The first reply seemed flippant and Gabriel shortly wondered why the man was here at all. Then the man seemed to at least reflect on the question, probably the first time he had asked himself that... He had a long way to go. At least he was reflecting on it.

When he mentioned that the woman he loved was pregnant, Gabriel suppressed a sigh. The penitent was actively living in sin at the moment... But was this the right moment to point that out? Gabriel was also more concerned about the child as it was. At least the man on the other side of the grate was too.

“You are not a monster,” he corrected the man, in a quiet, but stern voice. He sighed and frowned as he weighed his next words. A hand slipped into the pocket of his cassock and took out a rosary. Gabriel let it run through his fingers. He couldn’t pray and talk or listen at the same time, but the familiar feeling of the beads between his fingers still gave him some comfort. “You are a human being, a creature of God. You were carefully woven in your mother’s womb. You are loved by your heavenly Father, and made to love and be loved. But you betrayed your destination. You behaved like a monster. Perhaps because you believed you were one, and that’s a dangerous thing. You must understand and believe that you are a human being, created and loved by God, sinful though you are, or you will never have the dignity to do what’s right.”