Night at the Church

Julia had lost her fiance, her best friend, and her job all on the same day. Her boss had told her she was being ‘let go’ because the company was downsizing, but for the past week she had been working extra hours training a new hire that was fresh out of college. It appeared that her trainee wasn’t meant to be an addition to the company, but was there to take her place. Probably because they could pay her half the salary. Julia had come home from work early, since she was no longer employed, to find her fiance and her best friend together on her couch.

Julia had kicked them both out on the spot. The jerk had come by the next day to pack up his things. Julia hid with her laptop at a nearby coffee house to avoid having to see him. She ordered drinks and snacks throughout the day to keep the staff happy and flipped through online ads looking for a temporary job.

She needed something that could get her through the next three months until the lease ran out on their apartment. She didn’t have much left in her savings, and she would need a large chunk of it to cover the expenses of moving, so when she saw a help wanted ad for a night shift at a local church she jumped on the opportunity. She didn’t want to spend the night alone in the apartment anyway.

Julia’s life was totally upended and she needed time to think things through and figure out where to go from here. She could feel the edges of depression starting to creep in as she furiously pushed away her emotions. It was just too much to deal with right now.

***

That evening the pastor met her on the steps of the church. It was practically a landmark in her city. Sandwiched between skyscrapers, the building looked completely out of place but still managed to maintain its regal stature. It was built out of stone in the Gothic Revival style and it towered over them with a sharp gable roof and large stained glass windows. The inside lights glowed warmly through the many colorful depictions.

Julia was nervous about meeting him. She didn’t consider herself particularly religious and she hadn’t been to a service since she was a child, but the older man’s gentle demeanor and friendly voice soon put her at ease. It helped that he was dressed in street clothes: a pair of blue jeans and a simple gray shirt. The only thing that gave away his spiritual profession was the white clerical collar around his neck.

The pastor led her up the stone stairs and towards two enormous wooden doors. They were intricately carved with scenes from a garden. They also bore the scars of a recent vigorous scrubbing. He frowned and waved a hand at the marks.

“As I mentioned on the phone, we’ve been having a bit of a problem with vandalism lately. This church was originally built in the 1920s. It was a Presbyterian church back then. We are nondenominational now, but we’ve done our best to maintain the original exterior. There have been a few renovations over the years of course, but we’ve always tried to stay as true to its original form and fixtures as possible.” He paused and Julia noticed he looked exhausted.

“It has been exceedingly difficult, and expensive, to clean the spray paint off the building. Several of our more affluent congregation members have been generous enough to provide funding for a night watchman...er lady.” He gestured towards her and smiled tiredly. “I just can’t do it anymore.”

The pastor held the door open and motioned for her to go in ahead of him. He followed behind and continued. “We’ve also had some strange occurrences inside, although no paint, thank goodness.”

Julia turned around, with an alarmed look. “What happened inside?” The pastor had only mentioned spray paint on the phone. The thought that she might come face to face with one of the vandals on the inside worried her. She fingered the key chain pepper spray in her pocket.

The pastor noticed her apprehension and quickly responded. “Oh no, I don’t think it has anything to do with the criminals. Most likely some stray animals. No permanent damage has been done. It's just odd, some mornings I come in and find mud tracked on the floor, fur covering the cushions. We found a loose window in the basement and secured it. We think they might have been getting in through there.”

The pastor smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry. You’ll be locked up tight and we have a nice security system set up now. Come, I will show you.”

Julia followed him out of the small entry room and into the main part of the church. She looked around marveling at its beautiful interior. They passed down the middle of two perfectly straight rows of pews. The dark wood was polished to a lustrous shine. Clean, tan cushions covered the seats. More wooden carvings of vines and flowers decorated the walls around the stained glass windows. Behind her a large balcony overlooked the services.

The pastor led her to the front of the church and then through a doorway to the side of the stage. A wide set of stairs led down into the basement. The subterranean room was enormous, taking up the entire footprint of the church above it. It had been finished with the same heavy duty carpeting found in hotel hallways and the walls were painted a flat white. At regular intervals near the low ceiling egress windows gave a narrow glimpse of the grass. The walls were lined with stacked chairs and folding tables.

The pastor gave her a brief tour. Off the main room there was a decently sized kitchen filled with pots and pans large enough to cook for a crowd. Faded, fake flowers in identical glass vases covered one countertop along with a tall stack of folded, plastic tablecloths.

