LII

FOR WE WRESTLE NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS, AGAINST THE RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD, AGAINST SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES

(EPHESIANS 6:12)

SEVENIA SALLIE (GIRL PROPHETESS)

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” my dad said with an old English accent. We had just taken a break in recording the interview I was doing with Lexi. She needed a drink of water and a few minutes to collect her bearings.

“What?” Lexi and I said in unison.

“Oh, nothing,” my dad replied, looking slightly surprised. “Lexi had just been saying her deliverance was both the best and worst time of her life. That old quote just popped into my fertile brain.”

“I know what your brain was fertilized with,” Lexi said laughing.

“I said fertile, not fertilized,” my dad said with both a grin and a scowl. “Anyway, are you guys ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Lexi replied.

“So, Lexi,” I began, and then continued as gently as possible. “At one point during your deliverance, in a fit of rage, you started to choke your sister. Can you tell us what was going through your mind at that time?”

“My mind was in such chaos, so much is so confused in my memory,” she replied as she shook her head. “I’m totally sorry, but I can’t tell you why I choked my sister. I remember having an unreasonable feeling of jealous anger toward her. Then I blacked out and went into an extremely vivid dream state.

“In this dream state, first I saw the real Satan. Not the malevolent, mythical portrayal with horns, all red, and a pitchfork. But the real dark force that appears as an angel of light from 2 Corinthians 11:14. Verse 15 also tells us that Satan’s ministers will be transformed as the ministers of righteousness. If someone is going to poison someone., the poison is usually mixed with something good.

“I believe these dark forces preach self-help fluff in thousands of churches. They preach legalism through tradition and politics in thousands of other churches. In our societal culture it preaches freedom and fun through rebellion in sex, drugs, music, and other entertainment.

“So after that I saw Jesus before the crucifixion, praying and sweating as it were great drops of blood. He was in anguish over His mission to save sinners from eternal death. A death I was in that moment facing. Then I saw Jesus on the cross, bloody and beaten.

“As I beheld Him, He looked at me with such love, compassion, and forgiveness. In that moment I gave my heart, mind, and soul to Him. The demons that possessed me fled and I was consumed by bright light for about ten seconds. The first thing I saw when my vison cleared was my little sister. She was looking at me with the same love and compassion our Lord had been looking at me with in the vision.”

Lexi sniffed, gasped, and then tried unsuccessfully to choke back a sob.

“It’s okay, Lex,” I said softly, but I think my sympathetic words caused her weeping to intensify. I looked at my dad. To my surprise, he pinched the bridge of his nose as he bowed his head. I assume he was attempting to hold back tears of his own. Yet he spun his hand in a circular motion, indicating to keep recording.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a final sniff. Thankfully after only twenty seconds. “I kind of lost it there.”

“That’s completely understandable,” I said.

“It’s just I‘ve seen so many broken people,” she said with a quivering lower lip. “Especially in my former profession as an exotic dancer. The sad thing is Jesus is right there for the taking. Yet most people don’t look for Him. They don’t see Him.”

“Because He doesn’t force an entrance into anyone’s life,” I said. “He stands at the door and knocks. (Revelation 3:20). It’s up to us to let Him in.”

“God promises that if we ask, it will be given to us,” Lexi said quoting Matthew 7:7. “If we seek we will find, if we knock it will be opened.”

“Right,” I agreed. “He continues the promise with verse 8 with everyone that asks receives.”

“Proverbs 8:35 tells us that whoever finds God, finds life,” Lexi said. “In Jeremiah 29:13 the Lord says you shall seek me, and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.”

I felt myself well up with love for my sister in Christ. I had seen pictures of her when she was known as sexy Lexi. She appeared so hard and mean looking. Now she overflowed with love for the Lord and her fellow man.

“Lexi, you’ve been such an inspiration for me over the last two years,” I told her. “It’s a privilege to call you my Christian sister.”

“Thank you, I feel privileged as well,” she said with a sweet smile as she wiped a tear from her eye. “You’ve been such a blessing to me, Sevenia. Nobody has taught me about primitive Godliness like you.”

“That’s kind of you to say, Lex, thank you. And thank you for doing this interview with me.”

“Thank you for making me feel so comfortable when I talked about difficult things.”

I looked at my dad, and he gave us a thumbs up. He began talking and my gaze returned to Lexi. Then when my dad spoke, my head snapped back to him.

“Next week join us as Sevenia interviews a couple that nearly divorced due to a love triangle. Find out how their marriage not only survived, but how they became spiritually revived in the process.”

This was news to me!

LI

PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD, THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST THE WILES OF THE DEVIL.

EPHESIANS 6:11

SEVEN SALLIE (FATHER OF SEVENIA GIRL PROPHETESS)

“Daddy, what do you think you’re doing?” my daughter asked me with a whisper, but her teeth clenched. She had been about to sit back down and continue the interview with Lexi on the occult. But before she sat, she had taken a couple quick steps toward me and clutched my arm.

“What do you mean?” I asked dumbly.

“You know what I mean,” she replied as she looked at my phone, which was still recording a video. She grabbed it from my hand, pursed her lips, and pushed stop. “Shame on you.”

“Sorry, I just did it reflexively. It’s not like I’m gonna post it or anything.”

“Well, watch it or you’re grounded,” she said with a mischievous grin.

I grinned  back and pulled her in for a hug. I kissed her forehead and ruffled her short, mildly spiky, auburn hair. It occurred to me that she had never even been under consideration to be grounded. I needed to thank God more often for blessing me with a saintly daughter.

“What’s going on?” Lexi asked.

“Just exchanging some instructions with dear old dad,” Sevenia said.

“Hey, watch the old part,” I said. “I’m not even forty yet.”

“Pretty close,” my daughter said with a wink.

“Oh wow,” Lexi said. “I thought you were like 43 or 44.”

“Gee thanks.”

“Oh, no, I mean like, I thought you looked great for your age. But aren’t you and Brock the same age? I guess I keep thinking you and he are twins rather than you and that Six fella.”

“Six and I are several months older than Brock.”

“So he’s not in his forties, he looks like it,” Lexi joked.

“Too many fights, I guess,” I replied. “And too many years in the Florida sun. Anyway, are you two ready to resume?”

“Yes,” they replied in unison.

I didn’t know if I was. Lexi mentioning my brother got me wondering how he was. Plus I couldn’t stop thinking about the upcoming Bible study in a couple days. It sounded like both Zella as well as Salena would be there. Like never before, I didn’t understand my feelings for either woman. I was distracted. Then Lexi snapped me out of it with her testimony regarding her sisters.

“When Jezebel fully intended to kill our little sister in a satanic ritual, it opened my eyes like never before to her true colors. I was technically a member of her organization, even though I didn’t take it as serious as most. I went to the cops. But after what had transpired with the attempted gang rape on Amy, and the role I had played in it, they did not take me seriously at all.

“Thankfully, Brock, Dirk, and Bentley Bonnano came to the rescue. Poor Bentley ended up losing his life in the mission to save my little sister,” Lexi wiped at a tear and her lower lip trembled as she continued. “Right there is a sobering example of the ripple effect of sins we take so casually.”

Lexi choked on a sob and pinched the bridge of her nose. I could tell she was truly sorry for her sins. Sevenia gave her a moment to collect herself. I hoped the viewers took note of the love and compassion in my beautiful daughter’s eyes as she prodded Lexi on.

“What did you mean by ripple effect?” Sevenia asked.

“Well, if I wouldn’t have sicked those guys on Amy, the police might have taken my warnings more seriously. Therefore Bentley Bonnano would still be alive.”

“You had mentioned your eyes being opened like never before on true colors,” Sevenia said. “What did you mean?”

“Up to that point, I had resented Amy and admired Jezebel,” she replied. “You see, Amy was mostly raised by her father’s parents, whereas Jezebel and I were raised amongst the revolving door of men in our mother’s life. Many of whom felt inclined to attempt inappropriate things with little girls. I credited this as the reason Amy was wholesome and her two twisted sisters were the opposite.”

“But now that I know Amy better, I can see in hindsight that she didn’t exactly grow up in a bed of roses. Her dad was killed in Iraq when she was still little. Then as a teenager she was pretty much a caretaker for her cranky grandfather. This kept her from experiencing typical teenage girl stuff. Yet it also helped keep her wholesome. The responsibility and what not.”

“What exactly caused you to admire your older sister, but then have your eyes become opened?” Sevenia asked.

“Like I kind of mentioned before, some of our mother’s boyfriends were apparently pedophiles. Yet I noticed after initially showing interest in Jezebel, they steered clear of her and focused on me. When I asked how she did it, she told me that people tend to steer clear of crazy Satanists. Then she explained.

“At the time I had consulted her on the problem, our mother had brought the biggest, meanest, most pathetic creature into our home thus far. When he tried to get Jezebel to preform a sex act on him, she bugged out her eyes, waggled her tongue, and made a hideous screech. Then she bared her teeth, chomped down hard, and asked him to repeat what he wanted her to do. He said if she did that, he’d slap her across the house and back. Then she showed him a switch blade knife and told him he better be a light sleeper.

“He then called her a crazy female dog and said he would turn his attention to her sister, meaning me. She then told him he would have a hard time doing that with a slit throat and being newly castrated. It explained why he not only left me alone, but also didn’t stick around our dysfunctional home very long.

“From that day forward, my older sister was my hero. Even though I didn’t take her dark theology all that serious, I respected and admired her. I thought she was tough, smart, and worldly wise. But then she talked about how a virgin sacrifice would complete her violation of all the commandments of God. I suspected that she meant our youngest sister, Amy.

“That was when the first tiny glimmer of light penetrated my own dark mind. I was appalled at the thought of Amy being killed in a ritual sacrifice. Yet at the same time I had plans to make her a porn star. That’s how twisted the human condition can get.”

“You said the first glimmer of light,” Sevenia said. “By first, I assume there were more glimmers of light or maybe it expanded.”

“This is where it gets tricky,” Lexi laughed without humor. “So thanks to me, Amy almost gets raped. Then not much later, she gets kidnapped by Jezebel’s cult. Then she barely escapes being murdered in a ritual sacrifice. In the aftermath, Jezebel was no longer my hero. But gradually, my little sister became my new hero.

“You see, for all my life I had hated Christians and Christianity. I thought of them all as hypocrites, phonies and people that simply needed to be in a herd. The preachers seemed to be begging for money, even though they wore thousand dollar suits.

“Then I began observing Amy and her Cotton Creek Cove church members. It was different than most churches. They seemed Amish, but without, or maybe I should say with, modern conveniences. I wanted what they had. But something else was also happening. When I tried to, I, um, I, I…”

“When you tried to come to the light, you were controlled by demons,” my daughter interjected solemnly, yet soothingly.

