HIS SECRET SIN

I am so used to waking up before the sun is up every Sunday morning to get my siblings ready for morning mass that it has become a part of me that I no longer requires the services of my alarm clock which I usually set at 4:30 am every Sunday and 6: am every other day. I blinked my eyes open and looked towards my window which I had left open last night because it was very hot to see that the sky was still dark though the greyness of dawn was beginning to take over from the darkness of the night. My body shivered a little from the gentle breeze sipping in from the window to caress my lean hairless chest. I sat up on my bed and did the sign of the cross before I stood up to get the rest of my day going. Today being Sunday my family skips the usual morning prayer preferring to do the prayers in church. My family are known Catholics, generations back up to a decade generation and I grew up knowing no other religion except catholicism. I made my way to my praying table where the statue of Jesus Christ nailed on the cross and that of Mary his mother holding him as an infant with other Catholic symbols scattered all over the small table and knelt on my knees to pray. My dad had built that table for me when I was ten as a gift for my birthday that was when I was told about their heartfelt desire for my future. They want me to be a priest. I was a good boy who love my parents and my family and believes in my heart that my parents know what is good for me. So I had accepted the gift with a wide proud smile on my face, there and then promised my family that I will become a priest and make them proud. My father grinned at me with such a proud look that I felt like I was walking on clouds. My praying table was not the only gift I received. I also got my very own adult bible. Before I was only allowed to use the kids' bible which is made up of only the new testament, but now I am being told that I can have access to everything an adult knows about the scripture and I was so eager to begin. I stood up after thirty minutes on my knees saying the rosary and our father and then bowed to my waist at the Jesus cross before I headed to the bathroom to start my day. Morning mass is by six- thirty and I am very much aware of how hard it is to get my siblings up so I forgo my shower, only washing my face with cold water which helped me wake up some more, and then cleaned my teeth before I set out to my siblings' room to get them up. It was already five o clock, and my parents will be waking up any moment from now. The first room I entered was Julia's. My thirteen-year-old sister and the only girl in the family out of three boys. Her sleeping lump was thrown diagonally across the small bunk bed with her legs thrown wide in the opposite direction while she snored softly. The reason Julia has her room is not just that she is a girl but because she doesn't know how to sleep. Growing up when we still had to share beds I always wake up on the floor because she kicked me out and me being the heavy sleeper that I never notice the difference between the floor and the bed. " Hey, Jules, " I tapped her lightly on the shoulder. " Go away, " she grumbled hitting my hand off while she got comfortable on the bed. I smiled down at her cute sleeping face. My sister is really beautiful, though she took most of her features from our dad, his light green eyes, dark brown hair. Her small heart-shaped face is a gift from our mother. I looked down at my snoring sister and knew exactly what to say to get her moving. I leaned down till my mouth is directly at her each. " Mum is coming, " I whispered. The reaction was brisk. I was nearly maimed by Julia's long limbs as she flew off the bed with her eyes wide screaming " I am awake. " I laughed at the panic wild look in her eyes. The sound of my laughter made Julia calm down and realize that our mum was actually not coming. Those green eyes narrowed at me as she glared daggers into my skin. " What the hell Dan! " she screamed sounding irritated. I lost the smile on my face. " Language, young lady, " I scolded in a stern voice. She blushed and looked away. I shook my head at her. " Go wash up will soon be leaving for mass, " I told her with a kiss on her forehead before walking out to go wake the rest of my siblings. I hate it when Julia curse. Where she gets it I don't know cause no one in the family does. Julia is like the little rebel of the family who is just transitioning from childhood to teenhood. Every parent's horror, especially when is a girl. The horror teen skipped me cause my parents told me that I never gave them any issues. I was the perfect child during my teen. Not that I am done with it I am eighteen. My parents wanted to space their children by three years. So when two years passed after they had me and they decided to have another, the Lord decided to hold out on them. Maybe he was trying to teach them that he alone decides when to give a child and when not to. But he later had