Part 45: The inner peace of the soul…

Penelope alone saw heaven's potential for pure enjoyment and inner calm.

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From the first, they had accepted Penelope as the most eloquent among them, and it had amused her. Now, it wearied her, and she resented their friendship. Among The Stable’s entire population, and possibly all London, she was doubtless the sole woman who saw beyond the world’s materialistic and egoistic illusions. She alone saw heaven's potential for pure enjoyment and inner calm.

It was on a Wednesday, towards the end of November, during a tedious meeting at which the red-faced Vicar Bitter had preached the evil of sin for one long hour, when Penelope sprang up. She snarled to all those present: “You make me sick. You think you’re so certain of God’s blessing that you can’t do wrong. So did I, once. Now I know we are all wretched sinners—no exceptions. You proclaim your sins, but secretly you consider yourselves saints. I tell you, Vicar Bitter, that I, whom you regard as the most virtuous among us, am an unhappy woman. I must repent, confess, and expiate my sins! And I will confess right now. I stole—”

Terrified, Penelope clapped her mouth shut and darted out of the church. In her haste, she left behind her hat and coat, and tumbled past the village green of The Stables, not stopping until she had locked herself in her house. She trembled with fear because she had almost revealed her secret. Yet she agonised because she had not confessed and gained peace—the peace of punishment.
 
To be continued… 

The real world:
 
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Like to know more about Alf, Bert and the rest of the gang? You can read their chaotic history in What on Earth.
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