“Exactly! It was like I had a split personality. There was this side of me that was slowly learning about the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And there was this other side that was consumed with hatred, cynicism, and just plain selfishness. It was like the fire I had against Christianity before, against humanity in general,  was suddenly doused with gasoline. I didn’t understand it and I couldn’t escape from it.”

“Yes, but you did!” Sevenia said. “Yet so many people, without necessarily being demon possessed, can’t seem to escape demon oppression,” Sevenia said.

“Yes,” Lexi replied meekly.

“Praise God!” my daughter enthused.

“The need to put on the whole armor of God is very real,” Lexi said emphatically. “And don’t be deceived. If you are a church going Christian and don’t have, not just the armor, but THE WHOLE ARMOR, the demons are happy to just leave you alone. If you’re not all in, you’re serving their purpose, not God’s. If anyone knows we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, it’s me.” (Ephesians 6:11, 12).

“Lex,” Sevenia said softly. “What was it like when you were being delivered from the demons? I mean when you were laid out on that bed writhing and choking your sister?”

“Stop!” she barked, and then sighed heavily. She bowed her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m sorry. It’s just that that moment in time was both the best and worst of my life.”

“That’s okay, we don’t need to go there,” my daughter told her gently.

I knew it would be better to have Sevenia interview her rather than me. “Let me ask…”

“No,” Lexi said, lifting her head, her eyes blazing with intensity.

I was at her deliverance. Her countenance was similar, but now there was a huge difference. Back then, her eyes looked supernaturally crazed. Now they were filled with righteous indignation. “No, I have to do this. I need to tell what my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did for me!”

L

NOW THE SPIRIT SPEAKS EXPRESSLY, THAT IN THE LATTER TIMES SOME SHALL DEPART FROM THE FAITH, GIVING HEED TO SEDUCING SPIRITS, AND DOCTRINES OF DEVILS

! TIMOTHY 4:1

SEVENIA SALLIE (GIRL PROPHETESS)

“I’m really sorry about earlier, Lex,” my dad said as Lexi and I sat and prepared to do an interview for my dad’s podcast. He was referring to the intro music he used to begin his podcast. ‘Hells Bells,’ by the rock band AC DC, which caused Lexi major discomfort.

“I’m sorry for freaking out like I did,” she replied. “It’s just that I try to bring every thought to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5). Even though you didn’t actually play the words, you see, the music still triggers them in my head.”

“Well, I should have known better,” my dad said. “You weren’t the first to point out that it’s an evil song. You just came across in the most powerful way.”

“It’s okay, I should have known better myself,” Lexi said with a shrug.

“What do you mean?” my dad frowned.

“Well, I’ve known that you have a history to be smarmy and fickle,” Lexi said with another casual shrug.

“Gee, tell me what you really think,” my dad replied, laughing without humor.

“I just did,” Lexi said matter of fact and slightly impatient.

I felt my toes curl. I was the middle person between two people known for abrasive personalities. Word had it that after Lexi’s conversion, she was truthful to the core. That’s a good thing. However, instead of exercising discretion and keeping certain things to herself, she tended to always speak her mind. She also was inclined to mild volatility. But she was not only a fairly new Christian, but a formerly demon possessed new Christian. She was still beginning to grow in grace.

I noticed my dad’s mouth begin to open again, and I cut him off. “Time out. Don’t sweat the small stuff, it’s all small stuff. Let’s just get the interview started.”

Moments later the new music played. Lexi smiled at my dad and gave him a thumbs up. He smiled back and returned a thumbs up. The music faded out, and my dad told his audience about Lexi’s demon possession ordeal, her involvement in the occult, and then explained that his daughter was about to interview her.

“I should clarify,” Lexi began. “Although I’ll be speaking about various spiritual dangers, it will be more of a testimony rather than as an expert on the occult. But that’s the point. I simply dabbled with the occult, and it led me to almost lose my mind and soul.”

“Are there any key components you can tell us about that put you on that dangerous road?” I asked.

“Oh my, where to begin?” Lexi said with a nervous laugh. “I guess I’ll start with one of the biggest deceptions. It’s a growing plague within both Christian churches as well as occult organizations. That’s the concept that the devil doesn’t really exist.”

“Wow,” I blurted. “I knew that was becoming a belief in new age Christianity. But how is it possible to be a devil worshipper and not believe in the devil?”

“A large percentage of Satanists actually claim to be atheists,” Lexi explained. “They are simply angry or disgruntled with religionists. Or wink, wink, they are profit seeking. So in the name of music, protest, or art, they do the opposite and worship the devil. I have read this about both Anton Levey, the founder of the Church of Satan, and the rock singer Marilyn Manson.”

“Strange,” I replied.

“Another element for some occultists is the hedonistic lifestyle. The erotic, self-indulgent aspect.”

“So, what drew you into it?” I asked.

“I would have to say,” she said, looking at the ceiling in contemplation. “That my first memory of seeking the dark side was playing with a Ouija board with my sister.”

“I’m good friends with your sister Amy,” I said laughing. “It wasn’t her, was it?”

“Oh, heavens no,” Lexi replied with a chuckled. “I have two sisters. One’s older and one’s younger. Amy, the younger one, is like an angel. If it weren’t for her, I would probably still be steeped in a life of sin and degradation. Maybe even dead. My sister Jezebel is like, well, a fallen angel.”

“Isn’t it true that your sister Jezebel tried to kill your sister Amy in a ritual sacrifice?”

“Completely true,” she replied. “As a matter of fact, you can read about it in Johnathan Embers e-book, ‘Knight Storm.’ My younger sister’s ordeal with my older sister was actually the first thing to kick me in the rear concerning spiritual matters.”

“Tell us about it.”

“First, I have a confession,” she said. “Before Amy’s ordeal with our oldest sister, she had lived with me for a few months. She was a cute, subtly sexy, and virginal seventeen year old at the time. I had big plans to get her into adult entertainment. I thought she had potential to become one of the biggest porn stars in the country.”

“Why her and not yourself?” I asked.

“Amy was like the perfect girl next door. Cute and with a naturally great figure. Both great legs, and a nice rack. Oops, sorry if that was crude. But as for me, I have enhanced boobs, regrettably so, and I was more of a gaudy hot. That type is a dime a dozen. However, my ticket to prime time porn money was snatched from my grasp.”

“I didn’t know porn was in prime time,” I said without really thinking.

“I was just saying. But girl, have you ever seen porn?” Lexi asked in such a way that I couldn’t tell if she was serious or mocking.

“I haven’t.”

“At all?”

“No.”

“Have you ever seen a naked man?”

“Lexi!” I replied blushing.

“Well, have you?” she asked with such deadpan seriousness that I felt comfortable replying.

“Only in a medical book,” I replied, trying not to whisper as my face had to be flushing crimson.

She looked at me with wonder. I looked at my dad who stared back at me wide eyed. I turned my gaze back to Lexi as my mouth seemed frozen.

“You are truly a blessed child of God,” she said happily with love in her tear rimmed eyes. “Thank God you haven’t experienced a minute of my life.”

I was surprised by her words and felt so much love for Lexi. I was still groping for something to say when she saved me.

“Anyway,” Lexi continued. “Somebody who’s now a dear friend of mine and her husband rescued my sister from my clutches. Destiny Knight-Storm and her husband Brock took her in.”

“However, Amy ended up returning to my place at a time when she thought I wouldn’t be there to retrieve some of her things. I happened to show up with four pretty rough male acquaintances. I told them to go have a little fun with her. I tell myself that I just wanted them to scare her. But I was in such a dark place that I don’t really know what I was thinking. I was just so filled with hatred and vengeance.”

“Anyway, it was late at night. She escaped, but the four guys gave chase and caught her. They were just about to gang rape her when a brave young man that was out for a late night run spotted them and interrupted their lustful fun. He attacked the four men by himself, and although badly beaten, he held them off long enough for help to arrive. The thing I most admired about his actions was that he had no idea that there were men in the vicinity looking for Amy that saw the commotion.”

“That story is also in the book you mentioned by Johnathan Embers.” I said.

“Yes, it is.”

“Let’s go back to your very first dabbling with the dark side. You mentioned playing with a Ouija board. How old were you?” I asked.

“Eight or nine.”

“That’s pretty young. What do remember about it?”

“Sorry, but my recollection of what actually transpired is pretty vague. I just remember my sister asking some dead person questions, and the little gizmo we had our fingers on seeming to move. I don’t remember the specifics of what was asked, but I remember feeling both afraid and exhilarated.”

“How often did you play with a Ouija board?”

“That was my only time. Shortly after that, my sister went to live with her father for a while. My two sisters and I have the same mother, but we all have different fathers. The next time I was around my older sister, she was into Tarot cards.”

“So did you dabble with that too?”

“No, but she did readings for me. It was during one of these when she predicted I was destined to be a dancer and in the spotlight. I was so dense that when I became an exotic dancer, I marveled that Jezebel had predicted it when I was only thirteen. At the time she told me that, I was thinking along the lines of ballet or something. But I guess doing stretches on a pole isn’t far off, right?” Lexi chuckled without humor and dabbed at a stray tear.

“In hindsight,” she continued. “It wasn’t a big stretch to predict that a poor, dumb, attractive teenager who was already dressing sexy and was sexually active would become a stripper.”

“So would you say that your sister’s influence played the biggest role in becoming involved with the occult?”

She looked at the ceiling again in contemplation. “Yes and no. Without my interest in secular music, I don’t think I would have been interested in my sister’s cult involvement.”

“Why’s that?” I asked, marveling at my great interviewing technique. Not!

“Because I had a feeling my sister was a loose canon,” she replied. “But rock stars were my idols. I remember watching Marilyn Manson in concert ripping pages out of the Bible and mockingly using the pages as toilet paper. I thought at the time, wow he gets it. So does my sister!”

Lexi stopped, pinched the bridge of her nose, and bowed her head. Being the brilliant offspring of a famous broadcast personality, I said, “Ah… Lex, are…”

“People don’t get it!” Lexi wailed and then shouted. “These cultural icons that act like they know everything just because they’re famous. Just because a large percentage of sheep follow them. They’re arrogant idiots! Pride comes before the fall.

“Think about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane! He didn’t die because of the physical torture of the cross, you fools! They didn’t break His legs because He was already dead. Crucifixion was meant to last for days. He died because of the mental anguish of dying for our sins! He carried the weight of all of our sins! He couldn’t see beyond the portals of the tomb!”

Lexi began sobbing frantically. “All of my sins! He died for all of my sins which are too many to count!” Then she clutched her head and toppled to the floor.

“It’s okay, Lex,” I said soothingly.

“I still make so many mistakes,” she whimpered. “Like wigging out at your dad over the music.”

“There was nothing wrong with that,” I said. “My dad shouldn’t have been starting his so called Christian program with an evil song.”

“I’m so weak,” she whispered.

“For when I’m weak, then am I strong,” I replied. (2 Corinthians 12:10).

