The Odin Chronicles • Episode 38: “A Time to Wait” • by Carol Scheina ~ Stupefying Stories Magazine

After the ground stopped shaking and the dust settled down, after people coughed their lungs clear and commented that the quake thankfully wasn’t too bad, word began to trickle into the mining town of Odin North that there had been a cave-in. Miners were trapped.

When Father Luigi heard, he rushed to the parish gardening shed to find supplies—a bucket to use as a helmet, thick rope, a sturdy gardening shovel to help dig. His heart beat a frantic rhythm of “hurry, hurry, get to the mines to help.”

With full hands, he dashed to the parish van, only to nearly bump into Father Maria. As always, Luigi felt tiny before the towering priest, but at the moment, he didn’t care. “We’ve got to get to the mine, people are trapped, we need to go now!” The words tripped over his tongue.

Maria kept her arms behind her back. “No, we should wait.”

Wait? That was the absolute wrong thing to do just then. Not when there were unknown numbers trapped in the mine. Not when they could provide an extra hand.

Luigi’s knuckles turned white around the shovel and rope. He didn’t want to argue. He didn’t want to stand around and do nothing either. He was the leader of the parish, but he never seemed to know what to do.

Above all, why did Maria, of all people, want to wait?

Luigi first met Father Maria while sitting in his favorite seat at Weber’s Place. He sipped a deep merlot, closing his eyes to savor the taste tingling down his throat.

“Father Luigi?”

His eyes opened to the tallest woman he’d ever encountered, with arms that looked like they could bench-press the parish van with barely a sweat. “Um, yes?”

She kept her strong arms behind her back. “I’m Father Maria.”

Luigi jumped up, repressing a desire to salute. “Yes, of course. I didn’t think you were arriving for another couple of weeks.”

“I found a transport to get me here earlier. I figured better to arrive sooner rather than later. I just landed an hour ago.” She kept her face solemn, her shoulders tight. “Perhaps you could take me to the parish so I can get to work?”

Luigi nodded, and leaving his half-finished merlot on the table, he brought Maria to his van. Yet the keys weren’t in his pocket. He hadn’t dropped them. He didn’t see them locked in the van. He excused himself for a second to dash back into the bar, where thankfully, the keys were on the table near his abandoned drink. With a gulp, he downed the remaining wine.

Ingrid, the bartender, looked on in amusement. “Feeling nervous about something?”

Luigi gave a half-hearted grin as he handed Ingrid the empty glass. “Not at all.” Only he was the senior priest here in Odin North, and he hadn’t made the best first impression. He wasn’t used to thinking of himself as a boss-type figure. Still, things would get better from here on. After all, he’d found the van keys.

Things didn’t improve.

At the parish, Maria glanced around with sharp eyes at the overgrown garden, the rectory sink filled with a good week’s worth of dishes. It was funny, Luigi hadn’t noticed anything wrong before, but as the new priest observed without even saying a word, suddenly it seemed as though everything in the parish was a heaping mess. Luigi tried to explain that he’d been busy with other tasks, plus he was going to be married in a few months.

Maria stayed quiet until Luigi finished his ramblings. “Thank you, Father Luigi. If it’s okay with you, perhaps I can compile a list of items that need to be done. I noticed the toilets need scrubbing. You’re not afraid to get your hands dirty alongside me, I hope.” Maria rolled her sleeves up over massive muscles.

Luigi rolled his sleeves up as well. He couldn’t think of any reason not to follow her suggestion.

Over the weeks, the tall woman worked her hands brown and ragged, pulling weeds in the garden, or helping to assemble the new children’s playground at the school. She always found a task needing completion, and Luigi felt he had to chip in as well.

His fiancé, Shelley, grumbled. “You’re working so hard you don’t even have time to spend with anyone. Even me.”

Luigi heard jealously in her voice. He took her hand. “I’m so sorry, but we’re helping people.”

“No, you’re so busy cleaning toilets you don’t even notice anyone anymore.” Shelley crossed her arms. “You’ve no time for anything.”

Luigi was too tired to argue further.

The day came he found a spare minute to settle into his favorite seat at Weber’s and close his eyes. He’d nearly dozed off when Ingrid tapped his shoulder.

“You look like you could use this.” She held out a cup of mulled wine. “On the house.”

Luigi grinned his thanks.

