Feeling protected within the cloud-like veil, Anna lifted her eyes to peek out at the circle of women. Living in her separate cave, she rarely found herself among them. Much less among them unclothed. Across the way, she spotted Shereen. The curls of her cinnamon hair spilled like water over her shoulders. Beneath, her breasts hung like soft fruits. Below these lay the gentle curve of her belly and the dark fur hovering in the valley of her hip bones. Anna marveled at her sheer beauty. She dropped her eyes when a gush of heat rose into her cheeks. Forced to look down at her own body, she felt the familiar shame at its inadequacy. Hers exhibited none of the lushness of the other women’s bodies. Nor the soft, lilting grace. Hers, by contrast, was a lanky affair of angles and sharp edges.

But it was not just Anna’s physical appearance that made her feel uncomfortable. It was also the women’s ways—their gentle aura, their intimacy with one another, and the ease of their spirits—that turned Anna’s mind back to how she had felt as a child. To her strong sense of not being able to relate to other girls. And of being somehow different.

Women possess a gracefulness in their being that I do not. And that I could never imagine possessing.

As she was thinking this, Anna felt someone’s eyes upon her. She turned and found Ruth seated nearby, watching her. She tipped a knowing nod. Anna froze.

Had Ruth been reading her thoughts?

Ruth leaned forward as if she might say something when another woman stepped through the door. Anna looked up and caught the eyes of Sister Joan.

Two Sisters scooted over to clear a space. “Here, Sister!” they called.

When Joan sat on the stone bench, the silence returned. Only punctuated by the hiss of water drops hitting hot coals.

After some time the women began chatting with one another in hushed tones. Their talk seemed easy and light, laced with laughter.

Feeling awkward in her body, Anna did not wish to speak with anyone. Watching the others mingle freely, she felt the sudden urge to leave. When her eyes cut to the doorway, Ruth spoke up.

“Everyone, I would like to welcome Anna to her first Cloud Bath,” she said.

The entire chamber fell silent. One by one, the women turned toward the shepherd.

Stunned by the sudden attention, Anna’s ears began to ring. Loudly.

“We most certainly have much for which to be grateful to our shepherd, do we not?” one of the Sisters said.

“Yes, to be sure. For she has brought much bounty to our lives,” several voices chimed.

Then Sister Joan spoke. “And I truly believe our well-being is enhanced by her presence,” she said.

Anna cast her eyes down in disbelief.