53 Sisters Curious

"Father."

"Yes, Sister Katherine."

"Will you be staying this evening?"

"I will. Please, you should feel free to leave early tonight. I insist. I will be meeting with Ms. Lass again."

He smiled. He looked to be in such good spirits. She hoped his soul wasn't in danger. That young girl would be coming soon, again. Just as she had for the last several weeks. Every Wednesday night and the Father went to such trouble to make sure the Church would be empty…it was so obvious…and they would be alone. My Lord. Sister Katherine shut the door to the Father's office. She made the sign of the cross and whispered a prayer.

She walked down the hall and found Sister Josie's office door ajar. Josie was pushing a few papers and a magazine, People magazine it looked to be, into her handbag. Katherine stopped in front of her window and looked out on the parking lot. The girl would drive in soon enough…another hour perhaps. She tended to park that big SUV in the same spot. She always had the lot to herself. The Father insisted that no events be held on Wednesday nights.

"Sister aren't you just a little curious what…the Father and that girl are doing…in the Church…all evening?"

Sister Josie said, "Of course I wonder. But what can we do, Sister? Even if we knew what could we do?"

"If we knew then we would also know what the correct path would be."

"But we don't and it would be inappropriate to stay late just to stick our noses where they don't belong."

"Really? Don't we have a right to know? What if there was a way we could find out?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"I will be right back and then we'll leave together."

.

.

Later that night Sister Katherine, in a change of clothes, together with Josie parked two blocks down the street from the Church. They shut and locked the doors and made to look like they were taking a casual evening stroll. She didn't say anything and Josie remained quiet as well. They approached the Church from the back alley walking through the empty parking lot, empty except for the Father's car and the girl's huge SUV, which was parked in the usual spot for a Wednesday evening. The lights were on in the main vaulted worship area the colorful tall stained glass windows glowing in the night.

She walked up to a ground floor door at the side of the church, not the back door which normally got heavy traffic from the parking lot, but a little used access door which led into a small storage area. No one would likely notice or have checked that door, which is why she left it unlocked. She tried it turning the knob slowly and it was open. They entered and left the lights off. She carefully shut it and with her pen light checked the area. It was empty. She switched it off and waited until their eyes adjusted to the dim light coming in from the one small window down here and those above them at the top of the stairs. Eyes adjusted they walked slowly over to the access stairs which led up to the second level above the confessionals and meeting rooms. She turned to Josie and put her fingers to her lips. Wouldn't do at all to make any noise now. She turned to start climbing the stairs, stopped and faced Josie again. Josie looked around. Katherine pointed at their shoes and bent over to pull hers off. She picked them up and pointed at Josie's. Josie rolled her eyes but did the same. They made their way up the stairs and in the dark down the hallway and to one more door leading to the balcony pews. She slowly opened the door. A massive pillar blocked the view of the door from the altar and the transept. Anyone inside and below the balcony in the nave below couldn't see anything above. They slid through. The dedicated balcony lights up here were off. They had to be careful. The main lights from the vaulted ceiling shed plenty of illumination unto the balcony itself but fortunately too put them in the shadow of the pillar. They moved up to the pillar and looked around and down on the main floor. The pews and area just under them, the back end of the worship area and the foyer entrance for the main street entrance, they couldn't see, but they had a clear view of the pews towards the front altar area. Down and to their right were the confessionals. And there the girl was near the front most pews sitting alone reading a book and facing towards the altar. Where was the Father? Katherine face felt a bit flush. Whatever they were up to it wasn't the type of sin she had imagined. She really shouldn't be reading so many of those romance novels. Josie's brows were furrowed deeply. She certainly didn't expect…this. Why would the Father take such care to have the Church empty so this girl could come in to read a book? Really. She credited the Father with more imagination than that. They could hear a murmuring like many low voices.

Josie gasped and her hand reached for her arm. She followed Josie's other hand which was pointing at a place closer to them than the pews where the girl was sitting. They were a bit too far back and couldn't see much of what was below. She stood higher and looked around the pillar and over the edge straining. And, oh my God. Dear me. She hunched down. She looked again. She looked over at Josie who was wide eyed glancing back and forth down below and back to her.

Katherine closed her eyes and then opened them. She edged around the pillar and looked down behind the girl. There were people standing there…in a circle…several circles of people…some in the pews. They were small clusters of people talking in very low voices appropriate to a church. She closed her eyes and tried again. Josie was looking horrified. She must be seeing the same.

Then they heard the confessional door open. And the Father's voice talking with someone, a woman.

He said, "Violet, thank you so much for coming."

They could hear a woman respond, "Thank you, Father. It's been so long."

The woman was wearing a skimpy hospital gown, the kind Katherine wore when she had her gall bladder surgery a few years back. That was not something any woman would wear outside…at night…to a church? The woman moved over to one of the circles of people. She moved through, not between, through the pews to one of the circles of people who shifted to make room for her. They heard the door close below. Father Adair reentered the confessional.

Katherine saw a tall man. He had been standing so still not far from the girl that she had missed him. He wasn't in a group. He moved forward and called out, "Next."

A man raised his arm and moved out of his group and then through the pews. He didn't walk around them he walked through them as if they were not even there.

The girl did not look up from her book. She seemed oblivious to the goings on…not looking around or back at all these…people standing behind her. Katherine took a breath. She had been holding it.

Then, a streak came through the wall screaming. They both scrunched down low. At first she couldn't understand. Something about somebody was shot. They're shooting. It or he, she could now see, stopped in front of the girl, who jumped up and then…everyone was gone…just gone. The girl, the people, everyone. It was quiet. Through the quiet she heard a door creak open below them, out of sight, and the Father's voice called out, "George, what happened?" Then he too was quiet. He suddenly exploded into action. First they heard his hard footfalls and then they saw him run across the front of the altar area, and thank God at least he didn't go through anything, and into his office. They heard him run down and out the back door, start his car, and speed off. Just like that. They were alone.

Katherine looked over at Josie who was now standing tall. She motioned for her to follow. They took the main stairs down to the front entrance foyer and through into the pews where not a few moments before they saw more than a score…of people…standing around…for confessional? They walked down the main aisle. Josie said, "Look." And she walked over to where the girl had been sitting reading. In her haste she had left her book on the floor. Josie picked it up, glanced at the title and then held it so she could see it too. It was 'All the Light We Cannot See'. Josie handed it to her. She looked down and saw the book marker and retrieved it placing it inside.

Josie said, "I don't know what I saw."

She didn't either. She walked toward her office. Josie followed. She put the book into a drawer and turned to Josie. "Let's go home."

"Sister Katherine." She turned to face Josie. "Who was that girl?"

"Not who, Sister, but what."

Josie looked puzzled.

"What is that girl?"