I received a note at my apartment earlier that asked I come to the church at my earliest convenience. It didn?t tell me what the reason was, or if something had happened. The only person that knows I?m alive from there is Zenny, who I imagine is being very quiet about my whereabouts. This letter, though? it isn?t in her handwriting. I have to assume it?s one of the nuns that she can confide in most. The only one I know that she speaks with about personal matters is Sister Caren.
If Sister Caren brought this, it must be something particularly important?
I dropped everything I planned on doing for the day and ran as fast as I could. Maybe something happened? happened at the graveyard??
No. I can?t think about that. Nobody would be so offensive as to cause problems in a place such as that. People have at least a little respect, I think?
Each step Mayu took up the stony pathway to the church?s entrance rebounded and made her legs wobble like rubber. Each footfall resonated loud off the walls and pounded in her ears, making them hurt. She didn?t care, even as she pushed past that thin veil of discomfort the wards always presented when initially scanning her karma and her intentions.
Shoving the door open and deafening the silence with a clamorous roar of hinges and wood on stone, she poured inside, already on the lookout for that particular nun with the snow powder white hair and polished brass eyes. If she was the one that sent the letter, she would indeed be the one waiting on her arrival.
Several of the nuns busying themselves with floor cleaning duty were startled by her abrupt entrance, soapy sponges flying, buckets of water jostling. One quickly rose, a woman that Mayu had never seen before, and hurried over to her. ?Ma?am, are you well? Is there something I can help you with??
It seemed this was the way the church always handled business with potential strangers. She wasn?t used to it, what with how her last arrival was in an entirely different body with all that phosphorescent blonde hair and beaming cerulean eyes. Although she resembled her old self in the current structure, her eyes were much more round and her hair, now her natural raven black, certainly helped keep her in disguise.
?Maybe,? she answered abruptly, digging into the long coat that wrapped her body like a blanket and pulled out a letter marked with the church?s seal. She jabbed the white envelope out for the nun to take. ?I got this earlier, and I believe it was sent to me by Sister Caren. Do you know if that?s true??
The envelope was taken and reached into, pulling the creased note out and flipping it open with a stretch of fingers. ?Ooh, yes. I do believe this was written by Sister Caren, but the request came directly from Miss Zenny. They?re presently out on an errand for the Congregation Order, but we were instructed to pass a few things on to a girl who bared this letter. Which must also mean? are you our new delivery person??
Relief washed over her like water from a showerhead. If the only reason she was called on was to be given a few things by Zenny, that meant the graveyard was al-- No. She couldn?t think about that at a time like this. She took the letter back when the nun offered it, and crammed it in the pocket it sprang from. ?What kind of things??wait, delivery person?!? she anxiously threw out there, the tension in her voice already absent and replaced with shock, her rigid figure more lax and comfortable to bear witness to. At least she didn?t look like her spine was being held together like a splint, anymore.
?Yes. I was told we hired a new girl and she would be by to help us with our deliveries. We?re a little shorthanded, you see. This is such a relief. Please, this way. I will show you to them. They were left in the kitchen for you to retrieve when you arrived.? She motioned with a grimy hand steeped in suds and quickly hurried off to guide the girl, who pursued ambitiously.
Deliveries were something that the church prided itself in. Food, clothes, sometimes the occasional toy for a child that was terminally ill. They gave and gave often, only wishing to pay their part to society and keep their goodhearted faith alive. It was part of the reason Mayu was so attached to the place to begin with. That, and?
The nun pressed the door open with her dry hand and peered inside. Her shoulders perked, ebbing the listless way she carried herself and stepped aside, allowing the small girl access to the kitchen?s space. Her posture dictated she wasn?t going to be remaining for very long. ?Ah, yes! There they are. Furthest set of boxes on the middle table there. One of those is from Marlena, our cook. She generally sends deliveries out and around town? well, really, she force-volunteered a boy to do it for us. Maybe you knew him? His name was--?
Mayu shouldered past the nun and stepped into the kitchen. ?No. Probably not. I?m new around here. Are these deliveries meant for town??
?Oh,? the woman quickly returned to business, smothering her ramblings against the doorframe as she leaned against it, ?yes! I believe one in particular goes to some big inn inside the city?s limits. If you just drop it off there? Tonight?s serving should be pasta and Alfredo sauce. Two buckets. Will you be all right on your own??
Mayu slowed near the stack of twin boxes, casting a wayward glance across a shoulder without looking back at the nun. Her head couldn?t quite reach. That, or her neck refused to twist around far enough to showcase the strain her eyes were experiencing, avoiding potential waterfalls. ?Yes, I will be fine. I?ll see that they get there within the hour.?
?Great! It?s so nice to have somebody start up our deliveries for us! We generally start in the early morning hours. I?ll see that you?re given a schedule and route list before you leave! Welcome aboard, miss??? she trailed, allowing for a name to be delivered.
??Elisa,? Mayu answered after a moment?s thought of consideration, straightening and reaching to take the top box down and position it beside the other. She didn?t favor lying in a place of worship, or to her coworkers, who she also saw as friends as all the Sisters had come to be over the three years since she joined their ranks. It was an unavoidable precaution, a means to protect not only herself, but them, too.
