Pinned Down

Candle

It keeps on happening, for months I have been tortured in my sleep.

A friend from work offered to introduce me to her witch doctor grandmother.
Of all occasion that my friend could invite me, she asked me to come over to her late Uncle's funeral. Her grandmother lives a bit far from my house, but the funeral home on which her late Uncle's wake was held was only 10 blocks away from my workplace. I don't mind going there after our shift is over, if it's the only thing that could ease up with my situation.

After giving the shift report, two my colleagues accompanied me to the meeting place, the funeral home.

A silver-haired tiny lady stands out amongst the crowd. We gazed into each others eyes like we are the people in the room. In that moment I knew who she was already. The old lady approached to my direction and said that I've caught her attention the moment I entered the room.
She said "Angie, is she the one?" Mind you my other coworker was with us too but this elderly lady came to me and said "I can see what happened to you through your eyes. I know that you're in a great trouble" as she pulls her head closely to my face. She added "There's something that has been bothering you but you can't see them hey?"

I burst into tears in a funeral service of someone I don't even know. "Stop crying! My Aunt will think that you're a mistress of my Uncle", my friend said. I know she was just trying to make me stop from crying. But seriously, if I was the wife I would have thought of that too. I couldn't stop crying for an hour.

Considering the fact that Science couldn't explain what was happening to me, I accepted the help of the old lady. I went to her house on a specific day of the week which she said rituals are best to be performed. On my way to the old lady's house, I've been anxiously thinking about what will I find out. I felt as if I will be undergoing a diagnostic exam that involves chants and candles instead of alcohol swabs and needles.

Thursday came.

As I entered the tiny unfurnished shack with walls built with thin plywood and cheap materials. I found my self shaking in fear as to what my fate awaits me. The lady came out from the back of room carrying numerous ritual materials. She laid the candle on the table and went back to get the basin and a pitcher of water. I looked around her humble abode and noticed the amount of cats that this lady owned. How could she able to keep up with nine cats in such a small house?

The cleansing ritual commenced with a Latin prayer followed by lightening of the candle. The lady poured the water to the basin and continued reciting bizarre incantations. She then held the candle around five inches away from the basin filled with water and let the drippings fall freely. The candle wax started to form strange shapes. The water seems like it has its own life as it moves in circles to form the drippings to a figure. I cried in the middle of the ritual as I watch how a the melted candle slowly forms at the bottom of the basin. The old lady didn't move her hands throughout the process. The oil from the candle wax was swirling like someone was stirring it in different directions.

We ended the ritual with a closing prayer, the witch doctor blew the candle out and reached into the basin to get the formed figure. Before she even started talking, my body started to shake as I look at what she was holding. The figure was so detailed and chiseled. Based on her interpretation, the sculpture shows six heads lurking from behind a couch watching a sleeping girl. Those six men are not ghost she said and they all wanted to lay with me. Desiring to take me to their world and be their wife.

"What on earth did I just heard?"
I was having mixed emotions about what I found out. "Why would they want to take me?" I keep on questioning myself.

Grandma gave me a list of instructions to do once I get home. With all honesty, I don't even wanted to go home anymore. My feet felt heavy as I walked out of her house.

I wanted to runaway from my demons, I wish everything would be back to the way it used to be.

On my way home, I was hoping that I would reach my house by the time my dad gets off from work. I don't wanna stay there alone after what the old lady told me.

I stayed outside the house while waiting for the house helper to come home from her errands. I told her about what I learned from my visit to the witch doctor.

I did everything from the list. The lady also gave me an amulet that supposed to keep the entities from coming near me. Everything was well for some time but few days later the entities came back and tormented me once more. This time, they are much more aggressive.

I was transferred to work on a different Nursing Unit. The supervisor held a small get together in a resort outside of the city. I was still distraught about my sleep paralysis encounters at that time but I decided to join them to distract myself. I was able to sleep peacefully in the resort after three exhausting months.

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