Chapter 16

Kayla wrung her hands as she walked through the cathedral doors. She hadn’t visited a church for any reason since her father’s funeral three years prior. Despite that, a rush of familiar habits developed all through her childhood kicked in treacherously. As she walked further into the entry way, she reflexively dipped her fingers into a fountain that dribbled a constant stream of crystal-clear water and performed the sign of the cross, before catching herself halfway through the gesture and wiped her fingers dry on her skirt.

While the church’s exterior resembled any major Catholic cathedral from her time, save for the depictions of trees, flowers, and fruit in the stained-glass windows; the interior was wildly different than she had anticipated. It most resembled a greenhouse, with various small trees and flowers decorating the building so heavily that its structure was barely visible through the foliage. Hearing chirps of birds and buzzing of insects, she glanced up to the ceiling where a canopy of treetops housed a tiny ecosystem that echoed through the building like music.

She took a deep breath, swooning as the air in the church smelled fresher than outside. She passed by a table with different bowls laid out next to empty sacks. In the bowls were seeds which came with pictures of their final growth. Some flowers, some trees with the rainbow-colored leaves, and others for edible vegetables. A sign at the end of the table read, “Help the Mother, Heal the World.” She grabbed a sack and filled it with seeds for various flowers and some for trees with dark orange leaves that nearly matched Glyph’s skin tone, thinking Glyph may want to grow something in the ITSTU.

She found it difficult to not sway as she ventured further in. Trees grew in the spaces between the tall windows; the floor consisted of fragrant soil and soft emerald grass and clovers that reminded Kayla of summertime at the farm during her childhood. The support pillars were adorned with spiraling vines peppered with pastel flowers. Amidst all this, the pews looked like park benches in the springtime.

At the head of the church, the domed ceiling above the altar had been replaced with glass, allowing the entire room to be radiant in the afternoon sun. Just behind the altar, where normally you would expect to see a cross or a depiction of Jesus crucified, there was instead a simplified pine tree, much like the one adorning the steeple. A cough from behind her startled her, and Kayla glanced around quickly. She’d been so enraptured by the beauty of the building she had only just noticed the congregants scattered throughout the pews: mostly humans and kaiseichans, though there were also some bejinkind located towards the back of the church, their vessels painted modestly for the house of worship. There didn’t seem to be any passaro in the sparse crowd.

Barely stopping herself from genuflecting, she entered a pew and sat down. With a dazed smile she took another deep breath in, unable to help herself amidst this flowery palace. As the floral aroma washed over her, she marveled at the fact this was probably the first time in her life that she didn’t feel completely uncomfortable sitting in church. She glanced over and saw at the end of the pew a strange but welcome sight, much like the musician’s instruments from earlier. Books. With paper. The church’s missalettes. She grabbed one and began flipping through. It was structured similarly to the catholic masses that she had attended every week for so much of her life, but there was no mention of the Christian God or Jesus Christ. Nowhere in the book was there a reference to saints or the Virgin Mary. Instead, she found stories of a kaiseichan healer named Syahos, who had traveled to Earth and saved humanity ... from decimation.

She frowned as she read that word. Decimation. That’s what the Vytrus had said. Seek your answers in the house of worship. She began flipping furtively through the book, searching for more.

“Pardon me,” a booming voice resonated to her immediate right. Her breath caught in her throat, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She whipped to her right where a tall coniferous kaiseichan, nearly eight feet tall was leaning down, clearly looking at her (though that was still difficult to discern, given the lack of eye contact). Were it not for the elaborate chausible around his trunk, she might have confused him for any of the trees already growing in the building. She chided herself for that thought, as it was likely very insensitive. Many of the kaiseichans she had seen thus-far had been ... extravagant. Their leaves, fronds, or needles were colorful and hit multiple areas of the spectrum. She had not considered that this may actually be a conscious choice that they made before now, as his needles were deep green like any pine or cedar she’d grown up seeing.

“Apologies for the fright,” the kaiseichan chuckled at her, “I merely meant to ask you to remove your shoes while in the house of the Mother.”

Kayla stared for a moment before finally nodding and willing her immediattire to lose the shoes.

“Thank you,” the kaiseichan replied, “I hope you don’t mind me prodding ... but I’ve never seen you here before. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Malaern, I’m the Head Bishop of the Vancouver Limb.”

“Hi!” Kayla greeted, “My name’s Kayla. I’m ... new to the area.”