Sister Mary Francis was a troubled soul. Her conscience bothered her immensely. And it was from an action of her own doing.
She’d just finished up with Father Lucious. But her time with him had nothing to do with the work of the convent. Instead, their meeting had been nothing more than a carnal satisfying of the lusts of the flesh.
She headed away from the monastery, her soul in torment. She knew their coupling was against God’s laws. Yet she couldn’t help herself.
She wasn’t sure how it had gotten started. But did it really matter? She’d willingly succumbed to the temptations of the flesh.
Father Lucious had not put a stop to their liaisons. Instead, he encouraged it, although they attempted to maintain some sort of discretion. He explained that the God he served was a God of forgiveness. He also explained that God had created sex as a beautiful sacrament.
Mary was not calmed as she considered his words yet again. They had stolen the better part of the afternoon together in his study. A brief interruption by Sister Margaret had not dampened his ardor.
She’d waited in hiding, struggling with whether or not she should reveal herself to Sister Margaret. Instead, her courage had failed her. When Father Lucious had returned, she’d become swept up in the moment, offering herself to him once more until they’d completed the act yet again.
What pained her was the fact that today had not been the first time. Nay, it had been the sixth… or was it seven now? They could not seem to stop themselves.
Once she’d expressed her reservations as they’d cuddled together naked. He’d simply smiled while embracing her fondly. Their warm, naked bodies had become alive with desire, and they’d promptly engaged in another act of fornication.
Mary Francis took the narrow path away from the safety of the convent. She wanted to get away from it all. Was she trying to escape her conscience? Or was she running from God’s punishment that surely was headed her way? Was it even possible to get that far away from His wrath?
It was a familiar path that led into the woods. She did not know if any of the other sisters were even aware of its existence. Did they know of the lake that lay nearly three miles away?
She’d first stumbled across it a week after her arrival at the convent. The pressures of her new surroundings had driven her into the forest to pray. A long walk had resulted in her finding the lake.
It was a small, peaceful body of water. It teemed with gulls and ducks. A small outcropping on a rocky ledge gave her a breathless view of the entire body of water.
The first time she’s tumbled upon it had given her a great peace. It was as though God had led her there to pray and meditate. Afterwards, she’d returned to the convent with renewed determination.
She’d gone for long hikes to the lake on two other occasions. Both times had been to pray and seek guidance. Each time the beauty of the lake had filled her with peace. She did not even know its name.
She felt tears well up in her eyes as she made her way through the woods. The image of their recent tryst was fresh in her mind. She had ridden Father Lucious until she’d exploded with pleasure, an act that had immediately filled her with regret.
In the heat of the moment she had thoroughly enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh. But as a nun, chastity was to be the hallmark of her character. She was supposed to be dedicated to God, not serve as Father Lucious’ whore.
She let out a sob as she picked up the pace. She ran for the lake just as fast as her feet would carry her. She needed that peaceful promontory one more time. Question is: would it give her that sense of calmness as it had so many times before?
She winced as she felt Father Lucious’ seed inside her. She’d deliberately worn a pair of pantyhose underneath her robe. But a significant part was missing, the material that covered the hole she was supposed to dedicate to The Most High.
She rushed forward toward the lake in her bare feet. She was not concerned about the cuts and bruises she received. She accepted it as her penance for breaking God’s law.
She did not know how far she went, nor how long it took her. The location seemed farther away than usual. Perhaps it was because of her disturbed spirit.
The forest began to thin out. A particular set of rocks beckoned to her. The gap was up ahead, the gap that would open to the view of the lake beyond.
Sister Mary suddenly paused, her heart beating in her chest. What would she do once she got there? Her guilt was such that she found herself considering the forbidden.
She winced as she shook her head. That was the devil whispering in her ear, urging her to do the unthinkable. This time she would not succumb.
She slowly walked up to the gap in the rocks. Mary Francis began to feel a sense of peace envelop her. It was the remedy she needed, at least for the moment.
She slowed her pace until she walked with calm and purpose. She would dedicate herself to prayer as she thought the matter through. God would help her, just as He always had.
She passed through the rocky gap. A view of the lake opened before her. It was as beautiful as ever.
She stepped up to the edge and looked out over the water. Sister Mary Francis tried to calm the beating of her heart. She stood there with her eyes closed, waiting for the still, small voice of the Lord.
The first thought she had was that she had to break it off with Father Lucious. She did not wish to, and she suspected he would feel the same. But their trysts were simply unacceptable.
