16 Word Miracle Church (2/2)
I end my prayer and sit back, but suddenly, I am shocked to find the priest sitting with me.
”Child, have I disturbed your prayers?” he asks.
”No, father,” I answer kindly. ”I actually did not notice that you were there.”
”Ah, you were too deep in prayer,” he observes. ”That is good. In times of trouble, we need to have the greatest faith.”
”I am lost,” I say simply. ”I need to bring justice when others would not. Everyone turned a blind eye to the truth and I feel that there is something more to it than just a simple crime. I know that there are many ties but I do not know what to do. Without my partner, I feel lost.”
”The world is unfair,” he says. ”You cannot truly bring justice, but you can uncover the truth. You said your partner is gone. What happened?”
”He is in the ICU,” I say. ”An incident occurred that led him to stay there. We were uncovering the truth of a murder, but in the process of finding the truth, he was drugged and he had to stay there until he wakes up from a coma. I do not know what to do, father. I am lost.”
”This is simply the Lord's test,” he says. ”He would not give you a problem you cannot solve. He wants to teach you to solve this on your own. Do not worry, child. Things will turn out fine in the end. The Lord tests the faith of the righteous to see if they will remain true to Him in the end. We should be thankful for the tests.”
”Well, the Lord certainly thinks me as righteous then,” I say bitterly. ”I have another friend stuck at the hospital and a friend that has been led astray by drugs and addiction. Do you remember the former principal pianist, father?”
No doubt, I am currently talking with the head priest of the church. He must certainly remember Emma. She has been performing for six years until she became stuck at the hospital.
”Yes, child,” he says kindly. ”She was a kind-hearted girl, but a secretive one too. Her confessions make it seem that she had a hard life. How is she anyway? Why did she just suddenly disappear?”
”Father, she. . . is sick,” I say hesitantly. ”She is sick and she will never return again. The Lord will take her soon. Father, please pray for her.”
”I will dedicate some masses to her,” he says.
”Father, you have known her through her confessions,” I observe. ”I think you know her more than I do as a best friend to her. I know it in her heart that she keeps a secret lover. I believe so that knowing his identity and bringing him to her would make her last days peaceful. Father, what is his complete name?”
”Child, I am bound to the Seal of the Confessional,” he says simply. ”I cannot disclose anything she said about him. I cannot tell his name or anything. I'm sorry. I cannot tell you. But, if you wait and attend this mass, he might come. This is usually the time he attends the Sunday mass.”
I waited until the mass begins. More and more people begin to flood the church. It is a church almost as big as a Cathedral. Well, that is just my perception. As the mass begins, I cannot help but not concentrate. As we sing the Kyrie Eleison, I cannot help but look around for men that I might know.
I see the man in front of me as only Professor Diwa. He commonly attends the Saturday mass that is why I am not shocked to see him here. What truly shocked me is the claim by Emma's sister that he is a fornicator. It is a grave sin based on the Ten Commandments. He is far too holy in my eyes to commit a mortal sin. By the row on my right, I see my lawyer, Atty. Guevarra. He did say that he will attend the church on Sunday. I just did not expect that it would be this one. Then, on the far back, I see Carlos, the economist we interviewed. He was the former church guitarist in his youth before he became an economist. Near the front is Emma's doctor, Dr. Orlando Sebastian. I did not expect that he would be here too. He should be in the hospital by now. I guess, it is not enough to be physically healthy. You need to be spiritually healthy too.
Of all the familiar men I see around here, there is one I suspect the most. He was the one who has been suspicious ever since he talked with me. He has something in his mind. I know that he has a plan and he is a silent player. I do wonder. . .
What made him tenth on his first?