Forget Me Not

I've Got No-one But Myself To Blame

On pulling up outside the huge arched wooden doors at the entrance to the church, Arvid braced himself against the bitter cold once more and headed out, shivering as minuscule ice crystals hanging in the air prickled and pinched at his face. If anything, it was getting colder.

Lifting the long, flat iron door knocker, Arvid slammed it down three times, determined to be heard quickly. Listening intently, he sighed as he heard nothing. Lifting his arm to reach for the knocker again, he found himself repeating the sigh but this time with relief as a hatch over a small barred window set deep into the wooden door was opened.

"Can I help you?"

The question came from a young nun in her twenties standing behind the barred window.

"Sister, my wife and I found a man lying injured in the road."

"Oh, my! One moment." She replied, before immediately opening the door. "Is he awake? Is he badly hurt?"

Ushering the man inside, the young nun pulled one of many long cords near the door which rang a bell both nearby and in another room further inside the church.

"Ah, no and I don't know. He's out cold. Literally. Also, we've brought him here because he's a cardinal."

"A cardinal?" The nun appeared puzzled.

"We assumed he was on his way here and had an accident."

"It's very possible, Sister will know. I've called for assistance, we'll have to get him to the infirmary. Is he in your car?" She asked, trying to peer into the interior of the Volvo parked only a couple of metres away.

"Yes, Sister, he's lying across the back seat."

About to show the nun, Arvid paused as an older, grey-haired woman approached surprisingly quickly for her advanced years followed by two more younger nuns.

"Sister Margaret?" She called. "What is the problem?"

"A cardinal, Sister," the nun replied. "This man and his wife found him injured, in the road."

The older nun frowned with a mixture of surprise and confusion for a moment before turning to one of her retinue.

"Please fetch Bishop Samson, a wheelchair, and a nurse. As quickly as you can." Turning back to Arvid, she smiled softly. "Good evening. I'm Sister Hope Augusta. This man, we should bring him inside."

"He wasn't coming here, then?" Arvid asked. "You seem surprised."

"Not that I'm aware of, no, but it's always possible of course."

"Maybe he was headed to the old abbey then?" Arvid mused. "Perhaps we should just take him there?"

Sister Hope Augusta looked up at the man. For the briefest of moments her eyes seemed to light up. Schooling her face once more into a calm and placid smile she shook her head.

"No, no, you've done the right thing. We have an infirmary here and if he was travelling there, we can contact them to let them know he's safe. We can't make him travel further in this weather, can we?" A thin smile spread slowly across her face and she placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "Don't worry. Our infirmary is well-equipped, we'll take very good care of him."

Further down the corridor a man in his late fifties hurried to join the group at the door, returning with the young nun sent to fetch him. From an adjoining corridor, he was met by another sister wearing a nurse's uniform flanked by two orderlies, one pushing a wheelchair.

"In your car, you said?" Sister Hope Augusta asked as the others arrived.

"Uh, yes," Arvid nodded.

"Let's get him to the infirmary then." She smiled broadly, again placing a hand on the man's arm, this time to guide him out. "You did a wonderful thing, bringing him to us. Don't worry, I assure you we'll take very good care of him and of course we'll check with the ministry at the abbey shortly."