Sin of Lust

CHAPTER 8

Sin of Lust by Swapie Achilles

CHAPTER VIII

OCTOBER

“I see.” The kid replied looking down on the perfectly cube secret box, and saw a little line that looks like a fine cut, “what is this?”

“What? What did you saw?” the nun looks closer to where she’s touching.

The child traced the cut line with her tiny fingers and have an idea, “I think I have an idea… hold this for a moment, sister.”

She let the older woman handles the box to which she scans again from each side, but to her mischance, she didn’t get to see what Blanche was talking about.  The kid returned with a card on her hand and hands to it Mary Jane.

“What’s this for?” she asked as she creased her brows in confusion.

“I saw a line there, as thin as this, maybe we could try it to open it up,” she suggested.

“Where’s the line?” the nun queried, she twisted the box upside down but can’t find anything.

“Just there, above your finger,” the child instructed her.

“I don’t think I can see any line here,” the nun let out an exasperated sigh.

“Sister Mary, you need to get to eat more pumpkins…” she laughs at her and take the box from her hand.

Blanche inserted the card on the slit and slide it down and box finally clicks open. They both cheered internally when they heard the sound.  They proceeded opened the wooden lid of it, revealing a notebook inside.

“A notebook?” Blanche queried as she furtherly scanned a notebook that seems a little too old compare to her with leather covers and a thin rope wrapped around it, securing the pages from falling apart.  

Blanche and the nun nods at each other before they decided to open it, they carefully untie the thin, tattered rope around it and went to open it on the last page. The penmanship is quite wobbly indicating that her hands are shaking as she writes it, and the ink are smudged a few times.

Mary Jane traces the prominent smudges on the paper, thinking that Novelyn was hastily writing her last letter that the ink wasn’t able to dry properly before her hand swipe on it. As she scans the whole page, she can tell how scared she was just based on the handwriting.

“What is that? What’s in there?” Blanche peeked from her shoulder to see scribbles she can’t even read.

“Are you sure you want to hear this?” Mary Jane asked the child first.

She knew what’s written here is might not appropriate for the kids, but she know Blanche already know much for her age.

“Yes, I want to know what’s in there,” she said in pure determination. “That’s the last words from Sister Novelyn and I want to hear it.”

Thus, she began to read, “I can’t stand it, anymore. I can’t stand the whimpers and cries of my children, so I must do it. I’ve been wishing for so long but it seems like Luxuria will never hear me. So, I will do it myself. Tonight, I will end the sufferings of my child, and the others too. I will not let him touch any of my children. This may not be successful for he has the cross of Luxuria but I must try. Luxuria may not grant my heart’s desire, but I will. The sinner, Novelyn.”

Mary jane read out loud, and let the kid hear the what’s written in the notebook for she has nothing to hide form her anymore.

Even though she doesn’t know how to read yet, Blanche can truly understand what the letter is indicating, “She… she tried to kill him? But she failed.”

Mary can tell that this kid has an adult’s cognitive, and so she got an idea that will surely make her grow, along with the others. This will be their greatest weapon that needs to get sharpened.

“Sister Novelyn didn’t really left?” a shaky voice boomed from the door

And this caught eh attention of the two in the inside.

“Melody, Micah…” Mary Jane breathes out, as they see the wide eyes twins standing by the door. “How long have you been there?”

“She- she was, she was killed? Who did that?” Micah stutters out. She didn’t even bother to answer the question.

“She didn’t leave, did she?” Micah asked as her eyes starts to swell with tears and her breath hiked up from her throat, “she was killed, wasn’t she?”

“Calm down…” the nun tries to talk to them.

Melody starts to walk towards Mary Jane, the echoes of her footstep is enough for the nun to get agitated. For this is not the perfect time for them to know the truth, and the first thing they heard is the death of their beloved nun.

“Wait kids.” She hurriedly stood up and gave Blanche the box along with the note.

