Chapter 3.
709 Words
I woke up way before the church bell rang. I zoned out for a while, not focusing on one thing in particular. I offered a short morning prayer, grabbing my bible and the plastic rosary I just got for devotional prayer. Sister Elżbieta was still asleep when I was done praying. I grabbed my journal, stared at it for a while then let out a sigh. I wanted to write so badly, jot down the little things the guy did and how I felt about it, how I felt about him but I couldn't, I had already sinned and didn’t know how to confess it yet.
Sister Elżbieta stirred in her sleep, I panicked and hid the journal. As if on cue, the church bell rang. I stood up, entered the bathroom to freshen up.
My mind drifted again to Luciano while I was taking my bath. I could still picture his striking blue eyes and the bitter-sweet metallic taste of blood against my lips while he kissed her. A bang on the bathroom door pulled her out of her thoughts.
“A minute please.” I called out as I hurriedly tried to finish up.
I walked out of the bathroom fully dressed, sister Elżbieta stared at me with a warning look making me bend my head while muttering an apology underneath my breath.
* * *
Luciano’s phone rang, he ran his hand through his wet hair .
“Speak Tristan” his deep voice dripping with a hint of anger and impatience.
A particular brown eyed nun was occupying his head. He craved to know more about her but all Tristan’s research kept arriving at dead ends. That alone got Luciano more interested in the idea of finding her way more than he should..
“Hmm, an orphanage? I can work with that, thank you” Luciano’s deep voice resonated before he hung up.
He threw his phone on the bed and walked to his closet. The phone bounced before finally settling in the middle of his bed.
* * *
I joined the line of nuns descending the stairs, adjusting my veil on instinct before getting my food. My thoughts refused to replay what had happened with Luciano—I didn’t let them. Not now, not in front of Sister Elżbieta.
After breakfast, we moved into the chapel for morning Mass. I watched the incense dance in the air, the Latin chants filling the space like smoke curling around my soul.
I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a few baskets. It was time for one of the things I looked forward to all week. The orphanage visit. I loved kids. Even with the way I looked undisturbed, my heart did a bubbly dance as I walked into the bus that was going to take us there. I sat in silence for a while before the other nuns came in.
We finally got to the orphanage. I greeted the children enthusiastically like I always did. Then I sat beside Marcus. Marcus was one of the special kids there, he had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). He was really smart though. It was as if he calculated the whole room in seconds before standing up and closing the book, he’s been reading since they came.
He walked outside, some of the nuns didn’t look at him, he wasn’t normal after all. I got up and followed him. Marcus came across a butterfly on a flower, he walked closer to it, looking at it with calculative eyes, then he tripped.
I stood by the fence, arms folded, eyes locked on him. There was something about Marcus. Something familiar. Something that made my chest ache with unspoken memories.
My nightmares were returning. Luciano’s kiss. Blood. Sin.
Everything blurred together.
Marcus fell, and it startled me back into the present. I rushed toward him, but he didn’t want to get up. He just lay there, eyes glued to the ground.
Insects. They were fighting.
He was fascinated, laughing softly to himself as I struggled to pull him up.
“Come on, I’ll help,” a voice said.
That voice.
His voice.
I snapped my head up so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash.
“Careful, little doll,” he chuckled
- Writer
