#disclaimer: this ain't the real religion ya'll the town is just whack

[jonahbjames]

t i m e l i n e

Well I heard there was a secret chord That David played and it pleased the Lord  But you don’t really care for music, do you? 

Jonah Benjamin James was born to Mary Anna and Abraham James on August 23rd, 1998. 

Children were the greatest blessing a life could bring. They were central to a woman’s purpose, and Mary Anna was delighted to fulfill her duty and bring her husband a son. It was God’s plan for their happiness, as He said to Adam and Eve, “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”

And that they did.

Well it goes like this: the fourth, the fifth The minor fall and the major lift The baffled king composing –

Jonah had a little over a year to soak up being the pride and joy of the James family before his first sibling entered the equation.

Meet Leviathan James. Soon to grow taller, blonder, and kinder, Little Levi was the new talk of the town (though not for long, of course). Sometimes Marry Anna would tie a bonnet around his head and think to herself that he had such a feminine face. Such a pretty boy. She wasn’t sure whether to marvel or scowl at that fact. 

It took Jonah some time to grow into filling his older brother role–about ten years, in fact.. Until then, he found ways to cope with the loss, such as using a line of toys to separate the halves of their shared room.

By the time Mercy was born, he had a slightly better idea of what it meant to be the oldest, and with each passing sibling it got easier. So when Serenity was born, he was ready. 

Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you

What better place to raise a family than the house next-door to the town’s bishop? Aliya and Dallin Snow were just one white picket fence away from the James property, and they also had young children. 

Enter Eve Snow, the oldest of the two girls. The same age as the eldest James son, she visited with the family often (The families had a habit of pushing their children together, in the way that adults usually do). 

As they reached puberty, it was thought that perhaps the two might be a good match–after all, it was never too soon to start thinking about marriage–but that bubble was soon popped. 

The eldest Snow daughter was clumsy. Unbecoming. Her embroidery was sloppy and her mousy brown hair was flat. She would stumble and fall like a toddler, even as she reached her teenage years. Her voice always came out as a hushed mumble, her eyes rudely never meeting the gaze of her elders. She would never be good enough for the favorite James child.

Bethany, on the other hand, could make stitches smaller than Leviathan’s baby teeth. She could walk with two books sitting atop her head, get the wrinkles out of any fabric, and mend a pair of pants like she was born to do it. Her lips held an ever-present smile, her long, shiny brown hair neatly wrapped behind her head into a bun. She made God proud. She would be perfect for Jonah. 

It was suggested that perhaps Eve should not visit with the neighboring family as much anymore.

There was a time when you let me know What’s really going on below But now you never show that to me, do you?

The first time Jonah truly realized how different boys and girls’ roles were, he was eight years old. 

The rectangular room in the basement of the church was one of the largest spaces in town. Lined with colorful posters and spiritual proverbs, the community of Sparkville, Utah (an ironic name for such a dull town) had grown to accustomed to it as their safe space. Though also doubling as the location for most town functions, it mainly served as the teaching room. 

Today’s lesson: the story of Adam and Eve’s fall from the Garden of Eden. Prophet Ezekiel, voice loud and booming to the small boy, looked up from his holy book and explained, “The only way a woman will ever be happy–the only way she ever can be happy–is if she lets her faithful husband rule over her. That is her only way back to the Heavenly Father for a Woman. She must obey her husband.”

It all sounded so odd to Jonah, but the Prophet expressed the virtue from the Lord. He was his Messenger. There was no way he could be telling them anything but His absolute truth. 

Oh, how wrong he had been. 

Baby I've been here before I've seen this room and I've walked this floor I used to live alone before I knew you

As Jonah grew older, he started to question things:

Why had their father been banished?  Why did his two youngest siblings not share the rest of the family’s blue eyes?

Sometimes when he looked into Prophet Ezekiel’s eyes, he saw his little sister in them, but he couldn’t figure out why. He couldn’t put the pieces together, but he knew better than to ask. Questioning the elders only brought punishment. It was something he’d seen over and over again. 

To his surprise, he found a questioning soul that matched his in Eve Snow’s shy temperament, the girl from his youth. As the years went by, he found himself seeing more and more of her, and though it wasn’t technically wrong, they kept their friendship a secret from their parents. 

It didn’t stay a ‘friendship’ for long.

But remember when I moved in you And the holy dove was moving too And every breath we drew was –

By the time Jonah and Eve reached sixteen, they had grown comfortable in their game, their rendezvous. It was fun, hopping over the fence after midnight to see her. And if their parents didn’t know, then God might as well be clueless, too. (Not to mention the other things Jonah did without them knowing)

One cold night, they committed one of the biggest sins of all: fornication out of wedlock. It was awkward and thrilling and scary and wonderful, and it certainly didn’t feel like a sin. 

–That is, until Eve realized she was pregnant. 

She tied you to her kitchen chair She broke your throne and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the –  

They had been pretty careful about not letting anyone find out about their escapades–always careful to act no more than friendly in public, possible even overcompensating with civil–but a large, round belly on the small girl would certainly give them away. 

There was no other option: they would have to run. They would pack their bags, meet at their usual spot after everyone else had fallen asleep, and escape. Once they crossed the town border they would be fine. They just had to cross the border. His motorcycle would be too loud, so they would have to walk. It would be a long trek, but it was the only way. They had to get out. They couldn’t be found. They couldn’t stay here. 

They were found long before they reached the border.

The whole night was a blur of screaming and crying. There were two possible punishments for fornication and apostasy: BLOOD ATONEMENT or BANISHMENT. His mother, tear-stricken and betrayed, chose the latter. It was the last thing she could do for her disappointment of a son.

And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch And love is not a victory march It’s a cold and it’s a broken –

After that, Jonah was put on the next plane out of Utah and was sent to live with an Aunt Jess and Uncle Amos whom he had never met. They had left the lifestyle behind over a decade ago, and had now assimilated themselves into the Real World. 

He arrived on the doorstep in Texas in the middle of the night, eyes red-brimmed and puffy. The boy was a sinner and a criminal in need of healing, and they were his last hope. 

They tried their best. 

Public school was too much of a shock for the sheltered boy. So, they sent him to Plath Academy for Troubled Teens as a middle ground. Perhaps the boarding school could provide the healing and societal integration that he needed. 

Perhaps one day he would be able to atone for his sins.

– h a l l e l u j a h