Before the final bell rang for the day, Sister Agnes enlisted a couple of the older children to carry more than a decades worth of yearbooks from the school library over to the parish house. With the local news providing ambient noise, she studied each 3rd grade class looking for the face from the previous night. The news anchor reported a story of drug trafficking, an all too common occurrence in an area once gutted by homemade methamphetamine, now in the thrall of its crystalline cousin from Mexico. A former therapist at a drug treatment facility had posted a large, cash bond after being arrested for possession of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl after two former patients alleged that he was in fact, their drug dealer. Sister Agnes took a break from the yearbooks to whisper a prayer for the victims and the perpetrator, as she always did, ever believing that God did not distinguish between the two.
"...thirty years later, standing in the old parish home, all of those qualities lost along the way. She had met many past students, some whose happiness radiated and others who wore tragedy like an article of clothing." Such a lovely metaphor and so very thoughtful. It touched me. An unexpected last line tacked on. Assuming there will be no part 3, you left us with questions. Good!
Small Town Saviors (2)
"...thirty years later, standing in the old parish home, all of those qualities lost along the way. She had met many past students, some whose happiness radiated and others who wore tragedy like an article of clothing." Such a lovely metaphor and so very thoughtful. It touched me. An unexpected last line tacked on. Assuming there will be no part 3, you left us with questions. Good!