Sleep evaded her that night, dreams of being back in school in her adolescence stamped across her consciousness in the dark. She remembered very little other than the echo of lust, a male at the school that she found dreamy. The soft light of early morning poured through her window and she laid in bed a few extra minutes, unwilling to move from the warmth of her covers just yet. The tendrils of her dream pushed around her sleepiness as she tried to bring herself from the false reality. She'd never really taken much time to think about what it might be like to go on a date or be with a male in a relationship, but the dream left a bit of an inquiry on her lips. She prayed it away quickly, the host of host removing her thoughts and bringing in the memorization of a prayer from Psalms to push her along that morning.

A soft cotton dress with a long-sleeve jacket and flat heeled shoes would do perfectly. She wrapped up in her winter coat and stopped by the kitchen to drink a quick glass of juice, her father's sermon notes sitting by the coffee pot. It wasn't a wonder that he hadn't torn the church apart looking for them. They only had one service on Sunday mornings, the town dwindling down to too few people to keep up with more than one gathering. She looked at the clock on the wall and realized they still had forty-five minutes until the first soul would arrive. There was time to mingle and relax but she needed to get her father his notes and help settle his spirit.

Walking out into the freezing morning's snow was a bit wakening and yet chilled her to the bone. She pulled her coat around her tighter, her fingers aching as they grasped tightly onto the sermon notes. Running across the small snow covered path she sang a song about forgiveness and light, her voice carrying through the small yard and bringing her some semblance of peace as the town lay in an eerie silence. Two large black crows sat on top of the church, their cries loud and mocking as if throwing insults at her that she could not understand.

She ignored it all and slipped into the warmth of the church, the light almost golden and the picture all over the walls reminding her what being in the presence of goodness felt like. She walked toward her father's small office, the sound of him tearing it up causing her to laugh. She opened the door to find him on his knees searching under his desk. 

"Looking for something, father?" She leaned against the door frame as he moved back and hit his head, a curse on the edge of his tongue but not jumping off just yet. She gasped and rushed forward, kneeling to help him and offer him the notes.

"Oh thank God..." He muttered and grabbed them, a kind smile on his face. "What on earth would I do without you pumpkin?"

She laughed and stood back up, "I honestly have no idea."