Saving Sarah (Mafia's Gem)

Chapter four

Sarah had been picked up with a limousine by a chauffeur she had never met when she walked out of the airport after she got off her flight. She had found the man holding up a sign with her name written on it and she had approached him. After an hour or so of driving out of the bustling city and driving through a long lonely road, the car finally slowed to a crawl as it approached the tall gates of a Convent.

When the gates were opened, the chauffeur increased the speed of the limo a notch as he sped down the driveway lined on either side with flowers and trees. He soon drove around a fountain roundabout and finally came to a stop. Sarah stared at the strangely-constructed tall buildings on the large compound with several open courtyards through the tinted window of the limousine and she also noticed the several statues of scriptural saints, erected at different locations within the enormous compound of the convent.

The environment was quiet and almost deserted except for a few uniformed nuns walking across the yard in pairs or alone towards different destinations; they only acknowledged each other with polite nods before continuing on their ways, hardly speaking to one another.

Sarah almost changed her mind at that moment about her decision and was going to ask the driver to turn around and leave the premises but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had come this far already and it was a little too late to change her mind now.

She had been informed that the Abbess who was expecting her would gladly receive her today. She remained in the car for a moment, trying to muster enough courage and go through with this. Maybe she would have felt better if her father had accompanied her to this new life but she had declined because she wanted to keep her destination secret from him no matter what.

She didn't want him to know where she would be going to and that was why she had requested to be picked up by a paid driver she had booked online for just this job. Even though she had some misgivings about this convent, she assured herself that things would get better with time and she wouldn't dread being in it any longer.

She watched a trio of nuns who gracefully walked by, she assessed their costumes this time. She wondered if the wimple would feel comfortable for her and the long sober-looking black dresses which reached their shins made her cringe within.

She wasn't really the type who fancied long dresses, especially such which looked so free and casual. Just the thought of donning the wimple, long dresses and casual sandals the nuns wore for the rest of her life made her consider changing her mind a second time. She was already feeling weird from having to also live an isolated and austere life, coupled with incessant prayers and recitations.

There were just so many obvious reasons for her to turn back now while she still could but when she thought about Helen and Fred, she pursed her lips firmly, trying to do away with any discouraging thought that kept popping up in her mind.

She just wasn't sure if she could cope with this new lifestyle. What if she regretted it? What if she chickened out halfway and wanted to leave, would they let her? She pondered. Most of her life, she had mostly donned pants, shorts, short and snug gowns, cropped tops, high heels and other expensive accessories but it seemed she won't be getting any of that luxury here for none of the nuns seem to have any jewelry on, not even wristwatches or earrings. She would have to look bland for the rest if her life.

This wasn't what she had really signed up for and she was very skeptical about giving it a try. Being a nun came with surrendering her life totally to God and giving up the pleasures of the world. Sensing the driver's silent impatience at her prolonged indecision, Sarah finally opened the door and cautiously stepped down.

The convent appeared even much larger now that she was out of the car. It was like standing in an entirely different world inhabited by uniformed women with solemn expressions on their faces.