?Elisa? Elisa Clarke? Oh, my! I?ve heard you?ve already done quite the few things to help us out before now! I?m very glad to meet you, Miss Elisa.? She flourished in her bow and, with a wave, scampered off to leave the girl alone to inherit from a dear friend what would become her brand new and only job: Delivery Girl for Saint Agnes? Cathedral of Light.
If Sister Caren brought this, it must be something particularly important?
I dropped everything I planned on doing for the day and ran as fast as I could. Maybe something happened? happened at the graveyard??
No. I can?t think about that. Nobody would be so offensive as to cause problems in a place such as that. People have at least a little respect, I think?
Each step Mayu took up the stony pathway to the church?s entrance rebounded and made her legs wobble like rubber. Each footfall resonated loud off the walls and pounded in her ears, making them hurt. She didn?t care, even as she pushed past that thin veil of discomfort the wards always presented when initially scanning her karma and her intentions.
Shoving the door open and deafening the silence with a clamorous roar of hinges and wood on stone, she poured inside, already on the lookout for that particular nun with the snow powder white hair and polished brass eyes. If she was the one that sent the letter, she would indeed be the one waiting on her arrival.
Several of the nuns busying themselves with floor cleaning duty were startled by her abrupt entrance, soapy sponges flying, buckets of water jostling. One quickly rose, a woman that Mayu had never seen before, and hurried over to her. ?Ma?am, are you well? Is there something I can help you with??
It seemed this was the way the church always handled business with potential strangers. She wasn?t used to it, what with how her last arrival was in an entirely different body with all that phosphorescent blonde hair and beaming cerulean eyes. Although she resembled her old self in the current structure, her eyes were much more round and her hair, now her natural raven black, certainly helped keep her in disguise.
?Maybe,? she answered abruptly, digging into the long coat that wrapped her body like a blanket and pulled out a letter marked with the church?s seal. She jabbed the white envelope out for the nun to take. ?I got this earlier, and I believe it was sent to me by Sister Caren. Do you know if that?s true??
The envelope was taken and reached into, pulling the creased note out and flipping it open with a stretch of fingers. ?Ooh, yes. I do believe this was written by Sister Caren, but the request came directly from Miss Zenny. They?re presently out on an errand for the Congregation Order, but we were instructed to pass a few things on to a girl who bared this letter. Which must also mean? are you our new delivery person??
Relief washed over her like water from a showerhead. If the only reason she was called on was to be given a few things by Zenny, that meant the graveyard was al-- No. She couldn?t think about that at a time like this. She took the letter back when the nun offered it, and crammed it in the pocket it sprang from. ?What kind of things??wait, delivery person?!? she anxiously threw out there, the tension in her voice already absent and replaced with shock, her rigid figure more lax and comfortable to bear witness to. At least she didn?t look like her spine was being held together like a splint, anymore.
?Yes. I was told we hired a new girl and she would be by to help us with our deliveries. We?re a little shorthanded, you see. This is such a relief. Please, this way. I will show you to them. They were left in the kitchen for you to retrieve when you arrived.? She motioned with a grimy hand steeped in suds and quickly hurried off to guide the girl, who pursued ambitiously.
Deliveries were something that the church prided itself in. Food, clothes, sometimes the occasional toy for a child that was terminally ill. They gave and gave often, only wishing to pay their part to society and keep their goodhearted faith alive. It was part of the reason Mayu was so attached to the place to begin with. That, and?
The nun pressed the door open with her dry hand and peered inside. Her shoulders perked, ebbing the listless way she carried herself and stepped aside, allowing the small girl access to the kitchen?s space. Her posture dictated she wasn?t going to be remaining for very long. ?Ah, yes! There they are. Furthest set of boxes on the middle table there. One of those is from Marlena, our cook. She generally sends deliveries out and around town? well, really, she force-volunteered a boy to do it for us. Maybe you knew him? His name was--?
Mayu shouldered past the nun and stepped into the kitchen. ?No. Probably not. I?m new around here. Are these deliveries meant for town??
?Oh,? the woman quickly returned to business, smothering her ramblings against the doorframe as she leaned against it, ?yes! I believe one in particular goes to some big inn inside the city?s limits. If you just drop it off there? Tonight?s serving should be pasta and Alfredo sauce. Two buckets. Will you be all right on your own??
Mayu slowed near the stack of twin boxes, casting a wayward glance across a shoulder without looking back at the nun. Her head couldn?t quite reach. That, or her neck refused to twist around far enough to showcase the strain her eyes were experiencing, avoiding potential waterfalls. ?Yes, I will be fine. I?ll see that they get there within the hour.?
?Great! It?s so nice to have somebody start up our deliveries for us! We generally start in the early morning hours. I?ll see that you?re given a schedule and route list before you leave! Welcome aboard, miss??? she trailed, allowing for a name to be delivered.
??Elisa,? Mayu answered after a moment?s thought of consideration, straightening and reaching to take the top box down and position it beside the other. She didn?t favor lying in a place of worship, or to her coworkers, who she also saw as friends as all the Sisters had come to be over the three years since she joined their ranks. It was an unavoidable precaution, a means to protect not only herself, but them, too.
?Elisa? Elisa Clarke? Oh, my! I?ve heard you?ve already done quite the few things to help us out before now! I?m very glad to meet you, Miss Elisa.? She flourished in her bow and, with a wave, scampered off to leave the girl alone to inherit from a dear friend what would become her brand new and only job: Delivery Girl for Saint Agnes? Cathedral of Light.