Bewildering Stories welcomes...

Adam Natali

Adam switched from a Music major to Creative Writing at Columbia College, Chicago. Since graduating in 2006 he has published short fiction extensively.

“A Nun and the Afterlife” brings together a skeptic and a believer. The narrator — who may be male or female, it doesn’t seem to matter which — still mourns the death of his brother but doesn’t believe in an afterlife. In fact, the narrator has become a “paranormal investigator,” a kind of ghost-buster, perhaps in the spirit of Harry Houdini.

In a church, the narrator meets the ghost of a nun, who seems to have lost her way to Heaven. She asks him to pray to help her find her way, and the narrator politely does so.

Now wait a minute: a nun has lost her way to Heaven? And she appears right where she knows the narrator will find her? And whom does the prayer really help? Why is the nun really there?

The nun disappears and the narrator concludes: “I wanted to believe that, but I didn’t. But I hoped. I’ve never stopped hoping.” Readers will choose according to their own lights: the narrator’s hope is either gullibility or faith. Which is it? Okay, which does it do: harm or good?

Adam Natali’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Adam. We hope to hear from you again soon and often!