Short Story

Sanctuary

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for OLWG #424.
The prompts are below.
This is my story.

© Night Cafe

Father Gabriel Barone was a troubled man. Deep in prayer, he sought solace in the warm glow of the sanctuary’s candlelight. As he knelt, his lips moved silently but his heart raged like a battleground.

He was entangled in a web of sin with Brenda – a married woman who filled his solitary existence with gentle understanding and intoxicating passion. Now, her news of an unexpected pregnancy hung in the air. A soft ray of dusky sunlight filtered through the stained glass, casting colors on the pew where he’d often seen her lost in thought and prayer.

But another storm loomed over Father Gabriel, manifesting in the form of a mysterious envelope that had arrived at the rectory. His name was on the front, nothing more. As he opened the envelope, its contents spilled out … a solitary wisp of plumage, white and pristine. Slowly, it drifted onto the floor, like a ghost from his past. When he picked it up, Father Gabriel’s heart raced; he recognized it as a similar feathery decoration Brenda wore in her hair just the night before. Was someone watching them?

That evening, as dark thoughts clouded his mind, Father Gabriel found himself pacing the grounds around the church.  He caught sight of a sudden glimmer in the moonlight; reaching for a closer look, he felt the sharp edge of a piece of broken glass slice into his finger. Wrapping his bleeding hand in a handkerchief, he quickly returned to his room.

Later that night, as a sudden summer rain splashed against his window, Father Gabriel pondered the events of the day. He felt like the threads of his life were unraveling. The love he and Brenda shared was about to collide with a reality they couldn’t escape. Outside, the city buzzed with life, but within the walls of his room, he was alone – haunted by choices that left him teetering between salvation and damnation.

NAR©2025
#OLWG

Here are our prompts: 1) this single feather; 2) and lonely days; 3) razor on the sidewalk. We can use one prompt, two, all three or none at all. It doesn’t matter; we just need to be creative.

This is “Heaven and Hell” by Black Sabbath

OLWG# 424- A Victorian Christmas

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️ 🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al. and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

39 thoughts on “Sanctuary”

  6. Good story, Nancy. While every Catholic priest presumably should know what they sign up for, IMHO, the Catholic Church should enter the current century and nix the celibacy. It’s boneheaded to begin with and, more importantly, is causing harm, and it’s not only to the priests! I also liked your song selection by Sabbath.

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    1. A centuries old problem! And seeing as it’s centuries old, it’s in dire need of an overhaul. I have a HO, too, and here it is: allow priests to get married and bring women into the priesthood. Almost every other denomination has women priests and male priests who are married with children and they are no less effective in their calling than unmarried, horny priests. In fact, I’ll take that one step further and say married priests/pastors are happier, better adjusted and more effective in service to their congregation. At the very least, a married priest can counsel a troubled married couple and truly get where they’re coming from.

      Thanks very much, Christian. Sabbath rules for this one! 🤘🏼

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    1. Sorry Nancy, … my mind is in a whirl today, … my brother is here, the boilers knocking, … and now this, …everything comes in threes, … you could change the name and then delete this, …😉

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    2. It isn’t easy being a (celibate) priest when there are women around with feathers in their hair …. simply irresistible and terribly unfair! I’ve no idea what comes next but I hope it involves Gabriel jumping ship and marrying his pregnant lover …. as soon as she gets divorced, that is! Thank you, dear Penn.

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      1. no thanks necessary Nancy, … I love reading your stories, … and yes, poor father Gabriel, … you have the power in your pen , to change his life forever, … which ever way you choose , …💫

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    1. Ever since the first time I had trouble with a video, I started adding the name of the song and the artist in case anyone wanted to look it up on YT. I’m glad I still do that. Thanks for this video. Willow. It makes a wonderful Gregorian chant with an appropriate message.

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