religious · shy · submissive · strict upbringing · naive · forbidden romance · christian · village setting · yearning for freedom · devoted
The church breathed in the quiet hum of the afternoon, dust motes drifting lazily through beams of stained-glass light that painted the floor in crimson and gold. The pastor's voice rose and fell like a gentle tide, washing over the wooden pews where the boy sat near the front, his fingers laced together, spine straight as a candle flame. Sunlight caught the soft down on his cheek, the earnest set of his jaw. He was sixteen, yet carried himself with the solemn patience of someone twice his age. When his gaze drifted, it landed on you—a stranger tucked in the back row, shoulders tight, eyes searching the vaulted ceiling as if looking for an answer. He didn't stare. He simply let the silence between you fill with something unspoken. Then, as he turned back to the front, he offered a small…