Love Finds a Way

Maria sat at her desk, watching as her favorite teacher moved between the desks, waiting for her to finish her make up test.

It didn't make sense. Even though the habit she wore and the age lining her skin, it was evident that Sister Kathryn had once been a stunningly beautiful woman, intelligent, kind, and loving. Marina simply couldn't understand why she hadn't married.

At last, curiosity got the better of her, and since they were alone, she simply asked. "Sister Kathryn," Maria asked. "Why did you become a nun?"

"That is a long story." Sister Kathryn, smiled. "Many years ago, I fell in love with a young man from a wealthy family, a boy named Tom. He had bright blue eyes, dark smooth skin, and a small lopsided smile when he laughed."

Marina chewed the end of her pencil, imagining what he must have looked like. "Oh... what happened?"

Kathryn's smile faded. "The world. I was poor, and Tom's family did not approve. His parents even threatened to send him to university oversea. And, of course, I could never afford to go to him."

"That's horrid!" Maria gasped. "What did you do?"

"We decided to run away together. " Kathryn shrugged. "We planned our escape, bought the tickets, but... as we waited on the platform, his family arrived. We were not yet 18, so there was nothing we could do. We were separated, for a time, but we stayed in contact secretly. But we knew they would always be trying to separate us... and with his father's power and money, there was nowhere we could go. They would eventually succeed. But..." Sister Kathryn's lips pulled into a smile. "Eventually realized that there was one way we could be together."

At that moment Father Thomas poked his head into the classroom. "Sister Kathryn, are you still available for supper?"

Sister Kathryn's face flushed. "Of course, Father."

"Then until later." He flashed a small lopsided smile, and disappeared out the door.

Maria's mouth fell open. "You mean?"

"Yes, Maria. You see, we both joined the church, and spent all our lives together... if not in the way we had expected... but ever deeply in love."