[center][h2]”The Least Of These” - Part 4[/h2][/center]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/OKSkiwf.png[/img]
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Part 4 of a JP/Collab from [@Xandrya], [@PatientBean], [@Bugman], [@Gunther], [@wanderingwolf], and [@sail3695]  

[i]Foodie duty...great.[/i]
 
Imani placed the trays of sandwiches and pitchers of lemonade on the table as soon as she heard footsteps approaching a while later. Prior to then, she was leaned back on a chair with legs crossed atop the space that was now occupied.
 
New faces poured into the galley, and Imani glanced them over. Yes, they looked about to be starving...she might as well be their savior. 
 
“Ah...you’ve made it. Welcome. Please, gon and help yoselves to these extraordinary snacks, not that they were prepared by me,” she shrugged her shoulders, “but they still delicious! And no, don’t be shy now..."
 
[i]All the sisters on this ship are so pretty![/i]  Raphael felt a pang of shame over such a thought, yet he couldn’t help smiling brightly as the lovely woman set food…appetizing food!...before those of his sect who’d made it upstairs.  Knowing full well that gluttony was a sin, he fought the urge to pile his plate high with the delicious looking food, opting instead for what he hoped would be regarded as a much more modest pair of sandwiches.
 
He prayed, both for forgiveness over his blushing admiration of Sister Imani, and also in thanksgiving of the good fortune she and her shipmates had bestowed upon he and his.  Over time, he could sense the spirits rising.  They took of the life giving meal, its’ invigorating effects raising smiles and outright laughter among the Anabaptists.  It warmed Raphael’s heart to see the growing cheer and relief upon their faces.  They had been blessed.  There was joy in this room.  “Sister Imani?” he asked as she strode confidently past, “would it be alright if I had one more?”
 
It seemed someone had taken a liking to her...it was beyond obvious and not just from blushing but Imani pretended not to notice. He then was apparently ready for seconds. 
 
She stopped him in his tracks, one hand held out in front of her so he wouldn't have to get up to fulfill his own request. "It would be my pleasure, we're here to serve..."
 
After a cheeky smile, she grabbed a napkin and stretched out over the table to take another sandwich before placing it in front of him. It then dawned on her, after observing some of their faces, that such a small gesture as getting fed made these people rather content. "Fancy another drink?" she motioned towards his almost empty cup.
 
In his experience, kindness was a rarety, a treasure to be shared among his Anabaptist sisters and brothers.  By virtue of his faith’s teachings Raphael had given it freely to those on the outside with no expectation of reward.  A bit of wisdom, he’d realized, as precious little ever came his way from outsiders.  
 
But today was a day of revelation.  There was kindness in the outside world, and those who would give it with abandon, from Brother Joseph who led his people here to Sister Doctor Alana…to the attentive Sister Imani.  “Yes, thank you,”  Raphael smiled, then felt the flush rising to his cheeks once more.  “Please forgive me,” he averted his eyes from the beautiful woman as she delivered another bottle of cola.  “I don’t mean to…”
 
"Dear don't apologize, you gotten a thing to worry about..." She knew. Obviously she knew. Imani decided to sit down next to him and gauge his reaction as the others, well, they were consumed by the aliments they had been offered. She went on to place a hand on his left shoulder as if reassuring him. "Never feel bad for killing off your hunger...it is indeed a blessing."
 
He was young, chances were he wouldn't catch on to her playing clueless.
 
Now, he was flustered.  If he weren’t already blushing, Raphael knew that the jolt of Sister Imani’s hand upon his shoulder was like to turn his face a deep crimson.  “Uh…um…” he stammered.  “Yes…yes it is.”  The new cola offered a chance at concealing his befuddlement.  With nervous hands, he scooped the bottle up, gulping swallow upon swallow of the fizzing drink to buy time.  When at last Raphael thought he’d mastered both his nerves and just what to say to her, he set the bottle upon the table.  With a smile no longer trembling, he turned to look her in the eye, opened his mouth to speak…and loosed a massive belch.
 
From down the table, young Sister Emily doubled over in laughter.
 
“Oh!”  Raphael could barely face her now.  “I am so sorry, Sister Imani!”
 
Her instinct was to chuckle, similarly like the reaction of one of his peers, though not as profound. She didn't do it to be cruel, but Rapael's bodily function was no doubt unexpected. Another apology and Imani might as well start countin' purely for her own amusement. Poor kid only seemed to be digging a deeper hole for himself...and he was quite aware of it.
 
"Watcha expect when you gulp down that cola, eh?" she added playfully as if castigating him. Raphael had drawn the attention of some of the others, and Imani then thought it best to throw him a lifeline. "For what it's worth, some of the girls here gotcha beat..." she feigned with a smirk, "you definitely gotta work on your delivery."
 
Sister Imani proved even more kind than he could’ve hoped.  And pretty.  Really pretty.  When she smiled at him, it felt as if his chest was fit to swell up.  For a minute he wondered if such fraternizing was not of their way.  An upright young Anabaptist man socializing with a beautiful woman who wasn’t wife or blood.   One quick glance down the table confirmed that if his elders thought anything amiss, they weren’t offering anything but chuckles and contented belches of their own from China Doll’s bounteous table.  “I conjure I should,” Raphael’s grin was sheepish.  “So,” he tried to change the subject, “what’s it like to live on a…”
 
[b]...TO BE CONTINUED…[/b]