et commanding. Emily stirred from sleep, her body sluggish beneath the warmth of the thin blanket. It took a moment for her to remember

y beginning their day-some tying their veils with sleepy precision, others whispering short morn

hardest," she whisper

rls to the chapel, where soft candlelight danced across marble floors and wooden pews waited like silent sentinels. Th

high-vaulted ceiling. The Latin chants, though foreign to her tongue, stirred som

coming. Long tables, steaming bowls of porridge, and a single line for tea or water. Emily

uiet?" Emily asked a

. Silence is part of the discipline. It helps

But what if you're not sure w

oughtful. "Then you wait. And ke

hrases, and the rules of the order. Sister Magdalene presided over the lessons with grace and firmness. Emily tr

om petal to petal. She breathed in the scent of lavender and roses, grateful for a moment of solitude. Her eyes caught

others? Her mother's proud words rang in her ears-"A life dedicated to God is

ou've seen a gho

ce approaching. She had dark, cu

g beside her without invitation. "

arrived y

ere six months. Still not

ows lifted

n. God doesn't mind. What matters is that

the candor. It fel

for a few moments

choir practice. Sister Jud

yers. The seminary had its own pulse, a beat of faith and discipline. Emily moved thro

e whispers of doubt she'd tried to ignore returned. What if she wasn't

a's words-you wait, and keep

lded her hands beneath the b

tening... please he