She then proceeded to meet her half way, “I can explain…”  

But Melody isn’t stopping at all. She remains stomping on her way with an unreadable expression.

“Older sister Melody!” Blanche yelled and runs to her stop hug her torso but her strength wasn’t enough to hold her on her place, her feet that were surely glued on the ground are now sliding as Melody pushed through.

“Melody, wait!” Micah yelled and runs to stop her sister but it was too late.

Blanche was forced to the side and Mary Jane found herself lying on the floor with Melody siting on her stomach with anger, and frustration written all over her face. Her eyes look directly on hers, without saying any word, she knew what her gaze wants to tell her.

Those are the eyes that wants to know the truth at all cost.

It took Melody to form her own words but luckily, she managed to take it out of her throat, “Tell me, everything you know.”

May Jane didn’t hesitate to nod.

Micah locks the door to not let anyone in and hear the conversation that will take place there, before she runs to pull her sister away from Mary Jane.

“Get off of sister!” she yelled as she put her arms under her sister’s armpit and pull her away from the nun.

Micah mange to get her sister off of their sister but with a great struggle.

Mary Jane gradually stood up and dusted herself, she can see on their eyes the frustration and the thirst to know everything. She looks at the side and took a deep sigh.

“Please sit down.” She whispered slowly and took a seat for herself.

“Why can you not tell us right now?” Melody grits her teeth, “is there anything you should tell us more than what happened to sister Novelyn?”

“Melody please, just listen to sister first.” Micah held her wrists, stopping her before she could have done something again.

“It was the same day when…”

May jane told them everything that have happened and as the story goes on, she can’t help but get anxious from the expression they are making, especially Melody who’s obviously shaking.

But she didn’t stop, they wish to know the truth and she can’t just leave them in the dark, from the moment she saw on Daleon’s office until the moment Hannie left.

“What happened to Hannie, why did you mention her? She’s not here so why do-!” Melody was taken aback from her own question, “did something happened to her?” she asked, her voice is shaking itching to shout.

“Father Daleon was always calling her even late at night, he said he needs her help for something. What’s the reason behind it?” Micah stated.

Mary Jane can’t hide it anymore, they need to know what’s happening inside this orphanage, “Melody, listen.” She whispered to her as calm as possible.

“Hannie was hurt by Daleon-!” she was cut off when she Melody rose from her seat in a matter of second that the force from the back of her knee send the chair on the floor with a loud thud that made Blanche flinch at the sound.

“Melody…” Micah whispered yelled at her reaction.

“Please, say it straightforwardly we don’t know what kind of suffering she went through on his hands.” She said in a begging manner, as if her eyes are telling them that she’s bracing the herself for the whole truth.

Mary Jane took another deep breath, “She… she was assaulted.”

“Assaulted?” Micah and Melody eyes are wide as saucer.

“You mean…” they trailed.

Blanche took off from her seat and pull out a picture from her pocket, the same picture she showed to the nun. Melody took the picture from her hand with her trembling ones and look at it, “This is…”

“I saw him doing that to older sister Hannie,” Blanche said, “and…”

The kid couldn’t bring herself to finish what she wants to convey, because her eyes starts to brim with tears, yet the youngest of them fights it off. Micah pulled Blanche into a tight hug, for she can’t imagine the traumatizing event she had witnessed.

 They might be young to understand some complicated events but the fact that they have some education where they should and shouldn’t be touch, they can tell Daleon is taking it too far.

“Then we should…” Melody suggested but she was cut off instantly.

“They will never believe us.” Micah said in a sad tone.

“But why?!” Melody hollered.

“Because we are just children, they will not take our words seriously! To them we are just imagining things!” Micah hollered back, “look at Daleon, he’s a respected high priest, he has many connections and do you think they will believe our words? To them he’s the messenger of Luxuria while they think of us fooling around!”

“So, you’re planning to keep it down?!”