I knelt on the cobble floors with my hands together in front of me, the slight jaggedness of the stones hurt a bit but I ignored the slight ache and bowed my head in prayer. The holy father nailed to the cross watched me from his position on the stained glass wall of the church, those eyes slightly ajar. My silent prayer escaped my lips as a tear rolled down my bare cheek and splashed against my clasped hands. "Father, please forgive me for my sins" I whispered mostly to myself rather than the holy father himself. I felt a bit warm from my nun uniform but ignored the rising heat it brought to my pale face and continued my prayers in silence. It's been a week since I last prayed but I was determined to get my words to the father even if I was slightly late.
An hour went by with me just kneeling there begging for my sins to be forgiven, but it felt like a whole day had passed because nothing came to forgive me. Before I knew it the church bells had chimed telling me it was noon and I needed to go do my afternoon chores. I gave a shaky sigh as I stood up and shook my almost numb legs out feeling the familiar tingles spread through them. My hands brushed the dirt off the black and I turned around to head out of the main room. As I turned around I saw Father Michael sitting in one of the benches watching me with that same old smile, his aged eyes watched me approach him and he patted the spot next to him beckoning me to sit down, so I did. We didn't sit too close but close enough where I could smell his aftershave on him. "Sister Amelia, I see you're back to yourself and doing your prayers" his husky deep voice said as I picked at my nails with slight anxiety creeping up my back. "Yes" is all I could muster up in response.
He took a deep sigh and nodded mostly to himself at this point. The church was so silent and yet so peaceful as we sat next to each other in silence. "Is there anything else you needed, Father?" I said in almost a whisper and in response Father Michael gave a deep chuckle and shook his head no, so I stood up and gave my respects to him as I hurried my way out of there. My shoes clacked against cobble as I hurriedly made my through the long empty halls of the church I called home these past 10 years, the walls a blindingly bright white and the floors a dirty brown cobble. My hooded cap felt heavy as sweat beaded down my forehead as I quickly slipped into the room, I shut the door silently as the bell chimed telling everyone it was time to be in class. I made it in time. I walked over to the main desk and fished out the booklet from my pocket and set it down on the mahogany surface, lifting my head I was greeted with 10 bright faces of my students, each had a smile and awaited for me to start. A small smile spread across my face as I began class.
(Later That Day)
I was absolutely tired from teaching as I sat down on my bed and laid down, staring up at the ceiling I watched the sunlight glitter across the harsh stone ceiling. My bedroom window creaked ever so lightly as wind wafted through the opening and the slight smell of summer flowers made me smile to myself. It was nearing August and yet the plants were at full bloom, I bet Sister Bethany was having the time of her life teaching the kids about agriculture and botany this time of year, especially since the non-native plants decided to take bloom finally. We had Tiger Lilies, Multi-flora Rose, and Japanese Wisteria seeds gifted to us from a foreign student last year and it took awhile to make the plants take root, but they finally showed life and bloomed just in time for the classes.
My hands rubbed against the soft silk bed sheets as I breathed in a deep sigh. It's been 10 whole years since I came here with just a small bag of crumpled up money and maybe 2 pairs of clothes to my name. I asked for a job and was immediately sworn in as a sister of Christ within a week of arriving here all thanks to Father Michael. I remember he had given me a room to myself, brand new clothes, and even a good starting salary as a teacher. I was given the option of teaching either Astrology, History, or Mathematics, so I chose Astrology since it was the only thing I basically had a lot of knowledge in. Of course the churches didn't believe Astrology as an important class, but to me it was the reason to myself being alive.
I blinked away the oncoming tears as I sat up in my bed with a jolt, the cap fell from my head as I pulled my long blonde hair free of that wretched thing. My slender fingers brushed through tangled locks as my eyes searched the room, there it was. Getting up was easier said than done from how tired my body was but yet I got up and walked over to the window seat and sat down. Glancing out the open window was my favorite past time because that's where I could read my book while watching the kids outside play in harmony. I opened up the old red cover and recited the words to myself and yet they echoed off the barren walls. "Impudatrices volentite quae axos stalagmere, qui vigora nonne volvens" I repeated those words as the sun began to ripple across the ceiling and the wind began to pick up outside. The kids playing slowed their roll as they looked around confused, the trees shook like they were weeping to themselves and the sky darkened with clouds above.
I remember 10 years ago before coming to the church I was thrown out of my village with just a bag of crumpled up money and 2 pairs of clothes to my name, they had burned my house and the rest of my stuff down to mere ash. I had to run for dear life to prevent myself from getting stoned to death for simply doing witchcraft, but they didn't know I did that to help the elderly and sick in the village from deaths grasp. I had gotten caught in the act of a blood ritual and the village chief had made the call on my banishment. I shook my head to rid my head of the memories flooding my mind, it wasn't important anymore. "Impudatrices volentite quae axos stalagmere, qui vigora nonne volvens" my voice got louder this time as my door shook from someone banging on it with their fists, I'm sorry but I can't stop now. I repeated those same words as the wind tore into the side of the building, rain began to pour down, and the sky became a grossly black. It was way over time for this.
My heart raced within my chest as the blood in my veins felt hot as lava, my pale skin became paler than flour and my hair prickled to a concerning red hue. I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks as I wiped them away, blood smeared across my slender fingers and dripped onto the empty pages of my book below. The bedroom door was shaking on its hinges as my sisters and the father banged against it, their blood curdling screams sounded like a beautiful harmony to my ears as a bizarre chuckle crackled from within me and escaped my chapped lips. I glanced ever so slightly to watch as the dark figures tore into the children outside, their skin tore from their bodies as the beasts ate their fill. Plants withered away to dust, trees crackled away, and Sister Bethany lay across a bed of rotten roses, her freckled face and grey eyes stared up into the dark sky as her skin began to boil and melt away.
I waited for the familiar growl of the sky to say the last lines of the passage, "Effervere consulitus es luxurisserat, est sussura un lamoria" I said in almost a deafening whisper, that's when the fun began. Clouds gathered as the moon broke into two, the wind gathering particles of ash and the rain becoming a scary black goo. My skin felt like it was melting away as the blood began to pour down my face and I felt my lungs ache from lack of air. My once beautiful golden blonde hair was now an ugly straw like grey red breaking off from my scalp in clumps. I reached up and rubbed my scalp free of its skin, my bones broke free of their humanly husk and I looked at the window glass panes at my grossly skeleton reflection. I had done it, I became my true self.
I had waited 10 long years to take my revenge upon the human race I called my species, yet over those long years all I had found was hate, heartbreak, betrayal, and total chaos. So, I took it upon myself to find forgiveness from the Holy Father and take my place as Satan's pawn, that's when I could finally make this world a better place after eradicating its entire existence and letting it start over from ash. Ash, just like how my old village had burned my entire existence away that night. Ash, like when Father Michael slipped into my room at night the first year and made me cry in silence as he took my purity from me. Ash, like how the world is now burned away.
The End, or maybe to be continued
