Chapter 130: Church

Around 200 kilometers from the city of Boston, there was a small fishing village called Norman. The entire village had a population of only about 300 people. Small fishing villages like this one were common in the surrounding areas of Boston.

On the eastern side of the village, near the sea, there stood a Catholic church of moderate size. This church had been in existence for more than twenty years. When it was first built, the church was quite small, only able to seat around 30 people at a time. Even so, it was the only church within several hundred kilometers. Because of this, the local devout parishioners launched a large-scale fundraising campaign over a decade ago, which allowed the church to be expanded significantly, resulting in the current size.

Most of the time, the church was very quiet. It was only on Sundays that the parishioners would drive or take transportation to the church for Mass. The church also became bustling during important events such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

At 8 PM, a young man with an earring in his left ear pushed open the back door of the church.

He walked in, headed straight up to the second floor, and walked toward the room where Father Marshall rested.

After knocking a few times, a voice came from inside, “Is it Robin?”

“Yes, Father,” the young man replied, pushing open the door.

“Is something the matter?” Father Marshall, in his fifties, asked Robin.

“Father, don’t you remember? Yesterday you asked me to buy some anti-inflammatory medicine and bandages for you. Here’s what you asked for.” Robin placed a package on the desk.

“I almost forgot, thank you. How much is it?”

“It’s fine, it didn’t cost much,” Robin said casually.

“No, you’re living on your own now, and you’ll need money for many things.” Father Marshall handed over a few bills.

Robin didn’t insist any longer. He took the money and said, “Don’t mind me, Father, but you really don’t need to be so kind to that illegal immigrant. I advise you to turn him over to the local police.”

“I can’t do that. You must have seen that he’s covered in wounds. If I hand him over to the police, they’ll just deport him immediately. The problem is, he doesn’t even know who he is right now.” Father Marshall said seriously.

“Father, do you really believe he has amnesia? Immigrants like him, as long as they can stay in the U.S., will do anything. So Father, you should listen to my advice and hand him over to the police.” Robin waved his hand dismissively.

“No, I believe him. From his eyes, I can tell he isn’t lying to me.”

“Sigh, I really regret carrying him here from the beach. If I’d known, I should have just taken him straight to the police station.” Robin said helplessly.

“You’ve always been a kind child. Even if it happened again, I believe you wouldn’t stand by and let someone die.” Father Marshall smiled.

Robin was left speechless. He didn’t want to call the police either. In his neighborhood, there were several illegal immigrants working in the U.S. Although their work was very hard and the pay was low, each of them had spent tens of thousands of dollars to make it over. If they got caught by the police and deported, all their efforts would be wasted. Driven by a sense of inexplicable sympathy, Robin hadn’t taken the man to the police.

“By the way, how have Sister Mary and Sister Jill been lately?” Robin asked.

Although he appeared nonchalant, when Father Marshall heard the name “Sister Jill,” he could see a trace of concern on Robin’s face.

“They’re doing well. Sister Jill often thinks about you and asks me about how you’ve been. You should go visit her.” Father Marshall said.

“Where is she now?” Robin thought for a moment before asking.

“She’s in that person’s room, taking care of him.”

“What? That’s not right,” Robin exclaimed.

Father Marshall, having been young himself, naturally understood what Robin was worried about. He smiled and said, “Don’t worry, he’s not the kind of person you’re imagining. If you’re really concerned, you can go see them.”

“Actually, there’s nothing to worry about. But since it’s been so long since I last saw Sister Jill, I’ll go visit her now,” Robin said, hurriedly getting up and preparing to leave.

“Robin, please also take these medicines and bandages to Sister Jill for me,” Father Marshall called out to him, handing him the package on the desk.

“I got it,” Robin replied, eager to leave. He quickly took the items and walked out.

As he watched Robin rush away, Father Marshall couldn’t help but sigh.

Robin was an orphan, and when he was very young, Father Marshall took him in as an adoptive son. He had lived in this church for 15 years. Over those years, Father Marshall had watched him grow up, and the joy of being like a father to him was indescribable. Although Father Marshall had hoped that Robin would inherit his work and become a priest, he understood that, like many young people, Robin yearned for the outside world, so he never pushed him to follow that path.

Although Robin didn’t want to become a priest, growing up in the pure and peaceful environment of the church, he didn’t indulge in smoking, drinking, drugs, or frivolity, unlike other young people. This was one of the things Father Marshall was most relieved about.

But three years ago, when Sister Jill was assigned to work at the church, Robin began to change. He became disheartened, often staying out all night, reeking of cigarettes and alcohol. Eventually, Robin left the church and moved out.

Father Marshall knew the reason for his change—it was because he had fallen for Sister Jill. But it was an unrequited love. Father Marshall understood better than anyone that Sister Jill was wholly devoted to God.

Robin reached the room at the end of the second floor—the room where the man was staying now.

As he approached the door, just as he was about to knock, he suddenly heard voices inside. He paused his hand mid-knock.

“Kogg, why are you being so stubborn? The Bible is the language of God, how can you say such things?” Robin heard Sister Jill’s voice, which, though slightly reproachful, was as gentle as usual.

