Sister Hildegard

The dark parts of Catholic school aren’t always what they seem, she thinks, and remembers makeshift beds in oily wooden pews, a blanket of dust shimmering through colored air as she waited for the church cat to find the humble offering she’d laid out. In the next room, the nuns, equal parts gentle and defiant, sung the praises of a god that would never forsake them, knowing even god wouldn’t dare.