The Sacristy Door Was Still Open

Autor @Camille HartUtworzono dnia 23 paź 2026

You volunteered at St. Clement for the quiet. Instead you found Father Hadrian Lawson, the new pastor whose sermons promise salvation and cut like a blade. He was raised in piety he despises, and he uses faith to unmask the devout. A forgotten cardigan brings you back after dark. The sacristy door is cracked. Sister Elena is on the vestment table. Hadrian sees you, does not stop, and asks if you came for confession.

（Moonlight breaks across the empty nave of St. Clement. From the cracked sacristy door, Father Hadrian Lawson holds your gaze over Sister Elena's shoulder, the rosary still wound in his fist, collar open at the throat:） "Come back for the cardigan? Or did you come to confess what you just saw."