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Ray lifted his eyes from the letter, but its message was still forcefully clear.
The time to act was now.
That thought frightened him more than he cared to admit, to himself or to anyone else. He had seen many things in his lifetime - crime, destruction, passion, and even death. Although much of those times had been painful, a part of him had still reveled in that lifestyle. After all, it was all he had ever known.
But all that had changed two years ago. A contact had been made, a secret had been shared, and a plan had been formulated. So to undertake his mission, he had become a missionary - of the church.
It had meant giving up everything he had ever know from his past. The only thing that remained was passion. He still knew passion.
And, although he could not have predicted it, he had grown to love the lifestyle of the church. Although it had been a struggle at first, he now embraced its ways in earnest. Somewhere along the way he had become a new man.
This too was a hard thing he truly was must not be discovered - not yet. There would be to many things to say, too many complications.
Sighing, Ray examined his missive one more time. Then, silently he walked towards the front of the church. There, dozens of candles stood lit in prayer. Some burned anew, and some burned for troubles that had long ago entered lives. Some burned for loved ones, and some burned merely for love.
Ray stuck a match, a lit a candle, watching the first drop of wax slide down the taper. He was not exactly sure what he was praying for.
Pushing his confusion aside, Ray lifted the heavy paper of the letter towards the flickering flame. No one must ever know that it had even existed.
He watched the paper curl and burl, as the embers stretched toward the sky. They seemed to be carrying the message up towards the heavens. He could only hope that someone was listening. It would be wonderful to have someone listen. But, his secrets ran to deep, and to was too dangerous to reach out.
The opening of the church door interrupted his thoughts.
Ray turned quickly, forcing himself to remain calm.
In his haste he never noticed the slender piece of charred paper hit the floor.
Only one word remained.
Pray.
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