10
Back at my room, I stripped off my clothes and took a long, cold shower, then got dressed in a clean shirt and khakis and drank several glasses of water. Once I was feeling human again, I sat down at the table where I had placed the statue and examined it.
Maybe it was well crafted back when it was made, but now it did not look like much. It was weathered, eroded by dozens of decades exposed to the elements. All the same, it was beautiful in its simple depiction of a woman's love for her child. I sniffed softly. Of course, this was not supposed to be just any child, or just any woman. But there were countless renditions of Madonna and Child in the world. Why was this one so important?
I turned the statue around on the table. To my eye, it still gave off a soft glow. But as I looked m
