Deliver Me Safely - Serenity's Story

Serenity tells the stoy of how she became possessed, and how the plague wrecked avoc on Europe.

Serenity’s Story

Student Choice

 

      The demon had so much control over me. I fought for it, but succeeded little; though I did in fact have some freedom when he needed to rest. He had a name, and I remember it well. It was Jarai. The name stuck in my mind forever. I feared it, I feared him. For I knew what things he could’ve done to me if I dared to disobey him.

      It happened about a year before the Black Death struck. As I wandered around the forest that was very close to my house, I came upon a small boy deep inside the cramped trees. The boy looked quite distressed, looking about in fear with every noise that echoed through. Being the good-hearted girl that I was, I advanced toward him.

      “Little boy,” I said softly, and knelt down to his level, “you are lost, aren’t you? Do you want me to help you find your way home?”

      The boy looked up at me. Suddenly the fearful look in his eyes turned hostile, a wicked grin formed over his lips.

      “You’ll do just fine,” he said.

      His voice was deep and demonic. Before I could retort, the body of the little boy faded in a black mist, and in that same mist, the tall and stony figure of Jarai appeared. His body like black ice, talons on his hands and feet, and wide wings. A malicious glint in his emerald eyes, a smile with protruding sharp teeth. Struck with fear, I could not move or even breathe for what seemed like an eternity. He took this chance to merge our souls together. But I didn’t know any of this had happened, because I had fallen into a deep, dark sleep.

 

      When I awakened, Jarai had vanished and a small glint of light flickered in my eyes. It was apparent to me that I had been dreaming; I probably had been wandering around in the dark too long. But something so horrible could be a dream? Only possibly. I decided not to think anything more of it and made my way back home. My mother was in hysteria when I walked in the door.

      “Serenity! Oh, dear God! You were out all night, I began to fear you’d been taken!” she cried, hugging me tight.

      “I’m fine, Mother.” I assured.

My father scolded me a little while later. I guess I deserved it. At least he didn’t beat me.

      There was a pain in my chest that wouldn’t go away for days. I had begun to believe I’d fractured something. But when my mother had a doctor examine me, all was fine. The doctor couldn’t conclude what was causing me pain, but advised I not do too much work and eat regularly; the usual recommendation. I thought nothing of it; surely it would’ve gone away soon. The pain did subside, but then more bizarre things began to happen.

      A creepy, familiar voice filled my head. I hoped I was just hallucinating. But if I was, then there was something seriously wrong with me. Because I had this fear of being labeled or worse imprisoned for witchcraft, I said nothing to anybody. That voice followed me relentlessly, tempting me to do sinful deeds and mocking me when I did something wrong. This kept up for months, and I thought any day I would crack. But, I never did; I just jkept my composure whenever I needed to. And when I was alone, I’d sit in the corner of the room, fearing the shadow across from me, begging for it to leave me be.

      “The fear is just beginning.” He told me.

      After a short while I had figured out that the event that took place months before had really happened. And that Jarai had possessed me.

 

      If I said anything to the Church about my possession, I knew they would mistake it for witchcraft and have me burned at the stake. My parents would never believe me, and if they did, they would seek the Church’s help. If I told my friends, they would confront my parents, who would them ask the church for help. So, I couldn’t do any of the above. There was no hope in my mind that I could expel Jarai from my body alone. I was lost… To make things worse, a merciless plague was wreaking havoc on all of Europe. No place was spared, and it seemed that France, my home country, was in the worst conditions. My parents died within a few weeks; my father went first, then my mother. I remember my mother’s last words to me.

      “God will not abandon you.”

      I prayed those words were true, because there was nothing to comfort me now but the invisible love of God.

      “I’m sure you have something to do with all this.” I said, feeling angered and brave as I watched my best friend’s lifeless body being hauled out of the city.

      Jarai replied, “Of course I do.”

He told me everything; his plans and his reasons for bringing up the pest.

      The plague was a kind of decoy to make mass hysteria throughout Europe. He knew the Church would be tested, and put countless men and women to death for witchcraft. Jarai told me that he would make everyone I knew and did not know believe I truly caused it. I figured that all of this was just to bring blood and death upon the land, so evil will overpower the good. In my own belief, I was sure he was just going to have me burned for his own amusement, and move on and do the same thing to someone else after. But I didn’t know until much later that his intentions were far more complex than I could imagine.

 

      As anyone would imagine, I was quickly imprisoned after I fled home. It was like the authorities were following me. Though I was sure Jarai was at fault for that. So there I was, locked in a jail cell for a whole year. I literally had never left that cell once I was inside it. The conditions were horrible. I had to go to the bathroom on the floor, and I had to sleep on the cold tone floor. The guards came in regularly to beat me, whether it was because I was a witch or because I was just there. I hated it so much; I wish I would just die already. Why wouldn’t Jarai just have me burned?

      It didn’t matter to me anymore, because then a new man came into my life. His name was Leon, and he had come to see me of all people. When we met eyes for the first time, my heart skipped a beat. His gaze, unlike everyone else’s, was soft and curious. I didn’t know why I had been feeling the way I did. And I got the courage to tell him that he was evil. I wasn’t specific, so Leon wouldn’t immediately understand who I was talking about. It wouldn’t have been wise of me to give away everything at the one moment. Overtime, I was sure that everything would come to surface...