Sister Floriana

The Robe

"I'm gonna have some breakfast and then go off to bed," said Flori. "Marisol, aren't you tired?"

"A little bit," she said. "I wasn't up as long as you were. I don't feel like eating though."

"You should though," Eulalia remarked. "We don't want you to get sick before the performance."

"Oh, of course!" she said. The way I'm feeling, I'll probably get sick either way.

Marisol sat beside the two of them, picking up a plate of eggs and putting ketchup on them. All the while, her mind raced through different scenarios of the impending performance, and none of them were pretty. Would they laugh at her? Get angry? Be bored? She genuinely didn't know which was worse. 

Her hands shook. She couldn't help herself. And sadly, since Eula and Flori were fatigued and Marisol was nervous, they completely forgot she was still wearing the performance robe.

Marisol took a huge bite of eggs, too much for her to chew. A large chunk of it, smothered in ketchup fell right on her chest, leaving a long smear of red. She shrieked, standing up, trying to get away from it.

Floriana almost choked on her own food when she saw the awful stain.

"Oh no no no no no no no no..."

Eulalia simply stared at her wide-eyed. Around them, other nuns looked over to see what was going on.

Floriana held her head in her hands.

"Sister Marisol, how could you?" she wasn't angry... merely disappointed.

Marisol's eyes stung, and she ran from the room before she broke down crying. 

Why had she been so careless?

She found her way to one of the cold open hallways, with the stone arches for windows. No one else came out here, due to the snow. She pulled the robe off, staring at it. The smear looked terrible. Ketchup and white cloth do not mix very well. Crushed by what she'd just done, she clenched it one hand and buried her face in her knees, weeping. 

She should've known she wasn't cut out for this. Right from the beginning, she'd told Sister Floriana she could never do such a thing. Why hadn't she listened? But it wasn't Flori's fault. It was no one but hers. She let herself be pulled along, rehearsing alongside Eulalia and doing the recital for the other sisters. She could've said something at any time. And now, after the two of them had stayed up all night working so hard on such a beautiful garment, she'd let her nervousness wear her away until she made an embarrassing accident. The gown was ruined and it was all her fault.

And worse still, she'd have to tell them that she wasn't doing the song either. She had to come clean about it. The town didn't need to see her embarrass herself- in truth, she didn't want them to be proud of her either. She just wanted to be a regular nun, serving the Monastery with discipline and compassion. Nothing else. She wondered what they would say. 

Marisol sat in the cold until she couldn't do so any longer, the tear tracks on her face singing in pain. She walked back inside to come face to face with Sister Floriana. The blond nun wasn't angry at least, she could see that.

Flori saw how Marisol had been crying, still holding the robe in too. 

Flori's eyes welled up and she hugged Marisol.

"It's okay. Don't cry, it's okay."

"But I ruined everything!" Marisol wept. "The gown's covered in ketchup, and I just can't perform in front of an audience, Flori! I should've told you before this!"

"We can clean the gown," said Floriana. "We can even replace it if we have to. I only care about you, Marisol."

"I know you care about me, but you've been working so hard on all the preparations!" she said. "I led you on, I ruined Christmas!"

"You haven't ruined Christmas!" Floriana insisted. She stared at Marisol deeply. "Even if you didn't sing for us, it's okay. You remember the story of Mary and Martha?"

Marisol simply nodded.

As it says in the Bible, Jesus visited the house of His friends, Mary and Martha of Bethany, to teach them things. While Martha made preparations and did chores around the house, Mary stayed at Jesus' feet, listening to what He had to say. Martha got mad, demanding to know why she had to do all the work. "Tell her to help me!" she said. But Jesus replied, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

"But what does that have to do with what I did?" Marisol asked Flori.

"Because you need to calm down and remember the real reason why we're doing all this," she said. "It's not about you, me, or Sister Eulalia. It's not about the mass, or even the ducks. This is all part of a celebration, remember?"

"Of course," she said.

"You don't need to feel bad about ruining everything. First off, you really didn't. Stains wash out. Second, Christmas is a day of joy. That means, no matter what happens, we feel God's love for us. I think that's why the Republicans are losing. They can experience happiness when they win a battle or two, or when they get reinforcements from the communists. But only our men can feel real joy- that our lives have meaning beyond what any man can create."

"But what does that have to do with Christmas?"

"I'm saying that you can't ruin Christmas, because that's the day that Jesus Christ is born. Nothing can change that one fact. Don't be worried and upset. Focus on what is better."

Floriana put a hand on her shoulder, and hugged Marisol again. Marisol sighed, still crying just a bit.

"I am really sorry, though."

"I didn't mean to make you think I was angry. I'm sorry too."

Floriana took a look at the robe again.

"Come on. We can wash this thing! And for what it's worth, I would still really like to hear you sing."

Marisol nodded. 

Because after all, only one thing mattered. The people wouldn't be focused on her, they would be focused on joy- our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Silent Night was a song about holiness. If she poured her heart and soul into it, she could not fail.

"I would love to sing, Floriana. I promise you, I'll make you proud!"

Floriana smiled.

"I know you will."