Exorcizing

Demons

By

Timothy Bryson

 Exorcizing Demons

Darkness entices the broken. It worms and slithers into the soul, not all at
once, but over time. Its tentacles reach out, wrap around the soul and slowly

squeeze life’s light out of it until only darkness remains. Aaron awoke this

morning simply knowing brokenness now ruled his life. No more light

remained in him, or at least that was how he felt. Although he had no idea how
he had gotten to such a pitiful state, he could not ignore the truth of it. His

existence had already caused a lot of damage to himself and others, leaving all

of his important relationships (friends and family) in chaos.

Chaos, an interesting word, meaning complete disorder, confusion,

disarray, mayhem, bedlam, pandemonium, havoc, turmoil, upheaval…

maelstrom. That about covers it, he thought, fully soured to life. Was it even

possible to undo the chaos he had caused?

A couple of weeks ago Aaron found this poem (at least it seemed to be a

poem, although it didn’t rhyme) scrawled with a sharpie on the wall of one of
the boy’s restrooms at school. He had no idea who had written it, but every

day for a week he read it. Then the maintenance crew painted over it. For
some reason those words struck him deep. Now, like an annoying song that

gets stuck in your head, it continued to replay over and over.

The poem went like this:
I have become chaos,
The destroyer of all I love.
Where oh God is the nothingness
In which I can hide?
Where oh God is thy judgment
That will surely come?
Where oh God is the death
That will end my pain?
 That night Aaron found himself sitting at the bottom of the stairs in the
foyer of his home. Hidden in the dark the poem repeated again in his thoughts.

Truth lived in each line of the words. Until recently he hadn’t realized why the
poem resonated with him so completely. The poem was about him, about the

darkness that had engulfed his mind and life. The hallway next to the stairs

led back to the kitchen where his parents were fighting once again about him.

“Every kid goes through some tough teenage stuff now and then,” his dad
protested. “Give him some time to work this out. He’ll find himself soon

enough.”

“I am sick of excuses Tom,” his mom snapped back. “He’s been in trouble

at school several times in the past month alone. Then this happened. What he

needs is to grow up and take responsibility for his actions.”

“He’s just a kid, Annie. Just because teenagers think they are all grown up,

you and I both know they aren’t. You remember what it was like, being a

teenager. It’s crazy. Yeah he’s had his troubles. Maybe he needs more of our
attention. I don’t know, there has to be something we can do to reach out to

him and get him back on track.”

“This is not acne, or trouble with algebra, or bullies, or any typical teenage
narcissistic rebellion. It’s a lot more serious. He got arrested and ended up in

jail, for possession and the sale of drugs for heaven’s sake. He spent two
nights in jail, and we… we were off have a fun. We had no idea where he was
the whole weekend. In jail and we had no idea,” she repeated with even more

emphasis. “What does that say about him? What does that say about us?”
His dad tried to calm his wife down. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Don’t freak out

until we know everything. When I talked to him on the way home from the
police, he said the drugs weren’t even his. He was just holding them for a
friend. Stupid yes, but…”

“And you believe that?”

“Well… I don’t know… someone has got to be on his side,” his dad replied

in frustration!

“Oh yes you are always the one who understands, always the one who’s

there for him,” she mocked. “So what does that make me? The evil mom who
just yells and nags, because I just don’t seem to understand him enough. I’m

on his side too, you know, but I’m not here to be his friend. Neither are you.”

She shook her head angrily. “Besides the excuse he gave you is pure bull shit.

Kids caught with drugs say that all the time. I’ve been teaching ninth graders

for eleven years, Tom. Do you know how many times I have heard the exact

same stupid excuse? ‘Oh, I was just holding it for a friend.’ Jeez, it’s a stupid

lie.”

“Come on, that’s not what I... Look, he just made a stupid mistake.”
“And if you believe his lies, then you are more stupid than he is.”

Aaron began to feel pangs of guilt because of his lies. His mom was right,

of course. It was just a stupid lie. He and his friends had rehearsed all the
tricks to avoid the full retribution of parents, police and school authorities.

