The Anointed

By James Borto

For several decades, Father Kako had performed countless pilgrimages to a clandestine sanctuary in the mountains, with the mission of healing sufferers enduring a range of ailments. A great number of the miracle seekers were fortunate enough to experience the phenomena, dozens were not. His latest challenge, a thirty-three-year-old widow named Deanna, suffers from a severely impaired leg. Despite being in excruciating pain, Deanna’s concerns over who would watch her three children and oversee the responsibilities on her farm fuel her steadfast reluctance to venture on the journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Borto
• Release date: Aug 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005255251

James Borto

James Borto has made the Chicago area his home most of his life. He attended NEIU to play football and pursue acting, where he was awarded a theater scholarship. While there, he took a great interest in writing and filmmaking, even transferring to Columbia College briefly to pursue those goals. He attended writing workshops at various academies, including Second City. James worked in advertising as a copywriter for Scott Ross Limited, where he worked on campaigns for Dad's Rootbeer (Monarch Beverages) and Willy Wonka Candies. At the same time, he worked feverishly on a myriad of writing projects, including short stories, poetry and a deluge of screenplays. His work in advertising has been witnessed globally.

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The Anointed

By

James Borto

Far back in his late twenties and for the majority of his thirties, the hallowed pilgrimage scarcely mandated a commitment of four hours. Admittedly, the years had caught up with Father Kako. At seventy-two, factoring in severally diminished paces and lengthy intervals of rest, the hikes were now consuming an entire day. The protracted duration, however, never deterred his resolve. Trudging through minefields of loose rock, scaling the rows of hills and a pair of foreboding mountains was never cause for alarm, angst, or submission, for the white-haired, white-bearded, scrawny priest. The magnitude of his work did well to suppress any concern over his being spotted by the Kurds, the Iraqis, or the Turks. His commitment to God, to the religion inspired by the son of his God, and to his fellow Assyrians, impelled his efforts, whatever was required and whenever. The aches, the exhaustion, the conflicts, only bolstered his fortitude. Oddly enough, he perceived the impediments, as well as any repercussions, as pennants. His contrition was spawned by his inability to defuse the guilt over been granted an extraordinary, infinitely exclusive