Guilt is a strange emotion, a strange event. It can make people do the most vulnerable things. It can make people bare their souls. It can make people show their shadow self. Somehow he must be feeling guilt, but I'm not sure why. I don't know if I'll ever know why, but he is. He comes to me to confess, to tell his secrets, to bare his soul. I am there to cleanse, to forgive, to sanctify, to absolve.
He comes to my confessional, not unlike the ones in an old fashioned church. The contraption is dark, and stuffy, and confining. He waits his turn, to make sure it is his turn. Is it his turn? Should he turn and leave, run before he bares his secrets?
I wait patiently. There is no need to rush. He will come to me or not. I can't make him. But he will be glad he did. He will feel new, and clean, and fresh. So I wait. I don't count. I don't fret. I don't lament. I just wait.
And then he approaches. He moves the curtain to one side, assured no one else is there. There is a kneeler, a hard wooden slat, no cushion, no seat, no comfort. He kneels. I slide the door open, a slat between the two cubbies. I wait. It is silent. I can hear my own heart beating. Then I can hear his.
He speaks. "Bless me Mistress for I have sinned. My last confession was in high school." I don't shame him. I wait. He starts to explain, "I didn't feel like I needed to come. I've tried to live a good life." I respond firmly, but caringly, "of course you have. But what troubles you my pet?" There is silence again for a long time. He speaks again, "I have sinned." "Yes, I know, but what is the nature of your sin?" He is frightened to speak. He waits, holding his breath, then says, "sexual." I wait. Will he tell me or will I need to prod, to pursue, to pry. He stutters, stammers. I ask, "My pet, will you not tell me? How can I absolve you if you don't tell me your sins?"
Silence. I say, "What is your name?" He responds, "Justin John Joseph." I ask, "Who are you named for?" He responds, "I don't know." And so now I see that I must take control, force him to share so he can seek strength in his names. I prod him, "you must be named for someone?" "Oh yes," he replies, "for my father." "Your father?" I say. "Well not exactly," you say. And then I begin to scold. "So you present for absolution and yet you lie? You ask for understanding and forgiveness yet you don't deserve it?" Immediately I devise a punishment. "You must be punished for entering such a place and acting so arrogantly. Remove your pants immediately. This is a holy place. This is a place of truth. No lies. No deception."
He removes his pants. I can see a little as my eyes adjust, see the outline of his lower body, his strong legs, his hard cock. I say, "Do you have an erection right now?" "No," he responds. I say, "I can see it. You are lying again. You must be punished. Stand up. Strike yourself three times on your erection." He waits. I wait. Will he do it? If not, there is no freedom, there is no absolution. Then stands, and strikes himself across his hard cock once, twice, three times. He cries out each time, a little bit of a whimper. I can see him reach back and then slap forward. I can see his hand land on his hard cock. It is a beautiful cock, big, and full, and ripe. It looks delicious even in this dim light, good enough to eat, or at least suck. There are red marks across that lovely cock, and droplets of cum hanging from the tip.
I say, "Kneel down again. Let's start over. Now tell me some things about you before we proceed with your sins. It is important to understand you to understand the nature of your sins. Perhaps they are not sins at all. Perhaps they are. I can't know this until I know you."
He kneels. I can no longer see his gorgeous cock, but I know it is there. And I know it is hard. And waiting, and wanting attention. I say, "In order to know yourself, you must know your lineage. Who you are named for? Tell me your name again." He says, "Justin John Joseph." Very good," I say. "Now tell me why you are named Justin." He says, "My mother liked the name." I say, "very good. You have told a truth. Now stroke yourself once as a reward." He reaches down and strokes himself firmly. Then I ask, "And why are you named John?" "For my father," he answers. I say, "Yes, but for the cousin of Jesus as well. He brought forth a message that others were not ready to hear. You will be doing the same. Take courage from St. John the Baptist in your time here."
We pause. There is silence again, and yet I sense movement. "Are you hard?" I ask. He hangs his head, averting his eyes, and says, "No." But I know he is. I say, "You continue to lie about this. Why? You must punish yourself again. There is a switch lying next to the kneeler. Take it and strike your hard cock five times, and count them out." He stands and raises the switch, and counts out, "One. Two. Three." Pause. "Four." An even longer pause. "Five." I say, "this can go on all day. You will never reach forgiveness, absolution, unless you cooperate." I can see the red stripes on his hard cock. I can see where the switch landed. I want so much to reach out, stroke that cock, soothe it, but I don't.
"Now, why are you named Joseph?" I ask. He hesitates, then says, "I can't remember. I thought at first that I was named Edward, or Terrance." I say, "This is very serious. You can't recall the name you gave yourself? The Christian name that was chosen to bring you strength? Joseph was the step father of Jesus. He was the protector of Jesus. How can you not recall such important information?" The punishment may be even more severe. I say, "Stand up and turn your ass toward me. Strike your ass five times, counting out each lash."
He stands, and turns his ass toward me. It is a lovely ass, firm and well formed. I want so badly to reach out and touch it, stroke it, but I don't. There will be time for that later. He takes the switch and lashes himself across those beautiful round ass cheeks, "One. Two." A pause. "Three, four, five." He takes the last strikes quickly. I say, "Now turn again, kneel down, and tell me your sins." I know he wants comfort, salve on those marks, but that would undo all the learning.
There is silence. He is gathering his thoughts, deciding whether to tell, to make himself vulnerable, or to run. I ask, "Are you hard? Do you have an erection?" He answers in a whisper, "yes." I say, "Good pet for telling the truth. Stand up so I can watch. Now you may stroke yourself six times in whatever fashion you choose. See how telling the truth is helpful and good?" He spits into his hand, takes his cock firmly, and begins to stroke. I remind him to count out as he has with the lashes. I want so badly to reach through the open door, to stroke him myself, to feel his hardness and the heat of the switch marks. But I don't. I know there will be time for that later. "Kneel down," I tell him.
He kneels, and is quiet, waiting for my instruction. I say, "You have come here to confess, to rid yourself of your sins, the weights on your mind. I want to help you. You must help yourself. Every time you do what is right, you will be rewarded. Every time you don't, you will be punished. Do you understand?" But I know that either way he will be rewarded, either by the switch or the hand. "Yes," he answers.
"Tell me your sins." And so he begins. Many are trivial. A slap across his hard cock is ordered in a certain number combination. Then he begins to tell more devious things. The switch is employed. Still he waits, telling his secrets, punishing himself, needing to whip his tender flesh in front of me. Oh, how I want to comfort him, to stroke that red and sore cock, to suckle it well, to anoint it. But there will be time for that later. There is always time for more, as long as one makes the time. If he is in a hurry, he will miss out on the rewards and receive only punishment. But if he confesses to all, opens himself up, then he will be rewarded with ejaculation and release. I hope he chooses the latter. I believe in him. I think he can break through.
Now I explore his names and their meanings. I say, "you have told me many sins: some trivial, some serious. Let's start with your names. Have you acted as you are named? We will start with the name of Joseph. Joseph was the protector of Jesus. He was a home keeper. Tell me your sins in this realm." He pauses, head hung, eyes averted. He says, "I have been a bad father. I have not made a home for my children." I let him talk. He explains what he has done, and what he hasn't. He explains his regrets, his pride, his accomplishments. When he is finished I ask, "Tell me truthfully, have you been a bad father?" He answers truthfully, "No I haven't." And the relief comes from just telling the truth. There is no punishment, and there is no reward. The telling is both. He cries softly and it sounds like it brings comfort.