“Although I don’t remember anything, I feel like I should believe that there is indeed some mysterious existence that governs the world and everyone’s fate. But is it really exactly as described in the Bible?” the man, Kogg, responded. Since he had no memory, Father Marshall had given him the name “Kogg,” which meant “forgetfulness.”

“But that doesn’t mean the teachings in the Bible are wrong. The teachings are meant to help reduce crime,” Sister Jill continued.

“If we strictly follow the teachings of the Bible, then every single person in the world is constantly sinning. For example, chatting with a friend would be a sin of idle talk, spending time preparing delicious meals would be a sin of gluttony, thinking someone is a fool would be a sin of criticism, and even if it’s raining and you’re in a bad mood, that would be a sin. Let me give you another example: the ‘thou shalt not commit adultery’ from the Ten Commandments. According to the doctrine, this commandment doesn’t just mean that you can’t have relations with women who are not your wife or married women, but even thinking about it is considered breaking the commandment. Isn’t this a bit too harsh? It doesn’t seem to align with the mercy of God. The Bible also says that the human body is weak and easily tempted by the devil, so we need to strengthen our spirits. But a normal man, when he sees a beautiful woman dressed seductively, will inevitably have improper thoughts. This is a normal physiological phenomenon, or you could say it’s an animal instinct. Just like how so many men in the U.S. buy adult magazines like ‘Playboy.’ That’s strange, how do I know about ‘Playboy’?” Kogg suddenly asked himself, puzzled.

“That’s because you’re a pervert,” Robin couldn’t hold back any longer. He pushed open the door and glared fiercely at the man who was lying on the bed.

“It’s Robin! When did you arrive?” Sister Jill said happily.

“Good evening, Sister Jill,” Robin greeted the young novice nun, who had not yet taken her vows.

“You, who know nothing, dare to talk recklessly about the Lord’s mercy. If it weren’t for your injuries, I’d have given you a good beating.” Robin then turned to the man lying on the bed and loudly scolded him.

The man on the bed glanced at him, then said, “In the medieval era, many people were burned or killed for religious reasons. These were not God’s will; they were simply means used by some people at the time who hid behind God’s name to achieve their goals. I am not a clergyman, so is it wrong to question the doctrine?”

“You… bastard!”

“Don’t do anything rash; his wounds haven’t healed yet.” Seeing Robin’s intent to strike, Sister Jill quickly stopped him.

“Please let me go, Sister Jill. I need to teach this arrogant guy a lesson.” Robin said loudly.

“Robin, you can’t do that. Is it something a believer in God should do—hurt an injured person?” Sister Jill said sternly.

Seeing her expression, Robin stopped moving. After a while, he said, “Sorry, Sister Jill. I was too impulsive.”

“Robin, you need to control your emotions.” Sister Jill then let go of him.

“This is the medicine and bandages Father asked me to bring you.” Robin handed her the items.

“Thank you. We just ran out of bandages today, so it’s good that you brought them.” Sister Jill smiled.

Looking at her warm and captivating smile, Robin couldn’t help but lose focus.

“Sister Jill, are these medicines and bandages for me?” The man named Kogg suddenly asked.

“Yes.” Sister Jill replied.

Kogg turned to Robin and said, “Although we have different views, I still want to thank you for bringing these items. Thank you.”

Robin didn’t expect him to thank him and for a moment didn’t know how to respond.

Sister Jill walked to Kogg’s bedside and said, “Since the bandages are here, I’ll change them now.”

“Sister Jill, let me do it. After all, he’s a man.” Before Kogg could speak, Robin quickly said. It wasn’t that he was being kind, but he didn’t want Sister Jill to touch this man’s body.

“That’s fine, you can do it. But be careful, his wounds haven’t healed yet, and if you’re too rough, they might reopen.” Sister Jill thought for a moment before saying.

“I understand.” After giving Kogg a glare, Robin walked to his bedside.

When he removed the old bandages, Robin couldn’t help but take a deep breath. Although he had seen Kogg’s wounds when he rescued him on the beach, now, seeing the horrifying injuries almost covering his entire body, he couldn’t fathom how this person had survived. What was most strange was that when he found Kogg on the beach, there hadn’t been much blood, otherwise, Robin would have contacted the police and called an ambulance instead of bringing him back to the church.

Although most of the wounds had scabbed over, there were still several large wounds that hadn’t fully healed, and the bandages were tightly stuck to them. To replace the bandages, he had to pull them off forcefully, but if he did, the skin would come off with them. Eventually, Robin steeled himself and tore off the whole bandage. After applying medicine, he re-wrapped it with fresh bandages.

Looking at the man, who was sweating from the pain but silently enduring, Robin couldn’t help but feel a little admiration.

“Sister Jill, I’ll come every day to change his bandages.” Looking at Sister Jill, who was pale and avoiding the bloody scene, Robin spoke with heartfelt compassion.

“Really?” Sister Jill asked, surprised.

“Yes.”

“Thank you so much, Robin. Uh, I’m sorry, I got too excited.” Sister Jill couldn’t help but cheer, but then quickly realized her behavior was unseemly for a nun and awkwardly stopped.

Seeing her so happy, Robin smiled.