four part series set before the events of grotesquerie
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" I WASN'T ALWAYS A NUN. YOU WEREN'T ALWAYS A PRIEST. "
Megan's gaze lingered on Charlie as he momentarily faltered, a brief hesitation that sent a ripple of tension through the air. The sunlight spilled over him, casting a warm glow that highlighted the sharp lines of his jaw and the slight sheen of perspiration on his brow. She couldn't help but notice how the collar of his cassock seemed to constrict, the fabric almost straining against the pulse at his throat, as if it were a physical reminder of whatever burdens he bore.
In that fleeting moment, his breath hitched—a subtle, almost imperceptible gulp—before. he mustered a smile that danced at the corners of his lips, yet never quite reached his eyes.
P R E A C H E R ' S D A U G H T E R
JAMES 1 : 1 4 — 1 5
"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death".
Before the grotesque unfolded, before the lashings of fate and the venomousspittle of loathing, Father Charlie had been a sinner, too—a wanderer in a labyrinth of moral shadow. Had he been untouched by sin, he would not have fathomed the depths of divine love, nor would he possess the eloquence to decipher the celestial script as he did in this twilight of his days.
His inaugural foray into the church—ah, it was hardly a pilgrimage of the soul, nor was it an act of celestial devotion. No, it was not for the sake of religion, practical or otherwise, that he had crossed those hallowed thresholds.