“But I keep rubbing people the wrong way. I keep coming off as a crazy person.”

“We’re all flawed, Sweetie. I can tell you are trying to follow God and do the right thing. If people aren’t mature enough, patient enough, or secure enough to handle your personality, so be it.”

“So I’m okay then?” She asked meekly.

I went to the floor and knelt next to her and cupped her face in my hands. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1) And that’s what I see you doing, Lex.”

“I love you, Sevenia,” she whimpered.

“I love you too, Lex,” I replied as we hugged.

Over her shoulder, I saw my dad filming us. I frowned at him. Lord help me to obey the fifth commandment!

XLIX

ABSTAIN FROM ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL

(1 THESSALONIANS 5:22)

SEVENIA SALLIE (GIRL PROPHETESS)

“Are you ready, Sweet Pea?” my dad asked after he kissed the top of my head and then ruffled my short nest of unintentionally spiky, naturally auburn hair.

“Sure,” I giggled.

“How about you, Lex?” he asked our companion in his studio.

“Aren’t you gonna kiss me on top of my head, too?” Lexi Gomez asked with a slightly seductive, yet serious tone. I saw my dad try to conceal the stunned expression that came onto his face. Then Lexi laughed, and a relieved look washed over my father’s face before he chuckled along with her.

“I’m just kidding,” Lexi said happily. “Yeah, I’m ready as I’ll ever be. I guess.”

I first met the former exotic dancer known as Sexy Lexi two years ago. It was shortly after she was delivered from demon possession that we became friends. Her ordeal was the final straw in my dad’s own hesitation to follow Christ fully. As frightening as the experience was for him, he said her transformation was beautiful and miraculous. It was also a blaring alarm that awoke him to the facts of spiritual realities. He said it was like witnessing when Jesus casted out demons, and the delivered was clothed and sitting in his right mind. (Mark 5:15).

Although Lexi experienced an amazing deliverance, it didn’t free her from being human. She still had immense struggles and temptations. After giving birth to a healthy baby boy more than a year ago, she had suffered from postpartum depression. She also still had an abrasive personality. As she and I settled into my dad’s studio to do an interview, her aggressive nature was on display before we even got started.

My dad is a podcaster and broadcaster, mostly known for his former show, The Seven Sallie Showdown. At one time he had millions of listeners and social media followers. For a long time, his topics were culture events, along with political and religious corruption. He was often crude, obnoxious, and mean spirited.

After his conversion, my dad’s personal character changed, as did his approach to his broadcast subjects. Crude was replaced with kind, obnoxious with patience, mean spirited with spiritually instructive. He rapidly lost his fan base, causing his partners to dump and replace him.

So he began again with his own podcast. He called it, The Seven Sallie Lowdown. But human beings tend to prefer the carnal over spiritual. Although over the last two years he had gained new followers, it was a fraction of his heyday. Yet I had never seen my daddy more content.

There was one hold over from the old days that he still had kept. It was his introductory theme song. Whereas Rush Limbaugh’s signature start to his broadcast was The Pretender’s song ‘My City Was Gone’, my dad’s was ‘Hells Bells’ by some hard rock band named after an electric current. AC DC, I believe they’re called.

To me it was dark, so I never cared for it. Yet I didn’t pay it much attention. I know it did create controversy when my dad’s topic became more spiritual and Christian based. Yet my dad simply explained it away as it was just music. He said he saw nothing evil with guitars and drums. He proclaimed that after the haunting church bells, sinister guitar play, and progressive drums, he faded out and began talking before the singing began. Something was about to happen that would cause him to change his introductory music forever.

The interview I was about to do with Lexi had to do with the dangers of dabbling with the occult, and how dark forces have permeated our culture and entertainment. Our session was thankfully going to be prerecorded. Because as soon as my dad’s theme song began to play, things quickly went awry. As soon as the first gong of the church bell rang, I noticed a stunned look Lexi’s face. Then when the guitar began, she bolted up from her chair.

“Stop!” she barked. My dad spilled and spit up the sparkling water he had been sipping.

“Lexi, what’s wrong?” my dad asked with a concerned look on his face.

“What are you doing?” she asked. Her expression revealed both disgust and confusion.

“We’re starting the broadcast, I thought you were ready.”

“I mean that music,” she barked as she haphazardly pointed at the sound board.

“It’s introductory. It will fade out after a minute and I’ll start talking. Then I’ll…”

“It’s evil!”

“Um, well, It’s just the music. I fade out several seconds before any singing begins.”

The drums began and the song picked up speed. Lexi slapped her hands over her ears and a squeak emanated from her throat. My dad stopped the song.

“It’s gonna be in my head,” she croaked, on the verge of tears.

“I don’t understand,” my dad said with spread arms. “It’s just music.”

“I’m gonna get ya, Satan get ya,” Lexi said desperately.

“Huh?” my dad replied.

“It’s part of the lyrics,” she said as tears now ran down her cheeks. “I’m not going back there. Lord help me!

“It’s okay, Sweetie,” I said, reflexively doing a Destiny imitation as I put my arm around Lexi. She put her arms around me and whimpered. It was so pitiful that I began to cry myself, and I didn’t even fully understand what was going on. My dad stared dumbfounded at us.

“I need my sister,” Lexi said with a quivering lower lip. This once hardened, worldly woman now seemed so childlike and vulnerable. “I can’t do this right now.”

“That’s okay. I’ll call Amy,” I told her.

“Okay,” she said meekly. Then she hugged me so tight I struggled to get to my phone. But I managed, and Amy said to come right over.

Lexi and her younger half sister Amy had become extremely close over the last two years. Amy had been instrumental during Lexi’s demon possession ordeal. A year or two before that, Lexi had put Amy in a situation where she was almost gang raped. Yet Amy not only forgave her, but now helped her get her life together. Johnathan Ember’s tells of this twisted situation in his e-book ‘Knight Storm.’

“Do you want me to drive you?” I asked Lexi as I walked her to her car.

“No, I’ll be fine,” she said as she put a hand on my forearm and winced. Her long dark ponytail had flopped around to her front side, and she began to stroke it with both hands. Her intense brown eyes looked sorrowful. “I’m so embarrassed. It’s just, well, I have occasional nightmares about my old life and that song just, it just set me off I guess. Plus I was really nervous about our interview. I like to keep my old life out of my mind as much as possible.”

“Lex, you don’t have to do this interview,” I said softly.

“No, I want to,” she said insistently. “I need to warn people about the dangers of the occult. I think I just didn’t have enough time to get my head around doing this project. I should have counseled and prayed with Amy in the first place. Nobody understands me like her. Tell your dad I’m sorry. Maybe I could come back later today even.”

“You just take care, Sweetie,” I said. “And don’t feel pressured to do this interview thing, okay?”

“Okay,” she said with a forced smile.

I prayed with her, and then I returned to my dad. He was praying with an open Bible in front of him. He got up when he heard me enter the studio. He had a stricken look on his face.

“Daddy, are you all right?”

“How could I be so stupid?”

I didn’t say anything. I just gazed at him sympathetically.

“I used to love it when religious people complained about my intro song when I was on The Showdown. Then when I started The Lowdown, I got even more complaints, even though I had a fraction of the listeners. I just found it annoying, all the complainers, busybodies and legalists. Then Lexi’s reaction, especially given her background. It was, well, it was…”

“A wake up call?” I asked mildly.

“More like a fire alarm actually,” he said and then chuckled without humor. Then he picked up a post it note with his chicken scratches on it. “I looked up the lyrics. Here are a few that stuck out to me. Won’t take no prisoners, won’t spare no lives. Nobody’s put up a fight. Got my bell, gonna take you to hell. Here’s the part Lexi quoted. I’m gonna get you, Satan get you, hells bells. Here’s a couple more lines. I’ll give you black sensations up and down your spine. If you’re into evil, you’re a friend of mine. If goods to the left, I’m sticking to the right.”

“So are you changing it then?”

“Yes, I’m never using it again.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“Well, after Captain Kirk became the latest to rebuke me for using it, I found a song I liked and had it in reserve. I’m ashamed to admit, if it hadn’t been for Lexi, I probably wouldn’t have considered it.”

“What’s your new song?”

“Boom by POD.”

I nodded.

“Have you heard of it?”

I shook my head. He played it. I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard it before. They’re a Christian band, aren’t they?”

He nodded.

“So, when did Pastor Samson rebuke you?”

“A few weeks ago.”

“What’d he say?”

“He told me a lot of people he respected, had expressed concern about my intro music. He said he knew nothing about hard rock music other than he didn’t personally like it. I told him what I had told you and Lexi. I fade the music out before any lyrics start. He said to beware, music is powerful and that the music could trigger the lyrics in peoples minds. Then he said to please pray over it.”

“Did you?”

“No,” he said quietly as my typically bold father meekly hung his head.

“I Thessalonians 5:22 says to abstain from all appearance of evil,” I said softly.

“I know,” he nodded solemnly. “I was also thinking about Romans 14:13 instructing not to put a stumbling block or occasion to fall in a brother or sister’s way.”

My phone chirped, as if on cue, with a text from Lexi. She wanted to come back and do our interview. She said she was sorry for bailing, and being so weak and wimping out. I called her and told her that when we are weak we become strong (2 Corinthians 12:10), of course,  through the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I also told her that my dad had changed his intro song permanently because of her influence. I told her he had changed it to ‘Boom’ by POD. She blurted a praise God so loud it startled me. But in a wonderful way!

XLIII

KEEP THY HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE; FOR OUT OF IT ARE THE ISSUES OF LIFE

(PROVERBS 4:23)

SEVEN SALLIE (FATHER OF SEVENIA SALLIE GIRL PROPHETESS)

“I have a headache,” my brother Six declared. “I’m gonna take an aspirin and lay down on your bed.”

I immediately knew what he was up to. The two way mirror that was in my closet that looked into my study. I had been about to invite Salena, my former girlfriend of almost twenty years ago, into my home. She was also a woman that was pregnant with my twin brother’s child. My brother was a man who felt himself not good enough for Salena. At least as he sorted out his troubled life.

“Hi,” Salena said meekly when I opened the door. She had forced a smile onto her lovely face. Her big dark brown eyes looked sad. Her long black hair was piled in a bun behind her head. A loose strand ran along her jaw. Even after all these years, her beauty still gave me a jolt.

“Hi,” I said with a warm smile.

“Sorry to just show up,” she said with a sigh. “I needed to get away and I needed to see you.”

I frowned. She needed to see me? Since we became reacquainted a couple years ago, we had established a solid friendship. But I didn’t think it was so tight that she would drive three hours to see me. Her need couldn’t be romantic. I thought I made it clear that wasn’t going to happen. Or did I?

