The Cathedral by James Ellis

Costya laid prostrate on the Cathedral's floor; his ear pressed against the cold, stone slab. For hours he laid in silence, undisturbed. No one entered the beautiful building which housed a belief that had been dead in his country for decades. He was the only one; beside the vicar, who would occasionaly adjust a candle or dust the pulpit. The vicar was curious of Costya's motive initially, but soon decided that being concerned with others is not his job. Costya's motive was simple; he wanted to hear the Voice of God. The reason he sought the Voice of God in the Cathedral was not because of the Cathedral's holy reputation, but because it provided him with a solitary refuge.
However, just as Costya felt as if his goal was about to be attained, the boys choir entered with thunderous footsteps and crude jokes galore. Before being noticed by these creatures of malevolence, Costya slipped behind the pews and made a swift exit out of the Cathedral. Patiently waiting outside on the Cathedral steps was Perez. Costya walked straight past Perez with out speaking or looking at him. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Costya finally called out "Come Perez!" and the dog ran towards him with tongue out and tail wagging.
As Costya walked home, he past by a book store. On display in the window was a copy of "Diary of Anne Frank." Costya walked by, but he could sense Anne's haunted stare penetrating the back of his skull. He remembered that her diary was the first book read to him by his sister. He was only about six then, but he remembers Anne vividly. She was was so intelligent and pretty; he wanted to see her, to hear her talk. But as his sister concluded the book, she explained that Anne Frank lived a long time ago and was killed by the Nazis. Costya cried when he heard that, but he did not cry now. Costya tried to remember what stemmed his tears seven years ago; how could he have possibly stopped crying? He remembered how he wanted to build a time machine to go back in time and save her. He spent hours laying beneath the wet garden wall, drawing his time machine but never knowing what his first step must be. It was his dream and her hope. For months he could hear Anne's voice calling to him in his dreams, "Help me Constantine!" But he couldn't. He realized such a thing was impossible. Costya remembered all this and ran home. Perez ran after him.