Red Operation

III: Blood

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Three: Blood

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April 28th

It was Sunday morning, which only meant one thing to Stephen and his mother: church. They put on their best clothes, which was never enough to compete at the church near Farish Street, had breakfast and left home. They took the bus to the nearest stop, about a block away from the church, and walked the rest of the way.

When they entered the church, they were greeted by everybody, in particular Felicia, who waved at them, calling them to sit by her. She was usually the first one to walk in there and therefore got the best seats.

"Come here!" She mouthed. "Hello, darling, how are you?" She asked as we approached her, "I saved your seats."

"Thank you, Felicia, I am doing just fine and you? How is your nephew, is he alright?"

"Didn't you hear?"

"I heard he was shot, but not much else."

"The police shot him when he reached for his pocket to grab his ID because they thought he was going to take a gun. The officer who did that was immediately absolved, they claimed it was self-defense, but my poor little Oscar, he..." She wiped her tears, "He was taken to the hospital, but did not survive."

"Oh, I am so sorry. It must be hard for you sister."

"Violet hasn't left the house all week. I tried to get her here today, but she refused, so I promised her I'd pray for us both."

"I'll be praying for her, too," Florence said, holding her hand.

"And so will I." Added Stephen. "I am very sorry, Mrs. Pennington."

"Thank you. You two are good people. True Christians, unlike most folks in this town."

"I am going to check on Barry's after service," Stephen told his mother as the church calmed down. "He was Oscar's cousin after all."

"I think that's a great idea. Look at him, he's always smiling, and now... I barely recognize him." Barry was sitting across from where they were.

He was the oldest of the three cousins - Oscar, Jackson, and him -, despite being born of the youngest of the three sisters - Felicia, Sophia, and Violet -, which meant he had pretty much helped raise Oscar. At only 18, Oscar was the youngest of them and already the first one to go.

"Good morning, everybody." Said the pastor no sooner did he take his place on the altar. "As I am sure most of you know, this week our community here in Jackson was hit by a shocking event. Oscar Pennington, daughter of our beloved sister Violet Pennington who couldn't be here today, was shot and killed last Friday afternoon as he returned home from work. He was only 18. Relatives of the deceased, please stand up so we can all think of your faces as we pray." Felicia and Barry stood up. "Everybody else, please, let us all pray for Oscar, who has most certainly joined Our Lord and his family who needs assistance."

After service, it was common for them to gather around the church to talk for a while. Florence and Stephen were standing next to the front door, talking to Felicia.

"Do you think it's alright if I go pay Violet a visit?" Florence asked Felicia at one point in their conversation. "She's always been so nice to me, I'd like to repay the kindness."

"Yes, of course! She'll love the visit. I am just on my way there now, if you'd like to come with me, I'll just say goodbye to the pastor and we can go. Are you coming, too, Stephen?"

"No, I'm actually going to check on Berry and see how he's doing. But send my condolences to Violet."

"Will do. Coming?" She asked Florence, who nodded. "See you next Sunday, Stephen. have a great week."