Victor, Étienne, and all the other familiar faces were there, all the faithful who attended Mass and all the people who went to confession. Only one seat was empty. Impossible not to notice as it was in the first row, near the center aisle. No one had dared sit in it.
Alice stepped back so Jeremy could say goodbye to his flock, but he took her hand and they walked forward together.
The parishioners left their seats to join them, surrounding them. They all shook hands, kissed each other on the cheek, spoke words of friendship, gratitude, encouragement, promises to stay in touch one way or another.
One of the parishioners opened the large door. The bishop and the curate looked very displeased and instinctively moved back into the darkness of the street.
When he got to the end of the center aisle, he saw Madame de Sirdegault sitting in the last row. He hadn’t recognized her right away, for her hair wasn’t done and she was wearing simple clothing, with no jewelry or makeup. She no longer wore the large gold cross with the big ruby. Despite the tears gathering in her eyes, a new light was shining from within them.
For the first time, he found her beautiful.
Outside, the first rays of light announced the dawning day.
They stepped over the threshold, then Jeremy turned toward his parishioners, looked at them gathered together one last time, and, quoting Jesus, whispered a few words that Alice could barely hear:
“You are the light of the world.”
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About the Author
Laurent Gounelle is an internationally renowned and bestselling author whose books have been translated into forty languages. He is a personal development specialist who trained in humanities at NLP University in Santa Cruz. He lives in France.
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Also by Laurent Gounelle
The Man Who Risked It All
The Man Who Wanted to Be Happy
Alice Asks the Big Questions Page 22
