THE SECRET BENEFACTOR

CHAPTER 008

CELESTE:

My heart skipped a beat, and I squealed out of joy. “Oh, thank the lord!” I exclaimed, jamming my hands together as I looked towards the ceiling with a faint smile, a sigh of relief escaping my parted lips.

Sister Theresa blinked a few times, her expression unreadable. “This is excellent news,” she began, stepping forward. “But who might this donor be?” she asked in her dry, cracked tone.

Mother Lucia beamed brightly. “We will all meet with him in due time; I don’t want to say too much just yet,” she replied.

Alice raised her head. “Does that mean we get to stay here?” she asked joyfully.

“Yes, it does.”

She jumped on her feet a few times excitedly, and when nobody was looking, she made sure to stick her tongue out at Sister Theresa, who didn’t take the gesture lightly.

“Why, you little—”

Her words were cut short when Father Elijah walked in, his lips curling into a warm smile. “Oh, I believe our mother in the Lord here, Lucia, has shared the good news with you all; no need for me to be here then.”

Just as he was turning around, Lucia called him. “Father, a word please?”

He nodded, and the both of them stepped outside. The room lobby broke into hushed whispers as everyone dispersed. I quickly found Esme. “See… our prayers worked!”

“The Lord does work in mysterious ways.”

Yes, he really does.

As we made our way back to the rooms, I paused by the garden area, looking out into the church compound; there was no sign of him, thankfully.

“What are you looking at?” Esme asked when she noticed that I was staring into space.

“It's nothing; let’s go inside.”

There was a grin on her face. “Wait, are you thinking about him?”

I frowned. “What?” I blurted, “Of course not.” I didn’t let her say another word before I sauntered towards the room. She only managed to follow behind me.

“It’s okay to admit if you find him attractive, you know.”

My scowl deepened. “Esme, you’re supposed to be helping me overcome temptation, not shoving me deeper into it.”

She groaned. “You’re only human; I’m sure this is something every nun must have dealt with at some point in their lives as well.”

I paused in front of my petite wooden door. “Do you really think Sister Theresa has ever found a man attractive?” My voice dropped low when I mentioned the last part.

A cackle escaped the both of us. “It is very likely; you can never tell what’s in one’s mind.” Esme shrugged.

“See you at the chapel later for evening prayers and communion.”

I nodded, and we parted ways to go get ready. As soon as I was in my room, I shut the door behind me and let out a deep breath. “You must stay focused,” I said out loud to myself. “The goal is to become a nun; some silly… wet dream can’t stop me.” I affirmed, rolling the beads of my rosary between the pad of my thumb and index finger.

***************

The next morning, after my usual routine, I headed straight to the orphanage. I made it a point to spend a little more time with these kids, because you never know when you lose them.

One of the nannies approached, and I helped her with the toddler she was carrying on her hips, Grace, the youngest one here for now. She was barely two, still suckling on her thumbs.

“I heard the benefactor would be coming to the orphanage to see us today.”

“Wonderful, I can’t wait to see him and thank him personally. It’s not easy to do something like that, not that many people still have such a good heart.”

“I suppose.”

I set Grace aside when I noticed Alice by the corner, sobbing. A knot formed between my brows as I approached. “What’s wrong?” I asked rubbing her back.

She barely looked up, she just kept crying into her palms. I looked over my shoulders at the nanny, waiting for some sort of explanation.

“She was disciplined by Sister Theresa earlier this morning and has been crying ever since. We’ve tried to calm her but she’s just been in the corner.” The woman explained.

Then my eyes caught it, a faint bruise on her hands. I squatted to her level and pulled her into a warm embrace. “Shh, it’s okay, I’m here.”

Anger bubbled in my chest, all I wanted to do was confront Theresa and cuss her out, but aside from the fact that it was a sin to use foul language, she was higher in authority. As I stroked her back and arranged her hair, it seemed to calm her down.

“Come let's go on a walk.”

She obliged and we interlocked hands. “We’ll be back in a bit,” I announced, not to anyone in particular.

Alice was awfully quiet, and seeing her just made me remember when Sister Theresa used to beat me too, when I was younger. Then she was more viscous, it was all under the umbrella of discipline.

Nonsense.

When I become a nun, she won’t lay a finger on any of the kids, not if I can help it. “I’m sorry about what happened, she can be like that sometimes.”

Alice sniffled. “She’s mean.”

I forced a smile, but said nothing in response. Then, she tugged at my hand. “Look!” she pointed into the distance. “A cat.”

Truly, there was a white british shorthair in the distance, just staring at us. Before I could speak, Alice bolted after it.

“Hey—” I tried to keep up, but she had left excitedly. As expected, the cat was much faster, and it spirited away, hopping on the fence and then vanishing.

Alice, on the other hand, sharply spun around on her heels to face me, but then she ran smack into a figure.

No.

Him.

He caught her tiny hands and steadied her. “Be careful,” he said with practiced ease.

“Sorry, big sir,” her tiny voice rang.

I felt glued to the spot as I watched from a few feet away. He hadn’t seen me yet.

“It’s fine; who are you with?”

My face went pale. She pointed at me, and he turned.