THE ACCIDENTAL EXORCIST

THE ACCIDENTAL EXORCIST Part 3

Koehler's office was a living, breathing contradiction. On first glance, it looked like a tornado had struck, hurling books and papers into absolute disarray all over. But upon careful observation, and by his insistence, there was order in the apparent chaos.

White froth from his latte lingered on his unkempt mustache, beneath which a smile emerged. Never one to waste time on trivialities such as grooming, the professor's appearance had always evoked images of a hybrid between Johannes Brahms and Albert Einstein. When he spoke, his shrill voice with a weighty

German accent only solidified the impression. Today was no exception. "Well, well. Abigail Lee, what a pleasure. What's it been, fifteen years?"

"Nine." Seated on the far left side of a worn, red leather couch, Abby reached over to the end table to set her travel mug of Oolong tea down, but there were too many piles of papers held together only by large black binder clips.

"Ah-ah!" Not the manuscripts!" Koehler set his mug down, got up from his desk, slipped his hand beneath the papers and lifted them with the delicate hands of a brain surgeon. He then turned to the left, squinted at a mountain of papers-some bound in clips, others loose-and dropped them into the heap.

Abby grinned. "Was that the order or the chaos?

"Apparent chaos." He sat back down and pushed aside the pile of papers in the center of his desk, like Moses parting the red sea. "Now, let's get to the point, shall we? What is at the heart of your question?"

"I wouldn't have come to you if...." Forming the words in her mind, Abby's cheeks and ears began to warm. By now, she'd ostracized herself among her peers. Had the professor joined in the chorus of ridicule, she would have abandoned this pursuit with her tail between her legs. "Oh, it's so far-fetched!"

Koehler folded his hand together and leaned forward. His bushy grey eyebrows arched up and his eyes brightened with anticipation. "Out with it, already. I haven't got all day."

"Did you look at the case studies I emailed you?"

"Yes. Intriguing analysis." Then his face became awash with concern. He lowered his voice and peered over the rims of his gold wireframe glasses. "You didn't share your thoughts with your peers, did you?"

All at once, Abby was the young doctoral student, sinking into her chair under the scrutiny of her professor. "Yes. A few."

"With whom, might I ask?"

"Madden, Svetlanova, Thom-"

"Ach! You didn't!"

Innocently, Abby nodded.

"I hope they are not in any position of influence or power in your current career."

"No, sir."

"Your personal life?"

"Thankfully, not."

"Gut! Sehr Gut! However, you have most likely lost their respect."

She lowered her gaze in concession. Then, to Koehler, she looked with hope. "But not yours, Professor?"

"Nein." A paternal smile/frown. "Now, sans fear and self-consciousness. Tell me what you are thinking."

With a deep breath, she sat up tall and went over each of her case studies, their commonalities and references to exorcism. Koehler never said a word, just shut his eyes, listening, nodding, hemming and hawing.

"So, what I want to know is, could it be that there is some possibility of paranormal involvement?"

Abby swallowed hard, almost regretting the question.

Koehler opened his eyes, gazed straight into hers. "Traditionally, matters of science and religion do not mingle well."

This was it. He had heard her out, indulged her because of his patience. But now, he would make his pronouncement and Abby would lose the confidence of the last person who seemed to respect her professionally.

"Let me ask you something, my dear Abigail."

"Yes?"

"How much faith have you in science-all its theories, laws and concepts?"

"Well, I-"

"Ah-ah! Wait! Before you answer rashly, consider the question carefully. I asked how much faith do you have in science. Faith. Because whether you are the Pope, or Nietzsche, it all comes down to faith."

"I don't understand. What about you? "

Judging by the surprised smile on his face, the professor must have been pleasantly surprised by the challenge. "I thought you would have known by now. I am-"

Somewhere, the phone rang, muffled no doubt by piles of papers, periodicals or God only knew what, under which it must be buried. He grumbled in German and held up a finger. "A moment, please."

Digging through his piles of ordered chaos, the professor threw loose sheets into the air, kicked aside a mountain of textbooks and finally blurted out, "Ach!"

The phone's ring, and old-fashioned physical bell, grew instantly louder when he exhumed the handset, its curly black wire pulling taut. "Guten tag." He continued to speak in German in hushed tones, but said little besides, "Jah, Jah, and nein."

Finally, he returned. "My daughter Helga in Leipzig. Her son is in what you Americans call the terrible two's. She usually does all the talking, and then figures it out for herself."

"I see." He probably wished Abby would do the same. "So, professor. Are you a man of faith?"

He stood, one hand holding the lapel of his brown tweed blazer and puffed out his chest. "But of course."

"Lutheran, Catholic?"

"I'm a devout atheist."

"Devout?"

"Oh jah. I daresay I have as much faith in my beliefs as the most rabid zealot, and the most learned theologian. Perhaps more."

"But, you're an atheist."

"It's all a choice, if one is to be perfectly honest. Because we cannot know anything with absolute certainty. We can only believe. So we must choose judiciously. I choose to believe there is no God, no heaven, no Hell." He wagged his eyes mischievously. "Und I damned well better be right, eh?"

"I never thought of it that way."

He came over and sat on the far end of the couch opposite of Abby, then spoke into the open space between them. "Faith is not what you profess to believe. Rather, it is that which you believe enough to live by, and act upon. That said, far be it from me to influence you one way or another. I have great respect for people of all faiths, and fully concede that in the final analysis, I could be wrong."

"A bold statement for someone as self-assured as you."

"I'm only being honest with myself. Nevertheless, whatever faith I chose, I must live with conviction and refuse to doubt. That is, after all, the essence of it, nein? So, what do you believe?"

Abby thought about it quietly for a while. She believed in science, but she was not entirely ready to abandon her childhood beliefs, even though they had been irrelevant to her until recently. "I'm just not sure if science necessarily excludes things of a spiritual nature. There's not enough definitive proof for one to discount the other. But if I, like my colleagues, dismiss the very notion of demons and exorcisms without fully examining them, am I anything more than a flat-earther?"

Koehler stood up. The leather coach squeaked dully. He extended his hand, which she took, stood and shook-a gesture which meant the session was over. "Doctor Lee, I believe you have found your answer."

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More to come! Don't forget to vote, add, and comment, if you like.

Thanks for reading,

Josh