Come to think of it, he thought. When had any of those tricks actually
worked? All just stupid lies.
Aaron hadn’t lied to his dad because he thought him to be stupid, or

anything like it. He loved his dad, who had always ended up on his side no
matter what. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Parents on his side - right?

They were close, father and son, even though Aaron had lied to the man’s face
far too many times to be worthy of a father’s love. Aaron didn’t want to lose
his last ally, last friend.

“What’s a matter with me,” he whispered? “When did I become such an

asshole?”

“He just needs our love,” his dad finally said. “That’s all I’m trying to

say.”

“Yes, our tough love. Maybe we should have let him stay in jail for another
night – to teach him a lesson.”

“There is no way we could let our son stay in jail with all those criminals?

Don’t you realize how dangerous that could be? Are you deliberately trying to

make things worse?”

“Worse? How much worse could it be? That kid could use a hard reality

check to knock some sense into him.”

“That kid is our son! This is not about some underprivileged thug you hear

about on the news. This is our little boy. It is our job to teach him and protect
him.”

“Don’t even try lecturing me on parenting. Sometimes parenting means

being hard, tough and sometimes harsh in punishment. What has your
cowardly avoidance of the problem accomplished? Failed,” she yelled in

anger! “It’s time to face reality, Tom. Something needs to be done before…
before something much worse happens, and he ends up in jail for a lot longer
than a couple of days.”

“Oh come on now. He’s not on a path to a life of crime. He’s just a troubled
teen who needs some guidance and support.”

“Support yes, but not a blind eye. For once in your life get a backbone, and
act like a real father. Stop coddling him. Lay down the law; punish him!
Instead you buy him a motorcycle. Why in hell’s name did you go and buy

him that stupid motorcycle?”

“Come on, that’s not fair. I did it before this happened. He needed a way

to get to school and work, so I provided a solution.”

“Well he won’t be riding it for a while. Not until he can prove he can be

trusted.”
Aaron stood. He almost forgot himself, about to jump into the argument in

all out protest, but instead he just whispered, “That’s not fair.”

“I know,” his dad said quieting down. “I’m not good at the disciplinarian

thing, but I’m doing my best. It’s just because… you know, I’m not like that.”

“Which always leaves it to me to be the bad guy,” she replied. “Every time.

If you’re not going to share in the responsibility of parenting then what good

are you?”

“I guess I’m good for nothing.” His reply sounded wore out, defeated.
“You’re useless! That’s what you are. Why do you even bother coming

home if you have no intension of helping me?” She didn’t mean to say it that

way, but she said it anyway. Maybe, she thought, I did mean it. She turned
her back on her husband and started to cry.

“Fine,” his dad replied a little too quick and quiet. He grabbed the keys off
the counter and walked out of the room only to find himself face to face with
Aaron. His face went red. “Did you get all that? I suppose you think this is

funny. I am so disappointed in you right now. This,” he said with his finger at
Aaron’s nose. “This is your fault.” He pushed by his son, grabbed his jacket

hanging by the front door and left the house.

 In a panic Aaron followed his dad outside to the car. “Dad, don’t go!
Please,” he pleaded. “I need to talk to you. I need to explain. I need you to

understand.”
His dad turned in anger. “Oh you need my understanding; how wonderful

for you. Have you got a few new lies to try out on me, because I will believe

them you know. I am stupid, as your mother so articulately put it.”

“No you’re not. Dad please. I’m sorry okay?”

His dad’s face softened as he leaned against the car. “It’s okay son. I just

need to get some air. I’ll be back in a while. We can talk then.” Then he

climbed in the car and left. Aaron felt the full weight of the guilt squarely on

his shoulders.

“This is my fault,” he said. That declaration couldn’t be truer. Lately

everything had been his fault. His toxin spread to everyone he touched. He

was a screw-up, a loser, a poison, and a malignant cancer.

“I have become chaos, the destroyer of all I love.” The line from the poem
popped into his mind. He stood alone in the dark of his front yard wondering

what to do. It started to rain again. Not unusual for the Oregon coast.

“Aaron,” his mother sharp voice came from the front door. “Get back in
the house. You are grounded remember?”

“Whatever.” He decided to climb on his bike. It started with a rumble.

