The Silver Crucifix Part 3: What Was Left

Celeste had been in the town of Virgil for just a few months. She was well-integrated into the GracePoint Church community, and could make out the vague outline of a core group of people. The Church itself was a single long room that might look like a camp cabin if the high-slotted windows didn’t render the rooms so dark. The rows of benches curved around the center of the room and this core group always occupied the front row during services. As though blocking the main community from Pastor Amity.

Celeste knew that she would have to become part of this group in order to learn what she came to this town to learn, and she was working on that.

Church Day, which was randomly chosen each year, was announced a week ago and was given the Easter treatment in Virgil. This year it was November 1st, a Tuesday, and Celeste had spent the last week trying to gather as much information as she could. The core group of the Church contained some interesting people and Celeste got this vulnerable feeling whenever she spoke to one of them.

She questioned the guy that category that freaked her out the least, Toru. He had that ever-present toothy grin and slightly forward leaning stance that marked him as a part of this group, with the wide spread feet that make acute angles to the ground like he could pounce on you at any second. But Toru’s…