Bless Me, Father

And The Daughters Were Taken

The taxi had left hours ago, but the air still hadn't let go... thick with woodsmoke, and something colder.

Father Jacob had seen her.

That woman.

Out by the Baker's place.

The way she walked. The way she said That depends. Are you here to save me? when he asked her name.

The question was engraved in his chest like a splinter.

Now here he was again. Back at the old stone church with the same iron cross, same dusty wax smell, same quiet that used to feel like peace.

Now it just stared. He pushed through the heavy oak doors, letting them fall shut behind him. The cold inside curled around his neck like a warning. He found Father Vornero near the confessionals, hunched over wax bits and torn-open envelopes.

He looked older than Jacob remembered. Smaller.

"Father Jacob," Vornero said, rising slow. "It's good you're here."

He looked genuinely happy to see Jacob.

"Father Vornero," Jacob smiled.

"Father, I haven't been sleeping well."

"I heard." Jacob offered his hand. "Thought I'd stop by. Check on Little Harmonie. See if the place still needed saving."

Father Vornero chuckled, "I'm glad you decided to come back. Truly. Two decades is too long." He smiled. "Look at you, fresh from the seminary and keeping fit at the gym. Huh?"

Father Jacob laughed. "Well, you know... priests should stay healthy, to better serve as role models for their flock."

"That's right, son."

Father Vornero gripped Jacob's hand and held it a second longer than necessary. "And your father..." he paused.

"Edmund was a good man. I'm sorry I missed the funeral."Jacob gave a quiet nod."I would've come," Vornero added, "but the town... well. You know how it is. Harmonie doesn't always let its shepherd off duty. Especially not lately."

Jacob didn't answer. Let the silence settle in.

Father Vornero eased down into the pew with a soft grunt. "Strange things lately," he said, almost to himself. "Three girls disappeared. Only one came back. And now she's... off. Speaking Latin."

Jacob frowned. "What kind of Latin?" Vornero looked up.

"The wrong kind." They sat with that for a while.

"And who are the girls, Father?"

"Naomi Kells. Just turned eighteen when she vanished. But before that... she was showing signs of suicidal behavior."

"Who knows if she..." those words died on Father Vornero's lips.

Jacob furrowed his brow. "Sweet Mary..."

"I remember when Mrs. Kells gave birth."

"This must be difficult for them," Jacob looked sadly. "I should talk to them."

Father Vornero cleared his throat.

"Yes... they lifted the town's spirits when they had Naomi." He chuckled thinking of the memory.

But Father Vornero waved his hand, "They're gone, though."

"What!? They left town?"

Father Vornero put his hand on the side of his forehead.

"When?" Jacob asked.

"They tried to blame the community for Naomi...We searched day and night for her." He hissed.

"But Mr. Kells snapped. Forced his wife into the truck, and they vanished." he paused... Jacob noticed his trembling fingers.

"The sheriff stopped by the next day after the incident... Mr. Kells killed his wife... then himself. On the highway. Godless." Father Vornero whispered.

Jacob's eyes widened in terror.

He grabbed his chest like he'd been hit.

By all that's holy... what is happening to my town?!

"Does the town know this?!" Jacob asked.

Father Vornero looked around panicked, shaking his head.

"No, I couldn't tell the town the news of the Kells. Everyone has been having such a hard time already."

Jacob scoffed softly.

"But Father, you're lying to your people. How devastating the news is, they should—"

But Father Vornero cut him off quickly.

He grabbed Jacob's shoulder.

"Please son, that isn't going to do us any good. Shortly after Lola Ridley went missing."

Jacob thought about Lola.

He remembered her as the town crier.

Yes, she'd deliver parcels, run errands, pass messages. Anything to stay in everyone's business.

Women flocked to her with gossip and rumors.

A teenager always in messy situations with other teens.

He remembered his father, Edmund, telling him to steer clear of Lola... even if she was slightly older.

He almost smiled.

She was the daughter of some drunk farmer.

"How's Lola's father, Christopher?"

"He... doesn't speak much these days after his daughter went missing. We went up there recently for crops... the old man smelled awful." Vornero sighed, looking down.

"And the last girl?"

Father Vornero brought his face back up, slowly.

"Barrow's girl...that's the one that has returned."

Jacob rubbed his neck, a thoughtful frown forming.

"Don't they have two daughters?"

"Yes but it was youngest...Cristina."

Week after week, another disappearance... and now one of them is back...

Something darker is at work here.

Who is taking these girls...or are they leaving on their own accord?

"And the town knows about Cristina's... strange behavior?"

"Not everyone...but we can manage, before it escalates..."

Why did only one come back? Someone must know something!

Then the thought of the woman he saw came to mind again.

Jacob leaned forward. " I saw a woman outside the Bakers'—"

But before he got all the words out, a knock touched the doorframe.

Sister Renee. Hands clasped, face tight.

"Forgive me, Fathers. I need a word with Father Vornero. Urgently." Vornero nodded, already rising. "You can go now, my son.Welcome back."

Jacob dipped his head slightly. The moment to ask about the woman—the one outside Helen's was gone.

And he knew better than to bring her up in front of Sister Renee. So he stepped outside.

Didn't go far. Just far enough to lean on the crooked old lamppost across the street.

The wind kicked up, tugged at his collar. He looked down, thinking of the missing girls, Cristina, and...her.

The woman in the black dress. The one who called him Father... like she was still in the middle of a joke only she understood.

He wondered her name.

He looked up, almost startled but quickly masked it as he saw her leaving the Baker's cottage.

She didn't even glance at him, walking as if she owned the air around her.

He didn't want to keep staring. But he didn't stop.

He studied her.

She wasn't just mysterious. She felt... familiar.

He saw her coming his way, and his heart skipped a beat.