Geno went to the Sanctuary, climbed the narra stairs and saw Paul- the guy who was with Grace the other day. He was leaning on the railings of the veranda and beside him was a blind man sitting in a rocking chair with cane in his left hand. Geno stopped walking and sat on the stairs. They listened as the blind man spoke.
“If someone says he has faith but does nothing, his faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save him? Someone might need clothes or might need food. And you say to him, God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat.”
Geno stared at his burnt hand and then, at the blind man who seemed to be looking at his direction.
“You say this, but you do not give that person the thing he needs. Unless you help him, your words are worth nothing,” the old man continued. “It is the same with faith. If faith does nothing, then that faith is dead because it is alone. You believe there is one God. Good! But the demons believe that too! And they shake with fear. You are a fool to believe but faith that does nothing is useless. ”
The old man’s voice echoed through his ears as he remembered his last day in the hospital. A detective in mid-thirties stood in front of him while Grace was changing the gauze on his burnt skin.
“Are you sure?” the detective asked him while scribbling on his notebook.
“SAA2746”
The detective stopped writing and looked at Geno.
“That afternoon, you were walking around Mercy Street looking for a witness. I saw you got in your car. It’s a white Skyactiv, right?”
“Then, why didn’t you approach me?”
“I..uhm..” Geno started scratching his head. “Well…”
“He was too lazy to make the report that time,” it was Grace who answered for him.
“Lazy?” the police officer frowned. He closed his notebook and crossed his arms over his chest. “You see boy, the thing is, there’s a problem with that car.”
“Don’t tell me it’s a stolen car, detective?” Grace asked.”
“The car was found by PMP patrol officers in an alley near SVHS at around 7:30 in the morning. They said the car exploded and the driver, Mr. Pinlac was found dead inside. ”
“How could that happen?”
“According to the officer-in-charge, a cigarette caused the fire. But autopsy says he was under the influence of drugs that day. He was a known user after all who had been in and out of the prison for the last three years. So I guess, this case is as good as closed.”
“Guess there’s nothing that we can do about that,” Grace finished covering his brother’s burns with a new gauze. “How about our case? What happened to your investigation?”
“Oh well,” the detective scratched his neck as he tried to explain again that the fire started due to the leak in the gas range in the kitchen.
Geno flinched when he felt a little sting on his injured shoulder. He stared at the detective and listened as his mind started to drift a thousand miles away.
“Now,” the blind man went near the railings where Paul was and stared down at Geno. “Show me your faith by the things that you do. It’s time to hunt the spirits down and win this war..”
Geno stood up and looked back at the blind man with eyes full of suspicions. “What is he, exactly?” he asked Paul.
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