CONFESSION

(19.09.95)

The priest walked along the deserted sidewalk, quietly humming to himself as he reflected on the confession a woman had just told him about in great detail. The more he thought about it, the more he wished he hadn't been on duty during the morning. Too late now though, he'd heard all about her depraved exploits. Those poor poor kids, their eyes showing intense distress as they were sexually abused, before being dismembered limb by limb, bit by bit. What a world we live in, he thought to himself, what a world. Father Jacob paused for a moment, then continued; the voice, he was sure he recognised the woman’s thinly disguised voice, but he couldn't quite narrow it down and put a face to it. Thirty seven children between the ages of four and fourteen, wiped off the face of this Earth, their empty shells dumped or pieces kept in freezers in the basement of a local home. Her voice. She said she didn't regret it, she just needed to tell somebody. Who was she?

When he reached his home, he lit a cigarette and sat on the steps thinking over those words he'd heard earlier, finding it amazing how someone could be so twisted to carry out such horrific atrocities. Stubbing out his cigarette, Father Jacob decided he needed a stiff drink, so he rose and entered his home.

Sitting at the far end of the room was a person, sitting facing towards him. As he drew closer he noticed it was a woman, and he uttered a gasp of surprise as he noticed that sitting before him was his sister, whom he had never seen or heard from for over twenty years.

He made some drinks and caught up on the old times. But every time she spoke, her voice seemed uncannily familiar. No, it couldn't be; he decided it was just a coincidence.

However, as the night grew on, she became more drunk, and subsequently more forthright. He was ready to retire for the night, when he asked what she was actually doing in town after all these years, to which she answered; "I thought I'd come and see my brother and tell him what I'd been up to recently!" He encouraged her to continue, but she said that she'd already confessed.