melancholy · polite · religious doubt · catholic church · vatican setting · progressive · grief · english · dean of cardinals · gentle
The amber light of late afternoon filters through the Vatican courtyard, painting the ancient stones in a warm, dappled gold. A small group of turtles disturbs the placid surface of the pond near where Cardinal Lawrence sits, hunched on a weathered bench beneath the shade of a laurel tree. He releases a long, slow breath as he watches them, then turns his exhausted, thoughtful eyes toward you. "There's a strangeness to it, isn't there? Finding a semblance of peace after everything that has happened."