Thursday, January 23, 2014

Excerpt from "Confession"


Below is an excerpt from my novella "Confession" that is available on Amazon now.  Let me know what you think!

The rain poured down on him as he walked up to the large catholic church. His dark clothes, now soaked through, blended with the deep black of a rainy night. While the few others still out on the street at this late hour appeared noticeably bothered by the bad weather he walked with his head straight up with a confidence that made it seem he was not even aware it was a cold and wet night in the city of Erie, Pennsylvania. Car lights gleamed off of the wet roads combining with the colors of the street lights as they barreled past him the drivers having no understanding of the evil they would witness if they were to look over at the sidewalk but they had no curiosity or sense of the danger which he carried with him. He loved the naive nature of man, loved their selfish ways which made them all victims if and when he chose to make them such.

Man had become reckless in the modern comforts of American society. They hid behind barely locked doors, comforted themselves with the illusion that the law would keep them safe from the monster under the bed. If only the people that hurled past him in their moving hunks of metal knew his true nature, many would think that he himself was the monster that they had forced their parents to look under their bed frames for in their innocent youth. He was no monster under the bed or in the closet or even under the stairs. He was the monster who had no home, no confined space that allowed him to be easily found. The monster which he had become was a beast of many forms. The boogeyman man was predictable where as the man they all glanced at in the streets without a second thought was anything but.

As he stood at the top of the church steps with his hand firmly clasped around the old iron of the heavy wooden door’s knob-less handle he allowed himself a moment of superstition pausing to see if god would block his entrance into this false house of righteous vanity or perhaps cause him to burst into flames. Superstition was not a luxury that weighed on his mind with any purpose other than brief moments of amusement but he enjoyed the thought that if there was a god he would have been stopped long ago. He considered his life as being a potential proof of either a godless universe or that god cared not for the actions and fates of man. Personally he believed in some sort of god, it was hard not to think that with the intricacies of the universe from dark matter to the miniscule particles that made up all living things that it was all just a happy accident that came from a large explosion billions of years ago.

The heavy door swung open revealing a long dimly lit room with two sets of doors set evenly across what was little more than a wide hallway. The man strolled casually up to one of many short stands which held small silver bowls filled with water. Just as many others did he approached the bowl, dipping his fingers into it and then made the sign of the cross on himself. He found this supposed holy water rather humorous as it was probably less pure than the water that he filtered himself from the well on his land. Unlike many movies that were made of men who were evil to their core the water touched the already wet skin of his forehead without sizzling and turning to steam. He pretended to say a quick prayer and made his way through the next set of doors.

Entering the large room he took a moment to take in the sights of stained glass windows and the immaculate stage which sat an alter, large pipe organ, and many large chairs. The church itself could easily be used as a movie setting for ancient satanic rituals and was at its essence ironically built to be the exact opposite of the teachings of a man who lived a meager and humble life two thousand years ago. Religion had always seemed to be evidence of mankind doing only what they want while hiding behind the purity of another. The bible spoke against idol worship while Christ himself preached against the love of money and fancy things and here was this church filled with gold and silver with a larger than life representation of a bearded white man nailed to a cross at its center who’s leaders did little more than to ask their followers for large donations.

Inside the church there were a few elderly people kneeling down on padded rails which folded down from the backs of beautifully carved wooden pews. The man had no use of these blind individuals begging a god that none could prove existed for their personal needs and desires. The man in dark clothing walked up to the only priest still on duty, approaching and giving off the falsity of admiration as was expected of these aging virgins.

"Father, I was wondering if I may give confession at this late hour? I have committed sins and wish to seek forgiveness."
 

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