A Neat Mess

14.The Devil's Ominous Kiss

Paranoia isn't a guest who visits briefly and then departs. It lingers, initially making only short appearances. If it finds a favourable environment, it slowly becomes more entrenched until it is a permanent fixture in one's life. 

Some people with paranoia might uncover a cheater, a thief, or even a murderer; they could avert global financial crises. Others, however, may end up in a mental hospital or prison, having harmed innocent people.

It was after eight thirty when Sam walked upstairs to bring down her phone and see what Jenna and Lucille were doing in her room. It was about time for Jenna to sleep. Well, technically. Sam was walking on her tiptoes so they wouldn't hear her approaching. She stopped behind Jenna's bedroom door and tried to listen to their conversation.

"...But this one is a very good one too," Lucille said.

"The king's story, I want the king's story, you promised," Sam could recognise from Jenna's voice that she had her thumb in her mouth.

"Alright," Lucille continued. "The king of Persia was a very kind and just man."

"From the kissing part," Jenna interrupted, with an irritated voice. Sam found it cute that Jenna wanted Lucille to skip to the romantic part of the story; she also wanted to hear what that story was too, so she kept on listening behind the door.

"It had been a while after the new chef who actually was the devil himself, started cooking in the palace, and the king was so delighted and in love with all the flavours in the foods which he had never tasted before. So he wanted to know who that amazing cook was, and to reward him." Sam could hear rapid movements and the sound of the bed's springs; Jenna was now jumping up and down on the bed out of excitement.

Lucille stopped. "Back to bed, Jenna," she instructed.

"NO!" Jenna shouted.

"I won't tell you the story then, until you lie down."

"I want Aggie then," Jenna threw a tantrum.

"Aggie is in the shop," Lucille replied. Then she gave up and continued, "The chef appeared to the king, and for his reward, he only wanted to..."

Jenna clapped and interjected, "Kiss the king's shoulders." Sam could tell Jenna had her thumb in her mouth. She wondered what kind of strange fairy tale this was.

Lucille continued, "That night the king had a very bad dream and was in so much pain and fever. The next morning he got very, very sick, and then... two very big black snakes grew from his shoulders, from exactly where the devil pretending to be a chef had kissed him."

Sam's ear was still pressed to the door, couldn't believe what she was hearing.  

Lucille continued. "When doctors couldn't find any cure for this odd disease, the devil turned himself into a doctor this time, and appeared to the king again. He told the king that if he wanted to live, every day they had to cook the brains of two young men and feed them to the snakes."

Sam's eyes went as wide as possible. She couldn't wait even a second longer and walked into the room. Jenna was jumping frantically on the bed, and Lucille was sitting next to it and didn't have any book in her hand. They both stopped when Sam walked in.

"Jenna, it is your sleep time now. Lucille, please walk with me."

"...But I was listening to a story," Jenna protested.

"I will have Daddy come up and read from one of your books. I need to talk to Lucille about something."

They walked downstairs and sent Ben back upstairs.

"What were you thinking, telling these scary stories to my daughter before her sleep? No wonder she can't sleep at night."

"She is not scared of anything, and this is the only story she wants to hear. Her books are now too boring for her."

"This is not an appropriate story to tell a child at bedtime anyway. Also, where is it from? Did you make that up?"

"This is one of the ancient Persian stories."

"For children?" Sam asked.

"No, I was studying Persian mythology, and Jenna used to go through my book and look at its pictures. For some reason, she got interested in this one. I resisted for a long time, but although the language is difficult, I realised she had been reading it. You know she is a genius. She knows the story; she loves to hear it over and over again. I was hoping it would bore her, but on the contrary, she got obsessed with the story." Lucille desperately needed Sam to believe she didn't have any other options.

"How many stories of this kind have you told her?"

"Only this one," Lucille replied with a pause.

"Do you have that book here?" asked Sam.

"Not anymore."

"Can you please stop telling these stories to Jenna?"

Sam had a feeling there must be more to it, but she needed more information. Paranoia began to nest into every corner of Sam's thoughts, slowly taking root in her mind.