Late call.
Christopher left his wife’s body on the bed. The machines finally silent. Nurses and orderlies stood respectfully out of his way. He wandered the hospital halls blindly and found himself in the chapel. The place was nondenominational, one wall pale colored glass in greens then blues then fading to yellowish light at the top behind a central lectern. There were four rows of benches on each side of a center aisle. He sat down staring at the top of the glass wall. The point of light. He was deep in prayer when he clearly heard an invitation: “Come”
Startled, Christopher opened his eyes and looked around. There was no one. He shook his head. The voice had been so clear, the invitation compelling.
Christopher and Janine had married right after college, a ceremony sanctified by the Church and celebrated with friends and family. They’d had an idyllic marriage, except for the lack of children. They made up for that by volunteering as advocates in the juvenal court. They’d even fostered a few children through the years. Children now grown and gone.
Mercy, Christopher’s sister, thought he should come stay with her family after Janine’s funeral. Christopher felt he needed to be alone in his house. When friends or family stopped by, he insisted he was OK, and just needed more time alone to process things. He packed up, not only Janine’s belongings, but his own. At night, in the quiet hours just before dawn, he heard again the call, the invitation: “Come.”
Christopher did research, reviewing his options. He wasn’t a young man, he wouldn’t be welcome just anywhere. He made calls. He went on retreats, with other questioners and seekers. At the end of a year, he’d made his choice. He finally had to recognize the call was true.
“You’ve got to be kidding me” Mike said, almost slamming his beer on the table.
Christopher’s other two companions stared at him blankly. The four had been friends for years, seeing each other through marriages, divorces, and in Christopher’s case the death of his wife. This news didn’t make sense to any of them.
“But Chris,” Justin always called him Chris, just because Christopher hated it. “You’re old, I mean I know we all are, but you’re the first to go past the big 50. Why? I mean you could meet a new woman, you could, uh, just you know...”
“I don’t need ‘another woman’” as you so indelicately put it.” Christopher responded. “I don’t believe I need anything else but to answer this call.”
Christopher hadn’t really been religious growing up, he had joined the Church after meeting Janine. They’d attended mass regularly. Christopher had found he liked the liturgical year. He didn’t need to “spread the word.”
Joseph, who taught philosophy at the community college piped up “How do you know for sure this is what you want. How do you know?”
“It wasn’t a Moses and the burning bush moment. But I heard a call, right after Janine’s death. I passed it off as grief. I doubted. But I continued to hear it, to come to profess my faith. I will be joining the Benedictine Order. It’s never too late to hear the call."
Christopher was ready to fulfill this act of faith.
— Lkai
Christopher left his wife’s body on the bed. The machines finally silent. Nurses and orderlies stood respectfully out of his way. He wandered the hospital halls blindly and found himself in the chapel. The place was nondenominational, one wall pale colored glass in greens then blues then fading to yellowish light at the top behind a central lectern. There were four rows of benches on each side of a center aisle. He sat down staring at the top of the glass wall. The point of light. He was deep in prayer when he clearly heard an invitation: “Come”
Startled, Christopher opened his eyes and looked around. There was no one. He shook his head. The voice had been so clear, the invitation compelling.
Christopher and Janine had married right after college, a ceremony sanctified by the Church and celebrated with friends and family. They’d had an idyllic marriage, except for the lack of children. They made up for that by volunteering as advocates in the juvenal court. They’d even fostered a few children through the years. Children now grown and gone.
Mercy, Christopher’s sister, thought he should come stay with her family after Janine’s funeral. Christopher felt he needed to be alone in his house. When friends or family stopped by, he insisted he was OK, and just needed more time alone to process things. He packed up, not only Janine’s belongings, but his own. At night, in the quiet hours just before dawn, he heard again the call, the invitation: “Come.”
Christopher did research, reviewing his options. He wasn’t a young man, he wouldn’t be welcome just anywhere. He made calls. He went on retreats, with other questioners and seekers. At the end of a year, he’d made his choice. He finally had to recognize the call was true.
“You’ve got to be kidding me” Mike said, almost slamming his beer on the table.
Christopher’s other two companions stared at him blankly. The four had been friends for years, seeing each other through marriages, divorces, and in Christopher’s case the death of his wife. This news didn’t make sense to any of them.
“But Chris,” Justin always called him Chris, just because Christopher hated it. “You’re old, I mean I know we all are, but you’re the first to go past the big 50. Why? I mean you could meet a new woman, you could, uh, just you know...”
“I don’t need ‘another woman’” as you so indelicately put it.” Christopher responded. “I don’t believe I need anything else but to answer this call.”
Christopher hadn’t really been religious growing up, he had joined the Church after meeting Janine. They’d attended mass regularly. Christopher had found he liked the liturgical year. He didn’t need to “spread the word.”
Joseph, who taught philosophy at the community college piped up “How do you know for sure this is what you want. How do you know?”
“It wasn’t a Moses and the burning bush moment. But I heard a call, right after Janine’s death. I passed it off as grief. I doubted. But I continued to hear it, to come to profess my faith. I will be joining the Benedictine Order. It’s never too late to hear the call."
Christopher was ready to fulfill this act of faith.
— Lkai
Whoah! I really thought he was going to seek to be euthanized (as it were). So it's relieving and actually FUNNY to find out he just wants to become a monk! No big deal. Don't know why anyone would object! Well-done, Lkai. ----Macoff
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