The bell sounded for Vigils and I slowly got up, tired from the previous evening's dreams and struggling with Adonis' constant squawking. I would probably get glared at by the members who slept in the surrounding cells. Adonis must be sleeping, I turned over to see the box neatly placed back on the bed but without the blanket. More notably, the box was placed on the bed without Adonis. I don't think he was in any condition to drag the blanket somewhere but now I was frantic, thinking that maybe something got him.

Then that dream hit me again, the vision of the half-obscured man and the warmth of his fingers against my skin. I found myself as a blushing mess, bowing my head and praying for some sense of composure before Vigils. Paul came into the room, knocking gently before urging me to get up and follow him. He didn't even ask about Adonis, about where the crow that he had so deeply cared for had gone to or, even, how he had slept. I got up and followed after Paul, my head already pounding as questions flooded it at every single angle and into every single crevice.

We soon came down to Vigils, the hymnal began and we continued our praying and recitation of the psalms, the morning slowly lighting up as time passed.

"Did you hear?" 

I glanced to see one of the other brothers, helping me with the dishes, practically staring at me with excitement.

"Hear what?"

"The monastery recently accepted a resident, a new one this morning. He supposedly came from overseas, do you think he'll have stories to share?"

"A resident? The monastery hasn't been visited for about four or five years now?"

"Well, a resident is here. He wounded his arm, can you believe it? People are very clumsy these days."

"What was his name?"

"Adonis, I think? Adonis Paul..."

I stopped my work, nearly dropping the plate as my fingers clung to each other with panic. It was a strange coincidence but I was reminded of the poor bird that was probably eaten by cats at this point, or caught and sent away by one of the other brothers.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you," I said, still standing completely still and staring into the soapy waters that threatened to burn my hands if they stayed in there any longer. I eventually snapped from my trance and continued washing the dishes, my mind reeling but also oddly silent.

Lauds and the Eucharist had passed quickly, and I only got to glimpse the back of the strange resident's head as he sat at the front. After that, we went to the Chapter meeting, where we would be given our assignments. Considering the storm, I was expecting work to do with cleaning up the debris left from its rampage. I was correct in that assumption and listened as tasks were handed out to each of the person's there. 

The head looked up at smiled at the door. Turning around, there he was. The strange resident walked in, Adonis Paul, with his arm loosely bandaged. His hair, long and curled, was wrapped up in a very unpracticed bun. His eyes were narrow, a bit small compared to his nose but noticeably larger compared to his lips. His nose was roman, and he held a strange air around him that could only be described as a mix of enchanting, threatening and also regal. He didn't seem the type to be a monk but his body, lanky and tall, would be a sign of fasting.

He didn't even seem the type to fast. He sauntered into the room, greeting the brothers until he came aside me, shaking my hand.

"Brother Adam," he said and it came back to me again. That dream, his voice and the very warm feeling of his hands. I stiffened, and he seemed to know why as he smiled sheepishly at me. Our hands quickly retracted to our respective sides as we turned to the curious eyes of the head who continued to delegate tasks. All the while, I smelled his cologne. I nearly shot out and ran when I felt the scrape of his pinky against my own hand. Turning around to look at him, it was intentional.

He looked at me in turn, the corners of his mouth twitching in a tricky half-smile as he dismissed the game. He was given a task, a small one to prevent extra stress on his arm and, as Misfortune would have it, was with me in the gardens. He wouldn't be hauling anything though, he'd just be raking which could be done with relative ease. He turned once again and smiled at me, his eyes narrowed with a delightful trickery.

"I hear he can sing, do you think he'll join the choir while here?"

"I don't know," I responded as I picked up another fallen branch and moved it to the side. The storm had damaged the tree a good bit but nothing that would kill it. The soils were disturbed as well and we needed to make sure that none of them would get any major cold damage this weekend. The brother nodded distantly as he moved to pinch off the broken stems of a rose bush we had. Another brother had been given the task, with two others, to prepare the "zen garden" which had been adopted by the monastery. It was a nice way of calming down and the Father was particularly interested in how it would work with "buddhist mandalas". He figured it was a nice way for us to remember death and impermanence, to 'move away from the worldy' he said. Each evening, another set of monks would come and disturb the soil and the cycle would be repeated again and again ad infinitum.

Adonis Paul was still busy raking, having covered a whole quarter of the garden with intermittent resting. We had finished our work and were planning to move to the next garden but the brother pushed that I should maybe try and lend a hand to Adonis since his arm was posing more trouble than good. Relenting, I went to him, tapping him on his shoulder. He turned around and met me, looking down at me as our eyes connected.

"Morning, Brother," He whispered, the last word rolling off his tongue in such a way that it brought a world full of implications with it. I narrowed my eyes, hiding my hands behind my back so he wouldn't see the shaking of them.

"Morning, Mr. Paul -"

"Adonis, please," he corrected, that voice threatening to drive me insane. It was clear like a bell, but carried so much in it that it was hard not to notice it, or even feel entranced with it.

"Mr. Adonis -"

"Just Adonis," he corrected again, smiling this time. His smile was enough for me, and I couldn't help but stare at him with annoyance (for interrupting me) and some deep seated need to comply to his wishes.

"Adonis," I said, expecting another interruption. When he raised his brow, confirming his pleasure, I continued.

"I would like to help with your task. Your arm seems to be giving you trouble," I offered, looking down at his bandaged arm.

"You are too kind, little monk," he said teasingly, moving his injured arm away from my sight and behind his back.

"Little monk?" I retorted, the name bouncing around my head frantically as though he had just offered me all the jewels of the world.

"Brother Adam," he sighed, thinking that I had corrected him rather harshly. He reached out with his free hand and grabbed a second rake that was lying on the floor next to the trash bags.

"What do we do with the leaves, if I may ask?"

"We mulch them, Mr. - Adonis," I caught myself. He let out a soft, gruff chuckle  as he handed me the rake. So we got to work, slowly raking up the leaves from the wet grass into a pile before throwing them into bags. All the while, I could feel his eyes on me and, I must confess, I watched him too. He worked elegantly, save for his injured arm. Still, there was an undeniable fluidity in his movements like the way a bird would swoop down and rise back up naturally.

It had taken the earlier part of the day for us to finish the task but the bell rung for Terce. I nodded to him and we walked back towards the chapel, washing our hands with a nearby tap. As he did so, I looked at his fingers and my mind began to wander. The feeling of his hand on mine this morning and that dream, all of it made me reel with an unbound excitement that I knew was natural to me, but the other brothers might not be so appreciative of such tastes.

He turned and looked at me, smiling again as he caught me staring. My face heated up as I turned around, realizing that i had begun to blush and act like a fool again, after a long period of abstinence from - this.

In so little words, Adonis had proved himself to be an issue and I could only hope to avoid him as much as possible.