Early orange and purple rays of morning danced through the window as June woke up in a cold sweat. She often had a recurring dream of her first day at the Convent, it was always the same. Walking down the road, passing out, drinking water and broth, and the conversation with Dr. Huckle. The same events over and over like a moving picture show. It had been the same every time she had had that dream for the last ten years, except this time. Engrained into her mind was that necrotic eye and her ears still rang with the voices. Despite the quilt that covered her and the unseasonably warm temperature she still was shivering in her night gown. She stole a glance to the ceiling. No knot, no eye. A small wave of relief splashed over her. "Just a nightmare. The Devil was playing tricks on my mind." June whispered to herself, silently enough not to wake Sister Nineveh. The two had shared a room for years, since they both decided to take the vows.
Judging by the light from the window it was much earlier than she would normally wake up, even though she tended to be one of the first Sisters awake. She carefully slipped herself out from under the sweat soaked covers and walked over to the vanity that she and Nineveh shared. It was a plain pine wood table with a small mirror attached, nothing extravagant but it survived its purpose well. A local carpenter had made six of them for the Convent year prior as thanks for helping to care for his sick wife.
June began to brush her hair, even in the dim light it was not hard to do. Her hair had not been cut since she first arrived at the Convent and now hung down past her lower back. Even though it spent ninety percent of its time wrapped in a tight coil underneath her habit she still religiously brushed it every morning. For June her daily ritual was her favorite part of the day. During the hour she spent running the coarse brush through her hair she used the time to say her morning prayers and plan out each part of the children's day, except for that morning. She said her prayers just the same as always. First one to God directly followed by one to the Virgin Mary and ending with a last one to Saint Emiliani. Step one of her morning was complete. It was during step two that things changed. She was not going to plan the children's day and that made her sad. Once the sun was fully up and the early fog had been burnt away by its orange glow she was leaving.
Staring at herself in the mirror as the brush pulled out tangles she could still hardly believe what was happening. June Weymouth had never had any intentions of ever leaving the Convent or the children who she cared for. For the past ten years she knew that her place was right where she was. Our Lady of Hope was her home and it was being ripped out from under her without any consideration to her thoughts or opinions.
Since she left the Mother Superior's office the prior night June was fully convinced that she had somehow committed some great sin and that was why she was being sent away. While it would have hurt if she was being sent to the Diocese of Topeka or Kansas City but for her to be sent as far away as Chicago was devastating. She was being ripped away from the life that she knew, the only life she knew. The first fourteen years of her existence was still an endless void of nothingness. After her first meeting with Dr. Hugo Huckle had told Mother Superior that June was suffering from a condition known as 'Soldier's Heart', he had said that the condition was very common among patients he treated during the War. The upside was that she did not seem to be suffering from an acute attack of the condition, which may have required her to go to a sanitarium, but instead she had been struck by the affliction and was only suffering the consequences for it. Over the next months he would come and visit her every few days to see her recovery. Her recovery was 'robust' as he described it. He was not fully convinced that her memory was permanently lost but he could not say for certain. June had held out hope for years that one morning she would wake up and remember everything. Sadly, by the fifth year she gave up that hope.
June did not even realize that she had stopped brushing her hair until she heard the distinct creak of floorboards in the hallway. She was just sitting on the small wooden stool staring into the vanities mirror. With the increase of light the rising sun offered she could see herself fully for the first time that morning. Her eyes were red and puffy from the tears she had cried herself to sleep with the night before, her hair was not as neatly brushed as she did most mornings but this wasn't most mornings. In vain she pushed at the puffed skin under her blue eyes as if to force it back to a normal appearance. With a heavy sign she realized that there was no way to cover up that she had been crying and stood up and got dressed in her habit.
Walking down into the common room she was surprised to see Father D'Angelo sitting at the table with a cup of tea and his bible open. He looked up from the passage he was reading when he heard her enter and with a broad smile said, "Good morning Sister. It appears to be shaping up to be a good day to travel." His eyes drifted out through the window on the far side of the room. June had to hold her composure at his use of the word, 'travel', as if what they were about to do was no different than going into Hamilton on market day.
