The Sin of Love

Chapter 13

Rosalie was reassured by Sam's presence and quickly understood that he wouldn't be intrusive. She was showering in a bathing suit though, because, he was a man after all. But for the rest, even as she checked every once in a while that Sam wasn't in the room, there was no problem. When Julian was with them she acted like they were just the two of them, and Sam would stay calm, sometimes throwing a few lines, laughing with them but otherwise just watching them, thinking that this was the family he wished he had.

A few times, Rosalie watched him out of the corner of her eye, especially when he was looking out the window. Invisible to Julian's eyes, all he had to do was enjoy the view that the first floor offered him over the village, pondering on his condition, what he could do for him. When he did, he sang his song in a slightly broken voice, which had pleasantly surprised Rosalie more than once. Seeing him like this, leaning against the window, he looked almost... human.

In the evening, once Julian was in bed, Rosalie would take out her sewing supplies and get down to her second task, while talking to Sam. She had hundreds of questions on her mind, about death in particular, but Sam sometimes avoided the subject or derided the question. She knew that certain topics, his past in particular, were sensitive and that she should not be too direct to get answers.

- Have you been looking after children for a long time?- she asked.

- Since I died,- he answers softly.

- Is that some kind of task? A job that we should do once our last hour has passed?

-...

Once again, silence. Sam didn't really want to talk about him, he never had. Still, talking with an adult tempted him. He probably wouldn't have the chance again, it was an opportunity to be seized. And he had to admit that Rosalie wasn't the most disagreeable partner in a conversation.

- We don't normally have a job to do... but I... I'm... sort of a convict,- he began softly.

- A convinct?- she asked. - For what crimes?

- The worst of sins... love... -he whispered.

- The sin of love does not exist ... -she smiles almost ironically.

- Oh... on the contrary! Love is the one and only sin, which brings them all together ...

- The deadly sins are Pride, Greed, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth... -she counted on her fingers. - Hm ... I always forget one ...

- Envy ... -he replied softly.

- Exactly ! Nothing to do with love, isn't it?

- Precisely, Love is the central point, - he smiles sadly.

He straightened up. He had thought for over 150 years about the reason for his existence. Because of his wandering, his punishment, his torture. He had looked for the causes, because nothing happenes without a reason. The toll on his human life was pathetic. The trace he had left on Earth could be swept aside to such an extent that it did not deserve to be told. Or to set an example not to follow. He had thought about what Saligia had told him when he arrived in the large purple room. "Sinner, the hereafter is not allowed to you yet. Before knowing inner peace and rest, you will have to redeem yourself. ". He had had time to study the matter at length, while he ignored the presence and requests of the children he had accompanied.

- If the deadly sins were personified, -he began. - Greed would be someone who is incapable of forming any human relationship. He is therefore attached to his possessions because his goods would be unable to go away on their own, unlike loved ones.