Write a short story about a medieval monk who reluctantly offers sanctuary to a criminal.
Tobias sighed. He had been transcribing an old Latin text into English for the better part of the day. His eyes were tired, and his back ached. It was getting dark outside; he decided to cease his efforts for the night and begin anew in the morning. Tobias shuffled out of his small writing room and into the church kitchen. He had been a monk with this church for nearly 40 years but had somehow not grown tired of the limited food available to him. He poured himself a bowl of stew, tore off a chunk of bread, and began to eat. The church doors were closed for the night; Tobias planned on eating quickly and going to bed. Halfway through his meal, he heard a great pounding at the church door from the outside. He rushed to the main hall and heard a desperate voice call out, "Sanctuary, sanctuary!" Tobias threw open the door and looked upon a thin, ragged man with tired, sunken eyes. It was typical for churches to offer sanctuary to any who asked for it, even criminals. The years had made Tobias quite cynical, for he had witnessed many individuals claim sanctuary only to attempt to rob the church once inside. Tobias stood in the doorway and asked in a commanding voice why the man needed cover. The man said that he had stolen food to feed his family. He said his family had lost their mother and his wife a week past, and it had been a struggle to bring home enough food to feed his children. That night, he had resorted to stealing bread from a local tavern. The man explained this quickly, his eyes frequently darting over his shoulder as if to look for pursuers. Tobias felt quite stern; he did not typically have much compassion for thieves, given his history with them. But he looked closer into the man's eyes and saw the truth in what he had said. Tobias opened his arms and welcomed the man into the church just as four town guardsmen appeared. They saw the man and pointed, rushing towards the church door. Tobias barred the way, stating that the man was under the protection of sanctuary provided by the church. The guardsmen looked at each. Sanctuary was widely respected in the town, and guards had no recourse. Slowly, they gave up and left.