"Virgin Mary"
Silhouette.Nun.Religious.Sister © Dieter_G/Pixaby
A Short Story By Lo Brewer
When Elise first set foot on the grounds of Virgin Mary’s Home for Wayward Girls, she instantly felt unsettled. There was something about the home that felt different than any place she’d ever been. The air…it was the air. It felt heavy, like it was bearing down on her.
Her chest tightened, and she contemplated turning around and leaving. But where would she go? This place was her parents’ last hope, her last stop in a long string of reformatories, boarding schools, rehabilitation centers and institutions for children with mental illness and behavioral problems. No, there was nowhere else for her to be. So, she took a deep breath and walked inside.
Virgin Mary’s was a large ornate building built at some unspecified time in the distant past. It sat on 10 acres of land that included a few small farm buildings, a barn, a chicken coop, and a now empty stable that appeared to have burned some time ago.
Prior to being a home for lost girls, the building had previously housed a Jesuit school, an orphanage, and a convent. Through all its forms, the home had always been run by nuns with the help of a priest from a nearby parish.
Its current leadership consisted of two of Christ’s brides. One, Sister Mary Evangeline, was new to the fold. She’d previously inhabited the school as one of its wayward patrons. But over the course of her sentence, she’d found her purpose. The other sister was older, and had outlasted anyone currently living or working at the home. A stern and frigid woman, she was feared by all she encountered. Sister Mary Eve, or Virgin Mary, as she was called behind her back, was a force that everyone knew better than to recon with.
As Elise walked through the mahogany halls on her way to the office, she could only think of the path that had led her to this place. When Elise was just a baby, she was adopted by an extremely conservative and religious family. Her parents were devout Catholics and along with her sister Claire, who happened to be their biological daughter, they spent countless hours involved in pious activities. For as far back as she can remember, Elise never felt like she belonged with them. She hated church. She never listened. And she was immediately branded as a willful and disobedient child. She often fought with her sister and was particularly opposed to sharing. Though Claire was older, Elise wanted to be in charge. She was deemed haughty and punished for refusing to share her parents time or attention, with her sister. As they grew older their arguments often turned physical, with Elise being the violent perpetrator.
Her misconducts went from mischievous to downright criminal and her family soon grew unable to deal with her. They tried several types of institutions to house her prior to settling on Virgin Mary’s. Their priest suggested they speak to Father Joseph, a visiting priest to their parish. He worked closely with Virgin Mary’s Home for Wayward Girls and after hearing Elise’s story, felt that Virgin Mary’s would be the proper place to give Elise the structure she needed, to mold her, to provide her with purpose. And that’s how she found herself walking down these polished wooden hallways.
Elise walked into Sister Mary Eve’s office and found Sister Mary Evangeline instead. Evangeline was soft spoken and petite. She had mousey features like Elise’s, except her face was devoid of the cakey mask of makeup Elise chose to disguise herself in. Evangeline did Elise’s intake and explained the rules that governed Virgin Mary’s. Most of the rules centered around keeping Sister Mary Eve happy, which was virtually impossible, but a goal that should be aspired to. The remainder of the rules had to do with the various chores and duties all the girls had to do to ‘rehabilitate’ them. The girls were worked day and night so they could learn discipline and to keep them so busy that they didn’t have the time or energy to even think about doing any of the evil deeds that had landed them there.
The first time that Elise laid eyes on Sister Mary Eve, the reformatory’s matriarch, was at the end of her first week there. It was Sunday, and time for mass. Elise walked into the chapel hall and sat near the back. But before she was firmly planted in the pew she heard a voice that halted all movement.
“You. Front. Now,” the voice said. It was neither a scream nor a whisper, but a firm, even demand.
Elise stood, refusing to look behind her and see the source of the demand. She knew it was Sister Mary Eve. Though they’d never met before, she was sure that the dark, foreboding presence had to be the infamous Sister Mary Eve that everyone had spoken to her about in hushed whispered warnings.
