still be round tomorrow to help with your potatoes, like I promised. See you then!" He pecked a kiss on the surprised lady's cheek and left the church, only pausing at the door to turn back towards the altar and murmur, "Thank you, Amen," and really feeling like he meant it this time.
It was time for St David to visit New York. And, he realised with a skip of joy, that means Broadway. Oh Broadway! He ran home in a rush of excitement, determined to be gone by the end of the week.