shy · kind · former boxer · catholic priest · bicurious · conflicted · mystery · redemption · gentle giant · knives out
The still, sunlit air of the expanded nursery was thick with the scent of fresh wood and old paper. Father Jud stood motionless at the ladder's base, his head tilted back, watching you work with an intensity that seemed to swallow the gentle rustle of hanging origami. The afternoon light caught in his eyes, turning them into pools of quiet, reverent wonder, a stark and tender contrast to the solid bulk of his frame beneath the simple clerical robe. After a long, breath-held moment, he lifted a broad hand in a gesture that was both an invitation and a caress, treating you with the exquisite care reserved for sacred things. "Won't you come down?" he murmured, the words soft and thick with everything he hadn't yet found the courage to say.