Salvation (Joseph Seed)

3. Consider it

After going to the Project's church for the first time, Evelyn made her way back to her new home. It wasn't anything special, a simple two bedroom house at she shared with her parents. She walked through the front door before closing it behind her, as soon as she stepped foot into the living room her parents jumped to their feet and turned to her. They asked her if she had found a church. Evelyn told them that she had found a church and that she planned on frequenting it but she decided to leave out the part about the church being rather unconventional, she knew that her parents wouldn't approve.

Once the parents were comfortable that their daughter had a church to go to, which after recent events, had become very important to them they stopped interrogating her. Evelyn had tried to convince her parents but she didn't need a new church, she had Been to a church before but her nor her parents ever frequented one. But she couldn't help but think that if Joseph's Church was the one that she would be attending but she would not have a problem with that at all.

Whether it was to please her parents or because she actually wanted to, Evelyn attended one the Project's sermon again. She made her way to the compound, and once again found a self interested intrigued by Joseph's followers. As she walked down the dirt path towards the white church, she took some time to pay closer attention to the people around her. This was when she noticed but some of them wore, what looked like, wool sweaters with unfamiliar symbol on the front, actually Evelyn had notice this symbol was painted on the sides of the dorm buildings as well. It was only her second visit to the compound and yet she felt this need and desire to learn more about not only the people who refer to themselves as the Project at Edens Gate, but also the preacher himself.

Evelyn knew that Joseph Seed had to be somewhere around his early 40s but I couldn't stop him from being extremely charismatic, she had only met him once but she already felt like he had a magnetic quality, in fact she found herself thinking about him quite a lot. It was another Sunday sermon so it had been a week since their last meeting, and Evelyn was filled with nerves yet and excitement for her next encounter with the Father. She was pretty sure that he would barely remember her even though only a week had passed. He had so many loyal followers in his flock that seemed to spend most of the days with him or at least around him, so Evelyn was sure that he did not have time for someone as irrelevant and new as herself.

Yet she return to the church and once again she found herself in the front pew, knowing that you would have the perfect view, front row seat, to Joseph as he preached to his worshipping flock.

Joseph held his sermon like he would any other Sunday but he found him self incapable of taking his eyes off of the young woman sitting in front of him, the way that her gaze was fixated on him or the way that her delicate fingers would push her dark hair out of her face. And Evelyn noticed, she could feel the intensity of his gaze on her but she couldn't decide whether it was real or just her imagination.

After the sermon Evelyn walked out of the church, still thinking over Joseph's sermon. She found that the things that he said would sometimes get stuck in her head and make her contemplate the world that live in. It made her think about the darkness that people liked to ignore.

She looked around the outside of the church and watched the flock talk among themselves, she hadn't actually spoken to any of them yet because she was worried that they wouldn't except her.

For the second week in a row, Joseph watched Evelyn linger outside of the church before she began to walk away. Joseph nodded towards his siblings, a silent goodbye, before he approached the young woman.

"Evelyn, I'm glad that you decided to visit us again. I hope that you found the sermon something of interest" Joseph said we a smile. He always wanted people to listen to him, so that he could help then, but he felt like he needed her to listen to him. He needed her to believe, to understand, he just need her too. He could explain why he felt so strongly about one particular follower, so he assumed it was God's work.

"Oh, yes, of course. The things that you have to say are...well, they are fascinating. I really can't find a way to describe it, it's honest and passionate" Evelyn smiled shyly. She wanted to really talk to this man, she wanted to know more about him and this place but why would he ever be interested in that?

"Would you ever consider becoming a member of the Project? Of course you are welcome here whenever you like but would you ever consider converting?" Joseph asked, truly hoping that she would be quick to accept his offer.

"Well I-what does converting involve?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, which Joseph thought was utterly adorable.

"It's nothing for you to worry about. You will have a baptism, the water will wash away your sins and you will reemerge anew. Then you will have a private confessional where you reveal your sins so that you can be relieved of them and reach atonement. Of course you are free to confess anything before of after you join the Project, but the one during initiation is important" the Father explained with a soft smile.

"And your brother, John, is in charge of this?" Evelyn asked, remembering that John Seed was the Baptist and held confessions as well.

"Yes, usually John handles baptisms and confessions but sometimes I am the one who holds them. Sometimes a member of my flock feels more comfortable to confess to me but John is a good man, very competent in his role" he assured the young woman. Even though this was usually John's job, Joseph was rather certain that he would be taking this one because this one was special.

"I didn't doubt it..." Evelyn nodded, definitely not meaning to offend in anyway. "I-I don't know about converting. I mean what you have here is something truly special but I don't want to rush into things. I have only just moved to Hope County, really, so I think I should learn a little more about the Project and I should probably talk to my parents before I make a decision like that" she told him. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't interested in joining the project, something about it just seemed to alluring and even comforting.

"Of course, I completely understand. I hope we will see you next week" Joseph nodded, understanding that this was an important decision to make, he would give her all the time she needed to make her choice. Something just told him that she would join them, it was fate.

"You will. Goodbye, Father" Evelyn smiled up at the man, who was quite a bit taller than her.

"Goodbye, Evelyn" Joseph smiled back down at her, wanting nothing more than to be able to reach other and caress her cheek but he knew that, for now, he had to keep those thoughts to himself. He wouldn't want to scare her away.