Page 35 of The Cult

My limbs grow heavier and heavier as I wait with everyone else to see Micah. I have to admit that I’m interested in what he has to say. I wasn’t before, but now I’m eager to hear him talk. He does have a very intriguing way about him. I knew it from the first time I stood in his rooms and we spoke.

Then, as if he materializes out of my desire to see him, Micah walks in through the flap at the back of the tent, and it’s as if every cell in my body is happy he’s here with us. I’ve never felt this level of bliss. That’s what it is. Pure, unadulterated bliss. It’s the best feeling I’ve ever experienced.

“Hello, my children,” he says, his voice smooth and comforting, like a piece of silk against my skin.

He’s shirtless and wearing black pants that have a sheen to them. He’s also barefoot, and I notice the top of his feet are as tan as his upper body.

Everyone says hello back to him, so I join in, careful to make sure not to stick out in any way. Going against the grain here is wrong. I know that now.

Micah steps up onto the stage and opens his arms out wide as he tilts his head back to look at the top of the tent. His biceps flex and his chest muscles puff out so he looks even more attractive. I don’t think I understood how appealing he is until this moment. His body is as beautiful as his face.

“It’s a wonderful day for us to join in fellowship and pledge ourselves to making this world the best place it can be for each and every one of us. As I look out at your beautiful faces, I see people who are finally living up to their potential. Do you feel it? Do you feel the love I have for you and the happiness that’s coursing through me for how wonderful your lives are right now?”

Everyone around me answers him that they feel his love, so I nod and answer too. “Yes! I feel it!”

Whatever this is I’m feeling, it’s warm and safe, and for the first time here, I’m happy. I want to live up to my potential. I want to be better than I’ve always been.

“Good!” he says as he walks across the stage to stop in front of Mary and me. “I have so much love inside me for you, and I feel your love for me. It’s like a beautiful, warm hug that makes me feel like I can do anything in this world.”

I look at Mary and smile at how happy she looks right now. Micah stares down at her, and I hope she knows how wonderful she is. If Micah can see it, I know everyone else here can. That’s terrific for her.

He reaches out his hand to take hers, and I swear it’s like the Michelangelo painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Pulling her up on stage, he beams a smile at her and she smiles back. It’s like they’re as blissful as they can be.

“Mary here is a perfect example of what we do here at The Golden Light. She came here earlier this week unsure what she wanted to do with her life, and now look at her. She’s thriving here with us! That’s the key, everyone. We all deserve to thrive. Do you want to thrive?”

The crowd around me yells yes, just as I do, even though I’m not sure where my answer is coming from since I feel so fuzzy headed. I do want to thrive, so when I say yes, I mean it, though.

“Look at me. I want to tell you that I wasn’t always the man you see in front of you today. I was lost too, but The Golden Light found me. As soon as I gave myself over to that glorious feeling of acceptance, I was changed. My life became everything I’ve ever wanted. Do you want that for you?”

Of course, we all answer yes, and Micah says, “Then promise me you’ll give all you are to The Golden Light! Say you will! Repeat it with me. I will give all I am to The Golden Light.”

Mary gazes up at his face like she’s never seen anything so incredibly beautiful while the rest of us in the audience cry out, “Yes! I give everything I am to The Golden Light!”

I don’t know how long this goes on because with each passing second I feel more and more relaxed. Like I feel nothing but the purest love there is. Micah praises all of us for being so wonderful, and I watch him take Mary into his arms and feel so happy for her. To have the leader of The Golden Light recognize you for your greatness is something all of us here can only wish for, but she’s got it.

At the end of the bench, the woman sitting there begins to cry and then collapses to the ground. Nobody rushes over to save her, but I understand why now. She’s simply experiencing love like she’s never felt it before. Just as those girls who recruited me said.

For the first time, I understand. The Golden Light is pure love. I get it.

Micah kisses Mary on the lips and announces to the crowd that he has special work to do for all of us. That makes the women all around me cry out their thanks. Some fall to the ground weeping, while others simply hold their heads in their hands and sob at how happy they are.

When she sits down next to me, I take Mary’s hands in mine and smile at her. “You are so lucky. He’s seen your greatness. I’m so happy for you!”

She nods and touches her lips with her fingertips. “He kissed me. It was like having someone you’ve admired all your life notice you. I’ve never felt this happy, Lara. I want you to feel this too. Do you?”

“I do! It’s wonderful. This is how we’re supposed to feel every day of our lives,” I say, enjoying her happiness right along with her.

I finally get it. Now I see what The Golden Light is all about and how good it is.

18

Lara

A woman’sscream pierces the heavy, humid air, and I run outside with the other new recruits into the dark night to find out what’s happening. We stop at the bottom of the stairs leading to our cabin and look around for a clue to who screamed and why, but it’s impossible to see anything in the pitch black.

Beside me, Cheyenne whispers, “Maybe we shouldn’t be out here alone. It’s so dark, and God only knows what lives in those woods over there.”

Another scream makes us all stiffen in pure terror, and she grabs my hand, squeezing tightly. “Oh my God! We need to go back in!”

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