Eva apologised to mom saying that she was so sorry for acting like a spoiled brat to her when she protested about going to the camp. My sister boasted that this was the best thing that happened in her life. She was now a reborn Christian that realized what a sinner she was. My mom smiled and joked telling my sister not to be a fanatic.
"I am not a fanatic", Eva shouted, "It is a good thing that I went to the camp. I realized that my life was sinful and displeased God in so many ways. I feel like I was born again. Jesus is the most important thing in my life. I will try and avoid all sin and please Jesus in every way I can. My life must change. I will not have people corrupting me, and that includes my family!"
Eva was not done. She commented on how I did my best to resist the friendship of Jesus and insisted on showing so much skin by wearing belly tops and shorts. I could see that mom was confused. She tried to remind Eva that it was her that insisted that I dress like a teen. Eva would not discuss it. She continued by telling us that we too must experience a rebirth, and partake of the many gifts a friendship with Jesus has.
I went to my bedroom. Aisha would be back in a few days. Then I can have some normality left. I could put the Jesus camp beside me and just be the person I wanted to be. Aisha never judged me or made me feel bad. I just has to live with my born again sister that only talked about sinning and Jesus. I do not know if I like her better when she was a bossy sister that was ashamed that I was not as cool as she was or the reborn sister that was like a frustrated nurse.
Mom came to speak with me. I told her everything about the camp. The more I talked about, the more she was surprised. I told her how everyone was fanatical and even spoke in tongues. I told her how the camp leader thought that I was evil and corrupted the others. I hugged mom and started crying. I told her that I had no friends there, and it was hard that everyone thought that I was doing the devils work. I must have cried for some time. Mum comforted me and told me she would not send me back to such a place again.
"You are not evil," she said, "You are 11 years old. You will find your relationship with Jesus. There is no certain way to be his friend. We are all different. I do know that your sister has been influenced by this camp. She will be back to her normal self when she is with her usual friends."
This was not true. I was dancing to the music of my favourite singer Flora. She was a young singer that everyone thought was great. She was also a bit controversial. She wore leotards when she danced, and her dancing was very adult-like. Maybe that's why I liked her. She had the courage and was not afraid to express herself. I was dancing in my room and trying to mimic Flora. I did not consider it sexual in any way. It was like gymnastics. I loved dancing. It was also a way in which I could clear my mind.
This was until Eva entered my room. She shouted and asked what I was doing. I told her I was dancing. Then she gave me a long speech that the music was not suitable for a girl my age.
"You should not listen to songs about love, and breakups," she said, "You should not listen to sexual songs that promote lust and sin. You definitely should not dance to it. There are many Christian rock and pop artists that are loyal to Jesus and spread the word of God. Why do you not wake up and accept Jesus into your life? I would be so proud of you!"
I told Eva to leave my room. She tried to protest, but I insisted that she left me alone. I could accept that she was born again and a Jesus fanatic, but I wanted to decide who I was. This meant that my sister and I did not speak for the next few days. When she tried speaking to me, it was to remind me of what a great sinner I was. When I spoke with her, it was to tell her how crazy she was. Mum tried to intervene and tell us that we should get on together. How could I get on with someone that thought that everything I did was a sin!
The day finally came when Aisha was home. She visited me as soon as she could. I was so happy when she did visit me. Lucky my sister was out. So Aisha and I sat on my bed and talked about how our summer was like. She had a good time with her grandmother. They did a lot of fun things together, like baking and taking care of her garden. I was happy that Aisha had a good time. She was shocked when I told her about Camp Jesus. She told me that she never considered me a bad influence, but it would be cool if I grew horns. This is what I needed. I needed to be with a friend and laugh!
When Aisha was on her way out, Eva was by now home. She said nothing to Aisha but caused a storm when Aisha was gone. Eva wanted to know how we could allow an enemy to enter the house. Mom tried to explain that Aisha was only 11. This did not suit Eva at all. She sounded like the camp leader when she talked so much hate about the Muslims. Once again, I had to hear all the bad things about Muslims and how dangerous they were. I think mom was too shocked to speak. If mom wanted to speak, she could not speak, as Eva continued her whining. She told us that Aisha will be taught how to hate Christians, and this put our family in danger. Aisha was a Muslim and Muslims are our enemies.
I was mad. I never thought of Aisha as a threat or a Muslim. She was a good friend that believed in something else. I decided to tell my sister to let Aisha be, so I went into her room. I was shocked. Eva took down all her posters and took away her music and the things a teen her age would like. The room was so bare. I was sure that this was what a nuns bedroom looked like. The worse thing was Eva was in front of a huge cross she had on the wall and she had a belt in her hand. She was whipping herself with the whip. I did not say a word. I just went away. What was happening with my sister? I was so worried about her.
I went back to my bedroom and decided that I would do what my sister wanted. I had a children's Bible and opened it to a random page.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for, in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
I smiled as I read this. This was a Jesus I could be friends with. He was a Jesus that wanted to help everyone, no matter if they were strong or weak. Jesus did not want us to judge one another. He wanted us to treat others as we would like to be treated. This was not the Jesus that the camp lady told us about. He was a Jesus that wanted us to be afraid of people that were different and hate them.
I waited for a few days and things did not become better. My sister still talked about Aisha and warned us that we could not trust Muslims. She became harsher and harsher towards Aisha. I was so afraid of what would happen if Aisha visited here. I started visiting Aisha. It was such a shame that I had to fear what my sister would do with my best friend.
When I came home from Aishas one day, I could see that Eva was in my room. I felt as if I would faint. I ended up crying. Eva tore all the posters of Flora that I had on the wall. My clothes were everywhere. Eva had torn all my skirts and belly tops into pieces. I looked around in tears as my favourite clothes were now rags. Then I saw that the picture of Aisha and me was destroyed. My sister stabbed Aishas face in the picture with scissors. I carefully took the scissors out. Why would Eva do this? How could she be so mean?
I ran to Evas room and barged in. She was once again praying to the big cross. I jumped on her back, knocking her to the ground. I became like a mad girl that started punching her where I could. I shouted that she was mean and Evil. I told her to stop trying to change me. I told her I did not believe in the Jesus that she did.
Mom came in and pulled me off of Eva. I told mom what happened. This made mom try and make Eva understand what she has done was wrong. Eva just got mad and told us that we did not understand her and her mission. Eva stormed out of the house.
I did not sleep that well. My room was a mess and Eva did not come home. Mom came into my room early and said that she had bad news.
"Something happened at Aisha's house." mom explained, "Aisha and her family were asleep while someone lit their house on fire. Her family are fine, but Aisha is in the hospital"
To be continued
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