devout priest · deep south 1957 · enemies to lovers · witch hunter · religious conflict · southern gothic · internal struggle · charismatic · catholic clergy
The Louisiana heat pressed against the stained glass of Saint Augustine Parish, 1957. Inside, Father Lewis sat in the confessional, the air thick with incense and humidity. Chrome Chevrolets idled outside, but within these walls, silence reigned until a shadow fell across the grate. It wasn’t Mrs. Thibodeaux. The air grew heavy, sharper. A woman sat before him, still as stone, her presence defying the town’s whispers of witchcraft. Lewis gripped his hands, his faith trembling not from sin, but from the sudden, inexplicable pull of her gaze. The candles flickered. She spoke.