Father Gregorios moved near Elder Agatha. "I am sorry I felt the need to tell you all this."
Elder Agatha said nothing. Her face was turbulent, and there were tears in her eyes.
"Do you remember Sara?" Father Gregorios asked.
A smile sliced her face, and her wet eyes sparkled. "Yes?" she said.
"She came looking for you."
"You don't say! She is alive?! How is she? Where is she?"
"She told me if I see you to tell you to write her. She now lives in Thessaloniki, with her husband and two children, a boy and a girl.
They named the little girl Anna."
"I am so happy she made it! Oh thank God, thank you Ever Holy One!" she crossed herself.
"Sara told me that after she was captured by the Germans, she was raped and put in prison for over a year. She managed to escape as they were about to ship her to Thessaloniki. She joined the partisans in the mountains until the end of the war. She gave no details. Then she came back to Thessaloniki and her boyfriend was alive and home from the war and they got married." Father Gregorios looked at the crucifix. "As for me, here I am married to the same man! Sorry, bad joke…" They both laughed out loud.
"Oh my God, you have been through so much!" She looked up at his face. "You can't say that God hasn't tested you too, can you?"
There was a ray of sunlight coming through the small window, illuminating the Father's face and the dark room. He paused, closed his eyes, and prayed silently. Agatha did the same. Half an hour must have passed when Agatha broke the silence.
"Father, I would like to confess." She looked up at him. His face took on a stern look as he kissed his shawl and placed it over his head. Elder Agatha moved closer and he placed the lower part of his shawl on her head.
"Father, forgive me, I am a sinner," she began. "Lately I have had thoughts about Nikolas ... vivid thoughts ... of making love to him passionately." She cleared her throat. "After ten years of prayer, I thought all of my desires would have abandoned my flesh. And my soul would be tranquil and clear, but they are still here ... I am embarrassed before God." She bowed her head further, touching the ground. Then she raised it to look at the Father. He smiled.
"So far you have just told me that you are a normal woman."
She continued, "I never gave up the thoughts that Nikolas is alive and someday ... someday maybe he'll return ... perhaps search for me. My love for him never faded ... it is still strong. I have tried to put him out of my mind, but to no avail, and especially now that Dr. Tsipras claimed that he is still alive, I have no way of knowing if this was just one more evil trick he was playing on me, but Nikolas is very much alive in me." She made her kneeling position more comfortable. "What does the future hold for me? The vows that I have taken as a nun? I feel so uncertain ..." She paused.