In the darkness, all seemed hopeless. What was I supposed to do?

I’d done what I had seen done in countless films, gone to the confessional in the church.

I’m not a church-goer. I don’t know whether it would help me, but they always seem so relieved in the movies, like a weight lifted off their shoulders, then something miraculous usually happens and all is right again.

But nothing did happen initially. I came out, after pouring it all out to whoever was behind that curtain, still feeling full of guilt.

Sitting in a pew, I looked up at the cross ahead of me.

The night was drawing in fast, the setting sun casting long shadows across the whole of the church.

I closed my eyes. I wanted to cry. Maybe I just needed to shut my eyes forever.

That’s one way the guilt would go.

Continue reading here: Lantern #writephoto