“Where do you think you are going young man?”
“To ef-ing hell,” he shouted as he sped away.

He headed west to the coastal highway and then turned north. Driving too
fast for the wet roads, he headed nowhere in particular. He needed to find

somewhere quiet to think - to make a decision. He passed a sign that said,

Scenic Overlook, Ocean Views - 1 mile. He turned off the highway. “I have
become chaos, the destroyer of all I love,” played in his mind again.

The narrow turn-off road wound and twisted upward to a small parking
area. He had been here hundreds of times, he and his friends. A few times

with his ex-girlfriend. This spot had a grand view, but tonight a heavy

overcast and pouring rain left everything too dark and cloudy to see anything.

The weather fit his mood perfectly.

Leaving his bike in the parking area, he made his way to the guardrail at the

edge of the lookout point. The whitecaps of the waves below could barely be

seen, but they could be heard crashing in against the rocks at the base of the

cliff. It was high tide and the sandy part of the beach was now covered by a

few feet of water. The drop-off looked to be about a hundred feet from where

he stood, but actually laid only thirty five, maybe forty feet below. If he

finally acted on that impulse tonight, it would be far enough to do the job.

These thoughts were nothing new. He had considered the ultimate solution
many times before tonight.

Drenched from the misting rain, he sat down on a nearby bench and quietly

pondered his broken life. When had he become broken? He hadn’t always
been like this, in fact he seemed to be a typical happy kid once, until the

puberty thing anyway. Then everything went haywire. Most of his friends
from back then had managed to adjust, but he had not.
It started with little things at first - crazy thoughts, crazy behavior and

strange conversations. He got flustered, embarrassed, or distracted far too

easily - with little to no focus. So completely brain dead at times, he even

forgot friend’s names. Just trying to introduce someone led to a major anxiety
attack. In fact these days he felt nervous and anxious all the time. Longtime
interests and associations eventually degraded to the point his old life

disappeared. He became isolated and out of touch with everyone and

everything. These personality changes, or abnormal oddities, crippled him

severely.

Kids at school called him weird, so what did he do? He began acting even

weirder - a form of self-defense. A way to say, I meant to be weird all along.

Even behind this mask of weirdness, he continued to struggle. Soon old

friends distanced themselves, which made him angry. If not angry then sad…

so very sad. The sadness never went away. All this translated into bad and

sometimes destructive behavior. He found himself alone with nothing to do

but nothing.

Recognizing he needed a life and friends, he sought out others who were

going through similar trials - the outcasts, the loners, the non-conformists, and

the drug users. These kids didn’t care what you did or didn’t do as long as you
returned the favor. They partied their own way. They hung out where and

when they wanted, doing whatever they wished. They covered for each other,

they shared with each other, and they lied for each other.
Their laughter and partying became an expression of a type of happiness.

This new world had no rules, except to keep your mouth shut. No narcs
allowed. If forced to talk the rule was to simply lie. Thus he lied to his
teachers, the cops, and his parents. Interesting enough, his friends also lied to

each other. Aaron became secretive and withdrawn. As a result his home and
school life suffered.

As a smart kid, he had always gotten straight “A’s”, but his new friends
convinced him it took far less effort to get straight “C’s”. If passing was the
main goal, then why worry about “A’s”? Of course, the people who cared

about him, his teachers and his parents, didn’t see it that way. They became
alarmed by Aaron’s loss of interest in school.

All feelings of guilt he simply blew off, telling himself he didn’t care. All

the annoying adults could mind their own business. He had found some

friends and he was having a great time. Why couldn’t they accept him as he
was and be happy for him? Of course he was deluding himself. Happiness

still escaped him, as it had always done.

A couple of girls contributed to this crumbling lifestyle. First he met Stacy,

a girl from his new crowd. She was seriously hot. Man he was into her, but

he knew she was way out of his league from the start. He couldn’t believe his

luck to hook up with such a cool girl. She quickly became his everything.

Finally, he thought, happiness. He would have done anything for Stacy, but

as it turned out she didn’t feel the same way about him. Not even close. She
dumped him for an older college guy.

