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CHAPTER 55: There he is, In the Rocking Chair
Every morning, he makes his way onto the porch while she is still asleep and while it is still dark and the moon is but a silver curl of a sliver within the dark pines. He creeps quietly into the porch...
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Another mystery candle!!
By Claudia RicciOK, so it's been three months since I last posted here on Sister Mysteries. Clearly, there's a lot to say about the hiatus. But that story will have to wait for another day. Today...
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CHAPTER 56: Renata's Dream: Teresa's in Trouble
It seems much too real to be a dream. She is lying there in her bed at the convent, right where she's supposed to be, under a heap of quilts. She knows for certain that she fell asleep there, after an...
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Chapter 57: Is it time Renata Faces the Music?
The sky has a showy golden glow when Renata creeps out of the porch and into the cabin to sit beside Arthur's door. She's brought a blanket with her and the morning air is so cold that she arranges it...
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Chapter 58: Please, Señora, Help Me Write the Ending?
Dear Señora Ramos,You have always held the key to the mystery. You were the one who came forward in time to ask my help. You were the one who asked that I write the true story about the nun.All those...
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Chapter 59: Renata Risks Everything and Returns
Renata prays the rosary the whole way. The prayers relax her as she keeps Teresa front and center in her mind. What will she find when they arrive at the convent? Will Teresa still be alive?Arthur...
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Chapter 60: After 18 years of Writing, I Finally Come Face to Face with...
Assisted by two of the other nuns, Bernice and Laura Lee, Teresa pulls Renata into the rocking chair. There she sits, slumped against one arm. Teresa runs for smelling salts, and Bernice boils water...
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Chapter 61: Renata Stubbornly Refuses to Provide the Missing Journal Pages
An hour passed. Señora Ramos fell into a deep sleep -- snoring soundly -- after finishing her cup of tea. I played the three or four songs I know by heart and then started working on scales.Soon...
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Chapter One: My Past Life as a Nun
Dear Señora Ramos:And now, this morning, I find you lying there in your bed, not speaking, staring wide-eyed into the ceiling.The sun has not yet cracked over the horizon. As soon as I awoke, I crept...
View ArticleChapter 63: IF YOU TURN ME IN I'LL HANG!!
Dear Señora,I shouldn't have waited so long to call Mother Yolla and the other nuns to your bedside.I should have run at top speed to find someone who would get the doctor.But I was afraid. That's a...
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Chapter 64: Dear Mary, Where do I TURN TURN I TURN INTO RENATA!
DEAR MARY U HEARD WHAT MOTHER YOLLA SHE SAID she is going TO YIELD ME UP TO THE AUTHORITIES SHE SAID SHE WILL TURN ME IN, NO MATTER THAT I WILL BE HANGED MOTHER YOLLA SAID SHE CANNOT PROTECT ME SHE HAS...
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Chapter 65: The Mystery is Finally Solved, THE MISSING JOURNAL PAGES FINALLY...
These are the missing pages from Renata's diary, the pages that hold the key to who really killed Antonie.Renata’s DiarySeptember 17, 1883If I write it all down, will it feel more real? Will I begin to...
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Chapter 66: "Please Don't Let Me Hang"
When I open my eyes, Teresa is standing beside my bed in the convent. My mouth is as dry as the sheet that covers my straw mattress, the mattress that prickles the skin of my back.Teresa is crying, her...
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Chapter 67: Renata, You Have to Go Back to Jail to Before You Can Go Free !
It is mid-day, beastly hot, the sky a warm resilient blue. Arthur has not been able to push the horse faster than a walk. The wagon's slow pace is making Renata impatient. Her face is flushed and warm...
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Come on, Just Write It!
I am sitting here at the meditation table, staring into the never ending burning candle, and wondering why can't I just write it?The ending to this Sister Mysteries story, that is.Why am I...
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Chapter 68: She's Back, Facing the Cell and the Gallows
The wagon pulls up in front of the small wooden building that houses the jail and the tiny courtroom. Arthur helps Renata down from the wagon.She pulls herself up straighter. Taking in one long breath,...
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Chapter 69: A Miracle in the Court Room
The sky is a milky blue color when Renata and the others wake up. Kitty has already been up an hour, feeding chickens, gathering eggs and then, baking muffins for the breakfast meal she will serve...
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Chapter 70: Finale
Picture it: a bright hot day.The three of them -- Renata and Teresa and Art -- are sitting in the wagon pulling up to the convent in a cloud of red dust.Dust and grime coat the face of each nun.Teresa...
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No, Sister Mysteries is NOT Finished, the Miracles Continue!!!!!!
If you are a reader of this novel-by-blogYou know that I wrote the last chaptera few days ago. I wrote all aboutSister Renata finallybeingclearedof the crime:they accused her of murdering her cousinAND...
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Hopelessly addicted..
I vowed this week I would leave the TV off.That's because I was going absolutely crazy watching the White House crackpot try to lay the Russia probe in Hillary's lap.Every time I saw dump appear on the...
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Light in My Mouth
As I am preparing to send Sister Mysteries to the printer, I find myself writing about light.This morning, as I meditated,I had this sensation: light was resting on my tongue like a glowing lozenge.I...
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Observing Miracles
On a morning when I wake up wanting some kind of miracleto happen and nothingin particular happensthat's when I try justto watch that desireand...
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GINA's VOICE IS BORN OUT OF PRAYERS AND THIN AIR
Editor's note: GINA's voice is so old inside me I can't even recall when it was born. Gina was an answer to my prayers! I am trying to be positive and confident this morning. After meditatingI take a...
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LEAH IN THE FROZEN LAWN
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the chapter that first began Pearly Everlasting. I wrote it sometime in February of 2020.Yesterday as Leah gazed out the front door across the brown lawnShe happened to see a...
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FEAR and LOVE and NATURAL AWARENESS
As I begin to write this morning, fear is a dark bubble all around and inside me. Exactly 18 years ago this week, I started the grueling chemo treatment that I endured for 13 weeks in the summer of...
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