Budapest

When James and Isabelle woke in their room in Budapest’s Castle District, the rosy light glowed through the curtains and greeted them.

James rolled over close to Isabelle and put his arm over her body.

“We have a lot to see today,” he whispered

With her eyes still closed, she mouthed the word, “Yes”.

With that, they fell back asleep.

****************

James and Isabelle entered holy trinity square as the afternoon sun shone directly overhead and lit up the pavement. Directly ahead, they saw a stately church that beckoned them with its brown spires and circled stain glass window.

“I love old churches,” Isabelle murmured and squeezed James’ hand, leading him toward the edifice.

“Let’s see what’s inside!”

They walked up the steps and through the arched doorway. The inside of the church reminded Isabelle of the Kirk and her childhood spent sitting next to her father in quiet prayer as the choir sang
Christ have mercy, Father have mercy, Christ have mercy on us…

The stone work was carved out into lines that crisscrossed along the arched ceiling and there were candles burning on the prayer altar.

They walked to the front of the church and sat in one of the pews. The cathedral quietly echoed whispers from people leaving the church and walking around looking at the statues and stained glass.

Isabelle looked down at her hands as they sat there.

“What’s wrong?”

“This place reminds me of my Dad,” she said.

“Do you want to light a candle for him?” asked James.

James led Isabelle over to the altar and handed her a votive and as she held it, he lit a match on a flame from one of the candles. Slowly, he lit the candle as Isabelle looked down at it. A tear fell from her cheek into the votive holder. Her hands shook as she placed the candle on the altar.

“What do you remember?” James whispered as he led her back to the pew.

“ I remember how much he loved God and I can feel him here. I know his spirit is still so alive and sometimes I…I talk to him when I am alone. I believe he hears me. He loved to talk about the mysteries of life and never made me feel like I was too young to understand them. We talked about why God exists and why he might not exist…that maybe there is a little bit of his presence in every higher being. I loved him because he was open and he didn’t judge people based on assumptions. He got to know them first. I want so much to be like that…I want to make him proud.” she choked.

James sat with her in silence for a long time.

“ I have never been sure that there is a God. There is just so much I don’t understand. I can believe in what science shows us like how the universe is held together or how we got to this point as human beings, “he said.

“Where do you think we go when we die? Do you ever wonder about it?” she asked.

“Yes, I do. I like to think that we go to where those beautiful supernovas are that we have seen pictures of. I like to think we become a part of the colors, get lost in them and our souls feel like they are bubbling from within until we explode into stars. I have always been fascinated by the universe and by the stars.”

“That is so beautiful. I would love to die that way and come back again in the form of a star.”she looked down at his hands.

As they continued to share their ideas she could feel herself letting go and becoming closer to him.

Before long, they realized just how long they had been talking and left the church. Waking through the square they tried to find the direction of the Danube. They walked past buildings and found it flowing below as they looked down.

“I may not have all the answers, but I have a few of them now,” she whispered to James.

“No one has all the answers,” James looked out at the eddying river rush past.