The | Kingdom Of Heaven

Piero wanted to stay, but Tommaso waved him off. “Remember,” the friar called after him, “if you find it, send back a map.”

They walked together for two days. The friar’s name was Tommaso, and he talked to keep the silence at bay. He spoke of the plague as God’s shears, pruning a rotten garden. He spoke of indulgences as a tax on terror. And then, near a frozen river, Tommaso stopped. the kingdom of heaven

Piero walked until his shoes wore through. He slept in ossuaries and empty castles. One night, he stumbled into a valley that the plague had somehow missed. A small stone church stood at its center, smoke curling from its chimney. Inside, a woman no older than twenty was kneading dough. A child slept in a cradle by the fire. Piero wanted to stay, but Tommaso waved him off

“To the kingdom of heaven,” Piero said. He spoke of the plague as God’s shears,