her present. The screams were horrifying but Johann did not care. He was tired of women being hurt and was trying to make up for his mistake years ago.
He flew straight home where Randolf, Svelta, and Charlotte were waiting for him; they had been worried since he had been gone for so long. They knew something was different. His mood though still sullen was still a little angry, so they let him pass without their normal barrage of questions. He never said a word but went upstairs to his room and closed the door. Charlotte made a move to follow him but Randolf grabbed her arm and very sternly said. “You’re staying right here Missy. Leave him be and I’m not asking but telling you.” Never having heard her father speak that way to her, tears began to stream down her face. Randolf turned to Svelta. “And you leave him be as well, Svelta. He doesn’t want you there now or he would have taken you. Now get in the kitchen and cook or something.” “Well you’re certainly not going up there either.” Svelta spat. “No I’m going to set some Absinthe outside his door and come back down here.” Randolf replied coarsely. The three of them sat in the kitchen all night wondering what to do. Randolf paced, Svelta baked and Charlotte cried wondering what to do.
Rissy’s sleep was fitful. She continued to have strange dreams about angels, vampires and witches. They were all intermingled and nothing made sense. She became so excited that she urinated all over herself and the bed. She was finally able to wake enough to get out the bed and strip off her nightgown but fell to her knees and cried. Her thoughts were racing and her heart felt dead. Never before had she felt that a part of her had truly died. She cried out. “God please help me! I don’t know what to do anymore. Please show me what I am to do.” Tears streamed down her face, she smelt of urine and began vomiting. Within a few minutes she passed out. As she lay there, she heard a voice. “Rissy to find happiness you must follow your heart and listen to it and find the truth just as you found the truth in me years ago. If you can find the faith you had centuries ago, then perhaps you will see more clearly.”
Johann was in his room and decided that it was time to shower. He heard Randolf outside of the room setting something down by the door and leave quietly. He almost smiled knowing that Randolf only brought him the best. Johann turned the water on hot and he felt the hot water burning him but could not seem to turn it off. He stayed until the water ran cold. He stepped out and went to the door without drying off and grabbed the Absinthe. As he opened the bottle he walked to the balcony and went out, sat down and began drinking. He did not care who saw him and if someone decided to disturb him, he would just give them a solemn glance that could kill if he wished. He drank the whole bottle and then passed out. He was still there when the sun rose.
Starting Over
When she awoke, Rissy cleaned up the mess she had made the night before and threw the comforter, sheets and mattress pad in the washer before showering. She put on a white dress and then drove to St. John’s Cathedral. She had always loved the magnificence of this cathedral; she always felt closer to God when she went. She placed fifty dollars in the collection box and then went up to light a candle. She kneeled and prayed. Suddenly she was startled by a male voice. “I see you still love the cathedrals. Do you mind if I join you?” She looked next to her and saw it was Johann and almost screamed and ran away but something kept her there. “If you are sincere, I have no problems with you being here beside me.” She thought “What did I just say? Oh Rissy why, why, why are you doing this?” Her heart however was saying “Listen to me Rissy. Let him be close. Just let whatever happens happen.” Rissy remembered what she had heard last night and listened to her heart. She noticed Johann praying and when he turned to look at her it scared her. “Rissy, I know I have forgiveness from your God and Jesus, but that’s not whose forgiveness I am asking for; can you forgive me?” Rissy looked at him with tears in her eyes. Her lips quivered as she spoke and tears flowed from her eyes and down her cheeks. “Last night I could not have forgiven you but something happened, and I cannot believe I am going to say this, but not only do I forgive you; I love you.” Johann bowed his head and finally gathered the courage to look at Rissy. “Thank you, Rissy. I love you and have since the beginning of time.” “Johann you know we’ve just met.” Rissy stated.
“Someday soon you will understand, but now is not the time. It is very complicated or right now to you it would be.” Johann looked up at the cross and then at Rissy. “I bet you wouldn’t believe me if I told you that I met Jesus and walked with him.” Anger flared in Rissy. “Johann, don’t start this, please.”
“Rissy, I swear to you that I have. You still do not know what I am, do you?”
“Johann, I love you but I can’t take much more of this; you’re just a man.” She said angrily.
The church was empty except for the workers and Johann and Rissy. Johann stood up and took Rissy’s hand. “Rise Rissy and you shall see what I am.” She rose as asked and was quite curious of what this lunatic was going to do especially when he began taking his shirt off. “Johann, put your shirt on or I’m leaving. This is a holy place and is to be respected.” Johann did not put his shirt back on but looked deeply into Rissy’s eyes. “Now is the time for you to see what I am, Miss Moonshower.” Wings of gold unfolded from behind him and Rissy gasped. “I do not lie Rissy.” Johann’s voice reverberated throughout the sanctuary but no one but Rissy seemed to notice. Rissy seemed to go into shock and Johann laid her down on a pew and put his shirt back on. He knew it had been too soon and too much for Rissy to comprehend.
Rissy was finally able to compose herself after about a half hour, and remembered nothing of the incident. When she was calmer she spoke in a squeaky voice. “I know there is something special about you but I can’t put my finger on it.” Johann was frustrated and was beginning to think that Rissy was daft and that it was because of the two different sides of her melding into one.
Johann took her hand and walked with her out of the cathedral and across the street into Lafayette Square and sat with her on the wall around the fountain there in the middle. The sound of the water was relaxing and they really looked at each other closely for the first time since they had met. “Johann, I need to slow down a little. Our relationship has been driving and not me. I’m still scared but I do forgive you. Please believe me on that point.”
“Rissy, do what you need to do. As far as the forgiveness goes, I believed you the first time. I am here and will always be for you. If you wish I will walk you home and if not then I shall go my own way and wait for you to contact me when you are ready.”
Rissy looked at him and spoke softly. “Johann, I want to walk by myself so that I can think about everything that has been happening between us. I cannot promise that I will ever contact you again. I’m sorry but I need to sort things out.”
Johann was saddened by her words but he was good to his word. “As I said Rissy do what you need to do.”
Rissy was a little taken aback that he had not begged her to let him walk her home. He had told her once that he was true to his word, but he was a man and few men are ever true to their words. When he turned to walk away she wondered if she had done the right thing. “Now what do I do?” She thought. She began to cry again. Her heart felt alone again the moment Johann walked away. She could do nothing but watch him as he turned the corner past the Flannery O’Connor house. She turned and walked towards Colonial Park Cemetery. She frequented the place to clear her thoughts and try to connect with relatives. However, today she was not finding any peace and she felt as though her family had abandoned her. She had never felt so lonely in her life. Thunder boomed and rain came crashing down. Rissy was glad it was raining because it would hide her tears. She had forgotten that she has worn a white cotton dress and when she realized that the men she was passing were all staring at her, she remembered. She did not care on this day. Several offered her money to go with them and she did not take offense because she felt like a dirty little whore. She wondered how much she would protest if one of them tried to rape her. She had thrown her life away anyway. “Johann certainly did not care or he would not have left.” She was thinking when she was grabbed. At first she did not know what to do and then she screamed, but what she screamed shocked her. She was too startled to use her powers to get free. “Johann, please help me! I know you can hear me.” The man laughed and