Thursday, July 11, 2019

Word: Peccable

peccable

[ pek-uh-buh l ]

adjective

liable to sin or error.

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               The man that sat down in the small booth was black.  Not the deep brown of a person of African descent, but the color of obsidian.  Of a raven’s feathers.  Pure, jet black.  Father Michael tried not to react to this.  His years of hearing confessions had trained him to not react to anything surprising.  A seven-foot-tall, pitch black man put these skills to the test.
               “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.” The man said.  His voice was deep and rumbling.  It reminded Father Michael of a rock slide.  “I…I don’t think I’ve ever been to a confession.”
               “That’s fine.  Not everyone is ready to clear their soul of sins.”  Father Michael said.  “Tell me what you have done, and I shall help absolve you.”
               The large man let out a sharp breath.  “It may not be as easy as you think.  It’s…bad.  I’ve been around for a while and done a lot of bad things.”
               “I’ve also been around for a while, and I’ve heard quite a bit.”
               “Not like me.”  The man paused and leaned his head against the back of the booth.  “How old are you, Father?”
               “Me?  I’m 57.”
               “I’m…older than that.  A lot older.”
               Father Michael raised an eyebrow.  Other than his height and odd skin color, he looked no older than 30. 
               “Oh?”
               “Let me put it this way.  I was here for this country’s birthday.  And no, I don’t mean Independence Day.  I mean the birthday.  As in, the day of its birth.  I was there for that.  Didn’t see it personally, but I was around when it happened.”
               “It’s not good to lie, you know.”
               “I’m not lying.  Not this time.  Not about this.  I’m old, Father.  Very old.  You can tell I’m not normal just by looking at me.  You think my skin is natural?  No, no it is not.  I’ve done a lot of bad things in the centuries I’ve been around.”
               “I…see.” Father Michael said.  He did not, in fact, see.  He had no idea what the man was talking about.  He could tell the man was unusual, but centuries of life?  That was a new one by him.
               “It’s not good to lie, Father.”
               The priest sighed.  “I suppose I deserve that one.  Well, if you are telling the truth, and I’m not convinced you are, why now?  Why come to confession now?”
               “Don’t know.  Well, no, that’s not true.  I do know.  It was something I did.  Like I said, I’ve done a lot of bad things.  But yesterday, I…I did something even I’m not proud of.  I hurt someone.  Now, I’ve hurt people before.  Hurt more people than I can count and killed just as many.  Never thought much of it.  But this?  This time was different.  I don’t know why, but it was.”
               “Who was it?”
               “A girl.  She couldn’t have been more than fourteen.  That wasn’t what got to me though.  I’ve hurt kids before.  Like I said, I’ve done a lot of bad.  But this one.  There was something about this one.  It was her eyes.  The way she looked at me.  Not hurt, not anger.  I’ve gotten used to those.  It was…acceptance, I think.  Like she was okay with what I did to her.  She just sat there and took everything I could dish out.  I…I didn’t know what to think about that.  I still don’t.  It got to me.  Got under my skin.  And suddenly, everything I’ve ever done comes back up, and I can see.  I can see every bad thing I’ve done.  All the things I’ve stolen.  All the people I’ve hurt.  All the damage I’ve done.  Everything.  I…coming here was the only thing I could think of.”
               “I see.  Well then, it looks like you’ve got a lot of unburdening to do.  Tell me.  Tell me all of it.    
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I'm not sure if I would want immortality.  Well, not true immortality.  Rather, what I would want is the ability to control my age and how long I live.  That way, I can live as long as I want and see the future as far as I want, and then die when I'm ready to.  The best parts of eternal youth with...well, not none of the downsides, but less of them.  

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