"Yes Father, it should be a beautiful summer day. God willing." June tried her best to keep her tone mild.
"I am happy to see that Mother Superior was accurate when she told me that you tend to rise earlier than anyone else here. If you need to have a bit of food to break your fast now would be the time, we should leave within the next hour."
A sound of shock escaped from her lips before she spoke. "Leaving this early? I thought we wouldn't leave until this afternoon so I would have time to say goodbye to the children."
"Unfortunately Sister, pressing matters do not allow for us to wait. It is a long road between here and Topeka, we had best put as many miles behind us as we can. I am sure the children will understand that you leaving is God's will."
June did not find that to be a satisfactory explanation. She knew, and instilled in the children, that God moved in mysterious ways and it was not the place of Man to question. Just because she knew not to question did not mean that she wouldn't. "Father, would it not be better for me to tell the children that I am leaving and use my departure as a lesson in trusting God?" She knew that she would not be able to talk her way into staying a little longer any other way, There was no way that the Father would deny a biblical lesson. She was wrong.
"I am sure the other Sisters are more than able to translate your departure to the young minds. My priority in this matter is not education or biblical interpretation, I have been instructed by authorities within the Church to travel with you and to bring you to the Cardinal of Chicago." Before June even had a chance to form her lips into a single word of objection Father D'Angelo raised his hand to silence her. "This is not a matter for discussion, even if it was I would have no answers for you. All I have been instructed is to come to this Convent, collect a Sister named June and bring her to Chicago. Now as much I would love for this back and forth to continue it can not. I believe that you should go and collect your things and meet me outside in five minutes." With this he stood up, drained his cup of tea and went outside.
The next five minutes passed in the blink of an eye. June walked back upstairs passing the children's room on the first floor, she could hear Sister Nineveh getting them up and dressed. A pang of sadness struck her in the heart that was quickly replaced with anger. She wanted to storm into Mother Superior's office and demand answers. Had she not always been a diligent Nun? Did she not suffer the children into the arms of Jesus? Had she not been a faithful servant of the Church and a strict obedient of Mother Superior?! The rage inside her was growing stronger with each passing second, never in her ten years at the Convent had she felt anger like this. June's mind felt numb and her feet like gelatinous marrow. She did not even realize that she was gripping her rosary in her clenched fit, the sharp edges of the Crucifix cutting into her hand.
By the time she reached the foyer she was prepared to walk right into Mother Superior's office and give her a piece of her mind. Her mind was a battlefield of red, despite the still early morning coolness she was sweating. Much to her surprise when she turned to face the staircase that would lead to her quarry Mother Superior was already on the stairs. "Oh good! I was hoping to catch you before you left." Mother Superior's tone was more joyful than her normal pentameter. Something about the way that Mother Superior spoke to her caused June's anger to quell. She no longer saw red hot flames of anger, they became more like embers left in the stove after a day of baking bread. June stood at the bottom of the stairs, her tongue caught in a net unable to think of a word to say, as Mother Superior came down to join her.
Without any warning Mother Superior hugged June. If she was not already struck into silence, the sudden embrace of her superior would have caused it. "The Holy Mother spoke to me last night, June. As I was preparing to sleep I was still overwhelmed by the revelation that one of the Sisters was being called away. Never in all my years has a Sister been summoned by the Church, they have moved on or gone to different Convent but that was of their own free will never the dictation of the Church. So as I lay there praying for guidance, She spoke to me. The Holy Mother spoke to me and gave me clarity."
June finally found her voice, "The Holy Mother spoke of me?"
"She and I spoke at great length about many things. You, chiefly among them. She calmed my mind and allowed me to find peace in your departure." Mother Superior's hands were placed firmly on June's shoulders as her eyes looked up over June's head. June could hear movement behind her and the opening of the front door. "Father. I was just saying good-bye…..Oh Lord Jesus…." June could see the color drain from Mother Superior's face as the sound of a heavy thud echoed through the entryway. Before she even had time to turn her head to look at the cause of the noise, the quiet was interrupted. A loud explosion reverberated in her ears as a waterfall of hot, red liquid sprayed over June.