“There is soda in the fridge and some snacks in the cabinets. Feel free to eat whatever you like.” The pastor offered. He also pointed out a small bathroom that smelled of lavender potpourri.

Then he led her over to a wooden desk that had been set up along one of the walls in the main room. An old, but comfortable looking office chair was pushed against it. A large, flat screen monitor rested on top of the desk. It’s screen was split into fourths, each display from a camera covering one side of the building. A landline phone was hanging nearby on the wall. The pastor pointed to a note taped beside it.

“One of our members works for animal control. I don’t think the critters will be getting back in since the window was fixed, but just in case, he said to call him at any hour if you have a problem.” The pastor paused and pointed at a small button on a lanyard also hanging beside the note. “The security company gave us this. If you see anything suspicious going on outside, just push that button, it will call the police to this location.”

Julia noticed that the note also had the church’s address and the pastor’s cell phone written on it. He handed her a key. “Obviously we haven’t had time to do a proper background check yet, but I have faith that God sent you to us for a reason.”

***

Julia sat down in the chair and checked all the monitors. Except for a few bushes swaying in the wind, there was no movement. She soon got bored watching the near static images on the screen and started checking her phone messages. She deleted the ones from her ex-fiance and her ex-friend without even listening to them. There wasn’t anything either of them could say to make the situation better at this point.

Julia realized that she should have thought to bring a book or something to entertain herself. It was going to be a long night. She noticed a bible on the table and picked it up out of boredom. She began reading the book of Genesis, glancing up every few lines to check the monitors.

Julia had just gotten to the part where God had made mankind in his image to be the stewards of the Earth and the animals, when she caught movement from the camera positioned on the east side of the church. Four figures in masks and dark clothing ran around the edge of the bushes and towards the front of the building. Her eyes flicked to the camera covering the front door and she saw them enter the frame. The lighting was better here and she could see they were carrying cans of paint.

Even though she knew she was safely locked inside, her heart started racing. She dropped the bible on the table and ran over to the panic button hanging on the wall and pushed it. Then, worried it might not have worked, she also snatched up her cellphone and called 911. The masked figures seemed to be arguing about something and hadn’t started painting yet.

Julia gave the dispatcher her name and the address of the church and began to explain the situation, but the woman on the other end of the line said a car was already in route. The security company had contacted them. The dispatcher advised her to stay inside and wait for the officer to arrive. A moment later Julia heard sirens and watched as two police cars pulled up in front of the building.

After arresting the surprised teenagers and securing them in the back of their vehicles, one of the officers knocked on the front door. Julia rushed upstairs to answer it.

“Good evening mam. Just checking to make sure you’re alright.”

“Thank you.” Julia tried to breathe evenly and keep her voice professional. “Did they do any damage?”

The policeman leaned back and peered closely at both doors. “It doesn’t appear so. I think we got them just in time.”

***

Julia checked the locks twice after he left. Then she collapsed onto one of the pews. Her legs felt shaky now that the adrenaline was fading. She wondered if she would get to keep her job since the vandals had been caught. Hopefully they would let her stay on at least a few more weeks as a precaution and to make sure whatever vermin causing the messes had really been locked out by the repaired window.

Just as her nerves were starting to calm, a loud crack of thunder shook the building. Two seconds later rain began to pour. A dull roar came from the expansive roof under the sudden deluge. Lightning flashed, lighting up the interior of the dimmed church. For a brief second the stained glass windows appeared as they must look in daylight. It was beautiful, but frightening. Julia decided she should probably head back to the basement.

She was halfway down the stairs when she heard a cat mewing. She rushed the rest of the way down and saw an orange tabby pushing its face up against the glass in one of the egress windows. The poor thing was soaked and looked frightened. It was wearing a white collar and pawed frantically at the window, mewing over and over.

Julia had never had a pet, but she liked cats well enough and felt sorry for the poor animal caught out in the storm. She ran into the bathroom and grabbed a clump of paper towels and then hurried over to the window to let the cat in and dry it off. Maybe there was a tag on its collar and she could call its owner.

As soon as she opened the window, the cat rushed inside and darted up the stairs past her and the paper towels. Julia chased after it hoping it didn’t track dirt and rain water all over. When she got into the sanctuary she searched for it. A trail of water droplets led straight up the pews and out into the entryway, then up the side stairs onto the balcony. Julia found the cat up there perched on the railing. It mewed at her again and then nimbly jumped over the side. Julia rushed to the railing afraid she’d see the cat injured on the floor below.

