Coincidental encounter in the rose garden (1)

Anna washed up and put on her black and white nun's dress. As she brushed her waist-length golden hair, she thought: "My beautiful hair, when will it really be revealed to the world? Anna reluctantly put on her headscarf as she thought. Then she hurried to the chapel where the morning service was being held.

The chapel was already crowded. Morning prayer soon began and Anna stood out from the crowd of nuns who had spent their days praying and living in isolation.

At sixteen years old, Anna's slender and brand-new figure could not be concealed by her large nun's dress. In particular, her blue eyes, as clear as the water of a lake, shone with curiosity from time to time.

The two and a half hours of morning prayer each day were a double test of endurance and physical strength for Anna. But the girls standing next to Anna were all praying with devotion. Anna had no choice but to close her eyes.

Despite having been a novice nun for a long time, Anna could not understand what it was that made these women so sincere and willing to become "servants of God".

Especially Sister Mary, who had always doted on her. Her concentration in prayer, her absolute reverence for God, her devotion was incomprehensible, a devotion that Anna respected, but also a devotion that Anna could not understand.

In endless contemplation, Anna finally made it through the long morning prayers.

After a light breakfast, Anna was sent to the garden not far from the convent to pick roses. This was a rare and beautiful task, for the roses were at the perfect time to be picked, and it was said that someone wanted to buy all the roses from the rose garden. There was only one gardener and he was too busy, so the Mother Superior sent some nuns to help.

The rose garden near the convent was planted by one of the nuns at some point, and later a nobleman took a shine to the roses, so every year he would donate money or goods to the convent on the sole condition that the convent would take care of the roses. Whenever the roses were in bloom, the nuns would come here to pick them.

The abbess hired an experienced gardener to look after the rose garden, and the convent was responsible for feeding the gardener. Although the food at the convent was light, the old gardener never complained, so I guess he was a faithful believer too. Sometimes Anna was sent to bring food to the old gardener, sometimes she listened to some nice stories, sometimes she borrowed some nice books from the old gardener, and to Anna the old gardener was a kind old man.

But Sister Mary says that the old gardener has not been well lately, so another person is looking after the rose garden. Anna didn't know what the new gardener was like, and she didn't care, but she felt uncomfortable when she heard that the old gardener was not well.

It was the season of roses, the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and a few white clouds were drifting in and out.

So even though it was a bright sunny day, and even though it was the rare day of the year when there was a huge harvest of roses, Anna didn't seem happy.

Anna was worried about the old gardener as she cut the roses with a frown on her face. When she accidentally got stuck by a thorn on a rose branch, she cried out. Even though the sound was not loud, it was heard.

A voice asked Anna, "Anna, what's wrong?"

"My hand has been pricked by a rose." Anna looked at her index finger, and red blood was pouring out of it. What Anna hadn't expected was that a small rose thorn would really hurt.

A hand took Anna's finger and her index finger was in her mouth at some point, too soon. Anna didn't even react, but she felt her finger wrapped in the warmth of her mouth, and the warmth felt like it was penetrating her whole body.

It was only then that Anna looked at the man who was shouting at her finger, but if she didn't look, she was shocked. It was a man who was holding her finger in his mouth!

The more she tensed, the hotter she found the part of her finger that had been sucked by him. The heat gradually crept up her cheeks, and beneath her pink cheeks, her hot lips trembled as she asked, "Who are you? How do you know my name?"