The Convent

Charlotte woke with a gasp, her heart beating erratically in her chest and her breaths ragged and shallow. She was covered in a cold sweat and she was shaking all over. This was the fifth time this week and every time the dreams were more intense than the last. She lay in the darkness of her room, thinking about her dreams and wondering what was causing them. Each time she woke the dreams seemed to fade, leaving behind only fragments of images that left her weak and aching with an indescribable need deep inside her.  She turned onto her side and closed her eyes and eventually she fell asleep. 

The next day Charlotte was busy with her chores in the convent, leaving her with no time to think about her dreams. In the evening as she was leaving the chapel, Sister Ann, caught up to her outside. 

"Charlotte, are you ok?", she asked, studying her with concern in her eyes. 

"Of course, Sister Ann, I'm fine", Charlotte replied. 

"You seem a little tired lately. Are you getting enough sleep?"

"It's nothing, just bad dreams. I'll be fine", Charlotte smiled reassuringly, not wanting to worry the nun.

"Very well but if you need to talk about it, don't hesitate to come find me", Sister Ann patted her arm as she walked away. 

Charlotte had been a baby when she was abandoned on the steps of the convent and the nuns had raised her like she was their own. Turning eighteen five days ago, Scarlett had lived inside the convent all her life and had never set foot outside its walls.  She had beautiful green eyes and silky black hair reaching to her waist. Her pale skin was smooth and clear and although slender in built, she had a voluptuous figure. 

Walking back to her room, a figure dressed in a habit came rushing towards her, "Charlotte! I have something for you"

It was Sister Lucille, one of the younger nuns, who had been posted here three years ago but she had become one of Charlotte's closest friends. Now she held out her hand to give Charlotte a chocolate bar as they both smiled mischievously at each other. Making their way to a wooden bench in the garden, they sat down and shared the chocolate bar. 

"Thank you Sister Lucille, that was delicious", Charlotte smiled contentedly and leaned back to look up at the sky. 

"It was, I've been saving it all day", Sister Lucille sighed. 

They sat in comfortable silence for a while before Charlotte, turned to Lucille and asked, "Have you ever been outside of.....you know?"

"You mean outside of the convent? Sure, I wasn't born in the convent, I lived a normal, secular life before I joined", Lucille answered. 

"What was it like?"

"Well it's different, you know, like everything moves so quickly and people are always so busy so sometimes it can be pretty lonely "

"Busy doing what?", Charlotte questioned. 

"Busy working, busy raising their children, busy making money, just....busy....."

"Do you ever want to go back?"

"Sometimes but.....I'm happier here. Why do you ask?", Lucille looks at her curiously. 

"No reason, just curious. I better get to sleep, I'll see you tomorrow ", Charlotte quickly gets to her feet and heads to her room. 

Later that night as Charlotte is lying in bed, thinking about her conversation with Lucille, she wonders if she might be able to go outside the convent walls. Just to see what it looks like and why so many people prefer it to this life. Maybe she could ask Lucille, they are friends after all, the more she thinks about it, she makes up her mind to speak to her. 

Some time later after Charlotte has fallen into a deep sleep, she begins to dream. Her eyelids flutter and beads of perspiration form on her brow and across her top lip while thin rivulets of sweat run down her neck into her nightgown. She moans softly and turns her head while her body writhes slowly under the covers. Her hands are at her sides, clutching at the sheets and pulling them down, leaving her chest exposed. From the light shining through the window, her taut nipples are clearly visible through the thin cotton of her nightgown. She moans again and lifts her knees, parting her legs and pushing her feet against the mattress. Her breathing is heavy and loud in the small room as her movements become more fervent. 

Suddenly she jolts awake and sits up in her bed, chest heaving as she tries to catch her breath. Her mind is reeling from her dream, with disjointed images of skin moving against skin and the sounds of something wet and slippery. She can still hear the sounds of moaning and groaning in her ears and the memory causes her to blush. She sits up and looks around the room before lying back down, her eyes wide awake and staring up into the darkness. 

It's the sixth night this week and the dream seemed more vivid......more real as if it was actually happening to her. She pulled the covers up over her chest, realizing how tight her nipples were as they rubbed against her nightgown. There was a warm wetness between her thighs that she tried to ignore as she rolled onto her side and squeezed her legs together. The now familiar ache washed over her in waves until eventually subsiding. 

Having grown up in the convent Charlotte had never been taught about men and women and the things that happened between them. There were men who came to the convent to deliver supplies and carry out maintenance but she had very little interaction with them. Even the priests who came from time to time hardly spoke to her unless it was in greeting. But after the dreams had started, she found her thoughts straying to the opposite gender more and more. 

She couldn't understand why she kept seeing things that she didn't know about in her dreams. Maybe she could ask someone, find out if this was a normal part of growing up and if  it would eventually pass. She thought about talking to Mother Superior but just the sight of the old nun's piercing gaze changed her mind. What if this wasn't normal? Would she be punished? Could she really trust confiding in someone who might later reveal her secret?

Charlotte lay in bed thinking for a long time before she finally fell asleep again but by then the sky had begun to grow lighter and the birds were singing outside.