The turmoil in her mind began to subside. She cleared her thoughts as she looked out over the water. A brief thought of throwing herself in flickered in the back of her mind. But she quickly dismissed it. She was much stronger than that; it simply was not an option.
She looked out upon the calm surface of the lake. There was nary a breeze; not a ripple in sight. The water looked like glass… or a mirror.
She allowed herself a flicker of a smile. Already she was feeling much better. This was not the end for her, merely the beginning of a new chapter. It would have challenges, of course. But she would meet them with a submissive and repentant spirit.
As she looked out across the water, her smile faded. Something did not seem right. Mary Francis felt a shadow pass over her despite the fact there was not a cloud in the sky.
What was this? God’s judgement? She did not understand. The lake seemed as beautiful as ever. But something did not feel right.
She looked intently across the surface, trying to put a finger on what it was that felt so out of place to her. At first she could not figure it out. Then it finally came to her.
There was not a bird of any sort upon or above the surface of the lake…
Now that was odd. Usually she would see families of ducks and gulls. Occasionally she’d seen the occasional flash of a fish jumping. Today there was nothing. The air was still, as though it was holding its breath.
Mary Francis frowned as she tried to puzzle it over in her mind. What was the meaning of this? Was God this angry with her? Certainly He was just, but she’d never known Him to be vengeful.
The water remained still; not a single ripple. What’s more, there was not the sound of a single, solitary bird. This time the promontory did not give her the peace she sought.
Sister Francis became aware of movement down below in the water. She looked down to see what it was, peering intently. But she was too close to the shore, the shadows of the angle of the sun preventing her from obtaining a good view.
She stared intently into the depths. It looked like a shadow was rising up to greet her. What could it be?
A thousand thoughts flooded her mind. Was it an Angel of the Lord come to discipline her? Was it a minion of the evil one come to torment her even more? There was no way of knowing.
Something was definitely rising up from the depths. She had no idea how deep it was. She had never once attempted a swim, although she’d been sorely tempted on more than one occasion. But she probably would have needed to remove her garments in order to get wet. And she was already feeling quite guilty of removing them for carnal purposes.
It rose up faster from the depths. A moment later something broke the surface of the water. It was long and round, a grey, sinuous arm appearing to be free of any kind of bone.
Sister Mary stood frozen in place, a look of astonishment in her features. The arm moved in her direction. She was too shocked to move out of the way.
It wrapped around her with a multitude of little suckers holding onto her. Then it abruptly pulled her into the water. Sister Mary Francis let out a cry that was quickly swallowed up.
She found herself submerged in the coolness of the lake. Sister Mary Francis was astonished to see more such arms appear. They were long, thick tendrils attached to a solid mass.
She struggled to break free. But she was held firm. The long, thick arm was taking her down into the depths.
The sister got a look at the rest of the creature. It looked massive. Was this what had scared off all the birds of the air? How many had succumbed to a similar sneak attack?
Strangely, she did not panic, even as her lungs began to burn. Sister Mary Francis did not know what type of creature she was dealing with. All she knew was that it had her and was not about to let go.
Her chest heaved as her lungs burned with a fiery intensity. She would not be able to hold her breath much longer. Was this God’s punishment for her sins of the flesh?
With her last lucid moments of consciousness Mary begged God’s forgiveness. If this was His purpose for her, she would accept it graciously. She would do her penance at the bottom of the lake, perhaps as a meal for the creature.
Sister Mary Francis’ lungs abruptly gave out. That’s when she began the process of giving her life, an act she struggled to make as consensual as possible. The pain of drowning was far more agonizing than she could have possibly anticipated. But she gave into it willingly.
At least God was merciful. She was not conscious when the beast pulled her close and began to feast on its unexpected meal…
When Sister Mary Francis did not return, the other sisters of the convent went looking for her. But there was no sign of her. Two sisters followed the path into the woods, aware she had occasionally walked into it during times of stress. But they did not get anywhere close to the lake. Even if they had, there would have been nothing to discover.
A massive wave of guilt overcame Father Lucious. He did not know what had happened to Sister Mary. But it was easy to imagine the worst.
When she did not return in a week’s time he confessed his sins, resigned his position and left the convent, wracked with guilt as well as the stress of not knowing what had happened to his former paramour.
2020 (written Oct 7 ’20 by riwa. Inspired by Itoshiki’s creation)