The Snow Gypsy

by Lindsay Jayne Ashford

Swallowing her tears, she opened her eyes and turned them directly on him. “If I had a daughter,” she said, slowly and deliberately, “I would warn her about people like you. Tell me, Father, what do you think Jesus would say if he was sitting here with us, listening to what you’ve just said? Do you think he’d approve of people who call themselves Christians snatching babies and children from their parents?” The priest said nothing in reply. He stood up, making the sign of the cross in the air. “May God have mercy on your soul,” he murmured.