Sixteen years before, morning mass had just finished in Sol Sanctum. People were filing out of the great doors ready to go home.
Inside, for old ladies were gathered around the foundlings' bed. This was where unwanted babies were left by mothers who could not care for them.
Inside the crib was a strange, ugly baby, crying out loudly. It had bristly hair and its face was twisted out of shape. None of the women wanted to care for the poor child.
However a young priest called Alex approached. He felt sorry for the unusual child and decided to bring him up as if he were his own.
Wrapping the baby in the folds of his gown, he carried him away. He named the little on Garet, meaning "almost."
As the boy grew older, Alex looked after him as a father, showing him the cloisters, chapels and corridors of the huge sanctum where he lived.
In time, young Garet learned the secrets of Sol Sanctum better than anyone. He rarely left the confines of its cold stone walls.
When the boy hunchback did venture outside, it was never a happy experience. Children threw stones and chased him with barking dogs.
Each time the priest and his adopted son left the sanctum together, people whispered and pointed at the odd pair.
Due to his harsh treatment, Garet learned to have respect for only one man, his savior, father, and only friend, Alex.
When Garet was older, Alex gave his son a job. He had to climb the many stairs to the top of Sol Sanctum's bell tower, and ring the great sanctum bells.
There was nothing the hunchback loved more dearly than making the bells swing with all his strength and feeling them shudder as they made their wonderful sound.
But, you may ask, how he can stand the crashing and booming of the bells so high in the tower? Well, dear reader, it is because over the years, that very noise had made him deaf!