Things really started going weird after the break-up. He completely lost it,

and his friends mocked him because of the love sick puppy routine - a real
bore for people who cared for no one but themselves. Soon even they pushed

him away.
“Some friends. Who needs them?” The rain poured off his nose in a
steady stream now. It seemed like the night had gotten even darker, as had his

mood.
Then he met Trisha. Younger by a couple of years (he was seventeen), she

seemed to like the attention he gave her. Don’t get the wrong idea, she was
real cute and had a sexy attitude any teenage boy would love. Yeah, she was
young, but what of it. She wouldn’t be leaving him for a college boy.

Still seriously hung-up on Stacy, the grief and anger over losing her
effected everything he did. The unfortunate truth, even though he liked

Trisha, dishonesty ran their relationship. He connected with Trisha only on

the rebound. Eventually he became mean and demanding, at times harassing

Trisha both emotionally and sexually. Aaron did this both for laughs and to be
mean and crude. Being older than her, he would call the shots in this

relationship. If she didn’t like it then she could get lost.

Of course she didn’t like it - the mean, dark side of Aaron. One day in

protest, she angrily told him so, but he blew off her objections. After all she

kept coming back for more, didn’t she? In fact it became a little confusing as

to why she didn’t just walk away? Everybody else in his life had. Trisha,

however, proved a lot tougher than that. Instead of leaving him, the common

sense thing to do, she started to fight back. She stood up for herself.
One night she took the opportunity to shame him, more like humiliate him.

Thankfully the shaming had been in private. Aaron was lucky. She could have

easily made him suffer the same humiliation in public. He had underestimated
her. She managed to make him feel like a jackass. Chastened he quickly

backed away giving her some room to be herself.

Aaron started listening to her, considering her needs. Only then did she tell
him her true story. Over the last two years Trisha had tried so hard to reinvent

herself, putting an unhappy past behind her. She had moved from Alaska to
Oregon to live with her mom for this specific reason. The point of the move

had been to get away from unhappy friends and an unhappy life. Aaron’s
attitude had stalled her progress. She had to stop him before he ruined
everything. Obviously Trisha had been far more stable than he. Once he

learned this about her, it made him feel even more like a jackass – ashamed.
Aaron sneezed. The damp weather was getting to him. Another line from

the poem popped into Aaron’s mind. “Where oh God is the nothingness in

which I can hide?”

One night Aaron brought Trisha to this spot by the ocean, intent on a
sincere apology. He would do the right thing and break off the relationship so

she could move on without him. Thankfully the apology went well. He was

kind and sincere, explaining his troubled life to her.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he told her. “My bad behavior, my anger, was

unjustly directed toward you. Sorry, you deserved better.” He thought

carefully before continuing. “I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t forgive me,

or never want to see me again. I hope someday we can start over. You know,

be friends. I really could use a good friend right now.”

Although Aaron’s intensions had been motivated by selfishness, the

unhappiness and frustration he felt were profoundly real. Unexpectedly things

boiled over into true remorse, and he did an unmanly thing. He cried. He
sobbed in fact. “I’m so sorry,” he said wiping tears away. There was nothing

left he could say after that.

Trisha did not get embarrassed by this. She did not pull away, but instead
comforted him gently. Instead of being angry with him, she told him she

forgave him. Why? Because she loved him. She had loved him from the
beginning. She threw herself at him with unrestrained compassion and held

him tight. This embrace, meant only to comfort, evolved into a renewed
passion.
After the unexpected, mind exploding kissing, Aaron managed to get a hold

of his wits and stopped her. He told her it was late; he needed to get her home.
Oddly this impressed her even more. It had been a grown-up suggestion. She

agreed, happy Aaron was finally being the gentleman she wanted him to be.

His plan? Drop her off at home, maybe with a suggestion of getting

together the next day, then leave. However, when they reached her house she
invited him to stay longer with another passionate kiss and a tug on his arm.

He followed her warm sensuality into the house, wisdom no longer his guide.

Trisha’s home, a ground floor, two bedroom apartment, was a simple place

- second hand furniture with little décor. Unfortunately also unoccupied,

because most nights her mom stayed with her man friend. They were all alone.