mercy and blessed them with another child, two years later. A beautiful precious girl child who is the apple of her father's eyes. Is true my dad might be strict but when it comes to Julia he is like a teddy bear wrapped around his little fingers and that is why she gets away with a lot of things. But my mum though. She and Julia are like oil and water. To put it bluntly, as I have already demonstrated our mum scares the hell out of Julia. Maybe because she never let her get away with any of her shit. Our mum is five ft four but when she is angry she is seven ft tall and scary. Even I am a little scared of her and I am her favorite. I walked into the twin's room. Joshua and Caleb. They are fraternal twins whom my dad decided to name after the two brave heroes that delivered the Israelites from the surrounding nations filled with Giants. Joshua and Caleb's story is a favorite of my dad because where others saw an impossible task, they saw a surmountable obstacle and believed that the God on their side can turn any situation around. When I was six and my dad was telling us, Julia and I this story as our bedtime story, I asked why he loved it so much. He had told me the story of when he was growing up. He had been an unruly child, stubborn rude, and fell in with a bad crowd. You get where Julia and Caleb get their genes. Everyone in the community judged and condemned him, telling his parents that he wouldn't amount to anything, but his parents never gave up on him. They kept up with their prayers hoping and believing that God will one day transform their only child. And he did. My dad is a happily married man blessed with a family of four children and has one of the most successful department stores in town. That night what I picked up from his story, even though I was still young was never to judge anyone no matter how bad I think the person is. If God hasn't condemned a person who am I to do so. So growing up I learned to accept people no matter who they are. I started with Joshua. Even though he is ten he sleeps so lightly that he wakes at the slightest touch. Yes, my parents got their spacing right on the third try, even though it came in double. They always say the third time is the charm right. I shook his slender shoulder lightly. " Wake up, Josh. " His eyes opened and I stared into two pairs of coffee brown eyes which are staring up at me clear-eyed as if they hadn't been asleep a second ago. Josh is a light sleeper and also a morning person who wakes up coherent unlike the rest of us humans. " Morning Dan, " Josh greeted before turning around to make his bed. Joshua is like me. The perfect, obedient, polite child. " Morning, baby brother, " I returned with a light smile before turning in the direction of the blonde lump on the bed. The last on the list. Caleb. If you think, I and Julia are heavy sleepers, Caleb puts us to shame. I have outgrown my heavy sleeping days because of my responsibility and school. Julia wakes at the threat of our mum. Caleb. That is a tug of war and is about to begin. " Let me, " I heard behind me and turned to see Joshua beside me. Despite my seniority with over ten years, the boy is as tall as me. All my siblings inherited our father's tall genes except for me who is a male carbon copy of our mum at five ft five. Yep, I am a short guy, with brown eyes and blonde hair. Boring. I looked up at Joshua with a grateful smile. As his twin Joshua has a way of getting Caleb up. Though is still not easy but is less time and stress if it were to be any other person. I walked back to my room to change my Sunday attire. I chose blue jeans with a black and red striped shirt that I tucked into the jeans and held to my waist with a black belt. I donned black leather sandals. Combed out my blonde hair, which just fell to my shoulders. I know when I become a priest I might need to cut it but for now, I wear it long. I packed it up in a neat ponytail making sure that no strand was out of place. I buttoned my shirt to my neck. Used my perfume. My mum helped me pick it out. I took one glance at the short mirror hanging off the wall of my room and then picked up my Bible and my rosary and I was set to go. My siblings always tease me that I take time with my appearance like a girl but I usually ignore them. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look good. When I came out of my room my siblings were already out waiting in the living room. " You look, beautiful bro, " Caleb teased from his seat on the couch. Guess Joshua succeeded in getting him up and in record time. " Thank you, " I curtsied. It was all wrong that my siblings burst into laughter and I joined until we heard the footsteps of our parents and all laughter died and we took on the appearance of the perfect children. " Everyone ready and good to go? " Dad asked as he walked in. " Yes, sir, " we all chorused and got to our feet. " Morning, dad, Morning mum, " we greeted as we piled up into my dad's SUV van and we drove off to church.