Father Williams glanced through a crack in the confession booth seeing only one more pair of feet he sat back satisfied, he'd be able to get home at a reasonable time tonight. "Forgive me father for I have sinned" came a mans voice through the screen. Father Williams replied with the normal response and listened as the man listed all of his sins before he knew it the confession was over and after he prayed for the man's sins he was left alone in the booth.
As he was about to leave he heard the door on the other side of the screen open and somebody slid themselves onto the padded wooden bench. He sat back in his chair and looking at the screen he saw the shadow of a child. Folding his hands on his lap he waited for the words that started the confession. "Um what now?" came a girls voice nervously.
"Have you ever done this before?" he asked gently.
"No, I looked up what I was supposed to say but I forgot is that ok?" she asked as if by forgetting the words she was exempt from forgiveness.
"It's alright god hears all no matter how you start." He answered kindly.
"Okay." She replied dubiously "so do I just start?" he nodded
"Whenever your ready my child." After a moment of silence she started.
"I let him go all alone and when we went after him we got there to late and the professor left me so I must've done something wrong and now I think I'm being punished for it cause maybe if I'd gone with him it never would've happened right?" she gushed sounding close to tears.
Father Williams frowned trying to decipher the rushed speech. "What happened?" he asked softly. "Joshua, my brother, he went to go get his equipment but when we came in he was trying to leave maybe I did something?"
Father William's heart ached as he heard a sniff she just sounded so lost. "go on" he murmured kindly.
"Joshua's professor after Joshua d-died he left me with the guy in the suit and he went away. I read about this in a book so I figured I'd try it, I don't wanna be punished anymore." She sniffled.
Father Williams frowned. "How are you being punished?" he asked.
"Am I forgiven?" she replied hurriedly dodging the question.
"Of course god forgives all but it doesn't sound as if it was-" the girl interrupted him "thanks bye." She said rushing out of the confessional. Father Williams opened his door just in time to see a little girl no more than 8 rushing out of the room long brown hair flying behind her. What had she meant punished? It sounded as though she was blaming herself for her brother's death. Shaking his head sorrowfully he pulled on his jacket and headed home his thoughts full of the small girl from the confessional.