This story combines spirituality and eroticism. If that combination bothers you, skip this one. It's fiction, and no real people or places are depicted. Thanks for checking out my stories.
-------------
It was Springtime. A postcard perfect Sunday morning. The voices of a small choir drifted out of the open windows of a small wood-frame church and mixed with the chirps of boisterous robins nesting on a hand-painted sign above the door. SILVERFISH COUNTY COMMUNITY CHURCH, it read.
A young man walked in and was seated by the elderly usher, and the service began. It was short and sweet, with some lovely hymns sung, and the young man's voice was sweet and pure, helping to make the music soar on that beautiful morning.
"As we leave today," the pastor said in his closing remarks, "let's take a moment to greet the new friend who has joined us today." He gestured toward the young man, who smiled softly and nodded slightly. "Go peacefully my friends, and rejoice."
The choir lifted it's voices, and goosebumps covered the young man's arms. The goosebumps felt good on his body — he loved the feeling of beautiful music affecting him physically.
He was an unusual looking man — milky white skin, light grey eyes, and whitish blonde hair that was soft and wavy. He had been called an 'albino' before, but he wasn't one, not genetically anyway. His name was Angelo, and he spoke with an accent no one around Silverfish had heard before. When anyone asked him where he was from, 'across the sea' was the answer he gave.
"So nice to have you with us today" the pastor said, "I'm William." He was shaking the young man's hand on the front steps as people where leaving the church. The nesting robins were agitated by all the commotion and chirping wildly.
"Thank you William," Angelo said. "I'm very glad to be here. You have a lovely church."
"What brings you to Silverfish?" the pastor asked.
"I'm here to paint. I've rented a cottage from Mr. Biddeford for a while."
"Oh, the place up on the cliff. Beautiful spot. Yes, there's been artists up there before," the pastor said. "As I'm sure you've noticed, we're a long way from civilization up here in these mountains, so if you need anything, this is the place to come. The nearest doctor's almost a hundred miles away, but there's some fine, caring folks around here, and I can help you find any help you might need."
"Thank you William," Angelo said, and he made his way down the old steps and back up the mountain to his cottage.
The following three Sundays Angelo attended the small church, and the week after that he was absent. Pastor William, who had grown fond of Angelo, loved to hike in the mountains, and decided to walk the Cliff Mountain trail and stop by the cottage to check in on the young man.
"Angelo, are you here?" he said loudly as he approached the cottage on the twisting path.
"Come in William," Angelo said quietly from inside as the pastor reached the old screen door.
Angelo was laying naked on an old mohair couch, with a small, dingy white towel draped across his mid-section. His face and chest glistened with perspiration.
"I'm sorry I missed your service yesterday," he said. "I'm afraid I'm a bit under the weather."
Pastor William felt his forehead and asked his symptoms. He fed Angelo a sandwich, gave him a small bottle of aspirin from the first-aide kit he always carried in his small hiking backpack, and told him someone would be up the next day to check on him.
"Thank you William," Angelo said as the pastor left, and he drifted off to sleep.