Chapter 1
A Very Unexpected Journey
My day started off like every day has for the past three years. Rise with the morning bell at half past five, morning prayer at six followed by Mass and breakfast before setting out for the day's duties. Never would I have guessed it to end like this.
I guess I should introduce myself first. I am Sister Therese. I am a novice sister in the Order of Saint Francis. Our work is to give aid to the poor and teach in low income schools.
I greatly love the life and the people I meet every day. It reminds me that there is more to the world than what we see.
Anyways, it was as I was doing my work in the soup kitchen, preparing for the evenings meal that my day took an unexpected change. Looking up from my task, I saw my superior, Sister Rosa, heading my way. The look on her face did not bode well, her eyes were red and puffy. It was quite obvious that she had been crying.
Upon reaching me, Sister Rosa looked at me and tried her hardest not to cry as she spoke.
"Sister Therese, stop what you're doing. You need to return home immediately."
Shocked, I dropped everything. This couldn't be happening.
"Why Sister? Why am I being sent home? I am only three weeks away from taking my first vows!" I exclaimed, panicking. Had I done something wrong. Did they no longer think that I had what it took to be a religious sister?
"Yes your vows are in three weeks. You are not being sent away from the convent." At this, she struggled to take a breath.
Looking me in the eye, she stammered, "There... there's been an accident. It's your..your bro...brother. The oil rig caught fire, and... and he didn't make it. They found him in the water."
Staring back at her, I couldn't breathe. He couldn't be... Connor couldn't be dead. I felt the world around me begin to spin as tears flowed from my eyes.
Looking back at Sister Rosa, I searched her face for some semblance that what she said was not true.
Shaking her head she said, "We couldn't find an immediate flight, so we booked a bus for this afternoon to take you home. Go pack a bag. The bus leaves in two hours."
Dropping everything, I ran across the street to the convent. Racing up to my room I grabbed a small bag of toiletries, my spare habit, underclothes, my breviary, and my copies of Tolkien's writings.
Many of the sisters laughed at my obsession, how I would diligently study each bit, even to the point of learning elvish, but somehow, reading his stories of Middle Earth always helped me ground myself when upset. It was my way of coping. I needed them now more than ever.
Double checking my items I deemed that I had all that was needed.
Going back downstairs, I looked for Sister Rosa who was waiting for me by the garage door. Not saying a word, we climbed into the car heading to the bus station.
3 hours later
Looking out the window, I looked out at the landscape passing by. We were passing through the mountains and everything looked so beautiful. I couldn't help but to think of Imladris as we passed by a series of waterfalls. It had been raining in this area for days so the waters rushed over the cliff side violently. I wondered if that is how it was in the Hidden Valley.
Looking down, I put away the book I had been reading. Closing my eyes, I sat back in my seat, intending to get some rest before I had to switch busses. No sooner than I had begun to drift off, did I feel the bus jerk to the right.
Looking on in horror, I see the side of the mountain give way. No longer were the trees and shrubs able to hold the waterlogged ground in place. There was no time to get out of the way.
In a matter of seconds, the wall of earth crashed into the side of the bus, shattering my window and sending us over the edge of the cliff. Grasping the seat in front of me, I prayed that we would live. With my last breath, I gave thanks for the time that I had been given before we crashed and the world went dark.
Somewhere in the mountains
Groaning, I opened my eyes and slowly began to get up. I felt around me searching for my bag and then it hit me, I was outside, no bus in sight.
Scrambling to my feet, I began to look around. I was still in the mountains, but there was no visual proof of the mudslide that I had just experienced. I looked to be on a cliff side mountain trail, wide enough for about two horses. No lights of a city or roadway in sight.
"This isn't right... Maybe I hit my head and am dreaming while in a coma." I said to myself, trying to make sense of the situation.
Pinching myself, I jumped at the pain. Okay, so maybe not a dream. But if it is not a dream, then where am I?
"Okay, let's recap. I got on the bus, read my book, fell asleep, then we were swiped away by a mudslide. If that is the case, then there should be a mangled bus buried in mud right here." I pondered aloud.
I was turning in circles looking for anything familiar when I heard it. Heavy footsteps coming from my left.
'Yes! My rescue is close!' I thought.
Boy was I wrong, for around the corner came the most hideous creature I had ever seen. It had pale, scarred up skin, scraggly teeth and sunken eyes that promised great terror and pain.
I soon realized that it was too late to hide. The monster had seen me and called back to others. Turning in the opposite direction, I ran, praying that I would find some sort of refuge.
Unfortunately, I was not that lucky. The lumbering creatures were faster than I had expected upon seeing their bulky build, and I was no runner. They caught up to me quickly, grabbing at my habit and cincture*.
One grabbed me by my bag, ripping it from my arms and throwing me off balance. For the second time that day, I found myself falling over the edge of a cliff.
Okay, here you go. I got curious how it would pan out if a nun somehow got stuck in Middle Earth. This is a concept that I have not seen yet so I figured I would take a go at it.
*breviary- prayer book for the Liturgy of the Hours, aka, the universal prayer of the Catholic Church. Broken up into seven "hours".
*cincture- a rope belt worn by religious of the Franciscan order.