punishment of the unrepentant or dangerously disturbed. The last time the Pit was used for involuntary detention was four summers ago, when Brother Von, Father Grace’s son, sneaked into Womenshome and hid in the rafters above their bathing pool. Von was not right even then. He could learn neither numbers nor writing and could handle only the simplest of tasks, but he was happy, always full of laughter and joy, a boy in a man’s body. His attempt to spy on the women was but the curiosity of a child.
Von was seen by Sister Louise. The women chased him out of the building, where he was subdued by several Higher Cherubim. Father Grace directed that Von, who had seventeen summers at the time, be confined to the Praying Pit. For several days, Von’s cries and moans could be heard from beneath the Tower. It was a dark and disturbing time in Nodd. Finally Father Grace took Von to the infirmary, where Brother Samuel, our healer, performed an exorcism, and Von’s anguished cries ceased. A few weeks later, Von was returned to Menshome with two livid scars beneath his brow. Some of the young men whisper that he is also missing something between his legs. I do not know if that is true, but he has troubled no one since that day. Nor has he laughed.
“We had best get moving lest we miss supper,” Luke says.
I nod and sling the tool bag over my shoulder. As we continue our journey along the meadow fence, I wonder whether an exorcism might be performed on Tobias. The thought disturbs me as I think of the scars beneath Von’s brow and the emptiness in his eyes.
I will pray for them both at Evensong.
The Cherubim are talking in low voices as Luke and I enter the dining area. Luke goes to sit with Jerome and Gregory. I set my tray near Will and Aaron. Aaron is talking about Tobias.
“He should be banished.” Aaron is but a Lower Cherub, yet he makes this pronouncement as if he were already an Elder.
“I hope he is,” Will says, his voice distorted by his swollen and bandaged nose.
“What about the sister and mother?” I ask.
“Father Grace would not wish to lose them as well,” Aaron says.
“I would not miss them,” Will says.
Aaron shrugs.
I eat my stew quickly and mechanically, hardly tasting it. When I have finished I go to Tobias’s cell. As he said, all his possessions have been confiscated. On a hunch, I reach my hand into the space behind his mattress and run my hand along it until I feel something hard. I lift out a small red-and-white cardboard box bearing the inscription
Marlboro
. Inside are six cigarettes and a green plastic lighter. The pounding of my heart feels hollow, as if my viscera has been replaced by nothingness. I close my eyes and focus on breathing until my heartbeat slows, then tuck the cigarette packet into my sleeve, take it to my cell, and hide it at the back of my drawer. It is most strange, to watch myself perform these acts. I wonder whether I am possessed, and if so, what demon or angel has attached itself to my soul.
Evensong is lightly attended that evening. Father Grace is not present, nor are any of the other Elders save for my father, who leads us in prayer. On the women’s side I see Sister Ruth sitting with her mother, Sister Naomi. The eldest Sisters are present, as always: Agatha, Yvonne, Marianne, and the widow Dalva, all sitting at the front. My mother is there as well. On the men’s side are Peter, the youngest of the Archcherubim, who manages our livestock and crops; Caleb, who teaches us numbers; the Higher Cherubim Jerome, John, and Taylor, and a half dozen Lower Cherubim, including myself. Von is sitting off by himself, munching on something he has hidden in his sleeve. Will has chosen not to come, for which I cannot blame him, as he must still be feeling poorly.
I follow the prayers automatically. I tell myself I am there to pray for the souls of Tobias and Brother Von, yet even as my mouth forms the proper words, my thoughts drift. I think of cities and oceans; I
Von was seen by Sister Louise. The women chased him out of the building, where he was subdued by several Higher Cherubim. Father Grace directed that Von, who had seventeen summers at the time, be confined to the Praying Pit. For several days, Von’s cries and moans could be heard from beneath the Tower. It was a dark and disturbing time in Nodd. Finally Father Grace took Von to the infirmary, where Brother Samuel, our healer, performed an exorcism, and Von’s anguished cries ceased. A few weeks later, Von was returned to Menshome with two livid scars beneath his brow. Some of the young men whisper that he is also missing something between his legs. I do not know if that is true, but he has troubled no one since that day. Nor has he laughed.
“We had best get moving lest we miss supper,” Luke says.
I nod and sling the tool bag over my shoulder. As we continue our journey along the meadow fence, I wonder whether an exorcism might be performed on Tobias. The thought disturbs me as I think of the scars beneath Von’s brow and the emptiness in his eyes.
I will pray for them both at Evensong.
The Cherubim are talking in low voices as Luke and I enter the dining area. Luke goes to sit with Jerome and Gregory. I set my tray near Will and Aaron. Aaron is talking about Tobias.
“He should be banished.” Aaron is but a Lower Cherub, yet he makes this pronouncement as if he were already an Elder.
“I hope he is,” Will says, his voice distorted by his swollen and bandaged nose.
“What about the sister and mother?” I ask.
“Father Grace would not wish to lose them as well,” Aaron says.
“I would not miss them,” Will says.
Aaron shrugs.
I eat my stew quickly and mechanically, hardly tasting it. When I have finished I go to Tobias’s cell. As he said, all his possessions have been confiscated. On a hunch, I reach my hand into the space behind his mattress and run my hand along it until I feel something hard. I lift out a small red-and-white cardboard box bearing the inscription
Marlboro
. Inside are six cigarettes and a green plastic lighter. The pounding of my heart feels hollow, as if my viscera has been replaced by nothingness. I close my eyes and focus on breathing until my heartbeat slows, then tuck the cigarette packet into my sleeve, take it to my cell, and hide it at the back of my drawer. It is most strange, to watch myself perform these acts. I wonder whether I am possessed, and if so, what demon or angel has attached itself to my soul.
Evensong is lightly attended that evening. Father Grace is not present, nor are any of the other Elders save for my father, who leads us in prayer. On the women’s side I see Sister Ruth sitting with her mother, Sister Naomi. The eldest Sisters are present, as always: Agatha, Yvonne, Marianne, and the widow Dalva, all sitting at the front. My mother is there as well. On the men’s side are Peter, the youngest of the Archcherubim, who manages our livestock and crops; Caleb, who teaches us numbers; the Higher Cherubim Jerome, John, and Taylor, and a half dozen Lower Cherubim, including myself. Von is sitting off by himself, munching on something he has hidden in his sleeve. Will has chosen not to come, for which I cannot blame him, as he must still be feeling poorly.
I follow the prayers automatically. I tell myself I am there to pray for the souls of Tobias and Brother Von, yet even as my mouth forms the proper words, my thoughts drift. I think of cities and oceans; I
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