She and I exchanged small talk as I brewed us some relaxing herbal tea. As I led her to my study, I felt a sense of betrayal toward Salena knowing that my brother would be eves dropping. Yet I also thought it might be the only chance to bring Six to his senses and begin working on reestablishing a relationship with the woman he had impregnated.

Six had also became reacquainted with Salena two years previously. They then began to see each other weekly for “Bible studies.” I believe their studies were genuine, yet something else transpired between them that was carnal rather than spiritual.

Salena was very religious and a devout Christian. When she and I dated, we were never intimate because we were saving that for marriage. Then she broke up with me to marry a man old enough to be her grandfather. He was the wealthiest member of her church and took care of her very poor family. Jealousy had almost consumed me at the time. Yet I understood her difficult dilemma. Sort of.

I’m ashamed to admit it, but it was the residue from the green eyed monster that kept me from rekindling what we had after she found herself a widow. I still loved her. I still found her incredibly attractive. But I could not stand the thought of that sweet, beautiful, wholesome teenager losing her virginity to a man in his fifties. I don’t care if they did exchange marriage vows first.

Salena’s marriage produced three children. A girl and two boys. Her daughter and my daughter met at a family gathering. I ended up impregnating Salena’s cousin, and we married. Our girls were approximately the same age. The pair became inseparable best friends after meeting at a family gathering more than a decade after their births.

Then at the age of only fifteen, Salena’s daughter Anna died from leukemia. Less than two months later, my ex-wife died. It was a devastating duel blow for my sweet Sevenia. Her broken heart, shattered mine. The only good thing was that she came to live with me as a result. Life is indeed a strange mix of good and bad.

“So,” I said cheerily and hoped she wouldn’t detect tension in my voice after I glanced at the mirror as we sat down. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Why do you need to see me?”

Salena eased into her chair. She must have been five or six months along and was wearing a maternity dress. She kicked off her low heeled pumps in like manner to my daughter kicking off her shoes, and she crossed one leg over the other. Her toenails were painted candy apple red and perfectly matched her long fingernails. Even pregnant and depressed, she was still elegant and beautiful.

“I patched things up with Salena,” she said.

I frowned. “I didn’t know you two had any discord.”

“Figures she wouldn’t tell you about it,” Salena said with a sentimental smile. “The last time we were together, she and I had a major disagreement over some spiritual, biblical matters. It occurred to me after much prayer, study, and consideration, that she was in the right. So, I apologized, and, not surprisingly, she readily forgave me.”

“Wow, so this disagreement was of such a manner, you needed to ask forgiveness?”

“I behaved impatiently and angrily, as opposed to Sevenia’s typical, non-teenager like, patient manner. I think I knew she was in the right, but I was too proud to admit it.”

“I see,” I said, as I then wondered why she needed to see me rather than Sevenia.

“I want your blessing to stay here for a while.”

“Here?” I asked dumbly. “Well, of course, but Six is currently staying in the spare bedroom. We could set you up with Sevenia in her room. You could have her bed and I know she would be glad to sleep in her sleeping bag.”

“No, no,” she laughed. “What I mean is would you mind if I stayed a few weeks in this area, and checked out your church and studied with Sevenia. I’ve become intrigued with what she has repeatedly referred to as primitive Godliness. I thought that is what I have always had. But Sevenia’s gentle persuasions convinced me that I have been following a lot of tradition along with my Bible.”

“I see, like Jesus said, In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:9).

“Yeah,” she said with a sentimental smile. Probably thinking of the spiritual conversations we had when we were in love many moons ago.

“Once again,” I replied with throat clearing cough, “You are still welcome to stay here.”

“You say Six is staying here?” she asked with a solemn frown.

“He is.”

“He told me he was only going to stay here over night and then go to Florida. So he is still here?”

“He is.”

“I see,” she replied with a frown. “Has he gone somewhere?”

“He told me he wasn’t feeling well, and he is recuperating in another room.”

“Oh my,” she said as she put her hands to her checks. “Is it okay that I’m here?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?” I replied. “He knows we’re friends. He’s also well aware that you are expecting his child.”

“Yeah, I know,” she sighed. “But he lost a lot of respect for me when I gave into sexual temptation with him. Understandably so. I mean we had well over a year of Bible studies as platonic friends. Then in one hour of weakness, I prove to be a hypocrite and a harlot. You see, after Anna died, I had started drinking a glass of wine every evening to help me deal with the grief of her death. Over time, one became two, two became three.

“Then Six showed up unexpected one day, and it happened to be on Anna’s birthday. I had had a whole bottle of wine. He joined me in quaffing a second. He got me laughing the way you used to. He replaced my loneliness and heartache with desire. My inhibitions were lowered, my standards clouded, and I kissed him back when he attempted to kiss me. One thing led to another, and…”

Salena waved her hands over the human being growing in her womb.

“It takes two to tango,” I replied, and then glanced angrily at the mirror.  “I always thought my brother to be a stand up guy. I’m stunned he took advantage of you in such a way.”

“Oh no, Seven,” Salena said as she touched my arm. “I’m in no way blaming your brother. It’s my own fault. In all honesty, it was his similarities to you that caused me to give in to him. Obviously, you two aren’t identical twins. But he was behaving in such a way that it seemed like you. When we were in the midst of passion, I even said your name rather than his. Even in my state of inebriation, it was so embarrassing!”

She blushed and smiled shyly, yet seductively. I felt my toes curl knowing that my brother was watching and listening.

“I’ve never stopped loving you, Seven,” she continued with a nervous intensity in her gaze. “I died inside breaking up with you to marry someone else. But my dad no longer had to work twelve hour days roofing. My mother no longer had to clean motel rooms. My siblings no longer wore secondhand clothes that didn’t fit right, and they all went to college fully paid.”

“I’ve never stopped loving you too, Salena,” my mouth said before my brain could stop it. This had been a regular occurrence through out my life. Our eyes were locked and the same chemistry we had when we were eighteen sizzled between us. I thought of my sort of girlfriend, Zella LaStella, and looked away from Salena.

“Well,” Salena sighed and stood. “I guess I better go.”

“Go where?” I asked as I also stood. “Are you driving back to Minnesota?”

“Oh, no, I have room at the Marriot tonight.”

“Where are your boys?” I asked, referring to her two teenage sons.

She sighed, and sat back down wearily. “They are going to be living with my parents for a while, maybe even permanently. They need a father figure in their lives and it will do them well helping my parents on their hobby farm. They both had begun to rebel after Anna died. Then when they found out I was pregnant out of wedlock, they ended up despising me. They…”

Salena began to cry. I reflexively came out of my chair and went to one knee in front of her. I tilted her chin up to look at me and spoke softly. “This too shall pass. I went a couple years with Sevenia not talking to me. Now we’re as close as a father and daughter can be.”

“But her anger had been based on lies,” she sobbed. “My children’s anger is based on my own sins and hypocrisy.”

“If Brit would have never confessed her lies, the lies would have been a reality to Sevenia. You may be going through a valley of darkness right now, but one day there will be light.”

I smiled reassuringly and gently brushed the wisp of hair off of her jaw. Our eyes locked again. Her eyes glistened with tears, but once again that pure love from our teenage romance shone in them. Was it shining in mine?

It must have been because the next thing I knew her lips were on mine. It was both strange and new, yet old and wonderfully familiar. I couldn’t help kissing her back and letting it linger. I heard a thump from behind the wall and reeled back.

“I’m sorry,” Salena said breathlessly.

“No, no, it’s quite alright,” I stammered. “It’s just, well, you know my friend Zella. My friend that’s a girl. I’ve been intending to ask her to marry me.”

“I see,” Salena said.

There was another thump and a scrap from behind the wall.

“What’s that?” Salena asked.

“Oh, I think Six might be getting up from his nap.”

“I better go,” Salena said as she quickly rose and rapidly walked from the room.

I caught up to her at the front door and snatched her hand. “Salena, wait.”

“I feel like a fool,” she moaned.

“Don’t,” I said, giving her a reassuring smile. “I’m really glad you are here. Salena will be tickled.”

She smiled sadly and nodded. “Six won’t be.”

“Let’s have a hug,” I said lightheartedly.

She went on tip toe and we embraced. The ease of our nostalgic kiss was gone. The hug was stiff and awkward as her pregnant belly pushed against my stomach. I walked her to her car. I invited her to supper, but she declined.

When I went back inside, Six was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at walnut top in a trance. He looked up at me and smirked. “That was quite a kiss you and your old friend shared.”

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “Indeed it was. A surprise trip down memory lane.”

“Well, now you know the main reason I can’t be with Salena,” he said with reluctance. “I seduced her by letting her pretend I was you.”

All I could do was nod.

“So,” he drawled. “You’re going to ask Zella to marry you?”

“No, I mean, I don’t know.”

“I’m leaving,” Six said. “I’m taking off for Florida in the morning.”

“What about your Bible studies with Sevenia?”

“What, you really think I want to study with her and Salena?”

“You used to study with Salena all the time.”

“Yeah, before I got her drunk and knocked her up.”

“Study separately. I’ll study with you.”

“Some other time, little bro. Right now I need time on the beach. A lot of time on the beach.”

I just nodded.

“By the way,” he said pointing at me. “Feel free to pursue Salena cuz she and I aren’t happening.”

“Neither is she and me,” I said boldly.

“Little brother,” he laughed. “If you could have seen the way you two looked at each other. The way you two kissed. You would be a fool to not yoke back up with her.”

“Oh yeah, with your bun in her oven?”

“Get over yourself. I thought your religion was about selflessness. You need to put aside pride and jealousy. This life, this world is far from perfect. Look at Brock and Destiny. She’s a former porn star.  Even though she’s a devout Christian now, thousands of guys are probably still looking at her films online. She was also the maid of honor for Brock  when he and the cop chick were marrying.”

“She was? I thought Nora Medora didn’t like her.”

He shrugged. “Read about it in Johnathan Ember’s e-book ‘Knight Storm.’”

“But I’m in love with Zella, I think.”

“Maybe so, but I think I understand your situation even though I’m a reprobate. Do you want to know what I think from where I sit?”

“Sure.”

“Say yes I do, sir.”

I laughed. “Yes I do, sir.”

“I think you are hesitant to be more serious with Zella because she hasn’t fully embraced your faith. I think you were hesitant to get next to Salena because you didn’t embrace her fire and brimstone faith. Now that she’s showing interest in your interpretation, you two end up kissing for the first time since you were teenagers.”

“She kissed me!” I protested.

“You didn’t exactly shove her away,” Six chuckled. “As a matter of fact, you kissed her back.”

“She’s pregnant with your baby, not mine,” I said.

“Well, you’d be a better father to your niece or nephew than me. Plus what she said was true. I was able to seduce her because I was reminding her of you. That hurts my ego to admit, but it is what it is. This may make you angry, but it broke her heart as much as yours when she ended your relationship back in the day. But she was putting her family first. Her marriage to the old fart gave her family much better lives.”

