"Take this, all of you, and drink from it.
This is my blood, the blood of the new and
everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you
and for all so that sins may be forgiven."

SANGUIS DOMINI

ACT I: GENESISNothing more or less could be said for the history of a young lad named Roman, whose most exciting story from his years of living was that he migrated from Norway to America, where the dream was said to reside. Father told him it was to honour the way paved by their ancestors in the 1870s, but all little Roman understood was it paved a way for his Father to teach him and his sister, Sarabeth, the meaning of work, sacrifice, service, and obedience out in the state of Utah.The family was a devoted Roman Christian, just like his name, Mother would often say; and hard-working farmers. They ground day and night to produce crops, poultry and dairy products for a living, while never once missing mass or communion at their church. Life was constant, modest, he saw no worth in going against the established practice; or it already became a habit of his, to be more reserved rather than wholly expressive and outspoken like Sarabeth.

ACT II: PSALMSAs someone who doesn't prefer to be confrontational, the unsettling chill adrift through his veins still found himself taking the fall for his little sister whenever she got into trouble; talk of the town called it a curse of the second child, he considered it as a bravery he could never have. Sometimes the price for obedience took too far a toll, children could only bear on their psyche and physique, which was the very reason why he lost the only person he cared about in the family, one fateful night in November, supposedly. She killed herself. She also walked into his room alive two days after, although something felt odd. He asked, only to receive countless murmur of "He is now proud of me" amidst the stream of tears down her cheeks.Roman was devoted. Even so, his logic refused such an intense leap of faith for it left him too many questions about what he previously known, about the normalcy of the universe. Nobody allowed the lad to express his grief nor confusion because time never stops, life just carried on dragging him in its changes. When he was suddenly given all the daytime chores alone without Sarabeth anymore, he didn't argue. At times where he was left alone in the house without knowledge, asking would only lead to problems he despised coming from disobedience to his Father. Estranged had became an embrace of familiarity, a strange sense of sanctuary he always came back to, until the fortuitous death when he overdosed on heroine in the attic.

ACT III: PROVERBS"Well, truly, I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, even if you say to this mountain be taken up and cast into the sea, it will be done. With God, all things are possible,” said Father when he snapped conscious while gasping for air, choked by his own blood and remnants of the drug he abused. It was the resurrection undergone by his Lord, the Saviour, Roman was graced at that very moment by His steadfast love which endures forever, given the chance to repent his many sins.He loathed his inability to press down a carnal desire scorching up his throat when Father cut their Mother for her blood. It would have been a gruesome scene to see himself devour the esse out of insatiable hunger; a guardian angel had became one with him, hereafter.

ACT IV: LAMENTATIONSSecluded wasn't an ideal stance to describe the family on how they continued their inhabitance, but Uintah was lenient. The county almost always had enough of lost immigrants, off-trail hikers, or the homeless. Best conditions didn't often occur, and once in a while, the cattle could suffice for tough times. Abiding routines is easy, the ranch was a sanctuary, if you may—until a surge of reports were brought to public's attention in the 1975. Strange occurrences with no room for logic explanations happened; paranormal sightings, bizarre injuries, cattle mutilation by monsters who left not a single drop of blood in the bovine corpses. The family was careful, so the issue alerted them. Roman thought perhaps there were others like the Magnussons, only with lesser control of themselves. Shit happens, right.1970s national mystery made way for his little sister to embark on her solitary passage. Roman, he had not a dream to pursue nor a thing about adventure. His feet marched to Salt Lake City, where he experienced for the first time, how it was to endure uncertainty on his own. Metropolitan is a foreign concept to him, barely social or knowledgeable. He went to school, working night jobs to put food on his table. One thing about the city was that even with the crowd, he rarely found it easy to consume the esse. Residing to his own could only last for so long before tumbling into lunacy, the main lesson he gained after leaving the westside in its bloody shambles.

ACT V: GOSPELSlowly, it turned into a journey to prove himself. More knowledge he seek, from woodwork in Boulder to uni in Athens, city life in Manhattan to nature reservation in Lake Manitoba, down to serving in Kiev's cathedral and living in Romania solely because the country has his name. It was a white Christmas in Brasov when he got a letter from Sarabeth. Despite distinct annoyance pouring out of the scribbled words, melancholy pulled his senses in. When you live forever, everything else is temporary. All he needed then is an embrace of home, he decided. It was time to call it a day.Roman now lives with Sarabeth in Clifton, the suburb of Bristol. Looking back, the initial plan was to visit, but he likes the slow-paced life, and the family-owned mortuary he chills out in during daylight. He watches over animals in the Bristol Zoo Garden at nights and guide the night safari on chosen weekends. Figuring out what to do next, how about a pet?