THE THREE LIVES OF CHRISTINA THE ASTONISHING (#19)

As Told by the Holy Woman in Her Own Words
A Hundred or So Years after the End of the World

He beckoned me through an open door behind the counter into a big windowless kitchen. Next to a long wooden table whose surface was dusted with flour stood tall metal racks on wheels. Stacked on the racks were trays of pale uncooked loaves. He pointed at a bank of wood-burning ovens on the rear wall. “Put all those trays into the ovens. That takes thirty minutes. Once you’ve finished the last tray, start pulling the first baked loaves out.” He motioned toward the cords of logs stacked against the other wall.  “Keep the ovens stoked with the wood over there.”
I nodded. “Good,” the baker said. “Now get going.”
He went back to the front room and I set to work. It felt wonderfully warm in this bakery kitchen, much warmer than it ever had been inside the Official Orthodox Giver House. Soon it wasn’t just warm, it was hot. I was sweating as I wheeled the racks one by one over to the ovens and stuck the trays in. Just as the baker said, by the time I was done putting them in, the first loaves were ready to come out. I tried using the thick potholders to take out the hot trays full of fragrant loaves, but they were so clumsy and full of holes I switched to my bare hands. My palms hurt like crazy, but I kept at it because this way was faster and also because I secretly wanted to display my indestructible mortal body.

(to be continued tomorrow)