“I don’t mean this to sound bitter,” I said calmly. “But I always viewed her marriage as a form of prostitution. She didn’t love that man when they married. She wasn’t attracted to him.”

“I know by the time he died she loved him,” Six said and shrugged. “I know we may not like or understand what she did. But we also don’t know what it’s like to be a family of poor immigrants.”

Six and I talked for awhile longer. Then he decided he felt so uptight and restless, he wanted to leave for Florida post haste. A half hour after Six left, Sevenia arrived home.

“Where’s Uncle Six?” my daughter asked cheerily. “I hope he doesn’t mind being part of a group study on Bible prophecy. Destiny has two girls that want to study, one of them being the girl we just rescued. Salena also called and wants to study. Isn’t that great? And guess who else I just talked to who wants to join us? Zella LaStella.”

“Zella,” I replied dumbly.

“I think you know her,” she said with a big grin and a wink.

XLVII

SEARCH ME, O GOD, AND KNOW MY HEART; TRY ME, AND KNOW MY THOUGHTS

PSALM 139:23

SEVEN SALLIE (FATHER OF SEVENIA SALLIE GIRL PROPHETESS)

“She’s quite a girl,” my twin brother Six said with a sigh and then took a sip of coffee as we watched my daughter get into her car. She was off to help Destiny Knight-Storm with a hard case. Some stripper had tried to kill herself and was now on the run from an abusive boyfriend.

Six and Seven are actually our legal names, albeit middle. Six’s given first name is Simon, and mine is Sebastian. Both of our names might as well have been reversed. I can’t remember the last time someone called us by our first names in a serious manner. Maybe an aunt, or our cousin Brock occasionally does out of jest.

“She grew up fast,” I said.

“I think she might have been born grown up,” Six said and took another sip of coffee. “Having a conversation with her, I feel like I’m the younger one.”

“I know the feeling,” I replied and laughed. I recalled how not even a half hour ago, she caught me eves dropping on her and my brother as I was using a two way mirror in my closet. She scolded me and said we would talk about it later. It felt completely like a parental reversal. The mirth left my face and I winced. “Listen, Six, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Okay,” he said casually as he sipped more coffee. “Shoot.”

“I, um…” I began and then paused as we stared at each other.

“You um what?” Six asked.

“Why don’t I just show you.”

I led my brother to my bedroom. I opened the closet door and waved a hand.

“Is that a window in your closet?” he asked with a frown. He stepped up close and looked. He turned around with a fierce scowl. He stepped toward me and shoved me hard in the chest with both hands. “You spied on Sevenia and me?”

I raised my hands in surrender. He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed heavily, and bowed his head as his shoulders slumped.

“Sorry,” I said quietly.

“You’re sorry!” he barked, raising his head with his eyes shooting angry lasers into mine. “What right do you have listening in on a private conversation?”

“I don’t,” I replied meekly. (A soft answers turns away wrath Proverbs 15:1). “You know, when it came out that you and Charlotte had an open marriage, I felt protective of Sevenia.”

“What, like I might molest her or something?” he asked bitterly.

“No, no, I just wanted to know what was being said. What my innocent little girl might being hearing.”

Six grunted, slapped a hand to his forehead, and sat down hard on the corner of my bed.

“Come on, Six. I’m not gonna tell anyone.”

“Yeah, right! You’re a professional blabber mouth!”

“Oh, like I’d say anything on my podcast.”

He arched an angry eyebrow at me.

“Or anyone else,” I said. “I promise.”

We had a long moment of awkward silence. Six sat completely still and somber.

“Listen, Six, I know you are uncomfortable having me know your secrets. I…”

“Do you!” He interrupted. “Despite how acceptance of alternative lifestyles has progressed in our culture, I never wanted to be out of the closet. I loved the secret Charlotte and I had. I got off on the fact that the world thought she was a beautiful woman. I don’t know how most bisexual men think, but for me, Charlotte was a dream come true. Even though I fell in love with Salena, and Charlotte and I talked of divorce. One of the main reasons, I, I…”

Six groaned and put his face in his hands.

“Look, Six, just like Sevenia told you. Knowing your secrets makes me feel closer to you.”

“Yeah, right,” he said, looking up and glaring at me, his right hand curled in a fist. “Why do I believe your daughter, but not you?”

“What do you mean?” I asked dumbly.

“If you have to ask,” he replied with a defeated tone.

I considered, not for the first time, how I might appear to family and old friends. Party animal, sarcastic, jokester, troublemaker, as a teenager. Married know it all holy roller in my early twenties. Divorced, boozehound, back sliding skirt chaser by the time I turned thirty. A multimillion followed broadcaster who exposed dirt and corruption on everyone.

Now I was a recommitted Christian as I rapidly approached forty. I still had a podcast, but I had lost a large percentage of listeners because I was no longer “sensational.” So I was still a wordsmith for a living, yet I groped for the right words to say to my own twin brother.

“Listen, Six, nobody will know your secret but Sevenia and me, I promise,” I said with a stammer.

“Yeah, well, what about Charlotte’s murder case? What if the detectives and medical examiner reveal to the media the truth of Charlotte? After all my twin brother is famous.”

“Not so much anymore,” I replied. “I lost most of my followers when I changed my format two years ago.”

Six snorted and shook his head. “You’re still not getting it. I guess, if the rest comes out, it doesn’t really even matter. According to your religion, I’m lost anyway.”

“That’s not true,” I barked. “My religion is always about hope. If you’re truly trying to follow Jesus, he will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5 ). Also, He that began a good work in you will finish it (Philippians 1:6 ).

“Oh yeah, little brother,” my twin who was born first barked back even louder. “You are such a (profanity) hypocrite! You even have broadcast to millions, albeit in a subtle way, your escapades. Now my secrets are, are…”

Six put his face in his hands and groaned.

“You’re right, I am a hypocrite,” I said. “Or I was, I hope.”

He slowly lifted his head and looked at me. “What?”

“My sins are far worse than yours,” I said boldly. But then I quoted a Bible text that was more powerful about confidence in God. “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).

My brother looked at me with a stunned expression. “Are you just saying that to sell me?”

“The only thing I’m trying to sell you is the way, the truth, and the life,” I said. (John 14:6) “And that’s Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation. The only path out of this dismal planet of death.”

We stared at each other for a long awkward moment.

“So you’re not judging me?” Six asked.

“Me?” I asked incredulous. “How can I possibly judge you, big bro? I’ve been the chiefest among sinners.”

“Wow,” he said quietly. “You really have changed.”

“What do you mean?” I asked with a frown.

“I mean, we’re not just brothers, we’re twins. I know what you are really like. When you became a religious zealot when we were, what, twenty, I wanted to shoot you. You were so incredibly annoying. But now you’re, ah, you’re, well, you’re actually like your daughter.”

“What’s my daughter like?” I asked, even though I knew any Christian father would love to see the Christ like character I see in my daughter. But as her father, I might be bias. I have been the most arrogant of men in my lifetime. I’m beyond humbled to claim my sweet Sevenia as the fruit of my loins. But I wanted to hear what my, and I say this gently, hedonistic twin brother had to say about her.

“She blows my mind,” he said softly. “She’s so sweet, wholesome and innocent. Yet she seems to have the wisdom of a grandmother.”

“So you think I have the wisdom of a grandmother?” I asked lightheartedly with raised, hopeful eyebrows. He started laughing and I immediately followed. Then he quickly switched to sobbing.

“I’m such a,” he began, and then listed a string of profanities. Then finished with, “I miss Charlotte so much.”

I put my arms around him and pulled him into myself. “I love you brother.”

When he finished crying, he looked at me in a daze. “Who are you?”

“Seven Sallie, the one who grabbed your heel as we left the womb. Like Jacob and Esau.”

“Who?” he asked with a frown.

“You know, from the Bible book Genesis.”

“Oh yeah, Jacob’s the father of Joseph. The dude with the coat of many colors.”

“Right.”

“It’s kind of funny. I’ve met countless Jacob’s in my life,” my brother said. “But never an Esau.”

“Me neither. Yet Jacob had his own faults. But he persevered. Then we have the story of Jacob’s ladder.”

“But wait a minute,” Six said with a scowl. “I’m Esau in this scenario.”

“You don’t have to be,” I said cheerfully. “This is the modern era. Either good times or the end times are around the corner.”

We both laughed, and then my phone chirped with a new text right when I was about to explain to my brother why we might be close to the second coming of Christ. It was from my first love of almost two decades ago, and my brother’s recent fling who was pregnant with his child.

“Why the consternation on thy face?” my brother asked jovially.

“Salena’s in my driveway.”

The mirth left my brother’s face as he swiped at a lazy tear and glared at me. “Did you invite her here?”

“No, No!” I said, and then winced. “But she has called me numerous times. She’s distraught Six. She’s having trouble with her teenage boys, she’s pregnant, and for some insane reason, she’s worried about you.”

“God help me,” Six said as he hung his head. He groaned and he put his face in his hands.

“Hey, you’re learning to pray,” I said happily.

He looked up at me incredulous, laughed and then hugged me fiercely. “I love you, little brother!”

XLVI

THOU WILL KEEP HIM IN PERFECT PEACE, WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON THEE

(ISAIAH 26:3)

SEVENIA SALLIE (GIRL PROPHETESS)

My brain whirled with chaotic thoughts as I drove to the Storm residence. It reeled from the heavy conversations with my Uncle Six about his murdered wife and their hedonistic lifestyle. Now Destiny wanted me to accompany her and Brock to see a young lady named Talia.

She was a stripper, or maybe, I guess, a former stripper now. Destiny had been ministering with Talia for months. It seems she had attempted suicide and was hiding from an abusive boyfriend. I had only met her once, but apparently she wanted to see me. I prayed and put Isaiah 26:3 into practice.

“Hey, kiddo,” Brock greeted as he let me into their house. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” I said, a little surprised. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh nothing, you just seem a little distressed.”

I forced a smile and shrugged.

“Hey, do you know what you call a grizzly with no teeth?” he asked.

“What?”

“A gummy bear.”

I laughed, and then for some reason felt like crying. Before I did, I hugged him. “I love you, Uncle Brock.”

“Well, I love you too, Sweet Pea,” he replied as he gently patted my back. “Thanks for coming with us.”

Brock isn’t really my uncle, but he’s my dad’s cousin. The weird thing is, he looks more like my dad than my dad’s twin brother. Only Brock is much bigger, burlier, and rougher looking than my dad. Except his eyes. Brock’s light brown eyes are warm and calm while my dad’s eyes tend to be serious and intense.

“I’m glad to,” I replied. “But I don’t really understand why Talia wants me to come. I only met her once.”

“In all honesty, it’s Dee.”

“Huh?”

“Dee wants your Godly atmosphere in situations like this.”

“She does? What about her own? She has led so many troubled girls to Christ.”

