It had only been a few weeks since I had last entered the library, but it felt like an eternity. More dust seemed to roam amongst the books as the gentle sun’s light caressed their spines. They looked the same as they did the last time I visited, but for some reason they seemed different, older, wiser.
I started walking. I walked among each row and glanced through every book column, reminiscing of the beautiful stories I read, of the mothers who saved their daughters, the sons who saved their fathers, the sad stories, of suffering and of death, of curses and of hopelessness.
These books were the chisels that shaped me, that helped me become who I had become. Innocentius the First, the Most Innocent One.
Among the tens of shelves, a hunched over person was meticulously dusting off the books. Each and every book, paying attention to the smallest details.
I went up and greeted her, it had been some time since I last saw her.
“Hello, Miss June.”
Miss June was the second librarian, she was in charge of their maintenance and upkeep.
“Hello there, quite some time since we last saw each other.”
“Indeed.”
After a few moments, she too noticed my Vestments and her eyes expanded as if they were pufferfish.
“My god! What is your name? Quickly, tell me!”
“I am Innocentius the First, the Most Innocent One.”
“My goodness…”
She was stunned. And she remained stunned for a few minutes before speaking again.
“So next week you will be ordained as a Priest instead of a Deacon?”
“Yes, I will.”
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I replied with a sincere smile.
“May I ask you a question?” I continued.
“Of course!”
“Do you know of any other who have been Blessed such as I?”
“Hmm… I believe I have.”
June was also an ex-information office of the Imperial Ministry of Information and History. Some connections stayed with her even after leaving all of that behind to pursue her true passion, books and silence, and with those connections habits also stuck around, especially the habit of knowing notable information.
“I’ve heard of one more person who has been Baptised Medora the First. There was also one more Blessed Baptism, but I do not know anything about it, my guess is a Saint appeared.”
A Saint, the fourth highest Blessing. Said to appear once every hundred years, they were people of great influence who lived outside of the hierarchy of the church, second only to the Pope.
There were as many different kinds of Saints as types of people and professions. On the day of their ordination, the Pope would hold a special prayer that would make their Stigmata change. Depending on the change, they would be ordained as Saints of a certain branch. The Saints with the most authority are the Saints of War, Protection, and Mercy. They could also vote in the Council held to elect a new Pope, their vote was worth that of two people.
One could also become a Saint or higher later in life, but it was rare.
I sighed loudly.
“I hope they’re not one of the High Three, or, at the very least, not a Saint of War.”
At the mention of war, June tightened her lips.
“Me too, me too. I hope they’ll be a Saint of Mercy!”
The Saint of Mercy was seen as the most favorable, all Saints of Mercy were truly… merciful, they lived as common people and seldom wore their Vestments; the one object they always had with them was their Stave, going around and healing, and blessing the commoners of the Continent.
“Well, let’s hope for the best.”
“Indeed, it was good seeing you, Priest Innocentius.”
I blushed.
“It was nice seeing you too, June.”
I turned around and left, my time visiting the library was up, I had to pack and get ready for the journey ahead of me. I couldn’t wait to meet the Saint, I never dreamed I would be able to meet one.
I waved one last time to Yin and made my way out of the library.
I walked around the town until I caught the sun setting while sitting under the branches of a Weeping Tree, its leaves rustling like chords being strummed.
