The trail path ahead gradually became steep and slippery the further we went. While I also grew more and more doubtful of the said old church actually existing in this treacherous area, having Hera hold my hand as he lead me through the woods gave me the sense to see through this journey.
And as the sunlight finally peaked through gaps of trees, I find myself standing on a cliffside overlooking the ocean. Standing there, with the fresh new warmth of the sun in contrast to the cold light breeze that the forest offered, I felt a sense of enlightenment flood through my body as my eyes took in the structure of the old church we had been looking for.
"Wow," I said, speechless at the scenery in front of me. "It looks better than I expected. How'd you find this place to begin with?" I turn to Hera, only to receive a shrug as he made way to the church.
"I just read about it in one of our lectures."
Funny, I thought to myself. I didn't know business course also had to learn about old structures.
The church was small and old but the structure looked very durable to the point that even for it's age, the only flaws Jayus found were the breaking down of the wooden door, the dust that settled and danced in light, and the rotting paint, and cracked stained glass. Other than that, the church seemed to fairly hold itself up.
Hera pushed through its wooden door, it's rusty hinges and heavy wood echoed a loud creak that resonated through the entire chapel as we both walked inside.
"Are you sure it's okay to come in?" I ask Hera as I stared at the paintings on the ceiling. I found no tapes or signs on the way that warded off anyone who dared tresspass inside.
"There's no warning signs that says we can't so I'd assume so. Plus this old thing was made by one of the greatest mortals of all time. I doubt it'd collapse on us so don't worry your little head," The stained glass in front of us, at the very front of the chapel, still looked in pristine condition despite it collecting dust. And more I ventured further inside, the more I began to acknowledge Hera's words and think them to be true.
"This place is magnificent. Look at those stained glass scriptures!" I point out to the scriptures in front of us. It was a portrait of a man adorned in flowers and silk as he lay peacefully asleep. His dark skin sparkled like jewels on this stained glass portraint. The intricate details on this work clearly expressed that this man was very adored back then.
"Do you think that's the god they worshipped?"
Hera stared at the stained glass, eyes half lid as he remained silent with an unreadable expression on his face. When he didn't answer, I found him sitting on one of the benchs as he laid his head, staring at the portraint mentioned before.
"Tired?" I sit beside him.
I waited for him to answer, then listened to him let out a breath as he began to speak.
"This is was never originally a church to begin with. Hundreds of years ago, a man named Alcaeus began to worship a patron god all by himself. A god that no one else believed in. And I doubt they even knew this god existed in the first place." Hera continued, "But the reason Alcaeus began to worship this god didn't start because of his faith but rather because of an ancient story from afar. The story goes of a banished god exiled from heaven and trapped in a tower in the middle of a dessert where no one could find him. That was until a mortal found his way into the god's home. But the mortal soon died and the god destroyed himself later on. It was told that the mortal loves the god so much he reincarnated every time to be with the god who turned into a mortal as punishment for his self destruction. But the god never recognised the mortal every time. Only the mortal did.
Alcaeus was inspired by this story, thus he built this temple to commemorate the wonderful tale of that god and mortal. But since very little people know the story behind this place, it got reduced to a mere church for a non existent religion. It's sad but I think this place... it's amazing. In this way, their love still lives. That's why I wanted to bring you here. I thought it'd make a wonderful paper for your submission," Hera turned to me with a smile. Bathed in the warm soak of light reflecting through the stained glass around us, those vibrant colors blinded me with astonishment.
The story itself was gut-wrenching, and the more I stayed there sat in place, the more I felt closer and sympathetic towards that god and mortal.
"Yeah, that does sound like a good paper to write about. Thanks for bringing me here, Hera." In this silent temple where only Hera and I existed within, with only the sqwaks of seagulls over the waters and crashing of waves could be heard, I wondered if Hera could hear the loud thumping in my chest.
"Let's look around for a while. Our reservation for the restaurant isn't until a couple hours, we can brainstorm a summary about your paper." Hera said as he got up. I followed him and we both began to look around. Not only were the stained glass portraits so detailed, many paintings on corners of the walls left clear signs and messages about the tale. I didn't hesitate to capture a few photos to study for later.
In front of the train station stood a tall young musician with his guitar case hung behind his shoulder. He had black, wild hair and eyes so blue they came close to indigo, and moles spotted his face like stars. He had just gotten off the five hour train, coming from his last gig. Needless to say he was tired. Not only that, he still had to meet his parents, catch the next train back to the city, and perform another gig in the next 6 hours.
Life was not kind to him today. The young musician yawned as he hailed for a cab. Fortunately not many people were around to fight for one but that also meant very little cabs hung around the area.
As he was about to get in, ready to finally sit down and relax, a force shoved him aside as two young men stole his cab before they drove away. Leaving this musician, now wide awake, in a state of confusion and surprise.
Before they had disappeared, he could faintly grasp the faces of the two men who had overtook from him. As the exhaustion finally caught up with his body, he let out a string of colorful words that would bring shame to a rainbow.