They Call It Depression {edited}

Chapter Fourteen

A/N: Before I begin, I'd like to inform you that most of the chapters in Part 3 will be flashbacks of Mackenzie's past life. Okay, that's all. Enjoy!

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I went back to Starbucks the next day. Since I couldn't drive and it was too far to walk, I rode my bike. I hoped that Clara had remembered our deal. I needed to see her again, and hear more about this Jesus.

When I got there, I was overjoyed to see her sitting in the same corner booth as yesterday. I walked straight to her table without ordering anything, and sat down.

"Hi," I said.

"Hello, Mackenzie," Clara replied.

"How are you?" I hated small talk and wanted to hurry through it, but I knew it was the polite thing to ask.

"I'm doing well. How bout yourself?"

"I'm okay. Look, I came back seeking some answers. I need to know more about this 'forgiveness' you speak of."

Clara chuckled, as if it were funny. "So you were listening, I see."

"Yeah. And I'm interested to know more."

"Good, I'm glad. But first, you might want some coffee."

"Uh, okay. Sure."

She got up and I followed her to the counter, where she ordered me an iced coffee, same as yesterday. Then we sat back down.

"Let me start from the beginning," Clara said as I sipped my drink. "God created the heavens and the earth-"

"No, skip that part," I interrupted. "At least for now. I want to know about his mercy and forgiveness."

"Well I was getting to that." She took a deep breath before continuing. "After creating the world, God saw that it was good and He made people. But they sinned by disobeying the one command He'd given them. So He punished them. After that, they populated the earth with more people, who all sinned. God wanted to destroy the earth and all the people in it. Except for one man named Noah, and his family. He told them to build an ark, and they obeyed, and God sent a flood."

I was half-listening. When was she gonna get to the good part?!

"God saved that family, and destroyed everything else on the planet. Then He put a rainbow in the sky as a promise to Noah that He would never again flood the earth."

"Do I really need to know all this background stuff?"

"If it's in the Bible, then yes," she said calmly. I think she was trying to be patient with me.

I held back from saying "fine," and decided I would listen, since this stuff was so important to her.

"After years and years, people were still sinning. God needed to pay for those sins. In Bible times, they paid with blood. They'd sacrifice an animal to pay for their sins. But then God decided to make the ultimate sacrifice by sending His Som, Jesus, to die on a cross."

"I still can't believe he would do that. Didn't he care about his son?"

"Yes, of course. But He also cared about His people. God wanted to have a relationship with them, and that's why He did this. So we could spend eternity with Him. That is, if we're willing to accept Him."