Tina is at 6 AM mass every day, no fail. Masses in the Catholic church only change once a week and they revert back every year. In the five years since she's gone daily to mass, she's heard this particular mass 33 times already. Blessed is she among women.
The sanctuary at St. Agnes' smells like a basement. There is mold, dust, incense, old women with wool stockings and perfume. The pew closest to the door on the right-hand side is where Tina always sits. There isn't even a kneeler on it and Tina genuflects with her knees on the hard tile floor.
The bell dings like an oven timer, but Tina doesn't go up for the Eucharist. She stays kneeling, rocking back and forth. "Blessed is the fruit of thy womb..."
She thinks about that morning five years ago when she found her baby girl dead. It was around 6 AM.
Oh how heartbreaking! Very good.
Ah! Such unnecessary guilt. But so common too.
Neophyte writer. Insomniac. Lover of semicolons. Favorite countries are Russia, Finland, and Canada.
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