Redemption Read Online Free PDF

gone,” Monroe muttered as I turned to look her way.
    Her eyes moved from me to the window. Neither one of us mentioned the previous night. There was reluctance there. I nodded. We didn’t talk much in the mornings anyway. It was too damned early for conversation. Monroe threw her stuff into her bottomless overnight bag, walked over to the door, waved at me, and left to drive home in her pajamas. She’d climb back in bed as soon as she got there. She was NOT a morning person. I wasn’t much better. I fought the urge for sugar-laden coffee and artificial flavored lollipops.
    “Couldn’t we make sleeping late a priority?” I asked the Heavens, my face tilted upward.
    The snooze on my alarm went off. I slammed it against the wall before getting up with a groan to go through my closet. I donned a dark skirt and white-cotton button-down shirt, ran a brush through my hair, and made my way to the door. Will power is an amazing thing.
    Once downstairs, I avoided the dining room, referred to as the refectory, and moved to the back stairwell. The longer I could avoid the Order, the better. Sunday was free advice day. Unless you wanted it, it was best to avoid it.
    Organ music filtered from the church across the yard, and I moved into the building soundlessly, slipping into the last pew to watch my sister play. Amber sat alone, her back to me as her fingers moved over the keys. I’d always thought the organ sounded haunting, and Amber played it well. She’d learned from a Sister called Mary a few months after our parents passed, and I appreciated the discipline it must have taken. She was a fast learner and desired approval. That same desire was the reason the Order had taken to Amber so quickly after our move. She had, out of the two of us, always sought acceptance. I tended to withdraw. Amazing Grace filtered through the room.
     
    Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.
    That saved a wretch like me.
     
    “You’re here early,” a voice said suddenly, and I scooted over.
    “You are too,” I replied with a grin.
    Harold Grayson sat down next to me with a chuckle. He was an old man, maybe in his seventies, who lived on the edge of Abbey property and tended to minor maintenance issues. His older sister, now deceased, had once been a part of the Order. 
    “ We lost folk have to be, I reckon,” Harold commented.
    I covered my mouth and laughed into my hand. 
    “That we do."
    Harold turned toward Amber.
     
    I once was lost, but now am found.
    Was blind but now I see.
     
    “Your sister has a way with the organ,” Harold said after a moment.
    I nodded in agreement, my lips curling upward in a pleased smile. I was really proud of her. We may have grown apart over the years, even to the point of being strangers, but she was still my sister. My senses flooded with both nostalgia and music as I took in a deep breath and ran my fingers over the soft fabric covering the pew. I loved the way the sanctuary smelled, the way the candles glowed at the front. It almost felt like home.
    Amber made it to the end of the song and started over. It was one of her favorites. Mom used to sing it to us when we were children. I closed my eyes as the memory assaulted me. It was an old one. Mom was singing as we helped her make the beds. She always turned it into a game, throwing the sheet up and letting it billow down on top of us. She’d catch us up in it and hold us there until we yelled to be let free.  As soon as she let go, we’d beg for her to do it all over again. And the whole time, she would sing. She loved to sing.
    “She’ll be one of them,” Harold whispered suddenly.
    I froze, my smile slipping a little as the memory left me. I looked over at him in confusion.
    “Sir?”
    He turned toward me and patted my hand.
    “Just the rantings of an old man, my dear."
     I stared at his profile as he turned back toward the organ. One of them? The Order?
    “How have you been, Dayton?” Harold asked, his gaze still glued to Amber’s