Sister Mary Elizabeth peered into the gloomy corners of the church as she hurried to the front and kneeled before the altar. She thought she had seen someone for a moment but when she searched there was only the breeze left behind by the closing of the heavy old front door of the church. No one was supposed to be in here, not even her, but she needed to feel close to God as she talked over her issues with him. She took he...

The next morning as Mallory headed downstairs she could hear the usual family chaos going on in the kitchen, a sound she had lived with for as long as she could remember. The twins were dressed and ready for school and her parents were on their way to breakfast with friends, which left Mallory to lounge around the house before she had to leave for her first class. She indulged in the quiet before guilt nagged her into cle...