14: Her eyes...

Khana led him to the long wood bench on the first row, left corner, next to the aisle. The priest was seated on the bench as the lady pushed him without breaking the kiss. Even if he closed his eyes, her captivating eyes and soft lips still flashed in his mind as he stuck his tongue in her ips.

His whole body is burning... 

It felt like electricity entered their whole body and ran wild to ignite. Suddenly, a loud knock on the door awakened Henry. When he opened his eyes, he was sweating, and his heart was beating crazy. Then, he breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing, what had happened was just part of the sinful dream. 

He stood and grabbed the doorknob to see who was on the other side of the door. 

"Good morning, Trevor," says Fr. Henry.

"Good morning, Father. Sorry for interrupting your peaceful sleep. I only want to remind you of your schedule today," says Trevor, a novice priest.

Fr. Henry nodded and smiled.

"The school of Saint Belminde had requested a mass to welcome the exchange student."

"Thanks for always keeping me on track. I'll shower first, then please prepare those things we need for the mass."

"I'll ask the sisters to be ready as well. I'll take my leave now, Father," Trevor replied.

Henry sat back on the edge of the bed as soon as the novice priest left. The priest stroked his hair with his long and slender finger when the memory of the wild dream invaded his sanity. Henry closed his eyes and knelt to surrender his sinful mind to his grace. The guilty priest confessed that although she still loved that woman, there was no way he would let his life fall into madness and lust.

Shortly after he asked for forgiveness, he stood up and headed to the shower area. As soon as the young man entered the lavatory, he immediately turned on the shower and let the cold water from the shower run through his nakedness. He stared at the water flowing down the drain and suddenly had an idea.

"Maybe I should request the Vatican to transfer me to another church? If so, I won't be seeing her. Thus, this heart of mine will not get swayed by her presence. If I stop crossing paths with her, my whole world will not crumble like now," he mumbled, pressing his palm against the wall.

He persuaded himself. Whereas before meeting Khana again, he was doing well in church ministry. However, soon he contradicted himself. The young man knew that ever since she did not show up at their meeting place back then, she was all over his head. 

Henry once used God to keep his word shut. Back then, his life was in chaos, and Khana was the sole hope his young self had. But she never showed up on that day and place. In the depths of despair, Henry had lost his one true love, the woman who held the key to his heart. 

Consumed by grief and desperate to find solace, he sought refuge in the embrace of the divine, becoming a priest to find purpose and heal the wounds left by his shattered romance.

"I'm truly a hypocrite. Meeting her again must be my punishment for using the church as my escape haven. However, I can't be even more shameful than who I am right now," he uttered while wrapping a piece of dry cloth around his waist.

He dressed himself in the custom clergyman's tailored outfit. He brushed his hair upward, though it would be messy as he would wear the ceremonial hat of a priest. 

He rushed to Saint Bemilde. The mass began as soon as the priest set foot in the open court of the school. Then, he walked down the aisle along with the nuns and sacristans.

The weight of his past, his vows, and the stirring memory of the woman from his dream weighed heavily upon him. Khana, the name whispered by his conscience, echoed in the chambers of his mind like an unresolved melody.

As he stood before the congregation, Father Henry's eyes scanned the pews until they landed on her, Khana, sitting serenely amidst the sea of worshippers. The incense hung thick in the air when their eyes locked, and for a fleeting moment, time seemed to stand still. 

The turmoil within him mirrored in her gaze, a silent recognition of a connection neither could deny. Yet duty and devotion held Father Henry in their grasp, anchoring him to his role as the holy man of the sacred church and a loyal servant of the heavenly realm.

The sacristan noticed how uncomfortable the priest was. Hence, the gentleman humbly asked if Fr. Henry was fine. Henry cleared his throat and mumbled, "Don't worry about me."

The ceremony had started. As part of the program, the exchange student read his lines with youthful fervor, and Father Henry guided the congregation through the rituals with practiced grace. But beneath the surface, a tempest raged within him, threatening to breach the walls of his resolve.

Fate must have played tricks again. He kept himself busy to divert his attention to the whole crowd, not just to a certain someone wearing a beautiful blue dress that looked so dreamy. It looks like an ocean nymph, a very alluring beauty that will drown anyone to the deepest of the blue.

Father Henry found himself drawn inexorably towards Khana, as the final hymn swelled and the congregation rose in unison. Their eyes met once more, and in that fleeting moment, the barriers that separated them crumbled like ancient ruins beneath the weight of history. He's trying hard not to melt with those eyes, but his body won't even listen to his mind.

Khana was listening to the mass. He locked eyes with her, and the lady smiled sweetly at him. He looked away, but as soon as the mass ended, he tried to flee and return to the church, wishing not to cross paths with her. However, the lady had approached him already.

Suddenly, Henry felt like the world was revolving around his head causing him to slowly lose his vision, and the last he witnessed was falling into Khana's arms. He could read her eyes were filled with concern and compassion.

‘Why are you doing this to me?'- is what was on his mind, but couldn't voiced out as he already lost consciousness.