Gilda Joyce: The Bones of the Holy by Allison Jennifer

Author:Allison, Jennifer [Allison, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 2011-07-19T21:00:00+00:00

24

The Bones of the Holy

As she waited for her mother and Eugene to resolve their disagreement about whether the musicians should play “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” or “Trumpet Voluntaire” to announce the beginning of the wedding ceremony, Gilda pulled out the crumpled piece of paper upon which she had written her wedding poem. To her surprise, her mother had said she loved the poem and Eugene had tolerated it (to her surprise, he commented that “the meter was off in a couple places”). Still it was about the best outcome she could hope for. She was considering whether to add another verse when a surprisingly cool breeze wafted up from the water and a large, white bird landed a short distance away, directly in front of a small chapel—the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche.

What an amazing bird! Gilda thought, wishing that Captain Jack were there to see it. Curious, Gilda cautiously attempted to approach the bird, which stood very still and seemed to look directly at her. Something about the way it stared so intently at her made Gilda think of something she had read about how spirits can take the form of an animal to deliver a message. A moment later, the bird turned away and walked directly into the chapel through the open door.

How unusual! Gilda had a distinct and very Alice-in-Wonderland-ish feeling that the bird wanted her to follow.

The cool, silent shrine was devoted to motherhood, and at the altar, candles illuminated a painting of the Virgin Mary. Gilda looked around, but saw no sign of the large bird.

How could it just disappear? Gilda wondered. She still felt as if the bird—or somebody—wanted her to find something in the chapel. But what?

Gilda decided to light a prayer candle for her father.

“Dad,” she whispered at the end of her prayer, “if you can hear me, please help me figure out why I saw a ghost—and help me survive this wedding!”

As she turned away from the prayer candles, Gilda spied something interesting on one of the wooden benches—a mysterious-looking book called Relics of the Saints. She picked up the heavy book and caught her breath when it immediately fell open to a page that had been marked with a small, white feather.

Is it a coincidence that I’m finding this feather right after seeing a white bird walk into the chapel? Or does this book contain a message that someone wants me to read?

Gilda scanned a passage near the feather:

The physical remains of saints, including bones and pieces of clothing, are considered relics worthy of preservation and veneration because of the miraculous protective powers and special magic of these physical remains. Note that the Catholic Church is not the only faith that follows such a tradition. Hindus and Buddhists also offer prayers to the Bones of the Holy. . . .

It’s weird, Gilda thought, how parts of people’s bodies can become seemingly magical objects. What would I have done if someone had given me the opportunity to

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