My goodness. Everything has happened way too fast (Well, that escalated quickly). Let me try to get my thoughts together.
When the Priest came across that little town with the people who still cared about religion, I was overjoyed! What seemed like a happy ending sadly only deceived me temporarily; just like the old days, the Priest heard confessions, baptized children, said mass, etc.. Yet, the emptiness and sinfulness that has haunted his poor life for the last 8 years remained. He tried to stop drinking for a short time, but he can't; this simply depressed him even more. I really tried to help him; by now, that man actually meant a lot to me. I really cared for him after following his tragic story for so long, and encouraged him to stop drinking and settle down there. But despair had its hold on the man. There was nothing I could do now but follow him, and follow I did.
He was summoned to hear the gringo's confession. He knew it was a trap, he even told me that. But he just wanted it to all be over. He had seen enough of the world, and was ready to give himself up, no matter what it took. It wasn't even that the priest going to hear the gringo's confession was humble, because humility comes from a place of wanting to put others first. He just wanted it to be over with. The running, the hiding, the suffering.
I saw his execution.
Only God knows what he hollered before he died. Maybe one last cry out to God for forgiveness that he felt had not been given. That poor man. That poor, poor man. He came into the world empty-handed, and he left it just the same.
"...as the dust returns to the ground it came from, so the spirit returns to God who gave it..."
Ecclesiastes 12:7
Come at me, Internet references! *sass arms*
ReplyDeleteI really like how the reporter legitimately was sad to see the priest give up, but understood why given his past and present circumstances. You summed up the ending and closed the story in such a way that it felt factual enough that we believe he was actually there seeing it happen, but emotional enough that he seems like a real guy who just got emotionally attached while doing his job. Even throwing in a Bible verse clincher. Can't go wrong with a Bible verse ending :)
Good job, Bro. Me gusta.
Hey, this was a really awesome post. I liked how you mentioned that you had followed the priest on his journey and now you were legitamately pitying him. And the way you portrayed the emotions the priest was feeling was very well-written; tangible, almost. The line about his execution is also gripping and dramatic; overall, I think this was a great article to end with :)
ReplyDeleteGood ending post! Do you think he had enough, as you say, or do you think he finally believed that this was where God wanted his journey to end? Hmmmmmm
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