"Come here, my child." Reverend Father called out from his seat.
Kurt entered the room looking nervous.
"Now sit down."
"Reverend Father, I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. The hills were beckoning and before-" Kurt started to explain, but Reverend Father cut him off.
"Dear, I haven't summoned you for apologies."
"Please let me ask for forgiveness."
"If you'll feel better."
"Yes, you see, the sky was so blue today…and everything was so green and fragrant. I had to be a part of it. The Untersberg led me higher like it wanted me to go through the clouds." Kurt explained earnestly.
"Suppose darkness had come and you were lost?" Reverend Father questioned.
"Father, I could never be lost up there. That's my mountain. I was brought up on it. When I was a child, I would come down and climb a tree…and look into your garden. I'd see the brothers at work and hear them sing. Which brings me to another transgression, Reverend Father. I was singing out there today." Kurt said, sadly.
"Only in the abbey do we have rules against postulants singing."
"I can't stop where ever I am. Worse, I can't seem to stop saying things. Everything I think and feel."
"Some call that 'honesty'."
"Oh, but it's terrible, Reverend Father! You know how Brother Thad makes me kiss the floor after a disagreement? Lately I kiss the floor when I see her coming to save time."
"Kurt…when you saw us over the wall and longed to be with us…that didn't mean you were prepared for the way we live here, did it?" Reverend Father asked.
"No, Father, but I pray and try. I am learning. I really am."
"What is the most important lesson you have learned here?"
"To find out what is the will of God and do it wholeheartedly."
"Kurt…it seems to be God's will that you leave us."
"Leave?!" Kurt exclaimed, shocked.
"Only for a while." Reverend Father assured.
"No, Father! Please don't send me away!" Kurt begged in anguish. "this is where I belong. It's my home, my family. It's my life."
"Are you ready for it?"
"Yes, I am."
"If you go out into the world for a time, knowing what we expect of you…you will find out if you can expect it of yourself."
"I know what you expect, Father, and I can do it! I promise I can!" Kurt stopped abruptly at Reverend Father's sharp gaze. "Yes, Father. If it is God's will."
"There is a family near Salzburg that needs a governess until September." Reverend Father continued.
"September?"
"For seven children."
"Seven children?!" Kurt exclaimed.
"Do you like children?" Reverend Father enquired.
"Well, yes, but seven!" Kurt said, still in shock.
"I will tell Captain Anderson von Trapp to expect you tomorrow."
"Captain?"
"A retired officer of the Imperial Navy. A fine man and a brave one. His spouse died, and he is left alone with the children. I understand he has had a hard time of keeping a governess there."
"Why difficult, Reverend Father?"
"The Lord will show you in His own good time." Reverend Father answered with a small smile.
Kurt was excused, so he walked out to go pack.