After sitting in the first pew, next to the other three girls who joined Virgin Mary’s that week, Elise waited uneasily for mass to begin. She’d attended mass with her family for years at their church. But something told her that mass at Virgin Mary’s would be different. She was right.
The mass had some of the same main elements, including a priest to lead it-Father Joseph, the same priest who’d recommended Virgin Mary’s to Elise’s family. But it was a portion at the end, that was different than anything Elise had ever witnessed or experienced.
Sister Mary Eve, flanked by Father Joseph and Sister Mary Evangeline, called up all the new girls to stand before their congregation of the wayward. Elise, along with the three others, timidly stood and faced the crowd. They were asked a series of questions about their past sins. All except Elise were forthcoming. She refused to share. It was as if she were stricken mute. Sister Mary Evangeline prodded her, but she stood gap mouthed and said nothing. Mary Eve, who was standing directly behind Elise said, “That’s fine. She doesn’t have to speak if she doesn’t want to. One mustn’t be forced to go to Christ.”
Then there was one final request made of the new girls. Denounce Satan and accept Jesus as your savior. Once again the other three immediately relented. But Elise, unable to speak said nothing. She thought she should comply, if only for show. But the devil on her shoulder paralyzed her with silence. After this display, Father Joseph ushered out Mary Evangeline and all the girls, apart from Elise, who was still standing unable to move or speak.
Once the room was cleared, Mary Eve bent down and whispered in Elise’s ear, “Et elegit vos. Ad finem opera mea.”Elise didn’t know what those words meant. She wanted to scream out. But when she finally felt that her tongue had been released, what flowed from her mouth was, “Ego ut serviatis ei. domi ego sum.”Mary Eve let out a soft chuckle. And once she’d left the chapel, Elise finally felt freed from her paralysis. She wasn’t sure what had just happened. But she felt determined to find out she suddenly felt so at peace after such a horrifying event.
Sister Mary Eve wasn’t always named as such. Prior to taking her vows, she was an inhabitant of Virgin Mary’s, a girl named simply Eve, who’d come to the reformatory after finding herself pregnant. She was from a small nearby town. And like Elise, Mary Evangeline and many of the other girls who graced Virgin Mary’s doorstep, she was lost, an outcast, unwanted. She was to stay at Virgin Mary’s for the duration of her pregnancy, and for an undetermined time thereafter to ensure her complete rehabilitation. Her parents were assured by Father Joseph that Virgin Mary’s was where she belonged.
As time went by, Eve felt like she’d been called home. She’d formed a kinship, a sisterhood, with the other girls living there. But reformed, she was not. She often was reprimanded by Sister Mary Agnes, the nun in charge at the time, for refusing to do chores or attend mass. And though the plan had always been for her to give her girls up for adoption, she decided that when she gave birth she would take her babies far away from Virgin Mary’s and raise them herself.
But the night her girls were born, Eve had just a few moments with them before Sister Mary Agnes took her babies away from her. The weeks following the birth of her girls were a blur. One night she was led by Father Joseph to the stable where Sister Mary Agnes sat tethered in the center of encircling candles. He handed Eve a dagger and told her it was her right to punish Agnes for stealing her children. Eve, without hesitation slit Mary Agnes’ throat. Then together Eve and Joseph set the stable on fire. The next thing she recalled was being woken up by another girl at Virgin Mary’s saying that the stable was on fire. The girls formed an assembly line and successfully doused the flames. But not in time to save Agnes.
She was forever bonded to Father Joseph from that moment on. He vowed to help her get her girls back, if only she vowed to do his bidding. Something changed in Eve…or had it always been there. She didn’t want to run anymore. She decided to devote her life to her new Father. And if she couldn’t be with her baby girls, maybe she could help other young girls like herself. Six months later she was taking her vows and with guidance from Father Joseph, taking over leadership at Virgin Mary’s Home for Wayward Girls.
