I touched the wood of the church, tracing each of the letters before running my hand down the last word.
YOU'LL BURN FOR THIS
I didn't know what it meant. I didn't know if it was intended for Gabriel or not, but all I could think about what he did. What this priest did. We've all done something and he didn't want to confess his sins to us.
They went to the food pantry, so it's just me, Michonne, Carol, Carl, Gabriel, and Judy. I trace the letters a third time before deciding it would be in my best interest to head back inside. I would talk to Rick and Daryl about it later, but until then, we'd play it safe.
Carol was sitting in a pew, sharpening her knife. Carl was playing with Judith and Michonne was keeping watch. Gabriel was standing by the altar, just staring at the Tabernacle as if it held all the answers. Three years ago and I would've.
I walk over to him silently, and ask quietly, "Will you hear my confession, Father?"
He looks to me with wide eyes, obviously surprised at my request. I, on the other hand, need to get somethings off my chest, and I need to see if I can get this guy to talk.
"Of course." He answers, sounding a bit relieved, as if he's waited the whole apocalypse for this very moment. I follow him to the confessional, and Michonne begins to draw her sword. I look at her and shake my head, pointing to the knife on my belt. She nods and turns back to her watch. I step inside and kneel down, looking at the Act of Contrition. I touch my thumb to my forehead, then to my heart, and then to either of my shoulders, left to right.
"Bless me father for I have sinned." I tell him, my voice cracking, squeezing my eyes shut, "It's been so long since my last confession." I admit to him. Or, tell him it is your first confession.
Father says through the screen, "May God the Father of all mercies help you make a good Confession."
"I lost the one person I cared about most." I confess, "I loved her...so much...I told her to go inside, during an ambush. And she never came out."
Father stops a moment, letting my confession sink in, and he simply says, "It's not your fault. Nothing that happens is your fault. We just have to accept that God is the only one who can decide what happens." He pauses again, "As penance, take a moment with God and pray five Hail Mary's." I nod, and we say the Act of Contrition.
Finally, Gabriel says, "God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of His son, has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
"Amen." I mutter, a tear slipping down my cheek.
"May God bless you."
YOU ARE READING
Finding Sophia (The Walking Dead Fanfiction)
أدب الهواةAndie Piper is a nobody trying to survive another day in the apocalypse. She was an artist with a troubled history, just trying to make it in the harsh world. She just went through the motions, almost always covered in guts and knife in hand. That w...
