Did you hear what the Father said? The end of the world is near. What should we do?

I don't care much. I'm old enough, and I don't have children, and honestly, I'm tired of working every day for a pittance. Have you seen my hands, my fingernails? My legs are swollen and painful, and I have varicose veins.

Come on, Marie. Pull your skirt down; we're outside on the church hill. What will God think about you if you show your calves?

God? If I'm his child, then he knows what I look like, don't you think so?

The end of the world...

Who would have thought I would live to face armageddon, thought Jeanne, who was listening to what the older ladies were discussing and was an orphan. She visited church every Sunday, but no one ever spoke to her, and the pastor didn't seem to care about her presence either. Unmarried gals didn't count, they were seen by the church as useless, scum, failures. Not that she cared much because she had plans for the future that she didn't intend to share with anyone The village was already gossiping enough, and what is secret must remain secret.
She firmly believed that sharing a secret would be detrimental to her purpose, and that was the last thing she wanted. She sighed deeply. If what the Father had said was true, her plans were in vain. She kept her fingers crossed in the grass where no one could see the sign because bewitchment was seen as pagan and colluding with the devil.
Tomorrow was the day. If the world hadn't ended, she would leave at dawn and carry out her plans.

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Painting: Women Outside the Church at Ruokolahti - Albert Edelfelt (1887). Oil on canvas - public domain
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