Page 25 of The Cult

The man himself sits in a chair that I swear reminds me of a throne. I wonder if he requires people to call him king too?

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Nash’s gaze isn’t on his leader but focused on the floor. He appears distinctly submissive right now, and I’m not sure if I should be copying his behavior.

I can’t deny there’s something about Micah that’s intriguing. Sitting shirtless, he almost seems to be showing off his muscular chest and abs. It strikes me as odd that he welcomes people like this, although I guess it could fit with the whole positivity thing. I certainly could understand if he was hot, but this room we’re in right now is obviously air conditioned and quite comfortable compared to outside.

I look over at Nash to see him bow and feel my mouth drop open. So everyone has to bow to Micah? That doesn’t sound like something a group based in positivity would do.

The leader smiles, and I can’t help but admit he’s quite attractive. “Nash, thank you for bringing Lara here. Did you two have a good talk?” he asks in a silky smooth voice.

Nash stands up to his full height and nods. “You’re welcome. I think so. I hope we did, at least.”

Nothing in his tone of voice or the words he’s saying sounds like the man I’ve spent the last nearly half hour with. This man couldn’t protect me from Nadine’s men if he had a gun. They’d chew this Nash up and spit him out without breaking a sweat, even in the oppressive heat outside.

With a wave of his hand, Micah says, “Well, thank you, Nash. You may go now.”

I watch Nash bow once more before leaving me with his leader. Clearly, Micah has a strong hold over him. Perhaps not total control, but close to it.

The door closes behind him, and then it’s just Micah and me. I assume I’m supposed to bow, but something inside me makes that impossible. It’s not a sense of rebellion as much as a disbelief that anyone would have to bow to a man in the United States. He’s not royalty, no matter what that chair of his looks like, and I am not his subject.

He appears to wait for me to act like Nash, and when I don’t, he nods like we’re having some unspoken discussion and I’ve just informed him there will be no bowing from me. It’s probably not the best way to start this meeting, but if he presses me on why I didn’t do it, I’ll play dumb and claim I thought only men had to bow.

“How are you doing today, Lara?” Micah asks like he knows me and truly cares about my welfare.

I sigh as I decide how to answer. I can’t tell the truth. He won’t take hearing I’ve come to his group looking for my sister well. I can’t complain about my treatment from Nadine and her henchmen. Nash said she’s important here, which means she’s important to Micah.

So I choose the least offensive route and say, “I was very hot until I walked in here. It’s quite comfortable in this room. How are you?”

Instantly, I worry I’ve made a mistake being polite. No questions was the one thing Nash repeated over and over, and right out of the gate, I ask a question. Stupid Lara.

I quickly apologize for my misstep. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that. It’s just habit to ask people how they are after they’ve asked me.”

His smile never fades, even when I ask him a question. He simply stares directly at my face looking genuinely interested in every word I utter.

“Society has trained you well, I see.”

As much as I want to ask what that comment means, I do as Nash said and keep my mouth shut. When I don’t reply, Micah stands from his chair and walks over, stopping directly in front of me.

“I’m guessing you don’t know what I mean by that. Do you?” he says, staring directly into my eyes.

His gaze is almost hypnotic, but I don’t look away. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t.”

“You asked me how I was because it was habit. Not because you truly wanted to know how I was feeling. Not that you genuinely cared about my well-being. That’s society’s training you to be a good little soldier, not to offend anyone but not to actually be interested in anyone either.”

As much as I want to disagree with him, I can’t because he’s not wrong about this. Modern society expects a surface level of empathy, but caring too much makes you appear soft and weak. So we all go around asking how people are and never really caring. How many times have I asked someone how they were and hated when they actually told me the truth? Nobody wants to know what anyone else is going through. That’s a burden we never asked for. Just say you’re fine, and then we can all move on with our day, right?

“But that’s not all you’re supposed to be, Lara. Caring about people is admirable. No one should ever shy away from truly caring about their fellow man. Merely asking how someone is simply because it’s polite is useless. It does nothing for them and nothing for you. Neither one of us gained anything by that question. In fact, I believe it hurts our souls to be so disinterested in our fellow man.”

I consider telling him what my father once said to me about manners being the lubricant of polite society, but I press my lips together and stay quiet as Nash told me to. I’m supposed to be silent and listen, and if that will help me locate my sister, then that’s what I’ll do.

Still gazing into my eyes, Micah continues. “Society doesn’t care about you achieving the greatness you were meant to have, Lara. It cares about you conforming. That’s it. Step out of line—neglect to ask someone how they are after they’ve asked you—and you’re rude, and you’ll have to be punished for that.”

I want to tell him that’s exactly what’s happened to me this morning, but I decide not to. It’s just that staying quiet when I have so much to say is hard.

“Society is wrong, though. You have so much inside you that society has pushed down or snuffed out. I can see it when I look at you. I bet you don’t see it, though, and that’s a true shame. Society has made you think your greatness is based on how you look or how well you follow rules, but I can help you see your greatness is based on something entirely different and more fulfilling than you’ve ever experienced.”

Even though I know this isn’t what The Golden Light is about, especially after spending time with Nadine, it’s hard not to wish the world and this place could be exactly as he says. However, I sense he doesn’t see the irony of what he’s preaching while everyone outside of this room must follow The Golden Light’s rules or risk being punished by his favorite Nadine. At the same time, though, I’m beginning to see why someone would find his ideas appealing. This man has a way about him that’s nothing short of mesmerizing.

Since he didn’t ask me a direct question or my opinion, I stay silent and wait for him to continue as I study his expression. He exudes confidence, which likely makes him more appealing than his good looks do. There’s something else about him, though, that I can’t put my finger on, something that makes it hard to imagine he’s anything but that caring leader Nash described.

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