Chapter 32: Common factor
John and Priya walked towards his room. On the way Priya asked Natasha,
"So not even people in the church can see you?"
Natasha looked at her and showed her to be silent. That time Priya saw some kids come through the way. They ran away seeing Priya. She felt that the kids are too shy to talk or even look at her.
They reached his room. John didn't waste any time, he asked her to continue her story. He offered her some water. Priya felt it tasted differently. She started saying her story,
Her family was a poor one but they were happy with all they had. Her father was a farmer who worked on other farms. In her family there were a total of eight members. Priya, her sister, her father, her mother, her grandmother, her grandfather, her father's sister, and a girl who was abandoned by the girl's own family.
That girl was from a family related to Priya. They were living in a town named Zinapa. Priya has never been seen outside of Zinapa. She always wished to go out and explore the world.
One day she was coming back from the market and saw a lot of car's coming into their town. She has seen those vehicles before and her mother instructed her not to ever let them see you. So she ran and hid. The ones who came out of the car's were some priest's. They were looking for girls and women.
They found some girls and took them into the car and swiftly went back to the church. This happens often in a month. Priya herself saw them many times. The priests say that they need girls to become nuns. But they forcefully take whoever they see in sight. Even married women or old-age people are getting abducted by them. But no one ever saw the abducted women or girls ever again.
After they left Priya came out and ran towards her house to tell them. She even forgot to take the things she bought from the market. Her grandmother was the only one who was in her house. Others went to their work. Hearing what all she said, grandmother became scared and she didn't even let her go back to take the items she bought. It was all for their dinner and they starved that night because of this incident.
Priya asked grandfather why the priests are taking women and no one is trying to oppose them. The grandfather said,
"This town is full of migrated people. They used to believe in another religion. When someone tried to kill everyone who believed in other religions, we were targeted. The missionaries are the ones who protected us that day and they converted us into this religion we believe today. They protect us from others but who will protect us from them. We have to do everything they say. You don't have to know much about it dear. just hide when you see them."
Those were her grandfather's words. John smiled inside. He realized this story is going to put another blame on his religion. 'Priya is just another person who is trying to make people believe that my religion has done so many cruel things to become the one and only religion in the world. She must be one of the fugitives. Well whatever, I'll just listen to her full story. I'll find some loopholes to out smart her.'
He thought that because he completely believed in his religion.
She continued.
One day the priests came again and this time they came straight to Priya's house. They tried to take all six girls from the house. They didn't even let the grandmother stay. Priya was taking a shower and she was pulled out naked by a man wearing a priest outfit. That time Priya's father took a shovel and hit the priest. He attacked one by one till they died.
She said,
"One of them escaped that day and he looked a lot like the sixth man standing in the photo you have on the wall."
John was taking everything in a funny mind. He looked at the photo on his wall. The man she mentioned was Father Sebastian. John's face changed. He started to have doubts about his belief. He looked at her to hear more.
Priya looked at Natasha and she was feeling angry. She wanted to kill those people herself. Priya said,
"That day my father explained why he attacked them and didn't stop without killing them. My father got news that these people who came into our town dressed as priests were smugglers. They take women from the town to sell them. Virgin girls get more money and old aged people are used in illegal scientific research. They are not just killing them, they are making them suffer."
Natasha hit the table with her hand. She was totally in the story. Priya got amazed and asked,
"Natasha, how did you touch the table if you can't touch anything?"
Natasha said,
"I can touch things in this room for some reason which I don't know."
Priya smiled and said,
"You look a lot like my older sister."
Natasha smiled back. John was thinking. If what Priya says is true, then what can I do about it? Even if the people who took the girls are smugglers, the conversion must be done by a priest. Why do people hate other cultures?
Priya looked at John and continued,
"When my father killed them. It outbreaks a catastrophic reaction. The gangsters came in a priest's outfit to destroy the town. We along with some other families ran away from there. We got separated and the people who were together started living together. We came to the sterling town and started living over there. But they didn't let us just slip through. They found us and killed everyone but me. They unleashed a strong spirit in the house to make people believe that the ghost killed everyone. The spirit was sent to kill me. It followed me but instead of killing me it gave me a lifeline. It said that one day a boy will come to the house and he will be charming like a star. That boy should know that he's the one. So it lets me live to tell that boy that he's the one."
John thought about the day he found Ichi. That poachers said the same thing that he's the one.
John asked,
"So you think that I'm that boy. Okay but what do you mean by 'he's the one'?"
Priya nodded and said,
"I don't know what that means but that is the only reason I'm still alive."
John thought about it a lot. After a while he went out. He went to an ATM and took some money. He came back and gave it to Father Andrewson as the expenses for Priya.
He took some food and went back to his room. They both ate their food and went to bed. John was about to sleep on the couch but Priya refused it. She didn't want him to stay there while she, an outsider, uses his bed. After a long argument she expressed that he's like a brother to her and a pure hearted boy so they could share the bed.
Natasha enjoyed their quarrel. They went to bed while Natasha flew out of the room and she wandered around.
On the next day John woke up. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Priya's chest right in front of his face. He stared at it for a while. He was thinking something.
"What are you doing?"
Priya suddenly asked him. He looked up and saw she was awake and looking right at him. John didn't flinch, he said,
"See yesterday. Do you remember you told me you don't remember anything for sometime right?"
Priya got up and she sat straight. She cleared her hair and looked at him. She asked,
"Yes. It happened after that collision. What about it?"
John exhaled and got up. He said,
"That time you were not unconscious. You were possessed by Nat."
Priya become amazed and asked,
"What? Why did she possess me?"
Natasha intervened and said,
"It wasn't on purpose. When the collision happened, you fell on me and I have no idea how my possession works."
Priya felt confusion and fear inside her. She was about to ask something but John said,
"After that collision. Nat was inside you. She was the one taking me and Donna outside. That time she picked me up like this (he showed his hands) i was so close to your chest and i felt sexually attracted to it. I know it's big but I never felt anything like that besides when she was possessing Maria."
Natasha was curious to hear what he was about to say. Priya put her hand on his shoulder and said,
"Don't worry. It's normal for a boy at your age to stare at women's breasts. It's natural. But I have seen a lot of people. Your look was not sexual, it was curious, it was confusing. I still feel like you're just a pure heart kid."
John nodded in disagreement. He said,
"I don't know if I'm pure or not. But I have seen women naked before but I never felt anything sexual about it. But now it's different and I think I know the common factor which attracts me."
Saying that John looked at Natasha…
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone