Chapter 4. The Refreshment

After leaving the room, allowing the boy to soak up all the rejuvenating holy water to heal his battered body, the priest walked down the hallway to speak to the nuns in their quarters. 

Passing by stained glass windows and the light of torches illuminating off the glossy stone walls he made his way to a wooden door, where feminine voices could be heard from. Giving a quick knock on the door and waiting for the invitation the priest opened the door. 

Entering the room the priest saw all the current nuns of the church he presided over mingling around a small table in the middle of the room. The room held two bunkbeds where the vow-sworn women lay and rested after long days of taking care of the church and townspeople. With two windows on the far wall, allowing a good view of the front of the church, and a small wooden table with four chairs around it.

Three of the four nuns in the room seemed to be in the middle of a card game when the priest walked in.

The oldest of the four nuns who hadn't been competing in the game greeted the priest. "Hello Father David," she said with a kind smile making the wrinkles around her mouth form into a curve. 

Returning the smile in turn, Father David greeted her as well, "Hello Sister Isha, I have a request of you."

"Oh yes? What can I help you with?" she said as she stood to collect her stuff. 

"I have a little guest in the healing room and might need you to care for him while I go out." 

"A little friend really? What is it this time, a stray cat or a stray puppy?" the nun replied with a chuckle. 

"Well the boy hasn't told me his name yet, but he looks more like a puppy kind of person to me." Father David replied in a lighthearted tone. 

At his words, all the nuns in the room stopped whatever they were doing and stared at the priest. 

Sister Isha, who had stopped getting ready stared blankly at Father David, "You said boy?"

"mhm," he replied.

"A boy? How young? Where did you find him?" The nuns at the table chirped in reply to the man's words. 

"Oh stop it sisters, you'll see him soon enough." Sister Isha chided the younger nuns causing them to grumpily turn back to their card game at hand. Turning back to Father David standing at the door, "And this boy, you want me to take care of him as you go out?"

"Yes please, if you would be so kind." He nodded. 

"Where are you going that you need me to take care of him?" she questioned as she returned to gather her stuff. Heading to the door with the necessary items Father David allowed her to step past him as he softly shut the door behind him. 

"I have to go see the lord, again." Father David said in an annoyed tone.

Rolling her eyes at his words Sister Isha nodded her head in understanding, "I see, well make sure to give that man a good thrashing again for me will you Father?"

"I certainly can't promise you that but what I can promise is that I'll speak the words of the church." Finally, at a crossroads in the church's hall, he took a step towards the exit before turning around. "One last thing Isha, about the boy. He's the one you've mentioned." Leaving her with these last words he walked out the church's doors. 

Back in the healing waters of the ocean god where the young boy lay the room was filled with the soft boiling water and impenetrable steam filling the room. 

The young boy sat in the waters with his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of his wounds being healed. With his eyes closed and his body in such a relaxed state he fancied he would soon fall asleep in the water.

Suddenly the room door creaked open making the boy's eyes open and dismissing any notion of sleeping. 

A soft motherly voice sounded from the guest who opened the door, unable to see the figure speaking through the steam he could only guess who she was based on the voice. "Hello there, Father David instructed me to leave some clothes here for you once you are ready to get out." 

Waiting a second for a reply the lady remembered that the priest mentioned the young guest in the healing room was the abandoned boy of the town. Understanding that the chances of him replying were low due to his limited education and what she guessed was a deep-seated fear of those he did not know. 

With a sad expression on her wrinkled face, she informed the boy that there was food waiting for him once he had finished healing. Leaving the room with a soft thud of the door closing the boy leaned his head back once more and rested in the waters. 

After resting long enough in the soothing pool the young boy could no longer feel the aches and pains of his body. He stood up in his sopping wet clothes that were more tatters than actual articles of clothing. 

Stepping out of the pool he looked around for the clothes mentioned by the nun. Finding them on a wooden bench near the entrance of the room he soon found when picked up that they were a set of clean, full articles of clothing. 

Taking his dirty rags off and bundling them up into a pile he made sure no dirt remained on his body before putting the new clothes on. 

Stepping into the dim light of the hallway, his presence subtle in the empty corridor with the unmistakable scent of simmering food flowing from nearby. Clad in a long-sleeve brown shirt, the fabric worn but still retaining a comforting softness against his skin. The shirt hugged his frame gently and the collar fit snuggly around his neck but did not restrict his airflow. 

His gifted attire extended downward to a pair of loose black pants, they're practically evident in the string sown into the inside of the waistline to adjust the fitting. The pants were of similar quality as the worn shirt and similarly offered free use of his movements.

The nun had kindly taken it into her hands to gift the boy a fresh pair of underwear and socks accompanied by a modest pair of shoes. 

Simply put the attire gifted to him was not imbued with anything special but the modest and unconditional care of the church, regardless of circumstance. 

The young boy felt a strange feeling he had not felt in a while. Feeling the fabric of full, clean clothing had struck a cord in him that he had thought to never exist in the first place. Bringing a special light to the church and what it has done for him in the first few hours of visiting. The hope this brought him was alive in his heart for he actually looked forward to what could come next.