Vera and Belladonna have arrived at
the final layer of the sewer. From the looks of it and the people, nothing
looks particularly different about it though it does carry features of the
other layers except for its large ceiling with a massive pillar in the center. Sexual
degeneracy, cannibalism, debtors taking advantage of others. People distancing themselves
from others while doing nothing, violence happening in the sewer, and others
scheming to take from others.
“Is there anything special about
this place that I should know?” Vera asks.
“What? Did you expect this layer to
be any different than the others? I guess I don’t blame you since this is the
bottom.”
“This is the bottom?”
“Yeah. It’s just like the others
except it seems to mix everything from the past layers as if it were the source
of it all. The entire layer is so expansive that you could fit decent chunks of
the previous layers in here.”
“Where is the place I can be
redeemed? What about the exit?”
“I’ll tell you where if you don’t take
me there.”
“If that’s what you want to do, I
won’t force you.”
“I’m going to spoil the surprise
right now for you. You’ll have to give up who you are to be redeemed. All those
vices that you love so much you’ll have to let go of.”
“That’s fine. They never fully
satisfied me to begin with.”
“But that’s not all. You’re going
to have to live like an addict without their drugs for the rest of your life.
That comparison I made between sin and drugs was for a reason, you know?”
“I can live with it.”
“How can anyone live without what
makes them truly feel alive?”
“By replacing it with something
better that isn’t evil. Tell me where to go already.”
“Do you see that pillar in the
center? That’s where you need to go.”
“Okay.”
“Hey! I said to not take me there!”
“I’m not going to take you in
there.”
“You’re going to leave me outside
of the pillar? Why?”
“Because if I can make the
sacrifice to give up my vices then so can you.”
“You really think I can do it
despite how evil I am?”
“I think you can.”
“Why would you think so? Don’t you
hate me?”
“No, I don’t hate you. You said it
before. We’re basically the same.”
“If you don’t hate me, then you probably
still find my actions unforgivable even the things that I didn’t do to you.”
“No, I forgive you and if I can somehow
be forgiven, then you can too.”
Vera leaves Belladonna in a safe
place outside of the pillar. Belladonna is speechless and watches as Vera
enters the pillar. When she goes inside of it, she climbs a staircase that
leads to a single room with a priest inside of it. He has his own living
quarters with a fridge, bookcase, a television, and a communication device.
“Hello there,” the priest says with
a smile.
“H-hi.”
“Take a seat. Relax.”
“Do you know who I am? Don’t you
have a way to defend yourself in here?”
“I don’t really know who you are, and
I do have a way to defend myself though it might prove ineffective against a
woman with your abilities.”
Vera takes a seat near the man.
“Can you offer me redemption?”
“I can indeed or rather God can. I’m
just His tool.”
“Oh.”
“Hm? Are you disappointed that I wasn’t
someone who could fix your appearance or delete your records from the government?”
“No, not really. I knew that the
only solution for me was supernatural. The things that I’ve done have been so
evil that I’m surprised that I haven’t been erased from existence or instantly sent
to Hell.”
“God is the reason we exist and
continues to sustain our existence. He always tries to find a way for us to
make ourselves right with Him.”
“Why is that?”
“Because He is love and truth
itself. The fact that you’re still alive means that He’s been trying to get you
to this point.”
A warm feeling enters Vera’s body
that she hasn’t felt in a while.
“Am I really that important to Him?”
“He loves each of us as if there
were only one of us.”
“So, can God redeem a person as
evil as me?”
“Of course. He forgives everyone
who confesses their sins.”
“Then I’ll confess!”
“First, I must ask, have you been
Baptized?”
“Is that being born again or
something?”
“You’re sort of right. When a
person is baptized with water and spirit, they are born again in God and given
new life.”
“I haven’t been baptized then because
I’ve never heard of that.”
“Okay then. This will be your first
birthday then reborn in God.”
The priest goes through the process
of Baptism and baptizes Vera. She feels light for some reason as if a heavyweight is lifted from her.
“Congratulations on being born
again.”
“Thank you. Should I confess my
sins now?”
“You can.”
Vera confesses everything that she’s
done, and the priest takes it all without flinching. He then absolves her of
her sins. Another feeling of an invisible weight being lifted from Vera courses
through her body.
“For your penance, you may leave
these sewers.”
“That’s my penance? Really?”
“The ladder going up is quite long
and hot. It’s punishment enough. Besides, it’s the safest way out.”
“What about my sins? You looked
like you’ve heard worse.”
“I have, but I can’t tell you of
them because I would be breaking a very important seal.”
“Oh, okay. What about you? What are
you going to do?”
“I’ll just stay here like I always
do waiting for people like you to walk in. It’s my duty assigned by the Church
and the will of God. Very few people walk through these doors. You’d think that
there was a rumor going around that I’m actually a monster or God Himself who
strikes down sinners like them.”
“You don’t have any help?”
“There are people who come to bring
suggest that they repent, but very few survive that job, so I don’t have many
helpers. Can you pray for me when you can?”
“Of course. Thank you so much,
father.”
Vera kisses the head of the priest
before going into the central room that leads up to the surface. The ladder
room is hot as if it’s a furnace and the ladder seems to reach on until
forever.
“What a thrill this is going to be…”
Nevertheless, Vera starts her
climb. She climbs and climbs as she sweats and feels a burning sensation from
the inside and outside. This feeling feels appropriate for her penance, so she willingly
bears it. The pain never numbs, and she doesn’t get used to it after a long
time of bearing it, however, the thought of giving up never occurs to her. Vera
keeps pushing and pushing until she reaches the top. She exits the sewer and finds
herself outside of the gates of a church.
Feeling a need to enter it, Vera
goes inside to see all the statues of God, angels, saints, and the Queen of
Heaven. The stained glass windows depict events from long ago and the candles
that light up the church add to the atmosphere that feels different from any other place that she’s been in.
A priest approaches her and asks, “Hello,
how are you doing?"
“I’m fine. Ah, you aren’t concerned
about my appearance?”
“What? Your white dress and veil
look beautiful. You do look like you need shoes though.”
Vera looks at herself to see that everything
that she’s wearing is white and none of her children’s flesh is on her as if it
was never there.
“Oh, wow!”
“Ah, I see now. You must’ve just escaped
the sewers. Praise be to God for saving another soul! Is the priest down there
doing well?”
“He is.”
“Good, that’s very good. Are you
ready to receive God?”
“Huh?”
“If you stay for mass, you can receive
God, which is part of the requirement to enter Heaven. We receive Him every Sunday
for the forgiveness of venial sins and for healing.”
“I’ll stay.”
“That’s excellent! I’m so happy for
you!”
After mass, Vera goes back to the
priest in the church and asks him what she should do next.
“I can help you find the answer,
but ultimately it’s whatever God calls you to do.”
“Then I’ll do it, whatever it is.”
With Vera’s new start, she looks
forward to the future. She already has plans of helping others in need and
people who are like her. Even though she has been cleansed, she still struggles
with her temptations, but who doesn’t? She lives her life with a new purpose and
the hopes that others do the same or even more than she does so that they may
be redeemed.
The
End
No comments:
Post a Comment