"Oh thank God, thank God," Anna cried out, taking the Father's hand and kissing it. "But Father, how did you know? How … ?"
"Now, now, Miss Anna."
"Sorry, Father," she solemnly replied, then asked, "Would you be available for confession?"
"Tonight?"
"Yes, please."
"Come to the church in ten minutes." "I shall, Father."
***
In a small dark room within the church, lit only by a candle, Anna knelt down and Father Gregorios placed his stole over her head. She could gaze out a tiny window that looked directly onto the altar and the saintly icon of Christ.
"What you say here is between you and God, my child. I am only his humble instrument."
Anna began, "I love Nikolas, like I have never loved anyone. I want to marry him and have his children. My flesh, my soul, has become one with his." A deep sigh reached her lips. After a pause, she continued, "I have never had sexual contact with a man before."
She shifted the position of her body. "All my teen years were spent in private all-girls schools in Switzerland. I became close to many of the girls. We had pillow fights, much adolescent curious touching, discovering our bodies, a lot of fooling around, but that's all it was," she said, raising her head a little. A long pause, a deep breath, then, "I resented my parents for reasons I still don't really know, especially my mother. After every meal I ate, I had to run to the toilet and vomit."
Anna brought her hand to her mouth.
She kept silent for a while. "But you see,
Father. After I met Nikolas, all this changed. He is everything to me. I feel that nothing else really matters. I am more accepting of my parents now."
The Father brought his prayer beads to his lips and repeated silently the Jesus prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."
Anna continued:
"I love him, my Niko, my man, my life. No, I don't feel guilty for what we did, nor do I feel ashamed. Oh God, please forgive me. Yes, I gave myself to him. I gave it all, including my virginity. Yes, I had intercourse. No, it was not all lust, desire, or weakness, but pure love. Yes Father, pure love." Anna became silent. The priest placed his right hand on her head.
"It's all right. God loves you, my child, and will forgive what you ask of him. You don't need to repeat anything you said here tonight to anyone else. All is erased and forgiven. Peace be with you."
Anna kissed his hand. After her confession, she felt as though a heavy load had been lifted off her shoulders. There was just one more thing.