Devil Incarnate (On Hiatus)

Chapter 4

 I wake up to a bright white room with a million sounds banging on my eardrums all at once. I squeeze my eyes closed to try to prepare myself for my senses being bombarded before I open my eyes again. Before I open my eyes, I hear my dad's voice near my face, "Marie? Are you awake?"

I finally open my eyes to see his blurry face looking down at me. I blink a couple of times before his face comes into focus.

"Oh, thank God Almighty!" he exclaims. "The doctors said you hyperventilated and then fainted."

I looked up at him confused. "Hyperventilated? That's never happened to me before." I say, with a slight tremble in my voice.

"They think it was a combination of your asthma, the fact that you ran to get to church, and they also mentioned something about a panic attack. But I don't believe that the panic attack stuff was real." he says while stroking stray hairs from my face. "If you know God, then mental illness is nothing but a lie the devil whispers in your ear." he ends with a chuckle.

I just nod back at him. I can't believe that, in this day and age, he still believes that mental illness is a myth. I couldn't believe that he would dismiss something that the doctor told him with such ease. I heard about other kids that had panic attacks and I know how much of a daily struggle it is to deal with them, even with supporting parents and endless resources. I start to feel my breath catch in my throat. I ask my dad if he could go get me some water.

"Sure thing!" he replies with a smile, "But don't go anywhere while I'm gone." And with that, he heads out to the hallway to go fetch me a glass of water.

My anger toward him starts bubbling up. How could he be so dismissive of something that could potentially cause serious health problems for me? What if I had hit my head earlier today after I passed out. This anger then spills over into fear. How will I get through the rest of high school, or even the rest of my life, just waiting for my next panic attack and knowing that I will receive no help from doctors or professionals because my dad doesn't believe in this. How will I deal if I have a panic attack in front of my dad and he blames it the devil and tells me to keep faith in God?

I start to realize that it is getting harder to breathe and I am starting to get lightheaded. I walk into the hallway to try to catch my breath. As I'm bent over in front of my hospital room, something catches my eye from down the hall. I look up and see crazy Anne standing at the end of the hall. She looks me in the eye and beckons me over. At first I am hesitant to go over to her because my dad asked me to not leave the room. She continues to wave me over until I give up and decide that taking a walk down the hall won't kill my dad.

As I walk toward her, I realize that my breathing is starting to steady. I guess I just needed some fresh air after all. When I reach her she flashes me a smile before she cups her hands around her mouth and whispers into them, "Deleo hanc maledictionem."

She then moves her cupped hands in front of her and blows through her fingers into my face. I immediately feel a weight lift off of my chest. I take a deep breath in and out and I look up at her.

"Woah! How did you do that?" I say, in wonder. "Are you trained to help people during panic attacks."

She lets out a deep chuckle. "My dear Marie Laveau, that wasn't a panic attack and you know it. I apologize for my granddaughter's insolence earlier. Best believe that she will be punished for doing that to you. But I warned you of the coming danger and you should heed my warning. I'm not going to warn you again. Everything you need to protect yourself can be found in your mother's belongings."

What is this woman talking about? Before I could ask her any of the many questions swirling around my head I heard my dad call my name from the end of the hall. I turn and see him looking angrily at me, holding a pitcher of water and some paper cups. I seriously contemplate whether I should run out of the hospital because I would rather have to fend for myself on the streets than listen to my dad lecture me again.

I look back at him again and I can see that he is growing impatient so I start to walk towards him. Before I reach the room, I look over my shoulder to see if crazy Anne is still there but she had disappeared. I know that I am going to get an earful when I enter the room so I take a deep breath and walk in.

"What on God's green earth possessed you to go out there and talk to that woman? She has a bad reputation and I don't want her associated with you, me, or the church!"

Of course he found a way to make this about the church. I know that if I say anything, that I would say it out of anger and regret it, so I simply grab the pitcher of water and a cup out of his hands and go to sit down on the hospital bed. He knows that that is the end of that, so he lets out a huff goes to sit down in the nearest chair. God, why are parents such babies.

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