There's a look of weariness on the face. Behind, sunshine beams down through the stained glass. There is tranquility in this place.
Beyond the weary look, there is a sense of peace. He gazes down upon the quiet, empty space in front of Him, looking upon all who come to Him in a fixed gaze. He may be presented in a statue, but His presence can still be felt, at least by the lone figure in the otherwise empty chapel.
Kneeling in the second row of pews, hands clasped, eyes fixed on the old but elegant statue, the figure seems very much part of the peaceful existence of this small cosy place.
A dove lands just beside the figure. But just as quickly, it flies off. The silence is broken by the flapping of wings, followed by the clicking of heels.
The figure remains unstirred.
"You seem pretty calm..." comes a voice,"considering what shall befall upon you in a moment's time."
No response. No reaction.
"Well, silence doesn't mean time will stop for you. You had your chance to utter your last words. Now I shall claim your life," there is a hint of arrogance in the voice.
"There shall be no strife, no bloodshed on Holy Ground," the figure reminded.
"Hahahaha... do you think I care?" comes the obnoxious retort as this intruder to the peace lifts his gun.
*BANG*
"Arrrgh!"
The intruder grips his hand in pain, bloodied from the explosion of the gun he held only momentarily before.
"I will not accept this!"
With that, the intruder raises his other hand, his palm holding out at the figure in the pew, who, even now, has not moved a single inch.
Suddenly, electrical energy course up the intruder's arm and through his whole body. Brought to his knees as he convulses, he utters his final words,"H..h..how c..coul..d t..th..is be..be ha..ha..p..p..en..n..ning? W..wh..y ar..e m..m..y p..p..pow..powers.. a..a..g..gain..s..st..t me..me?"
The shaking body bursts and disintegrates into dust. A breeze blows, scattering what remains of the intruder.
"Fool. Must be a newly-turned GoD. He was probably so full of himself that he turned over to the ranks of the Guardians of Darkness..., and brought this on himself," the figure thought to himself.
Making the sign of the cross, before kissing a ring on his right index finger, the figure stands up, genuflects and turns to head for the exit at the back of the chapel.
There is a nice cool breeze outside. It is a bright and sunny day. The figure puts on a pair of shades from his long dark coat and makes his way to a shiny black Ferrari, shimmering in the sunlight.
Moments later, all that's left are a cloud of dust and a low melodic roar in the distance.
**********
The garden is a beautiful place. Located just behind the chapel, it is Father Rob's favourite place on the chapel grounds. Standing by the pond in the centre of the garden, he goes about his daily routine of feeding the turtles in the pond. As he is throwing bread crumbs, admiring the little creatures, voice calls out.
"Father, Father!"
A tap on the shoulder. Fr Rob turns to see a handsome young man, dressed in black.
"Oh, son. Were you calling me? Sorry I'm hard of hearing. I'm afraid you need to shout at me," Fr Rob replies apologetically,"now how can I help u, son?"
"Father, I've come for confession!"
"Oh, sure sure. Come, let's go to my office. It's more private there, and you don't have to worry about other people hearing you shout out your sins," is the reply, with some laughter in the voice.
"No, no, it's ok. There don't seem to be anyone around anyway! Shall we have a stroll instead?!" the young man asked.
"But of course! Shall we begin? In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Fr Rob smiles with a hint of pleasant surprise.
"Bless me Father, for I am about to sin..." Fr Rob is now truly surprised. Indeed it is the first time he's heard someone begin a confession like that. His amazement didn't last long for seconds later, the surprise on his face is replaced by shock, and then pain. In less than a minute, Fr Rob crumbles into a pile of ashes, reduced to carbon by the magical fire that came out of the young man's hand.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust..." the young man continues as he kicks the ashes into the grass by the footpath.
He gives the garden one last look, making sure no one else is around. Then letting out a sign, he proceeds around the chapel and out to the front. He too drives off, leaving behind a dust cloud, and Fr Rob's ashes among the grass.
**********
"It'd be nice if you're here now, watching the sunrise together like we used to."
A sigh.
"Oh well, at least now you're in heaven, probably looking down on me, right? This can be such a lonely job. Guess what? Someone tried to kill me right in a chapel yesterday. I think the Guardians of Darkness doesn't give good training anymore. haha...
"Guardians, people blessed with extraordinary mastery of magic, supposedly to help the others here on earth. But we are humans afterall, though not as mortal. Never aging, never ill. Dying only by the hands of God or a fellow Guardian. However, faced with the lure of power over people, are we really a boon to the people around? If so we wouldn't have split into the Guardians of Light (Guardians for short) and Guardians of Darkness. We wouldn't be having this war 'til now.
"How I wish the world will end now, and I can go back to be with you. Ok, shouldn't take up too much of your time. You still have other people to watch over. Miss you my dear."
The sun has just risen. The glass has just been emptied. Mattheus heads back in. Setting his glass down on the bar counter, he turns up the volume of the television set, just in time to catch the headlines.
"Father Robert Leron, a priest of St Teresa's Chapel has been reported missing by the chapel caretaker. According to the police, he was last seen by the caretaker at around 10am, when the caretaker left to run some errands. The police requests anyone with information about his whereabouts to call the police hotline at 7654231. In other news..."
"Hmm... St Teresa's Chapel," Mattheus thought to himself,"That's the third case of disappearence linked to a place I've visited in the past few days. This cannot be mere coincidence can it? Looks like I need to do some backtracking."
