By: Andrew Ramon
INT. CONFESSION BOOTH – NIGHT
A man wearing a baseball cap and jacket walks into a confession booth. He takes the cap off as he sits down. The priest walks in and sits down.
MAN
Bless me father for I have sinned. It has been six years since my last confession.
PRIEST
That’s quite a long time.
MAN
Yeah well, that’s how long I’ve been in the Marines.
PRIEST
I see, thank you for your service.
MAN
I’m not sure if I would call it a service.
PRIEST
Why is that? You risked your life for our country.
MAN
That’s what I wanted forgiveness for, but I don’t know if it can be forgiven.
PRIEST
The Lord welcomes all of his children that ask for forgiveness.
MAN
Are you allowed to tell anyone what I say in here?
PRIEST
No. What you tell me in here stays between the two of us, and God.
The man pauses.
MAN
I’ve killed people. So many people. I estimate it’s something around twenty, but I’ve honestly lost count. I’ve done so many horrible things that I’m not sure if there’s any hope for me.
PRIEST
I see, but war is a different circumstance. The Lord understands when you’re fighting for your country. He knows that you didn’t want to kill.
Pause.
MAN
My entire life has felt like a bottomless void, but there, there was different. The feeling that I get from watching the light go out in their eyes was something I haven’t been able to recreate with any drug I can find here, and That’s the thing, I did want to kill. I loved it. I was fantastic at it. I killed people I didn’t need to. I killed people for fun.
The priest freezes.
PRIEST
This is a terrible thing to admit my son, but war can change people. The important thing is that you’re trying to change. That’s all you can do.
MAN
That’s the hardest part.
He takes a deep breath.
MAN
Last week my wife was murdered. The police don’t have any idea who did it.
They both pause.
PRIEST
I’m so sorry for your loss.
MAN
They don’t have any leads. They’re about to close the case.
PRIEST
And are you asking for forgiveness because you want to kill this person?
MAN
No, I don’t.
The priest sighs in relief.
PRIEST
That’s good, the first step to accepting this is forgiving whoever did this to your wife.
The man pauses.
MAN
I killed my wife.
The priest sits there silently.
MAN
She said that I was going crazy, that she wanted out of our marriage. Couldn’t have that now could I?
The priest remains silent.
MAN
And you can’t tell a single person in the world, can you?
The priest’s voice quivers.
PRIEST
…No.
The man puts his hat back on and stands up.
MAN
That’s what I thought. Have a nice day father.
He exits. The priest sits there in silence.