Chapter 3: That evening at dinner, Asia told her father and mother about the experience with the man on the street. “Oh, the nonsense some people will believe.” came the sweet voice of Asia’s mother, Raviel Shultz. She was still very young and elegant looking for her age. She wore an ice blue t-shirt with khakis and some grey slip on shoes to match. Her almost grey eyes sparkled on a face with a perfect complexion. A few tousled strands of her thick, wavy, dark brown hair, which she had tied up in a bun, came loose and draped over her face. Even though she worked hard throughout the day, she still managed to look beautiful. “I can’t believe how far some people will go to spread that nonsense.” The voice belonged to her father, David Shultz. He was a tall, kindhearted fellow. He stood about 6’3” tall and had broad shoulders and finely toned muscles from working with horses his whole life. His green eyes perfectly matched with his dark brown curly hair, which Asia had inherited. Asia helped her mother with the dishes after dinner and then went up to her room to do her research on Christianity. What she found astonished her. She researched the events proposed in the bible, from the Great Flood to Jesus’ birth and Resurrection. She saw a bunch of words and phrases she didn’t understand and made a choice to ask someone about it… someday. It could all wait right? She had all the time in the world. It didn’t really matter if she did it now. But one question gnawed at the back of her mind… If Christianity was just a big hoax, then why would so many people be willing to die such terrible deaths for it? She laid in her bed for a while and then decided to call Noah and ask him to meet her on the bluff the next day. They had things they needed to talk about. The following day, as she approached the cliff, she could see that Noah had not arrived yet. So she sat down to think. She was lost deep in thought when soft footsteps from behind her jerked her out of her daze. She turned to see Noah approaching. He had a calm expression on his face, which Asia welcomed, opposed to his gruff and steely eyed demeanor from the previous day. Asia offered him a warm smile which, to her delight, he smiled back. He came to sit on the rocks beside her. “Beautiful isn’t it.” He stated without diverting his gaze from the sunrise. Asia didn’t respond but just stared contentedly on the horizon. In a few moments, the two of them were showered in vibrant rays of pink, fresh sunlight as it rose above the crest of the hills. Majestically it gave light to where the shadows were only moments before. Asia held her breath as the glory of the moment seemed to happen in slow motion. “How on earth could all of this have happened just by accident?” Asia thought out loud as she gestured at the sunrise, still in awe. What on earth do you mean?” Noah stared at her, perplexed. She met his gaze with a firm stare.
“What I mean is,” she began cautiously, contemplating the repercussions of her next words. “Life just seems too complicated to have started from some big bang.... doesn’t it? She half pleaded for him to understand her thoughts. She searched his eyes for any hint of understanding but found only confusion. He sighed long and hard. After several agonizingly long minutes, he replied, “Asia... please tell me you don’t actually believe that crazy guy from yesterday? He had a completely fabricated story. Such fluff could never actually have happened.” He stated flatly. “But… I did some research last night and found incredible evidence to support what that man said!” She begged. “Ridiculous! You know in your heart that it isn’t true.” He said firmly. “What makes you so sure? Because something deep inside me is pointing me to find out more. It just seems… right… I don’t know.” She pleaded. “I know because all of science proves it! You learned that in school, don’t you remember? The ninth grade when we did Biology? You were there just the same as me, Asia!” He growled. Asia was perplexed. She pondered his words for a while, then heaved a huge sigh. “I suppose you’re right.” She answered, defeated. She simply couldn’t refute his arguments. “Right. See? It’s nonsense. I could never let you fall for such craziness could I? I care about you too much!” He stated with a smile. “That’s what my parents said…” She answered. But she still couldn’t get rid of the still, small voice in the back of her brain that told her to keep searching. “Hey how’s your photography business going?” He asked. Their conversation moved on and Asia had a great time. As the sun began to rise higher in the sky, they both decided to head home for lunch. They said goodbye and headed their separate ways. Official Studio:https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/27374034/projects/ Next Chapter:https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/421011143 Prologue:https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/419336630