Elise began spending all her free time, which wasn’t much, in the small library located in the west wing of Virgin Mary’s. She was looking for clues about the Latin words she and Mary had uttered. One day while thumbing through a book, Mary Evangeline walked in and questioned her. Elise revealed everything to her, unsure of why she felt so willing to share with Evangeline.
Mary Evangeline smiled and sat down next to Elise. She told Elise how she’d been brought to Virgin Mary’s under similar circumstances. And the what happened to Elise during mass, she’d in fact experienced herself. She was also able to tell Elise what the Latin meant.
Sister Mary had whispered to Elise: “He chose you. My work is done.”
And the words that Elise uttered were: “I am Here to serve him. I am home.”
Elise was still confused. She felt now, more than ever, that Sister Mary Eve, who should have been on the side of good, per her vows, was indeed evil. But Evangeline tried to quiet her fears. She explained that every full moon, Eve would leave her room in the middle of the night and be gone for hours. One such night Evangeline followed her to the barn where she saw Eve and Joseph having a private meeting. She said that what she saw that night pushed her to take her vows and dedicate her life to welcoming girls into the fold of Virgin Mary’s.
“Tonight is the first night of the full moon,” Evangeline explained. “Tonight you’ll be welcomed home.”
Elise felt uneasy, but agreed to meet Evangeline at the barn at the stroke of midnight. When she crept out onto the compound grounds, she felt a stillness in the air. Not a single blade of grass was stirring. She saw Evangeline waiting by the barn doors for her. Once there Evangeline grabbed Elise’s hand and led her inside. There they found Sister Mary Eve and Father Joseph standing in the center of a circle lit by candles. They were beckoned to. Elise was frightened but managed to somehow put one foot in front of the other until finally stopping before Eve. Eve reached out her hands and touched girls’ faces.
“My girls, my daughters, our family is finally complete. And now we can grow our fold.”
Mary Evangeline grabbed her sister’s hand. “Don’t you see Elise? We’re here for a reason. We were always supposed to be together. And the Father has given us a purpose.”
“But you’re nuns!” Elise exclaimed pulling away. “You’re supposed to be brides of Christ!”
“We belong to him,” Eve said, looking lovingly at Father Joseph. “He’s searched high and low for girls who were discarded, girls deemed too evil to love, and he’s welcomed them with open arms. You see, you and Evangeline passed the test. When asked if you would renounce the devil you refused. You showed where your allegiance lies. It lies with the father who loves us so. And though you may not be my daughters by blood. You’re my daughters by spirit, a very dark spirit.
“In exchange for his love Elise, we willingly do his bidding,” Evangeline said.
Elise looked at Father Joseph whose eyes smiled, and for a moment flashed red.
“And now we must thank the father for bringing us together by spilling our blood in symbolism of our dedication,” Eve said handing Elise a dagger.
“And what then? What happens if I decide to join you?” Elise asked.
“Then, my child, you will help us in our efforts to grow our fold. I will allow you to share my throne as we turn the wayward into warriors, warriors of darkness.”
“Share? Share?” Elise repeated as she looked at the dagger. She knew then what she had to do.
Six months later Margaret Earl walked through the doors of Virgin Mary’s Home for Wayward Girls. Despite her tough exterior she was frightened as she walked through the mahogany halls toward Sister Mary’s office. She’d heard rumors about strange happenings at the home and tried to warn her parents of this. But they were so sick of her antics, and didn’t listen.
She opened the office door and was greeted by Sister Mary. The stern woman explained the rules of Virgin Mary’s and what responsibilities Dianna would have.
“So where’s all the other nuns? I thought this was a convent,” Dianna said.
“It was a convent a long time ago. And I used to have help here. But tragically our visiting priest, Father Joseph, along with Sister Mary Evangeline, and my predecessor, Sister Mary Eve, were all killed in a fire several months ago.”
“But I thought you were Sister Mary,” Dianna said, confused.
“I am my child. I’m Sister Mary Elise.”
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