Demoni

9

"Ralph?" Tommy started to run up the stairs. I followed him. Tommy checked mama and papas room since it was the largest and I checked my room. No one was in there. I checked Ralphie's room. No one in there either. That left Amelia's room last, and it was terrifying not knowing what might be in there.

I stepped in slowly. "Ralphie?" I looked around, and then realized I had become oblivious. The window glass was shattered. "Ralphie!" I screamed rushing to the window pane. He was dangling by his two little hands from window. "Tommy!" I called, trying to pull Ralph up. Tommy ran in, looking frightened. "What?!" I pulled Ralphie harder. Tom walked over to the side of me and looked down at Ralphie dangling over the creek below us. "Oh my God." He said in shock. He grabbed Ralphie's hand and tried pulling him up. When Ralphie finally flipped over the window sill, I flipped out of the house. Tommy tried to pull me up, but I felt something kick my fingers. I let go and fell into the creek.

There's tons of beautiful beaches in Italy. Mama and Papa never had enough money to learn how to swim as children, so neither did we. It would've been a useful skill in a situation like this. So at the point where I was being dragged under the water by someone else's hand and pushed down the creak by the current of deep water, It wasn't clear whether I was drowning or being drowned by someone else. Every chance my head was over the surface of the river, I was coughing up the water so I never had enough time to actually breathe. The hand was cold and the nails were sharp, I was sure I'd die.

I felt someone wrap their fingers around my wrist, and almost rip my arm out of its socket. But they did manage to pull me up. I crawled onto the dirt and coughed up all the creek water filling my lungs. I wiped my hair out of my face and looked up. No one was there. In back of me, Tommy was running outside. He dove onto the soil next to me. "Aleece, can you breathe?" I nodded. The only question stuck to the side of my brain was "who pulled me up?"

I went inside and took a shower while Tommy watched over things for a bit. It had basically been 2 days since I had gotten more than an hour of sleep. I got dressed and napped on my bed for about five minutes, dreading the fact I'd have to get up and protect my house. Anything I do after this point is for my family and my brother's and my sister's future.

I opened my eyes, and I was at the top of the steps. I fell forwards, but my reaction was quick. I swung my body back and fell behind the stairs. I walked down, assuming I was just sleep walking. I'd never done that before. "Hey guys." I said hopping off the last step. Tommy turned around. "Hey pretty smile." He said. He walked over to me and made sure that none of my siblings could hear would he was about to say. Too afraid it would scare them to death. "Are you okay, because what ever this thing is, it wants to hurt you. I hate to frighten you, but I can't lie to you." I nodded. "Did you pull me out of the water out there?" I asked. He shook his head no. That was the hardest to comprehend. If he didn't pull me up who did? Why would any evil spirit pull me out? It was just impossible.

"I've wanted to show you something Aleece, I found it while we were looking for Ralph." I nodded. He grabbed my hand and ran up the stairs. He walked into my parents room. I followed him to the back corner of the room. He opened the closet door. There was this huge shelf under this white sheet. He ripped the sheet off. On the shelf there was little figurines of the crucified man I had seen I the church, Big books labeled "Christ stories" and "bibles," and a bunch of other necklaces and cards for saints. "Tell me about The crucified man, Tommy." I felt ashamed and retarded at the same time. "His name was Jesus. He was a man who Catholics and Christians believed died for our sins." He said. I was happy he wasn't phased by my question and little knowledge of religion. Mama said I could choose my religion, but she didn't care. Just because my parents didn't believe in God, didn't mean they worshipped evil. It made me wonder why things like this would happen to us. Tommy told me more about Jesus. His whole story. His mom, his dad, his journeys; all of it.

In that moment it became clear to me that not only did Jesus sacrifice his life for me, he saved me in that water. He showed me that there was still hope for my family. With that kind of faith, there was no way I'd give up