Sandro Corrado - an inquiring young cleric

Sandro let out a long sigh and fell on the bed inside his small room. Small compared to the more worthy guests’ rooms, that is. If he compared it to his little cell back in the seminary, it would turn out to be three times the size.

In a couple of days it would be his eighteenth birthday and the young cleric was beginning to wonder if the path he had chosen, the path of priesthood, was really what he wanted in life. It was enough to look at the splendor of this fine residence to doubt the meaning of all his commitments and sacrifices; still, Sandro Corrado was not about to give up his shining ideals for earthly pleasures. “The bishop doesn’t even bother to hide his gluttony” the boy thought with a bit of jealousy. Indeed, bishop De Luca, an obese elder man, could often be seen eating like a pig and deliberating on the importance of temperance at the same time. The hypocrisy of his mentor had a bad influence on Sandro’s morals.

The blue-eyed boy ran his fingers through his blonde hair and closed his eyes. Who would have thought back in his hometown that the fifth and youngest son of the Corrado family (a child they definitely couldn’t afford) would be traveling the civilized world, meeting noble men and women, and sleeping in beds which probably had a longer history than his family line? In a way he was glad his parents sent him to the seminary. He missed them sometimes but knew well that his life would have been miserable if he stayed with them. Then again, who knows? Maybe he would somehow get richer, maybe he would find a nice girl and…

“Yes, Gianna used to say a lot of the girls think I’m handsome” he spoke aloud as if to comfort himself. The lady working in the kitchen even gave him a free meal today, although he’d prefer if she called him ‘handsome’ instead of ‘cute’.

And that was what truly lay behind his doubts - women. Some basic part of him was **** to taste the unknown fruit which was now forbidden to him. The older clergymen used to tell him to avoid women, especially the beautiful ones, for celibacy was easier when one had few opportunities to end it. The young cleric found it most difficult to obey his tutors since he adored the sight of comely ladies and could not stop thinking about what it would be like to touch their soft bodies. What it would be like to…

“Oh, I’ve got to stop thinking about such things. God looks with favor on the chaste.” That was what he had been taught and he had repeated this over the years like a mantra.

Women… Fortunately (or unfortunately) enough, he always seemed to trip over his own feet, stutter, blush, and generally make a fool out of himself in their presence, therefore he preferred to keep his distance from the prettier ones. Bishop De Luca however, even though he was supposed to be Sandro’s spiritual guide, was a completely different matter. The old letch loved to surround himself with beautiful young women and groped them whenever he thought no one was looking. But Sandro was sharp and often knew more about his surroundings than others would ever suspect. Sometimes he wondered if peeping and eavesdropping was a mortal sin. He never confessed it and had no intention of doing it anytime soon.

Now, after unpacking what seemed like enough robes to dress the whole Vatican (the bishop’s luggage, of course), the boy wanted nothing but some well-deserved rest. He needed an afternoon nap so he would have the strength to explore the castle later. A residence this old and with so many noble visitors was bound to hold countless secrets and Sandro was keen on revealing them, if only for himself.