ꫂ᭪݁ hyacinth: james chao
⛧dead dove do not eat: psychological horror, dark religious theme, implied murder, violence, unrequited love, religious hypocrisy, mention of blood. lmk if i miss any important tags
somehwere in an unknown town, there's a folklore where a priest's son fell in love with a prostitute's daughter. the poor girl didn't know about his feelings, yet it became the talk of the town. the priest was beyond angry. out of all women, why would his son choose you?
the man convinced his father that the girl were nothing like her mother. she prayed, went to church, adopted stray cats and made them a shelter, dressed modestly, and lastly, you never slept with anyone.
yet, the father didn't believe. he knew that was a lie. the man was beyond disappointed and humiliated by his father's action.
"you're not a god, yet you talk like one. is this why people hate religious persons that much?"
obviously, the words led the older man to fury. a harsh slap landed on the younger man's face, cut his lips, and blood dripped slowly down from his chin. he swore he would never go back to this town nor get his knees down on the altar. his father was devoted to the concept that being religious was equal forever, belonging to the heaven that he looked down immediately towards other sinners.
as if he never committed one.
the jesus statue witnessed everything that happened on that evening. the wooden crucifix heard every word. the man pulled off his cross necklaces, put it in his father's palm, and he left the house.
just for his sacrifice went wrong. his loved one is getting married to another man.
the girl thought the priest's son would never know about it. when the girl came to the church for a bible reading session, she was beyond surprised to see the man there.
"james? what are you doing here?"
he looks different from what she remembered. no cross necklace. he got some ear piercings that you don't know the name of. he doesn't have that beaming smile anymore. his lips cracked. his scent is different too. he smells like a fresh cigarette instead of the classic agarwood he used to wear. he snickered before replying to the girl's words.
"to repent."
the girl didn't know what else to say. she never knows about his feelings towards her so there's no guilt inside her. james wants her to say sorry, though it wasn't her fault. But neither of them says anything. the girl excused herself afterwards.
james stared at his shirt cuff, stained with some brownish-red fluid. he fidgeted with the golden ring that he had been holding in his right hand, staring at it before he put it back in his pocket. he had washed his hands in the baptismal basin even before the girl saw him.
and he was relieved that the girl noticed everything except for the stained cuff.
