It was nearly seven o'clock in the morning, and the church was already full of parishioners, quiet voices and the rustle of clothing could be heard in the hall as everyone walked in and sat down in their places. The morning service was about to begin. Ignatius stood behind the doors of the pulpit, listening to the noise from the hall, waiting for the moment when everyone would become quiet, and occasionally glancing at her watch. For everyone in the town—nuns, other priests, parishioners—Ignatius was a man. None knew the truth, and none should ever know, otherwise it would be the end of her. Only her feeble-minded brother, Augustine, who was now huddled in the corner knew. She only hoped that he would remain silent until the end of his days. Ignatius glanced at the nun who passed behind her, and then hurried out to the audience. The doors opened in both directions under her push, and Ignatius revealed herself to the parishioners, Augustine trailing behind. Before her again was a crowd of familiar faces—thin, fat, shaved or bearded, male and female, adults and children. Raising her hand in greeting, Ignatius stopped at the stand on which the Bible was located, leafing through the yellowed pages. Of course, these were only formalities; Ignatius knew these prayers by heart. A loud ringing of bells sounded, and the prayer began. "Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for this day" Ignatius read the prayer, at some points the hall echoed her in chorus. However, twenty minutes into the service, Ignatius realized that something was wrong. Loud croaking could be heard outside the church walls, so much so that sometimes it even drowned out the sound of prayer. Ignatius looked up and saw several ravens looking straight at her through the window with their black, predatory eyes. An anxious murmur passed through the hall. Glancing behind, Ignatius noticed how Augustine grabbed the collar of his robe, as if it was pressing on his throat, and began to mutter something under his breath. Ignatius clenched her teeth, feeling a drop of sweat roll down her temple, and whispered to a nearby junior priest to take Augustine away and calm him down. Then, Ignatius sighed and turned back to the crowd, raising her hands to calm the hum. "Brothers and Sisters, let us not be nervous, these are only birds. The harvest season is approaching and they are flying into the cities in search of food." Ignatius' explanation seemed to satisfy everyone, and soon the prayer continued. But all the while Ignatius' gaze slid over the people in the hall, until it came across a woman's face that she had not seen before. A new arrival? Had she been at last night's prayer? "...May the blessing of the All-holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with me, now and for evermore. Amen." With that, the morning service was over, and the congregation began to rise from their seats. Ignatius came down from the stage, walking quickly but confidently towards the unfamiliar woman, stopping her at the door of the church. "Wait. Are you new to our town? Were you at prayer yesterday? Did you pray before going to sleep?"