16.
“Time is not luxury at present,”
Anya says, approaching the illuminated rectangular, gold-rimmed glass box that
houses the 4.4 meter by 1.1 meter linen cloth bearing the blood-soaked image of
the crucified Jesus. She has the smartphone Checco provided for her in hand,
and she immediately begins using its camera app to snap away at the body,
starting with the feet on the left-hand side and making her way along the
length of the body.
I, on the other hand, look for
something else. Look for it with the naked eye.
Inscriptions. Drawings. Symbols.
Maps …
“I need something to stand on,” I
say, looking over both shoulders.
I spot some black chairs pressed up
against the sacristy wall. I grab hold of one of the chairs, position it in
front of the faint image. With the naked eye
