"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned."
Maria bowed her head, waiting for a reply. Outside the church, spring was coming -- the sun shining brightly, a warm breeze blowing through the bright green leaves. But here in the confessional, she felt chilly -- goosebumps showing on her naked arms. Still no answer.
"Father?" she asked quietly.
When she finally heard the faceless voice of Father John, it was a raspy baritone:
"Yes, my child. What sins have you committed?"
Maria squirmed in her blue silk dress -- the one she always wore to church. It was too shameful to talk about. But then again, that was why she had come. She tried in vain to speak -- her lips moving soundlessly. But eventually she managed to say:
"I... I've been having impure thoughts."
She heard the priest taking a deep breath.
"Impure thoughts are an abomination to the lord your God," he said solemnly. "What lascivious fantasies has the devil been tempting you with?"
Maria felt herself blushing. And again that sinful feeling between her thighs.
"I'd rather not say," she replied.
"But you must," Father John insisted. "The lord must hear a full confession so that he may forgive your transgressions."
"It's..." Maria began. "When I lie in my bed at night... lustful fantasies come to me. Vision of the most depraved acts. And... I imagine myself taking part."
"What kind of visions are those?"
Maria sighed and straightened her dress.
"I keep seeing the same scene," she replied quietly. "I'm walking through town late at night -- in the yellow glow of the streetlamps. And... I'm never out at that hour. Only in this... dream, or whatever it is. And then... I notice two gentlemen following me. Dark and menacing. I try to shake them off, but it's impossible. They catch up with me, and..."
Maria felt herself trembling as she remembered her fantasy.
"And then what?" asked Father John.
"They grab me and hold me," she went on. "They're incredibly strong. And then they have their way with me."
"What do they do?" Father John asked.
Maria shook her head.
"They pull out knives and cut my dress to shreds," she stammered. "Leaving me standing there, stark naked. And then they expose themselves -- show off their erect members to me. Quite large..."
She heard the rustling of fabric. And when the priest spoke again, his voice was hoarse and even deeper:
"Then what?"
Maria's eyes watered.
"One of them kneels down to lick my flesh while the other holds me," she said. "And I feel a strange pleasure as he uses his tongue. Almost a sensation of ecstasy. Then -- they switch places. As the second gentleman holds me, the first one enters me. His tool is so long and hard. And as he moves in and out of me, I once more feel the ecstatic sensation. Multiple times, in fact -- a sensual pleasure that almost drives me insane. They take me in turns -- their members still erect and indefatigable. I don't know how long they keep ravaging me -- or how many times I reach the height of ecstasy. But finally they give in and pump their seed into me. One inside my flesh, the other -- most unnaturally, I know -- in my mouth. And then -- they seem to disappear into the darkness, leaving me lying on the cold cobblestones, naked and exhausted -- feeling dirty and sinful."
She heard Father John grunting. He took a couple of labored breaths before he spoke again:
"Your mind has truly been infected with the vice of lust. But you can still be redeemed, my child. First -- I must ask one thing of you."
"What?" Maria whispered.
"Take off your clothes."
She gasped.
"I..." she stuttered. "I can't..."
"But you must," Father John insisted. "You must appear naked before the face of God."
Maria exhaled and stood up. She noticed her legs were trembling -- as if her fantasy had actually happened. She unbuttoned the front of her blue dress and let it fall to the floor of the confession booth. Looking down, she blushed with shame. Even the shape of her body was sinful: Her voluptuous bust, the elegant curvature from her waist to her hips, her long, slender legs. All of it bound to evoke lascivious thoughts in the minds of even the most righteous men -- turning them into drooling, lustful animals. She was but a temptress -- just like the Great Whore of Babylon.
The booth went quiet for a while. Then she heard the shuffling footsteps of father John as he stepped out onto the hard, tiled floor of the church.
"Come here," his deep voice said, echoing in the basilica.
Leaving her shoes inside the confession booth, Maria stepped naked and barefoot out into the church. The tiles felt cold beneath her feet. Father John stood before her, wearing his foot-length black cassock. He'd unbuttoned a few buttons, and through the opening his stiffened member stood out. Maria stared at it, wide-eyed. The long shaft, the dome-like, bluish head -- it looked like something from her sinful fantasies -- but somehow more real, more tangible.
"Kneel down, my child," he said.
Maria replied, her voice an almost inaudible whimper:
"Will you pray with me, father?"