Inkling_2026_Digital - Flipbook - Page 13
the boy could never have brought himself
to wish harm upon his father. Even so,
his father unexpectedly passed and the
boy experienced the grief he had feared
for so long. The boy was left alone and
confused. He knew he had to 昀椀nd the
monastery, but his father hadn’t yet
revealed its location before he passed.
The boy wandered for a time, but he
昀椀nally came upon the monastery, only to
昀椀nd that the abbot had given the room
saved for him to another. And so, the boy
was left to starve.”
The room has fallen strangely silent,
and all I can do is pray the silence is
contemplation, and not some form of
unspeakable rage. Though, knowing me,
the latter is the likely.
“Formosus is that abbot, and I place his
judgment in your hands. A sin remains
heinous even after death, and counsellors
are judged to the greatest extent.” Pope
Stephen had asked me to deliver that 昀椀nal
sentence, and I sense now that he had
chosen the right words.
I meet Gisela’s eyes again, and she gives
me the slightest of nods, the anxiety in
her expression fading away. Then, to my
surprise, she’s the 昀椀rst one to carry a
request: “Pope Formosus belongs in the
hands of Pope Stephen!”
Beside her, her father, Berengar, ruler of
the north, voices his approval. His voice
opens the 昀氀oodgates, and incredibly, the
people of Italy cry for justice. Justice for
the starving boy. Justice for me.
Then Pope Stephen raises his arms, and
the crowd immediately drops into silence.
“No Pope is Formosus!”
No Pope is Formosus.
Mya is the 2nd place
winner in the Short Story
category for this year’s
Teen Writing Contest.
INKLING 2026 | 13
