Altar Boy

When I came out of the closet, my friends divided themselves up into predictable groups: some of them thought I was brave, some didn't care, and some thought I was going to burn in hell for my evil ways.

Surprisingly, though, Father Flanagan, my priest since boyhood, wasn't one of those who wanted to run me out of town.

When I finally opened up to him, I realized that the Father understood my struggle far better than I ever knew…

This short story is roughly 4,200 words long.