believe or know

(Felicia POV)

Felicia watched the discussions with interest. It wasn't her style to talk, debate or discuss anything and everything. She much preferred to listen. She'd been criticized for not talking much, but she didn't talk much anymore. She remembered her guitar teacher asking her parents if she talked at home. Of course, she talked with her parents, but the teacher's question was legitimate, since in 6 years of lessons they hadn't exchanged more than a few thousand words.

That's probably why she'd become friends with Leo. He liked to talk, and she liked to listen, and who cares if it led to Leo doing the talking for 2. Leo was much more comfortable speaking than she was. Yet Leo had explained to her that he wasn't comfortable speaking, but to make up for this weakness he made an effort to speak. If she remembered correctly, he'd had a lonely childhood in primary school and hadn't had any real friends until he met Daphne.

Daphne was different from what she'd imagined. Not that she had a specific image in mind, but let's just say that Leo had described her with so many superlatives that one was almost disappointed when meeting her. Of course, it wasn't Daphne's fault, she seemed a lovely person, but Felicia would obviously have to make an extra effort to get to know her a little better. That would have to wait, however, as Daphne was about to go for a run accompanied by Maria.

"I'd better start right away if I want to be finished before lunch", said Daphne.

"I'll be right behind you," said Maria, who took off after her.

They began to run rapidly and disappeared from their field of vision in an instant.

"Is she aware that she'll never be able to keep up that running pace for 3 hours?" asked Olivia.

"I don't think so, but something tells me it was a good idea for Maria to go with her." said Jessica, suppressing a smile.

Felicia wasn't going to scoff. She wasn't much of a sportswoman herself. Leo was more athletic than she was, and yet you couldn't really say that Leo was athletic. Unless that had changed since this show started? Clearly not impossible, given what the Leprechaun was capable of.

"If not, I suggest we take you on a tour of the island and the hotel. It'll also give us a chance to spend some time together," said Abigail.

_"If you like," _replied Olivia, who hadn't looked up from her empty plate.

Felicia merely nodded her head; she was busier trying to understand what Olivia was thinking. Olivia was, to say the least, hard to pin down. She didn't say what she was thinking, yet it didn't seem as if she was lying. She seemed a little lost, confused, as if everything she knew for certain had just disappeared. Which, factually, was probably the case.

Felicia didn't really have this problem. She was convinced that whatever had happened was part of a grand plan beyond her control. If God had decided that she had to take part in this show, there had to be a good reason. The only question she had was what that reason might be.

This show didn't really seem to be in line with church mores. Was she there to help bring this show back into line? Or was she supposed to use the show to help the needy?

Honestly speaking, this show wasn't completely the opposite of God's way. Apart from a certain penchant for lust and excess, this place could have passed for a new Eden. There was, however, one point that left her dubious. Why a Leprechaun? If it had been an angel or a demon, she'd have understood, but in this case, she found it hard to understand what a Leprechaun was doing here. Besides, what category did she put Leprechauns in? Were they some kind of demon or something else?

"You don't talk much, Felicia," said Eric, snapping Felicia out of her thoughts.

_"Maybe she just doesn't feel like talking to you," _said Jessica, who couldn't resist the opportunity to throw a dig at Eric.

"Felicia doesn't talk much, but she's a good listener and makes pertinent remarks" said Leo, who was following behind Felicia.

"I don't talk so little," said Felicia, blushing despite herself.

"You don't? So, what do you want to talk about? Boy, sex, fashion, music, sports? Tell me you're not one of those Otaku who talks manga all day." said Jessica.

"Uh, no, I'm not a big manga fan, except maybe Detective Conan, but that's more because I'm a crime series fan," says Felicia.

# Author's note: I promise I wasn't even inspired by Mary Exarch's character. Any similarities between the characters are purely coincidental. #

"Oh, I see," said Jessica, barely concealing her disappointment. Felicia could imagine that the young woman didn't like detective shows.

_"But I do like music. I've been playing guitar for several years and otherwise I participate in the church choir every Sunday." _said Felicia.

"Every Sunday?!" said Jessica.

"Yes, why?" asked Felicia.

"But how do you do it? I sleep in on Sunday mornings and go out with my friends on Sunday afternoons. Okay, I can skip it occasionally to do something else, but it's just impossible to go without it every week," said Jessica.

Jessica was obviously not a believer. After all, that didn't mean she was lost forever. Felicia was sure that given enough time, God willing, Jessica could redeem herself. Jessica could redeem herself. What's more, she had a voice that would work wonders in the choir.

"It's a habit to get into. You must be organized to be efficient and not waste time. Rigor and diligence are the keys to success," Felicia replied.

"I doubt I'll be able to," replied Jessica.

"It's within everyone's reach. You just must believe in it," said Felicia.

"Easy for someone who already believes in something without having the slightest proof that it exists to say," said Olivia, who had obviously overheard their discussion.

"Of course, I believe in something without having any proof of it. Like the rest of you, in fact." says Felicia.

"What do you mean, like the rest of us?" asked Hanna, who didn't seem to understand.

"You have two types of information you know. What you know and what you believe. What you know includes everything you've been able to demonstrate or observe yourself. It also includes what you've heard from a trusted source. A trusted source is one whose information you've repeatedly checked for accuracy. Finally, anything that doesn't fit into these categories is in the realm of belief. You can find an infinite number of examples. For example, Cleopatra was the mistress of both Caesar and Mark Antony. In your opinion, should you put this information in the realm of belief or knowledge?" says Felicia.

"Who is Mark Antony?" asked Jessica, who seemed to be having trouble with the example.

"A Roman general who was Cleopatra's lover after Caesar. He tried to take control of the Roman republic but lost to Octavian. He committed suicide with Cleopatra in 30 BC after losing the war to the man who would become the first Roman emperor," Olivia explained.

"But what does that have to do with what she's just explained?" asked Jessica, who frankly didn't understand anything anymore.

_"It's an example. She wants to show you that we're all **** to have faith in something. It's necessary to live in society," _said Abigail.

"It's like Descartes said. I think therefore I am. The only thing you can be sure of is that you exist. The rest is just that you assume that your senses are accurate. So, you're **** to believe in the reality you observe," said Eric, whose explanation seemed to have led Jessica even further astray.

"But what's that got to do with religion?" said Jessica, who was starting to get annoyed.

_"It's similar. Religions believe in certain things, including the existence of God, without having any proof. I admit I'm not religious, or even anti-clerical on certain points, but I must admit that after arriving on this show, we're **** to rethink our definition of religion. We're **** to rethink our definition of what's possible and what's real," _says Leo.

"At the same time, if magic exists, I don't see why God couldn't exist," says Eric.

It wasn't exactly the conclusion Felicia was looking for, but it was something. At least he wasn't closed to the idea of acknowledging its existence.

So, they continued their visit, talking about more mundane subjects such as what did such and such a person do? How did they spend their free time? That sort of thing.