Reality Knows No Mercy…

"Y ou are not the first to feel being given into the keeping of the cloister hard to accept."

The Mother Superior used a kind tone. What filled Rhona's mouth with bitterness was the knowing look in the woman's eyes.

She was speaking from experience.

"In time, you will be grateful someone thought to make certain you had a place," the nun continued. "Many in this world do not enjoy such circumstances."

The nun wore the simplest of clothing. Her wimple was worn and yet, still serviceable. She sent Rhona a kind smile before she joined the line of nuns walking into the house.

Rhoa didn't have to leave.

She looked at the house. It was her home. So she walked back up the steps.

The nuns were quiet while they went about their work. Bundles were taken up to the upper floor while someone started working in the kitchen. The scent of warm food began to fill the lower floor, striking Rhona with an unexpected softening toward the idea of living with the nuns as one of their numbers. Even hushed as the nuns were, they drove away the silence that had been lingering since her mother died.

A soft bell chimed. Rhona watched the nuns appear from where they had been, lining up before kneeling before a statue of the Holy Virgin which they had brought with them. Like them, it was a simple wooden carving. Serviceable and yet artfully crafted.

After making their obedience, they began to sing. The soft tones of worship were lyrical and while not precisely cheerful, they did banish the last of the lingering shadows from the house.

When they finished, they filed past the mother superior on their way to the supper table. Rhona stood still but the mother superior did not forget her.

"Come Child," she said softly. "Break bread with your sisters. We are your family now."