Illuminated

The lights came on suddenly illuminating our grievous sin to the church board in its entirety. I was mortified and pulled my pants up hurriedly to cover my shame but Reverend Tim was resolute. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way, Cleo.”

His wife stood unmoving at his matter of fact declaration. He had spoken in a rehearsed manner without the fiery intonation he typically demonstrated on Sunday. It chilled me somehow, and my, brain scrambled to make sense of it.

“Cleo, I’m sorry. Kenneth and I are in love. We have been for some time, haven’t we, Kenneth?”

Cleo turned her attention to me and the world began to spin. What was happening? I couldn’t breathe, much less talk. Through the blood rushing in my ears, I thought I heard Cleo respond from a million miles away, “What about the other young men and women? Did you really think I didn’t know, Tim?”

My world went black…

I woke to fire and brimstone, smoke and screams. My sins had brought the whole world to hell. Reverend Tim, Cleo and the rest of the board were nowhere to be seen. I tried to stand but stumbled. I thought I was done, dead and gone to hell but I felt myself being lifted into heaven. The world went black again…

A lightbulb went on… This time it was somewhere in the deep recesses of my brain. In the darkness, it had assembled the pieces… Father Tim wasn’t in love with me. He wasn’t even who he pretended to be. He lied… To all of us. This was the first of many revelations to come.

I slept fitfully for days while my body healed and my subconscious continued to work though the mystery. I was lucky. Many devotees required months of deprogramming but Reverend Tim had shown himself to me in a moment. The moment before we were rescued… The moment which changed my trajectory forever.

I woke to bright white light and the music of birdsong. It wasn’t heaven but neither was it hell. My road might be long but I knew my true self for the first time. From that point on, my path would remain always illuminated.

Originally published for Instagram’s Romance Writer Challenge July 2019, Ravishing the Romance Day 12 “Light Bulb Moment”