Sunday, June 24th, 2018
Voicing a silent prayer to her—she’d been on his mind a lot lately—he lit a votive candle. Among all the mistakes she’d made, he knew for a fact that the worst had been suicide.
She’d led a short life. A soiled and spoiled life scattered with sins of every kind.
He could still vividly remember her kneeling in front of their guardian. She had on the mini-skirt and spaghetti-string tank top he hated. The man’s fingers were passed through her blonde hair as he moved her head back and forth. He could still hear the man’s groans. His head had been tilted toward the sky. The guardian and he had never made eye contact that day. He’d simply walked out. Quietly. Stealthily, like he loved doing. It was always the best way to obtain information.
He crossed himself and closed his eyes. The disgusting man got what had been coming to him. He’d seen to that. Too late, perhaps, but he’d righted that wrong. It had taken him a while to work up the strength and willpower to act on it. Not to mention create the plan.
No more would that man take advantage of underage girls like her.
It had been nothing but painful to watch his smart, independent sister turn into… a stupid whore, a party animal, a drug and alcohol addict… And someone who’d go as far as commit the worst sin of all.
Even after all of the counseling he’d given her.
After all of the conversations they’d had. Day and night, he had tried different approaches to make her see the light. To help her right her wrongs. To steer her toward God. To stop her sleeping around, to stop her drug and alcohol habits. He’d even visited her and her horrible boyfriend, showing up unexpectedly to help them. For years, he’d done that.
But it had all been pointless.
Perhaps some souls couldn’t be saved…
He reopened his eyes, as though a new surge of energy had come in from above.
He was in a position to save other young girls with potential. He could ensure they wouldn’t follow in his sister’s footsteps. He would not let them head down a path of sins that would lead them to their unredeemable downfalls. Not if he had a say or could act to save their souls while they were still pure enough.
He turned away from the rows of red votive candles and smiled at various members of the congregation who were slowly but surely dripping through the entrance and finding their seats for mass.
Perhaps it was their physical resemblance to his sister, but he spotted two young women he’d come to know better over the last few weeks. There was Amanda, who’d been gossiping a lot and exhibiting too much pride and greed for her own good. And there was also Jessica. She’d confessed to having done drugs and had sex out of marriage with someone inappropriate. With the confessions he’d heard, he had all of the puzzle pieces. It’d only taken him a week to figure out who the someone was: her dad’s best friend—a married man and well-respected member of the community.
Perhaps saving her was more urgent.