I remember my wife an our 3 children had sat down to dinner on that warm August night. My wife, Abby, and I had just bought our new home a week prior and were experiencing bliss in our new, rural abode. It was about a 15 minute drive from our humble little town. “Nothing but peaceful farmland as far the eye can see” I told her the day we moved in, but we could have never imagined the miracle we would experience on that quant bit of land we called our home.
Our 2 daughters, Beth and Emily, were telling us all about their exploration of the property and the beauties it had to offer, while our youngest, Eddie, was too busy playing with his food to hear what his sisters had to say. “You gonna make mash out of that potato or eat it” I expressed in admonishment to my boy. “I’m sorry, Papa” he responded in trepidation. He was a sensitive child, but one who lacked discipline. Abby always thought I was too hard on him, but I wanted him to grow up strong. She never understood the bond between father and son.
My daughter continued their story as the scratching of silverware against ceramic signaled the meal nearing its end. To my disdain, I found my son letting his mind wander once again as he glared off into the distance. I stood up with every intention to intervene on my boys daydream when I followed his glare to the front window in astonishment. Just outside, a dim light came from the field beyond us as it grew closer.
One by one, we all began to take notice as we stood from the dinner table. I ushered my family behind me as we made our way to the front door. My rifle was locked away in my safe and the light was moving quickly. I reached for the baseball bat standing upright next to the door. I took a deep breathe and reached for the handle. The creaking of the hinges only unnerved me more as the door swung open and the light was now just beyond the porch.
The bat fell from my hands and bounced against the rickety wooden planks. It was an Angel if I’ve ever seen one. Her beaming white aura matched her pale skin. She was at least 8’ tall with strands of dark hair dangling gracefully from her head. The skin peeling away from her flesh only helped to compliment her sunken eyeholes. She was tortured but beautiful. I dropped to my knees in praise of the lord. My family didn’t understand. Abby screamed in terror as she held our 3 children tight. “Honey, do not fear this creature, as she has been sent by the lord” I exclaimed. My words fell on deaf ears as my daughters began crying and my son attempted to hide behind his mother.
I turned to our blessed savior as her heavy wheezing filled with torment and suffering was overshadowed by the screams of my family. She had been through so much. “Please forgive them, My Family, they know not what gifts you bestow us with your presence” I cried. She stood wheezing between every breath as her skin pulled tightly against her emaciated figure. I could feel my family backing away behind me. I turned to find Beth and Emily wrapped tightly around their mothers waist with Eddie behind Abby as they were slowly making their way for the front door. Abby missed a step and fell backwards, pushing Beth and Sarah to either side away and knocking Eddie to the floor as well.
I grabbed Eddie’s hand as he fought me. He cried to be let go, but this was a chance bond with him as father and son. My girls screamed for me to stop and Abby begged me to let him go, but I wouldn’t allow my son to miss a chance that could change his life. We were interrupted by the Angel as it spoke out before us. It’s language was unfamiliar and it’s voice was otherworldly, but it brought tears to my eyes to hear her speak. She pointed to my boy and I knew in that moment, what must be done. My families cries grew louder and more dire as I ripped my boy away from the grasp of his mother and 2 sisters. Terror blanketed his face as he begged me to let him go. “Don’t let it take me, Papa” he screeched and pleaded through a cascade of tears, but I wouldn’t have it.
My daughters begging me to stop as Abby swung at me attempting to break my grip on our child. I approached the gentle giant and presented my only son as a show of faith, that she may lead him into the light and return him back to us as a man. She reached out, her long pale fingers wrapped around the boys shirt. My son flailed in distress as he tried to loosen her grip and break free. Her head tilted slightly as mouth widened to unnatural grin with tiny sharp teeth filling the spaces in her mouth. She tightened her grip as she turned to make her way back into the field beyond our home. My son screaming for his mother, begging for me to save him, but what he didn’t understand… none of them understood. He was already saved.
The next morning at breakfast it was quiet. Shell shocked from the night previous, my family couldn’t stomach their eggs and bacon. I decided it best not to break the silence. I continued eating blissfully as the birds sang and the slight breeze in the air brought life to the wind chimes just outside. After my breakfast, I decided to rest in the family room with the days newspaper to keep me up to date on everything we were missing way out here. As I finished the headlines and began turning the page, I was interrupted by the bloodcurdling scream of my wife in the backyard. I sprung up and raced outside to see what all the commotion was about.
My wife must have been hanging the washing out back as I began pushing aside sheets and linens to find my wife cradling the severed head of our only son. As my eyes met his, the fear they resonated forced me to look away. The pile of intestines and meat imbedded with teeth marks next to my wife sickened me to my core. I couldn’t bare to see this. The disgust welling up inside me was too much to bare.
I could feel only disappointment in my son.