I Must Be Crazy

Episode 1: Amen

The confessional booth is always a nice place to be. The feeling of being alone but not lonely. Judged but understood. Loved but not known. Ariel certainly felt at home in the booth. Not like she was confessing sins but more like she was confiding in someone. Someone who loved her.

She sat in the booth, rubbing her hands against her denim jeans before she spoke up in her usual shaky, soft voice. "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned...I have had these thoughts. I know for sure they are not anything a child of God should be thinking of. No...more like a child of Lucifer himself."

"What are these thoughts my Child? We are all God's creation, there is no need to be ashamed of anything he has in store for you." The old man's voice on the other side of the thin piece of wood sounds calm, like he's heard that phrase a million times before. "W-Well...they're...disgusting. Violent. Dirty. Sometimes when I get so in thought that I...that I black out. That I wake up someplace I don't even recognize." 

Ariel wipes the tears off her cheeks and sniffles. "P-Please help me, Father. I...I don't want to be the Devil." The Priest sighs, obviously uncomfortable but still remains stoic. "My Child...we don't typical condone the treatment I'm about to recommend. At least not anymore. Whenever...you have these perverted, Satanic thoughts, purge it from your body. At least five lashes whenever they seep into your soul." 

Ariel breaks down, now openly sobbing in the confessional. She lets her body go limp, her head hitting the wall with a thump. It hurt, but she didn't mind it. "You think I haven't fucking tried that?" She grits out. "My back...still feels tender and the marks are still bleeding a little." Ariel sobs again, burying her face in her hands. "P-Pardon my language, Father." She adds, after calming down from her short outburst. The priest coughs a little. "Do not apologize to me, Child." Ariel just sits there, inhaling deeply.

"In my opinion, you should continue the treatment. Things like that take time. I'm showing you mercy, my Child. The sanatorium is brutal, especially to young girls like you." He continues, like his words weren't anything out of the ordinary. 

"Also...if you would like...you could come to my house later. Say around ten. When the neighbors are asleep. I have plenty of my own tools I use for...punishments. And trust me, a night with me will knock that sickening gay perversion out of you." Ariel's eyes go wide and she scoots away from the priest, curling up in the corner. "W-What the fuck? How could you possibly know that about me?" She panics, scratching at the walls hard enough to make her fingernails chip. It was a nervous tick of hers, to scratch at things.

She hears the priest shift in his seat. "What are you talking about, my Child?" Ariel remains skeptical but manages to slow her breathing. She was used to hearing things, but this time it seemed so...real. "I'm afraid this is serious. You should contact an Exorcist at once. I might be able to refer you to one. His name is Zachary Shepard. He's one of the best. We'll have to end it here, my Child. I'm so sorry. I'll do everything I can to help." He speaks softly, though he's obviously frightened. 

"Father." Ariel speaks up right as the Priest was about to leave. "...I'm sorry." 

Click...