Page 65 of Fallen
A young nun stood before a blackboard with a hand on a hip.
Her sharp eyes scanned the room as if daring a child to misbehave.
I braced both hands against the doorframe.
She gave a quick side eye in my direction.
It felt as if the world froze, as Hell and Heaven had disappeared and all that was left washer.
I'd know those beautiful chocolate eyes from anywhere.
Though her hair hid behind a habit, a tiny brown curl escaped and floated near her cheek.
"All right, class." She clapped her hands loudly. "Today, we'll be exercising our God-given creativity gifts to glorify His name. Grab your coloring pencils…"
I pivoted away from her because I didn't want to hear anything else.
My Anna is…a fucking nun?
How did this happen?
I'd give her sight because I'd wanted her to be free to choose her own path with a fully healed body, not to become one more dried-up vessel sprouting God's hypocritical dribble.
The squeal of chairs dragging across the wooden floor pulled my focus back to Anna.
Transfixed by the sight, I watched her stiffly walk down an aisle between desks.
No smile curved her lips, no laughter sparkled in her eyes, no sense of wonder lilted her voice. All these things, plus many more I could never fully put into words, had made me fall in love with the woman she'd become.
Yet now? She looked lost. Alone.
Yes, I can finally admit that I fell in love with her.
I'd tried to deny it for too long.
To love is to fall, yet here I still stood.
This imperfect human, who'd annoyed me with her questions as a child, then blossomed into a magnificently capable woman, had stolen my black shriveled heart and injected life into its chambers.
And what have I done to repay that love?
I'd killed or dismembered her friends and tainted her world.
An urge to run away, to pretend it didn't matter, beat inside of me, but I couldn't.
Becauseshemattered. To me. My world was a dead, barren thing without her in it. Why had it taken me so long to see this?
Because of my prejudice and hatred of humans.
"Oh, Anna. What have you become?"
If this life were truly something wanted, I would honor her choice, but not without a fight. She had a gift in how she could read people, in how she painted. Even without sight, she'd been able to find the best parts of a person and bring them into the light. There was magic in her soul, and I wouldn't leave until she knew it.
And I won't leave until she hears the truth from my lips, even if I must grovel.
Chapter 28
Anna Sill
