Written for: virgo_397
Prompt: Sister Greta, life before the church
Spoilers: This is a pre-series look at Sister Greta's childhood. Beyond that, everything we learned in these 10 episodes is up for grabs.
Warnings: No standard warnings apply.
A/N: First off, this ended up far more interesting than I'd expected. Sister Greta had great fun in playing out this scene in my head [and she was adorable as a little girl]. That said, I wasn't expecting it to be quite so filled with headcanon so soon. Oh, I have played with canon here and deliberately added in my own headcanon for Sister Greta. My apologies if you don't like how I've chosen to interpret her life. Basically, Greta and her family are from Klagenfurt, Carinthia, Austria. I have given Greta an older sister named Katja, who is approximately 13 years older. They live with their parents and grandparents, within easy walking distance of the Glan River. The Elisabeth Sisters Convent is also in Klagenfurt. The word oma means grandmother. The words schatzi means little treasure, and is used as a term of endearment.
Dedication: This is part of a series of stories to thank the phenomenal creative team of Damien, both in front of and behind the camera.
Series: Part 3 of the #666foryou series
Please see profile for Disclaimers.
I was five years old when it happened. We were on an outing to Glan River, my older sister and me. It was a very special day. Katja was about to leave for university to become a nurse, and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with me. We wouldn't see each other until Christmas. It would be the longest I'd ever been separated from her in my entire life.
Katja was everything to me. I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. She was beautiful, kind, talented in both music and art, and had the gentlest touch of anyone I have ever known. She'd wanted to be a nurse for as long as I can remember, and I wanted to do the same. I had these grand dreams of working side by side in the big hospital in Klagenfurt.
Oma had packed us a lovely picnic lunch that was a comfort to both of us, as even Katja had difficulty in holding back her tears. A filling meal combined with the heat of the day, even in the shade, soon had us napping peacefully.
Until I woke up, feeling restless and without fear. I watched Katja sleep for a few moments before the lure of the river called to me. I moved quickly and quietly toward the flat-topped boulder where Katja and I would dangle our feet in the cool water. It wasn't far away from our picnic spot, so as long as I could see her, I knew she would see me when she woke up. Likely, she would join me before we returned home.
It happened so fast. One moment, I sat happily in the sun, toes turning cold from the river; the next minute, there was nothing around me but bubbles and bits of flotsam. And water, so much water that sapped my strength. I wanted to fight, wanted to breathe, but I'd lost all equilibrium and direction. My lungs burned with the need for air, my hands clawed at my throat in fear.
Just as I was ready and willing to give in and accept the inevitable, a bright light appeared above me and a voice said, "Little Greta, it is not yet your time. You must believe, you must trust with your whole heart and mind and body. Can you do that for Me?"
The need to breathe lessened in the face of that gently powerful voice. I stretched out a hand toward the light, wanted to touch it just once and feel the warmth directly on my skin. And then I saw what I believed to be God Himself looking down on me.
"Greta, can you do this for me? Can you believe with your whole heart and mind and body?"
Unable to speak, I could only nod, feeling the odd sensation of warm tears on my cheeks despite the frigid water. My entire being felt suffused with radiance and hope.
"You are now My child in body as in spirit. I have a plan for you, one that will test you as so many others of My Chosen were tested. You must remain strong in your faith and do your good works, no matter what else happens. Can you do that for Me?"
I nodded again, certain that my life was no longer my own, but not caring. I felt weightless, free as the clouds racing across the sky, and I would do anything He asked of me if it meant I could feel that way again.
"Greta! Schatzi, speak to me!"
In the space between one heartbeat and the next, I was lying on the ground, shivering and coughing up water until my throat burned from the effort. Katja's voice echoed harshly in my ears, and I mourned the loss of that beautiful heavenly voice. My sobs must have been reaction enough for her, and she pulled me into a tight embrace.
"Thank God, you're alive," she murmured, then leaned back to shake me. "What were you thinking? You know you're too little to go near the river on your own."
"God called me."
"What?" When I repeated myself, she let out a cry of frustration. "Greta, this is no time for games."
She never understood when I tried to explain it to her. Oma understood the power of my vision, even if she didn't understand what was in store for me. Oma made sure I was properly dedicated into God's service on my first communion, attached to the Elisabeth Sisters Convent to learn to become a nun and a healer. It would be several years before I would learn that my talents led me to other areas of pursuit within the Church. It mattered not. I was one of God's chosen children, and I would fulfill my destiny or die in the process.