I would have done a better job on the floor with better tools. The scrub brush she’d given me was as dilapidated as the old couches in the main room. The bristles were short and worn. Though I didn’t notice it at first, the tip of one of the fingers on my right hand was raw and bleeding from scraping across the floor. As I was almost finished, footsteps and voices came from the main room. I wasn’t sure how many people were out there, but I knew it was more than Sister Mariam. As I waited for the door to open, I wondered whether it would be better in here with the wet strong-smelling floor or out there with them.
“Sister Sara,” Sister Mariam said, as she unlocked the door. “Come out. It’s time you understand the honor you’ve been given.”
Honor?
As I stood, my muscles and wounds cried out. My legs ached from washing the floor on my hands and knees. And the white dress I’d been told to wear was damp and dirty from being on the floor. Without bandages over my back, surely I’d bled onto the white material.
Five women, all wearing similar shifts, stood in the main room forming a semicircle. Four of them wore blue scarves in varying shades. The one who’d brought me the fresh bucket of water was the only one wearing a white scarf. I recognized the one with the lightest shade of blue as the woman who had opened the front door.
I never had time for a sorority in college. I was too focused on my grades. But as I stepped in front of them, I had the strange sensation of some sick college movie. What I feared was that I was about to be the unsuspecting participant in the deranged hazing scene.
“Kneel, Sister Sara,” Mariam demanded.
Willing to do almost anything to avoid Brother Mark’s return, I did as she said. The weight on my tender knees caused me to grimace. Apparently Sister Mariam was the designated speaker, because everyone else remained silent, watching my every move.
“Father Gabriel has chosen you to be one of his personal followers, a bride of The Light. You used to call yourself chosen, but you weren’t. We, the brides of The Light, are the true chosen, the only ones privileged to care for his needs.”
My thoughts moved from my physical discomfort to her words as I struggled to understand their meaning.
“It’s a calling,” she went on. “Now you’ve been called to share that privilege.”
With my stomach twisting, I lowered my chin, trying to hide my disgust—the privilege of caring for Father Gabriel’s needs? I didn’t want this honor or privilege. I didn’t even want to know that any of this existed.
Mariam continued, “We care for the house and for him. Sara, look up.”
When I did, my eyes widened. In her hand was a leather collar like the one Salome wore, in the hospital bed in the other room.
My hand went to my throat. “No, please.”
“Sister Leah, take off your scarf.”
The woman with the white scarf untied the soft material and revealed the collar beneath. Seeing the purple bruising around the edges, I was reminded of the body I’d seen in the morgue. At the time I’d thought that whatever had left the bruise around the victim’s neck had been in place for a period of time. When I turned back to Mariam, she’d removed her scarf to show the same collar, and then they all did.
“Sister Leah was our most recent sister given the honor to perform the duties of brides, or she was until you. She’s a fast learner.” Mariam turned toward Leah. “Take off your dress.”
A tear slid down Leah’s cheek, but she didn’t hesitate to carry out the command. As she lifted the white material, I covered my mouth to keep from speaking. Dropping her dress to the ground, she slowly turned around. On both her back and front were various shades of lash marks, some newer than others. Bruises prevailed, but silvery-white scars as well as crusted scabs indicated the places her skin had been sliced. The markings extended beneath her panties and onto her thighs. When she made the full turn, I winced, seeing the lashes on her stomach and breasts. Thinking how badly my back hurt, I couldn’t imagine a belt striking my tender breasts.
“Leah,” Sister Mariam continued, “had the honor of spending the most time with Father Gabriel the last time he was home.”
“Did he do that to you?” I asked.
Lightning-fast, Mariam stepped forward and slapped my cheek. “You don’t ask questions. You listen. Apparently you’re not as fast of a learner as Leah. Our leader is more than a man. He’s The Light, and The Light needs fulfillment to be its brightest. We, the brides, are fortunate to be chosen for that duty. Everyone within The Light has their job to do.
“Being as close as we are with Father Gabriel, giving ourselves in all ways to The Light, we must willingly allow all darkness to be removed from us. Father Gabriel’s pleased when he sees the stripes we gladly bear to exorcise the darkness from our bodies. After all, he wouldn’t be able to enter us if we harbored darkness.”
My stomach rolled.