“But you’re the girl prophetess,” he grinned as he spread his massive zero fat arms.

“It makes me feel uncomfortable when people call me that.”

“You’re just being humble.”

“But Dee is one of my mentors.”

“You’re one of hers.”

“What! I’m only seventeen.”

“Seventeen going on,” Brock said and looked at the ceiling as he rolled a hand. “Well, a much older age wisdom wise.”

“Wisdom wise?” I replied with a frown, and then smiled. “Thank you though.”

“Hi, Sweetie,” Destiny blurted as she galloped down the stairs of their old farmhouse. She gave me a fierce hug and kissed my forehead. I hugged her back, realizing I would do anything for this woman. What Brock just told me made me feel both humbled and honored. “Ready to roll?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied meekly. “I guess.”

“Let’s pray first,” Destiny said and the three of us bowed our heads.

I would have felt uncomfortable driving into the neighborhood where Talia was staying with a girlfriend if Brock weren’t with us. The address Destiny was given was the top half of a rundown duplex. Talia opened the door and greeted us with a timid smile. Her hair was dyed jet black, and she had a big bandage around her right wrist. The room smelled like cigarettes, coffee, and sausage. We sat around a greasy kitchen table and Talia explained her situation.

“I didn’t actually try to kill myself,” she said with a tired sigh. “Chad, my boyfriend, was trying to pimp me out. This creepy old rich guy was on his way over to our place to have sex with me. If I tried to leave, he would have beat me. If I stayed and refused to go to bed with his Jon, he would have beat me. In desperation I slashed my wrist. I tried to balance my cuts between not enough to kill me and enough to have to go to the hospital. He’s still going to beat me when he finds me, but at least I bought some time to possibly get away.”

“Come stay with me and my husband,” Destiny said as an order. “We’ll help you get away from this abusive boyfriend and start a new life for yourself.”

“You don’t understand. Chad will find me eventually. He’s a big, mean guy. He won’t take my disloyalty lightly. I can’t put you guys at risk.”

“You haven’t met my husband, have you?” Destiny asked.

“I don’t believe so.”

“He used to be a high paid bodyguard. Come to the door with me, Sweetie.”

Destiny called Brock on her phone. The three of us went to the door. Brock got out of his car and ran up to us urgently. “What’s up?”

“Oh, yeah, um, Chad is almost as big as your boy, but not ripped like him.” Talia said.

“Plus my guy is a martial artist and he has guns.”

Brock frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Honey, have you met Talia?” Destiny asked her husband.

“I don’t believe so.”

Destiny made introductions.

“Honey, Talia is on the run from an abusive boyfriend. Would you mind if she stayed with us until we get her life situated so she can have a fresh start?”

“Of course not,” Brock replied as he gave Talia a friendly smile. “Do what you have to do. Talia, trust me, it wouldn’t be the first time Dee had someone in your situation stay with us. If you’re at our place, no one will hurt you. ”

“We’ll help her gather up her things then,” Destiny said happily with a clap of her hands.

“I’ll be back to help you carry stuff down,” Brock said. “But I need to call Captain Kirk back. We were in the middle of a conversation when you called me.”

Talia watched Brock in awe as he walked back to the car with the grace and power of a lion.

“Is he for real?” Talia inquired.

“What do you mean?” Destiny asked.

“Well, he’s built like The Rock, but he speaks more like he’s Mr. Rogers.”

Destiny laughed. “I’ve never heard anyone compare Brock to Mr. Rogers, but I see your point.”

“Does he have the, um, meanness in him to handle someone like Chad? I mean if it came to a confrontation.”

“Oh, trust me. When there’s danger, Brock has a switch. I wouldn’t call it meanness though. Confidence maybe, or aggression.”

Destiny proceeded to tell Talia how Brock had saved her from being raped and possibly murdered. Then she told her how they became reacquainted a decade later and eventually fell in love. (Their story is documented in the e-book by Johnathan Embers called ‘Knight Storm.’)

“So he’s never hit you?” Talia asked with a puzzled expression.

Destiny looked stunned for a second, and then a look of warmth appeared in her eyes. “No, never! I’ve never even thought once he might even be capable of doing me harm. Just the opposite. Brock’s always made me feel safe.”

“That’s the way it should be,” Talia said quietly as she quickly swiped at tear.

“And I hope he makes you feel safe during your stay with us, Sweetie,” Destiny said with a gentle smile.

Although I didn’t feel like I contributed much to rescuing Talia, a powerful lesson was driven home to me. It was witnessing just how much Destiny and Brock were a team. How much their love for each other and mutual love for God strengthened their souls.

I had been tempted to discouragement. I was still having flash backs to my attempted rape just a few months ago. Today as my mind spun taking in Talia’s situation, and before that being my Uncle Six’s confidant, I kept longing to be at Cottonwood Creek. Listening to the rippling water and talking with Branch as we watched the sunset.

I had been so wishy washy with Branch, and he had been so patient, never pressuring me. People call me a girl prophetess simply because I’m wholesome and have an interest in Bible prophesy, especially the books of Daniel and Revelation, along with religious history. Yet pride can be insidious. All the time I thought that I should be independent and that I don’t need a partner in life because it might impede me from doing all I can to minister to others was arrogant. Yes, to be solo in ministry might be right for some, but I was discovering maybe not for me.

“Lord, I’m sorry,” I whispered as I sat in my car after exiting the Storm residence. “Help me to be emptied of self. Please give me wisdom and direction.”

I took a deep breath and sighed. I opened my Bible. I could not count the times the Lord has shown me something I needed for the moment as I opened his Word. In seconds, Ecclesiastes 4:9 seemed to jump out of the page at me. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.

After pondering this verse for a minute, I turned to Genesis chapter 2 knowing what I would find. My eyes went to verse 18. ‘The Lord God said, it is not Good that man should be alone.’

“Me neither,” I croaked as I texted Branch. I had my own chance at having a Brock Storm and I was blowing it!

I grinned from ear to ear when I read his reply two minutes later.

‘I’d love to meet you at Cottonwood Creek.’

XLV

FOR WITH WHAT JUDGEMENT YE JUDGE, YE SHALL BE JUDGED

(MATTHEW 7:1)

SEVENIA SALLIE (GIRL PROPHETESS)

“Maybe I shouldn’t have burdened you with this,” Uncle Six said, causing me to jump and my eyes fly open.

 He had stepped out of my dad’s study room with a phone call, saying it would only take a minute. I assumed that meant five or ten minutes, but it must have only taken thirty seconds. I had actually relished the opportunity of a few minutes to get my head around my uncle’s revelation that he was bisexual and my Aunt Charlotte was transsexual.

“No, Uncle Six,” I said shaking my head. I crossed one leg over the other and smoothed my skirt. “Like I said before, it makes me feel even closer to you knowing we can talk about this stuff. Please continue. You were telling me that you and your boyfriend went to dinner and you met Aunt Charlotte for the first time.”

I noticed he winced when I said you and your boyfriend. He corrected me. “Former, sort of boyfriend.”

“Right,” I replied as I recalled him also telling me he couldn’t get comfortable being romantic with another man. “So go ahead with your story.”

“So Jesse tells me that Charlotte and I were perfect for each other. He said that believe it or not, as smoking hot female she looked, Charlotte was a male between her legs. Also, nobody in the Twin Cities knew that Charlotte used to be Charles. Her dream was to live as a woman with nobody knowing her secret. And if we were together, I could remain a closeted bisexual.

“When Charlotte and I met, her mostly complete transition was new to her. Although she received a lot of male attention, she was hesitant to date because she was so afraid that what was actually under her skirt might be discovered. She also didn’t know how to divulge her secret before a prospective date, or if things started to get serious. She feared how she would tell a heterosexual man that she actually had, you know.”

I nodded.

“So Jesse told her about me and she wanted him to introduce us,” he continued. “Hence having dinner at the restaurant where she worked. We went out for a few drinks after she got off that night. We clicked like you wouldn’t believe. It also turned out that she had a second job working part time at a funeral home owned by the same funeral home where I was apprenticing. But different locations. It just seemed like we were meant to be. We ended up spending the night together and have been together ever since.”

“So how did the fact that she had, a, um, you know,” I asked awkwardly. “How did that get her killed?”

“Oh yeah, our open marriage,” Uncle Six said, followed by a heavy sigh. “It wasn’t what most people probably think. It only occurred maybe once a year on average.”

“Only,” I said sarcastically and instantly regretted it. I gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

“You’re fine,” he said with a lighthearted chuckle. “So after we had been together a little over a year, we got married and she really  gained confidence as a woman.”

I felt like I was in the twilight zone. I simply couldn’t get my head around Aunt Charley, secretly being Uncle Charley. It was simply bizarre to me. I’m not being judgmental when I say this. This news did not change how much I loved her. It’s just that not even once in the years I had known Aunt Charlotte did I ever think, gee, I wonder if Aunt Charlotte was born a boy.

“She was still waitressing part time back then,” Uncle Six continued. “And one day she was telling me that a prominent player on the Minnesota Vikings had come in and sat in her section three Mondays in a row. She had Mondays and Tuesdays off from the funeral business. I then told her that the wife of our boss made a pass at me. That’s when our arrangement began. I suggested she fool around with the football player if I could defile our bosses wife. We both agreed that going forward, we could fool around with other people on occasion, as long as it was a one-time fling. No more than twice.”

“Wasn’t she afraid of getting found out?” I asked.

“Well, she was pretty confident by then,” he replied. “Plus, she didn’t go all the way. She would just, you know, fool around. She would…”

“I see,” I interrupted because I really didn’t want to see or hear my uncle describe sex acts. “I get the point. Please continue with why she was murdered.”

“Now, to make a long story short. Fast forward to two years ago. I started seeing Salena. At first it was to see if I could seduce her, but we really clicked as friends and I actually enjoyed studying the Bible with her. Charlotte misunderstood Salena and me, and she became jealous even though I promised her that we weren’t having sex. We started to fight a lot every time I planned an encounter with Salena.”

“Were you guys actually gonna divorce?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I was confused. In some ways I’m even more confused now. But anyhow, I guess to retaliate, she began to regularly see the guy who ended up killing her. Anyway, he found out she wasn’t all woman if you catch my drift, and he was also homophobic. I think you know the rest.”

“So that’s why he killed her?” I asked with a dazed expression. “It wasn’t over jealousy at being dumped. It was because he found out he’d been fooling around with a shemale. Is it okay to use that term?”

“It is with me,” he shrugged.

“I don’t want to unnecessarily offend,” I replied. “These days if you call something immoral, it might be considered a hate crime. Like my dad always says on his podcast. The majority of people with coexist bumper stickers should have a qualifier sticker that says, but you need to agree with MY views.”

“So you think being a shemale is immoral, I take it?”

“For me it would be.”

“But not for me?”