The sight that greeted her was almost as shocking. The orange tabby was fine. It had landed on one of the tan cushions and was calmly sitting on the pew looking toward the altar. What was alarming though, was the line of cats flowing up the stairs from the basement. They strolled through the pews, each of them taking seats like tiny, noisy parishioners.

Julia thought of the animal control number downstairs. She had to fix her mistake quickly and clean all this up or she was going to lose her new job for sure. She started to head back down the stairs into the front foyer when she heard a woman’s voice. The cats fell into complete silence.

Julia crept back up the stairs, wincing when one of them creaked under her weight. She could hear the woman speaking but couldn’t make out what she was saying. Julia crawled to the balcony’s edge, hiding behind the railing and peered down.

The pews were covered in cats. Some sat calmly with their tails curled around their paws. Others stood up, front paws resting on the back of the pew in front of them. There were all different colors, ages, and breeds. All of them had that rough stray cat look about them and only the one she had let in originally wore a collar. Even from a story up, Julia could see that some had injuries and the illnesses typical of homeless cats.

A woman in white robes moved from pew to pew, holding a paw here, touching an ear there. Golden light emanated from her hand whenever she encountered a hurt cat. She spoke in a soft melodic language, the cadence sounding like the repetition of a prayer. When she was done, the woman moved back toward the center of the room and spoke to the cats in English, as though addressing a human audience.

“Oreo, Mrs. Dee’s cat is nearing the end of his life. I’d like you to go to her home on Willow Ridge. You will like her. She feeds fresh tuna.” Several of the cats purred loudly and nodded at this comment.

“Stubby, Mr. Chen’s family restaurant has been plagued with rats. If he doesn’t get it under control they will be shut down. You are the fastest hunter here. Would you please take care of the situation? He has a very kind wife. I am sure you could easily earn a permanent place.” A large, tan cat with no tail chattered in response.

“Bella, young Tiffany on Thorny Brooke just lost her mother to cancer. She could really use a big fluffy friend like you to cuddle with.”

The woman gave similar assignments to three more cats and then paused. A small raggedy gray kitten sat shivering on one of the pews. A lanky, black cat had curled around it, trying to comfort the small creature.

The woman walked over to it and smiled down, lightly touching its head. “Little one with no name.” The gray kitten looked up at her with bright green eyes. “There is yet one last appointment for this week.”

“This woman recently went through several losses. She needs a new friend to accompany her on the next chapter of her life. Are you up for the task?” The kitten nodded solemnly and the lady suddenly looked up at the balcony, right where Julia was hiding.

“Come on out dear, we all know you are there.” She called with an amused smile. “Please, join us.”

Julia stood up slowly and made her way down to the aisle. Despite the oddness of the situation, she felt no fear. The woman was extremely tall and she shimmered with an ethereal light. The cats looked on.

The woman picked up the kitten and handed it to Julia. She felt a strange tingle where their hands touched. The gray kitten snuggled against Julia’s chest and began purring immediately.

“This little one does not yet have a name. The task falls on you to decide what to call her. Treat her well and she will be a loyal companion.”

“What is going on here?” Julia finally found her voice. At some point the storm had stopped and even her whispered question sounded too loud.

The woman smiled at her. “I find caring souls to share their lives with these little forgotten ones. Likewise, I believe it is a cruel miscalculation that a human’s dearest friend does not share their lifespan. I have taken it upon myself to rectify this. If a human proves worthy, then I ensure another takes their place when that one’s soul moves on.”

A soft light began to glow behind the woman and Julia unconsciously took a step back. She watched in awe as the outline of feathery wings appeared around her. The angel smiled again.

“I expect we will be seeing a lot of each other, Julia, now that you are the caretaker of our meeting place.” Before she could respond, the angel disappeared in a bright flash.

The cats began to filter out and back down the basement stairs. Several bumped their heads against Julia’s legs on their way out. Julia followed them and then secured the window.

She looked at the mess they had left behind. She had a lot of cleaning to do before morning. A little gray paw reached up and touched her chin. Julia looked down into the kitten's wide green eyes. “What do you think about the name Hope?”

The kitten purred in response.