“The new father seems to be working you hard.” Ingrid leaned against the bar. “You know, I hear she comes from one of those old mining planets, where they genetically breed people to be better miners. They’re bigger, stronger, can work longer.”

Luigi sipped his wine and pondered that information. It explained a lot about Maria’s drive. He wondered why she’d become a priest instead of a miner. Then Maria’s voice cut into his thoughts, calling for him outside the bar. He gulped the drink down—he seemed to gulp a lot these days—and went to see Maria. If only things could just slow down a bit.

The day of the cave-in, the townspeople rushed to the mine to help. Luigi couldn’t believe Father Maria wanted them to do nothing. Wait, she’d said. He’d wanted them to slow down, but not now.

He didn’t like this kind of direct conflict, but he was the senior priest. With his bucket-helmet balancing on his head, Luigi stood tall, ready to order Maria to hop in the van with him when he paused.

Luigi didn’t notice weeds or dirty dishes; he noticed people. It was why he enjoyed sitting at the bar, watching the ones who walked up to the bar with stiff shoulders and tight lips. He could give them a friendly smile and a welcome ear to listen.

Just then, he noticed Maria’s neck muscles bulging, her cheek twitching. She was holding back tears, Luigi realized. As much as he wanted to help the trapped miners, he needed to wait a moment.

“What is it, Maria?” Luigi kept his voice soft.

“Once they release the names of who’s trapped, someone’s got to help their families. No one ever remembers them,” Maria’s rasped.

Luigi exhaled. He’d been so fixated on saving people he hadn’t thought about the families.

“You’re right. We should be on standby to help those people.” He pulled the van keys out of his pocket. It was a miracle he hadn’t misplaced them, and with a mine cave-in, today seemed a day in which they’d need a lot of miracles. They’d be ready to drive to any house, once they had more information.

Two days later, Luigi sat in Weber’s Place with his fiancé, Shelley. His arms were tired after relentless praying and hugging worried children, concerned spouses and parents. Neither he nor Maria had slept until the last rock had been removed and the miners freed with only minor scrapes and broken bones. A miracle.

Shelley patted his hand. “You did good work.”

Maria’s voice added, “That you did.”

Luigi jumped up. He’d just sat down. He didn’t want to scrub toilets again.

Instead, she stood, straight-backed as always. “Mine cave-ins always make me nervous. My parents died in one. No one noticed me, as they were all busy with rescue operations, until a father comforted me. No one remembers the people stuck waiting for news. That’s why I decided to become a priest.”

Luigi nodded, thinking of her thick arms comforting the children of the trapped minders with a tenderness that surprised him. Somehow, she’d grown softer during the mine cave-in, for all her muscles and straight back. “I understand.”

“Well, now that we’re done with that, should we move on to our next task?”

Shelley gave Luigi a hard look. Stay, she mouthed.

Luigi closed his eyes a moment. He had to remember that he was a senior priest. “It’s good to work, but sometimes, people need to be able to slow down too. If someone needs to talk, they can find me here.” Luigi added, “Maybe you can join us? Tell us more about yourself?”

Shelley’s teeth clenched. Luigi raised his eyebrows, would it be okay with her? She gave a tight nod.

Maria blinked as she considered the words, then she slipped into a chair. “Why not? Perhaps you could tell me about the people here before we start our next task.”

A grin on his face, Luigi signaled for Ingrid to bring over another bottle of merlot. He was growing into this senior priest role, and soon he’d be a husband. He could juggle it all. Right?

Carol Scheina is a deaf speculative author whose stories have appeared in publications such as Flash Fiction Online, Escape Pod, Diabolical Plots, Stupefying Stories, and others. Her writing has been recognized on the Wigleaf Top 50 Short Fiction Longlist, and she has become a fan favorite for her finely crafted flash fiction pieces on the Stupefying Stories website. You can find more of her work at carolscheina.wordpress.com.

If you enjoyed this story, be sure to read “True Love is Found in the Bone Sea,” here on SHOWCASE, or “The Burning Skies Bring His Soul,” in STUPEFYING STORIES 24. Or at the very least, read “The Disappearing Cat Trick,” in The Odin Chronicles, Season 1.

This link will take you to a unorganized list of Carol’s previous stories on this site. I’m particularly fond of “The View from the Old Ship.” You should read it. You should also take a look at “The Burning Skies Bring His Soul,” which you’ll find in SS#24, which is now FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.