“To him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is a sin,” I replied. (James 4:17).

“So if I don’t see it as sin, it’s not sin then,” he said.

“Be careful, Dear Uncle, to neglect to seek God in the first place is as dangerous to your soul as seeking and ignoring.”

“What if I don’t buy into a supposed Holy book that was written two thousand years ago?”

“Uncle Six, if you read the Word of God and then ignore what it teaches, that’s between you and God. I don’t want to appear like I’m being judgmental, but let’s take your marital arrangement for example. Even if a couple agree it’s okay to see other people, that doesn’t change the fact that it is adultery. However, due to your mutual agreement, it didn’t seem to cause the hurt and bitterness the sin of infidelity often does. Until recently that is.”

Uncle six winced at my bluntness, and I was about to apologize when he became testy. “Fair point. But are you gonna tell me it’s a sin for a person to take female hormones?”

“Uncle Six,” I said softly. “I have nothing but love and sympathy that Aunt Charley was, um, uncomfortable being male. Yet I believe if she would have taken her issue to God rather than a person or persons, she might have done things differently.”

“How do you know she didn’t?” He challenged with hostility in his eyes.

“I don’t,” I replied meekly. “And that’s precisely why we are not to judge.”

“How does a saint like you understand what it’s like to deal with real, powerful sexual desire?” My uncle asked angrily.

“How do you know I don’t?” I replied calmly. “Seems judging can go both ways. No pun intended.”

My uncle frowned and then asked. “Have you and Branch…?”

“No! Not until we’re married.”

“So you are gonna marry him one day?”

“No! I mean, I don’t know.”

“Have you kissed him?”

“Yes.”

“Deeply?”

“Yes, a couple, maybe a few times,” I stammered.

“Any touching?”

“Uncle Six!” I replied as I felt myself blush and my rear end start to rise off of my chair. “No. As a  matter of fact, we decided to not do anymore, um, kissing even. I mean other than quick pecks hello and goodbye. But then we stopped doing that when I decided, well, I mean, right now we are platonic friends with the possibility of more one day. That is after we get married. I mean if we get married.”

“I see,” he said, eyeing me skeptically. “So you’re gonna tell me you had powerful desires to have sex with him?”

“I did,” I replied boldly, even though I felt my face’s color deepen some more and my toes curl.

“Forgive me for doubting the strength of the power drawing you, dear niece, to fornicate.”

“Are you saying your temptations are stronger than mine?”

“Possibly, I believe that is so,” he said with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

“That’s not fair.”

“It isn’t?” he asked heatedly, and then sort of altered the subject. “You Bible thumpers hate gay marriage and a woman’s right to choose what they can do with their bodies.”

“Our bodies are the members of Christ and the temple of the Holy Ghost. We’re to glorify God in our bodies.” (See 1 Corinthians 6:15-20).

“But I’ve always been able to do what I want with my body,” Uncle Six said cynically.

“Yes, of course, due to free will. God wants service out of love. He’s not going to force you to choose between your penis and Him. You have to decide for yourself. Choose this day who you will serve.” (Joshua 24:15)

My Uncle looked absolutely stunned at me using the technical term for male genitalia. We both stared at each other for a long uncomfortable moment before I finally spoke again.

“To truly follow the Bible requires discipline. Disciple is actually a derivative of discipline. When you’re disciplined in God’s word, this brings righteousness. And unrighteous people are often disturbed by righteous people. The main reason Jesus, GOD WHO WALKED THE EARTH! Was tortured and murdered! Was because people, mostly religious leaders, were threatened by His Holiness.”

He snorted and shook his head. “Bunch of hypocrites.”

“Uncle Six,” I said quietly as tears started flowing down my cheeks. “The Holy Bible is where we find salvation, the church is just a by-product. I know you are cynical with the hypocrisy of religionists, I am as well. To a large extent you are correct. Just as religionists put Christ to death, religionists will attack God’s remnant people before He comes back.”

“But you’re the most religious person I’ve ever met,” he laughed sarcastically, but not bitterly. “So your own kind is gonna put you yourself to death?”

“Yes,” I said simply, and gave him time to ponder my answer.

I thought of the chaos of the 2020 pandemic and both sides of political lines. The racial injustice problems. How quickly people fell into obeying what the authorities told them with covid 19 . I’m not saying they shouldn’t have. Quarantining and wearing masks didn’t cause disobedience to God. But when the day arrives when the powers that be require you worship, or pretend to worship in a certain way, they have overstepped their boundaries. Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth doesn’t force worship, how dare man!

“How?” He asked after a minute.

“Prophecy tells us that there will come a day when people on earth will not be able to buy or sell unless they have the mark of the beast. In that time you will either have the mark of the beast or the seal of God.”

“You’re talking about the tribulation after the rapture, right?”

“The rapture is a false doctrine, you won’t even find it in the Bible,” I said.

“So what about your Pastor and the book I just read? How do I know that’s not false doctrine?”

“For one thing, his teaching about the war in heaven and the fallen state of mankind is admittedly theory and speculation. The rapture is taught as a fact. When you compare the rapture to a thorough examination of prophecy, it’s not even a good theory.”

“You’re starting to convince me,” my uncle said. “So, let’s put my past to rest for now and focus on the future.”

“Great, let’s get out our Bibles.”

My phone rang and caller id told me it was Destiny. I let it go to voice mail, but she immediately called again. I answered.

“Hi, Sweetie. Are you busy?” Destiny asked with a quiver in her voice.

“I was about to have a Bible study with Uncle Six, why?”

“Can you postpone it?”

This had to be important. Dee would never, ever ask me to postpone a Bible study with Uncle Six if it wasn’t.

XLIV

JUDGE NOT, THAT YE BE NOT JUDGED

(MATTHEW 7:1)

SEVENIA SALLIE (GIRL PROPHETESS)

“Can you keep a secret?” My Uncle Six asked me before we even sat down across from each other in my dad’s study.

“Sure,” I replied with a frown.

Then my uncle groaned and pushed the palms of his hands over his eyes and bowed his head. His elbows propped on his knees. I noticed the dark circles that had been under his eyes when we had met here two days previous had only deepened. Instead of revealing his secret, he became still and quiet.

“Did you read any of Pastor Samson’s book?” I asked quietly.

“Yes,” he replied, his head popping up so quickly I gave a little start. “I read the whole thing. As a matter of fact, I was up all night after you gave it to me. That’s why I was dead to the world when we were supposed to study yesterday. Sorry.”

“No worries,” I said with a shrug. “What did you think?”

He pursed his lips, looked at the ceiling, and circled his hands around each other. “Intriguing, enlightening, frustrating and confusing. Anyhow, reading that book is the reason I feel compelled to confide something to you.”

He stilled and stared at me as if expecting a response. I couldn’t think of anything to say other than, “Okay.”

“The chapter, ‘Father of lies,’ based off of Matthew 8:44,” he said. “I couldn’t get it out of my head. It seems like my whole adult life is based in secrets and lies. Part of it has been made known because of the way my wife died. But the biggest part is still hidden. It probably would have remained hidden since Charlotte’s killer was killed. He was shanked in jail last week so there will be no trial.”

“I see,” I replied, numbly. “So what you’re saying is even though your secret seems to remain safely hidden, you still feel compelled to share it?”

He nodded. Then he put his elbows back on his knees, became still, bowed his head, and stared at the floor. I resisted the urge to bob my leg or tap my foot.

“I’m bisexual,” he suddenly blurted as his head popped up.

This time I visibly startled. At the same time there was a thump that came from behind the wall. Then, albeit muffled, I heard my dad yowl in pain.

“Daddy?” I asked as I leapt from my chair and ran to his room. He was sitting on his bed, wincing, and rubbing the top of his head. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“Oh, nothing, Sweet Pea. I just bumped my head when I was in the closet.”

You weren’t the only one in the closet, I thought as my brain reeled from Uncle Six’s revelation. “You’re okay then?”

“I’m fine,” he replied as I had already turned and dashed back to my uncle.

“Sorry,” I said a little breathless as I sat back down.

“What happened?”

“You just told me you were…”

“No, I mean with Seven.”

“Oh, he just bumped his head. Did you want to elaborate on what you just told me?”

His eyes looked frightened. “It felt weird telling you that. Do you feel weird hearing it?”

It’s strange how quick a lie can come to the lips of even someone who’s diligently seeking God. I see why we are instructed with things like pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and to bring every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5 ). I opened my mouth to say no, but instead replied. “It was a surprising admission, but it makes me feel closer to you.”

“It does?” he inquired with a frown

“Yes, it makes me feel loved that you trust me enough to reveal a secret like that.”

“Wow,” he said with a little smile, the tension in his face relaxing. “But you should already know I love you.”

“Oh, I know you do,” I replied with a shrug. “But there are degrees to love, and variations. For instance, obviously I love my dad. But the way I love my boyfriend Branch is different.”

There was another thump from behind the wall, but softer than the first and no yowl. What was Daddy doing?

“So there’s also another element to where I’m going with this,” he said nervously. “It has to do with your Aunt Charlotte. God rest her soul.”

He looked at me with both intensity and with caution, but seemed to freeze up. I urged him on. “Okay, what about Aunt Charlotte?”

“Your Aunt Charlotte,” he said slowly and deliberately. “Was born a boy. She was transsexual.”

There was not only another thump from behind the wall, but a big crash. I ran into my father’s room again and he was crawling out of the closet. That’s when I noticed something like a window in his closet. I looked closer. It was a two way mirror! As I took a couple steps toward it, I saw Uncle Six sitting very still and staring at the floor.

“Daddy!” I scolded with a low voice and clenched teeth. But he looked so stunned and sheepish, my anger quickly dissipated.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

“We’ll talk about this later,” I said as I shut his closet door. “Stay out of there.”

He nodded as I quickly made my way back to Uncle Six. My brain whirled, not only with questions about what my uncle had just revealed about my aunt. But also the sudden parent child role reversal I just experienced with my father.

Uncle Six rubbed his hands vigorously on his thighs, and there was a frightened look was on his face again. I told him his brother was finished messing about in his closet. Then I gave him a reassuring smile, even as my heart pounded with the stunning information about my aunt. It was simply unbelievable.

My Aunt Charley was one of the most beautiful, feminine women I had ever known. I had accidently  seen her topless once. Her breasts appeared natural and well-proportioned with her tall slender frame. Her pale skin seemed soft, silky, and supple. There was nothing resembling a male at all. Except maybe her slightly husky voice.

“I guess I should start at the beginning,” Uncle Six said uneasily, and then forced a little laugh.

“That’s always a good place,” I replied with a nervous giggle.

“When we were in our early twenties, Brock was a bouncer at a, um, gentlemen’s club.”

“You mean strip bar,” I said more sternly than I intended. I found nothing gentlemanly about men watching young women dance naked.

