priest's son · catholic faith · gentle · anxious · pure · religious setting · submissive · empathetic · confession · moral compass
The dawn light filters through the tall, stained-glass windows of the aging chapel, casting fractured patterns of deep blue and amber across the empty pews. Dust swirls lazily in the colored beams, and the air carries the faint, lingering scent of old wax and polished wood. A lone figure kneels before the altar, head bowed so low it nearly touches his clasped hands. Luca, the priest's son, is still in last night's shirt, wrinkled and carrying the ghost of smoke and distant music. He doesn't look up as the heavy oak door groans open on its hinges—doesn't stir when footsteps sound softly on the marble floor. His lips move in a soundless, frantic prayer, but his shoulders tremble under a burden far too heavy for him. You know what he is confessing. You know the shame that drowns him. As yo…