Geoffrey is
sat in the church. He is alone, but the ominous statue of Jesus
Christ behind the altar seems as if another person is there with him.
He is sat in one of the pews on the left hand side, but near the
middle of the section. He is in deep contemplation about the events
that have happened while holding rosary beads.
Geoffrey:
I never thought for a moment
that Susan would have had so many issues to deal with. I know that
life can be harsh but I never thought it would have effected her, not
at all. She was strong y'know? Like many young wives but this caught
me by surprise. I had my suspicions that something wasn't quite right
but like Jesus said never pick out others flaws if you have a bigger
flaw yourself, so I turned a blind eye, as a matter of fact I
convinced myself that it would sort it self out...I knew I should
have stepped in to help her. It was the same Susan that I had married
all those years ago, but... something was a miss, a shell, a empty
lifeless shell of a soul that has been corrupted by drink and sexual
urges. It was something that caught me by surprise but once I caught
on did not surprise me at all.
[Running
the Rosary beads through his fingers]
I wanted to help her, I should of helped her. If someone close to
your heart, who you have complete and utter love and passion for is
in desperate need of help, well its obvious isn't it, you're going to
want to help them... aren't you? Only in my case it was different I
couldn't just step in and help because I hadn't caught onto it yet.
What was I supposed to do? Confront my wife and say are you an
alcoholic? Accuse her of improving her relations with a dashing
Indian man? No, I’m better than that I won't go around forcing the
truth out of others, it's not who I am. To be perfectly honest I knew
something was up when see kept leaving early from my sermon's. I knew
she'd heard them all before but it was constant for the last few
months and now I know why she was leaving.
[Geoffrey, who has now moved to the church confessional box.
Although nobody is there listening to him, he moves there for more
privacy in case someone were to walk in while he was speaking to the
Jesus statue.]
Susan, would always say 'nothing is wrong with me' or 'I've got
nothing to hide' but of course she did. Going to a shop in Leeds for
liquor and intercourse which is absolutely ridiculous. I mean I can
understand the liquor but she didn't have to go behind my back that
was what hurt the most, when you trust someone and they go behind
your word y'know? As a matter of fact I didn't know how I managed to
sum up the courage and the strength to forgive her and her Indian
lover. Violence was not the answer so I prayed for them...three days
worth of quiet contemplation and asking God to forgive there sins.
Although Susan would always say 'don't pray for me as I'm not worth
it'...but I love her despite her flaws and I want her sins to be
forgiven. As for the Indian man well,although I was hurt I wanted him
to know someone is looking out for him even if it is his lovers
husband...and I hope that God can see my view on the matter.
[Leaving the
confessional box and the church, Geoffrey turns to the Jesus statue
and looks at the calm expression on his face. Just before leaving he
says a short prayer...]
Dear Jesus, please find it in your heart to forgive Susan's and her
lovers sins as they have gone against mine and your word. Give them
the strength to confront their problems and help them progress in
life as better people, Amen.
[Geoffrey says
this prayer and drops the rosary beads on the aisle and as he is
leaving the church all you can hear is complete stillness and the
quiet sobs of the vicar himself.]
No comments:
Post a Comment