“Yeah, anyway, I started hanging out with a coworker of Brock’s. Jesse Parker was his name. We really hit it off and became fast friends. At that point in my life, I was bicurious, but never really thought I’d act on it. Do you know what bicurious is?”

He really seemed uncomfortable, so I tried tapping into a bit of my dad’s style of humor. “I might have been born at night Uncle Six, but it wasn’t last night. So you were curious about learning a second language?”

I said this with a straight face, and his uncomfortable demeanor spiked, before my laughter put him at ease. “I know what you mean. Please continue.”

“Okay, well, like I said, we really hit it off. He was a great looking guy. One night he confided he was gay. One thing led to another, yadda, yadda, yadda, we had a great time and I ended up with a secret boyfriend.”

“So,” I said slowly. “It ended up you were more than curious?”

“I was. Yet I could never get completely comfortable being in a romantic relationship with a guy. So after a couple of months of fooling around with Jesse, we amicably ended things. Ironically, when we called the intimate part of our relationship quits, that’s when he told me he knew the perfect person for me.”

He reached into a book bag by the side of his chair and pulled out a yearbook. “So, when Jesse first told me he was gay, he said the only other lover he had was this guy he went to high school with.”

Uncle six thumbed through some pages and stopped when he came to the page he was looking for. The boy he showed me bore a strong resemblance to his deceased wife. The name underneath said Charles Davidson. I looked from the photo to my uncle. “Is that Aunt Charley’s bro…”

I stopped talking. My eyes went back to the photo and studied it for several seconds. “That’s Aunt Charley?”

He nodded. “So Jesse had told me they were a closeted couple for, like, two or three years, but not much else. Other than showing me these pictures.”

My uncle showed me two more pictures in the yearbook. Charley Davidson in a track uniform. And Charley Davidson with a girl at prom. Although he was far from macho, Charles Davidson was clearly a young man.

 “After he showed me the yearbook pictures, Jesse said he wanted to buy me dinner and he would explain further. So we go to this restaurant on the order of Hooters.”

“Wow, so this Jesse was a gay guy that worked at a strip bar, and liked to eat at Hooters. He was full of contradictions.”

“Aren’t we all?”

“Amen.”

“So the waitresses at this place all had the same uniforms,” he continued. “Green plaid miniskirts, green bikini tops, and white blouses that didn’t fully cover the bikini tops. White knee high socks and black Mary Jane shoes. Promise me you’ll never work there.”

“Trust me, I won’t,” I giggled.

“So we go there and he asked the hostess for Charlotte’s section. That’s when I met your Aunt for the first time. I don’t know about love at first site, but when Jesse introduced us, it was magical. So he asked me what I thought of her. I said she was not only smoking hot, but blazing hot. I asked how he knew her. He said that she was his old boyfriend. Then he reminded me of the yearbook pictures he had just showed me. I about fell out of the booth.

“He proceeded to tell me that she started transitioning with hormones when he turned eighteen, and the reason they broke up was because he was no longer comfortable with how spectacularly female she became. He was attracted to masculine, and although she didn’t plan on completing the transition with surgery, she was obviously too feminine for his tastes.”

“So, Aunt Charley,” I said and then cleared my throat. “Still had, um, some boy parts?”

My uncle nodded.

“Until the day she died?”

He nodded again. “As a matter of fact, you could say it caused her death.”

“How?”

“I’ll get to that,” he assured me, right when his phone rang with a song. I kid you not. It was ‘Man I Feel Like a Woman,’ by Shania Twain. “It’s my lawyer. I have to take this. It should only take a minute.”

“Okay,” I replied as chipperly as I could muster, even though my mind spun like I was riding the Tilt-a-Whirl. So I prayed.

XLIII

MAN THAT IS BORN OF A WOMAN IS OF FEW DAYS, AND FULL OF TROUBLE

JOB 14:1

SEVEN SALLIE (FATHER OF SEVENIA SALLIE GIRL PROPHETESS)

My heart pounded as I peered through the back side of the two way mirror that was between my bedroom and my study room. My daughter and brother settled into chairs. It felt illicit eavesdropping on them. But I simply wanted to know what they would be talking about.

Sevenia had changed out of a fairly form fitting sundress into her usual uniform. A long denim skirt and a light green t shirt that declared that life was good. The color went well with her auburn hair.

“Before we get started, I want to set the record straight,” Six said.

“What record needs straightened?” Sevenia asked innocently.

“Well,” Six sighed. “I was ashamed when it became public knowledge that I allowed my wife to fool around with other men. I’m doubly ashamed that someone like you knows about it.”

“Why me?” She frowned.

“Because you’re sweet and wholesome, and how we lived was, well, strange to most people. And I just wanted you to know that for years I realized this and longed for monogamy with Charley. In the beginning I was head over heels for her. She was such a free spirit. The only way I could have her was to not have her.”

“I’ve always thought that term was counterproductive,” Sevenia said.

“What term?”

“Free spirit.”

“How so?”

“Because it’s not true. We need God’s spirit, the Holy Spirit. A supposedly free spirit would be a Godless spirit, and ultimately a lost spirit that would burn out like a flame. Even if to human reasoning, a free spirited person seems wild and fun. From my viewpoint, not being willing to be monogamous with your spouse is selfish.”

Six nodded and bowed his head. I felt a sneeze coming on and quickly stepped from the closet. After a half dozen sneezes, I blew my nose and returned to my lookout post. I wasn’t gone but a minute or two, so I couldn’t have missed much, but I did.”

“You don’t understand, little girl,” my brother barked.

“Uncle Six, you just admitted your lifestyle was wrong.”

“How dare you judge my wife?”

“I didn’t judge her, you asked my opinion.”

“But you basically said she was lost.”

“I talked to Aunt Charley numerous times about Christ and she pretty much laughed me off,” Sevenia replied. “It was like when Felix said when he had a convenient season.” (Acts 24:25)

“Who’s Felix?” My brother scowled.

“Never mind,” Sevenia replied. “The point is, she wasn’t interested.”

“Why should we be interested? Look at this planet. Where’s is a God in this diabolical world?”

“Why should we?” my daughter inquired with a frown. “I thought Salena made you interested in the Bible.”

“She did, but I lost that interest.”

I felt another sneeze come one and had to flee the closet again. This time I sneezed a dozen times. Maybe I should dust my closet. There was also a high pollen count, so I went to find an allergy pill. I lost at least five minutes of conversation. When I returned to my spy spot, Six was complaining about traffic of all things.

“It always amazed me when I was driving a big rig truck,” Six was saying. “There’s almost always somebody in the city getting on the freeway. And more than half the time you get over for them, and they don’t speed up or slow down so you can get back over. Like yeah, I wanted to stay over in the fast lane and bottle neck traffic. Thanks for dissing me after I showed you a courtesy. People can’t even put their phones down driving in heavy traffic.”

“I for one don’t touch my phone when driving,” my daughter said with a cautious, forlorn expression.

“Good girl,” Six replied. “So your dad never told you we were truck driving colleagues at that food distribution company?”

“No, he did. He just didn’t mention you much.”

“Yeah, he probably wouldn’t have,” he said with a heavy sigh as he leaned back in his chair and looked utterly exhausted. He folded his arms and sighed again. “I only worked there a year before I went into the death business. You know I got your dad on there. I mean at the food warehouse. I think he stayed two or three years, but our time overlapped together only a month or two. I loved it when he used to talk traffic on his podcast.”

“I hated it!” my daughter replied emphatically. I felt rebuked by my little girl, albeit in secret.

“Really? I thought he made great points.”

I felt myself smile at what I felt was a compliment from my brother. Then my daughter’s reply, not only made me frown in consternation, but feel small and shamed..

“Yes, I hated it,” she repeated. “All of the times he referred to the human beings Christ died for as demonic entities out to annoy. I mean a lot of them were simply sweet little old ladies, or heroic old gentleman who probably preserved our freedom during WWII. Being impatient with people in traffic is a YOU problem. It’s no secret even to secular humanists that people are incredibly flawed.  Just say a little prayer when dealing with traffic.”

“Yeah,” my brother replied dumbly with a stunned look on his face.

“Okay,” Sevenia said brightly. “Are you ready to crack open the Word of God.”

“Yeah, right,” Six chuckled tiredly.

“Yeah, right, what?” she frowned.

“I mean you Bible thumpers calling it the word of God.”

“What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know. That’s what I want you to help me figure out.”

“Well, it’s the inspired word of God,” she said with a patient smile, but roughly ran her hands through her ruffled hair.

“Inspired by who?” Six taunted. “Fallen men like David. A man who not only committed adultery, but had the husband killed so he could have his wife? Didn’t he write most of the psalms?”

“He did,” Sevenia replied calmly. “But he repented of his terrible sins. Therefore, many of his psalms teach us how to repent. That’s a good thing!”

“I guess so,” Six said, and then yawned. “But that’s why  when the rubber meets the road, I don’t see my wife and I’s arrangement as that big of a deal.”

“Really?” my daughter asked calmly, and with pure sympathy in her countenance. “But didn’t it actually end in murder?”

Six stared at Sevenia with a stunned expression. Then he sighed heavily and slumped forward.

“Uncle Six, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you did nothing wrong,” he replied quietly as he held up a hand. “But I am so tired on many levels. I’m sorry, but I don’t feel like studying right now. This world is so diabolically twisted. I mean why were we born to live a difficult life, tempted with so called sin, and then not only to die, but according to you all, die in hellfire.”

“Hell is an event, kind of like Noah’s flood,” Sevenia replied calmly. “But in the future, I believe the near future, God’s going to create a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness.”

“But why this mess now?” Six barked. “I don’t get the existence of evil in the first place!”

My stellar daughter remained so amazingly calm, despite the trauma she herself had recently experienced herself in the previous weeks and months. “Uncle Six, this book might help you understand your mindset.”

“Wow,” Six said as he looked at the book my daughter handed him, ‘A Star Fell From Heaven.’ It was about the origin of sin and the remedy thereof, written by Captain Kirk. AKA Pastor Kirk Samson “This is like deja vu.”

“What do you mean?” Sevenia said.

“Brock tried to give me this book a few years ago, and I refused it.” he replied. “Your dad also offered me this same book, and I refused it. Is this 3^rd time’s a charm or 3 strikes you’re out?”

“You’re looking at God all wrong, Uncle Six,” my brilliant daughter replied.

“How’s that?”

“God is all about an honest, pure, loving relationship,” my beautiful Sevenia replied with a sweet smile a father couldn’t resist. “Of commandment keeping people. Ecclesiastes tells us. Let us hear the whole conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (12:13). Yet obedience needs to be out of love of the purest kind. God is seeking us, but we’re the ones running from Him.”

“We’re running from Him?” my twin brother asked with an incredulous laugh. “You’re the purest human being I’ve ever seen. So if you’re running from God, dear girl. I’m in a top fuel dragster!”