The kissing and fondling began almost immediately. It overflowed into a level

of erotic passion Aaron had never experienced. With all of the absurd sexual

bravado expressed earlier in their relationship, Aaron was in fact a virgin.

Trisha demonstrated far more experienced sexually than he. He felt foolish,

but at the moment he couldn’t think of anything else but her.

Her dress fell to the floor as she unbuckled and unzipped his pants, letting
them fall as well. She pulled off his tee shirt in one quick move. Now all

remaining between them was their underwear. Of course she hadn’t been
wearing a bra. She slipped her hands under the elastic waist at the back of his
briefs, running her soft hand down behind him. His briefs fell to the floor,

somehow at the same time as her panties. He had absolutely no idea how she
had gotten him into such a state so quickly – so artfully. With his mind on fire

and couldn’t process anything but her body. It felt so soft, warm and inviting.
 She was in total control of the seduction. Why would he want to stop her,
when he could just feel her? Smiling, she backed her way toward her

bedroom, gently caressing and tugging at his body in a way no man alive
could hope to resist.

Sitting on the bench drenched in rain, Aaron shifted uncomfortably at this

memory. For some reason he remembered a story he had once heard at church.

A strange thing to remember in the midst of this particular memory. His

parents used to make him go to church all the time, but they let up after he

refused to cooperate. Anyway, there was this character in the Bible named

Joseph. He was a servant in Egypt or someplace. The master’s wife decided

she wanted Joseph as her personal boy toy, so one day she set up a honey-trap.

She was nude, just like Trisha, yet Joseph had been able to resist her by simply

running away. Of course he ended up in prison. The lady was real pissed off

Joseph had jilted her, so she lied about him. The point was, how had Joseph

been able to say no to a sexy naked lady? Had he just run before he had a
chance to think otherwise?

Aaron thought, not running was what I did wrong. The only problem… I

had been thinking about sex with Trisha for a long time before that night. I
had no intension of running away from her. “I am so incredibly stupid,” he

said shaking his head.

From then on it was sex - sex all the time. A roller coaster ride full of
unexplored thrills. The longer this uncontrolled passion went on between

them, the more uncomfortable Aaron became. Trisha, clearly madly in love
with him, saw sex as an expression of her love, thus she gave her all to him.

However, for him the sex was more about pleasure - not love. Pleasure
clouded his mind with greater confusion, continually getting in the way of the
simple friendship he wanted, needed from her.

He felt so guilty he couldn’t love her in the same way and knew he
probably never would love her like she wanted. He didn’t want to hurt her,

but he would end up hurting her if he didn’t stop this soon. But how? Sex had

become another addictive drug, merely leading to another false sense of

happiness. Now instead of using drugs, he used her.

“Where oh God is thy judgment that will surely come?” Why do those

words keep coming back to me, he thought? The stupid poem is driving me

crazy. I wish I had never read it. Now it’s burned into my freaking brain.

The only way Aaron could think of ending this thing with Trisha was to run

away from her - like Joseph, but too late. Unfortunately the way he chose to

break up had been the most cowardly of ways. During Christmas Break his

parents planned to spend the holidays with family in California and they

wanted him to come along. Normally he would refuse to go, but this time he
agreed. It would get him out of town and away from Trisha for a while. He

mailed the letter as they left town – his lowest moment as a human being. It

didn’t matter much. Any hope of becoming a good person had escaped him
long ago.

When he got back from vacation, Trisha had left town. Her mother
wouldn’t tell him much. She didn’t seem to know much, only about how she
had gone back to Alaska. Then through a drunken stupor, she told Aaron to

leave and never come back (along with a few well deserved descriptive
phrases). Trisha’s friends wouldn’t speak to him either. No surprise there. That

had only been two months ago. Aaron had heard nothing about her since.
 Now, all alone in the rain, he contemplated his stupid life. Aaron stood,
stepped over the guard rail and walked up to the edge of the cliff. He looked

down at the dark surf below. “I have become chaos, the destroyer of all I
love,” he said to the mist.

“You have become chaos, the destroyer of all you love,” the voice said in

his head.

Then Aaron yelled at the top of his voice, “I have become chaos, the
destroyer of all I love!”

“Do you wish to die,” the same voice asked?

“Why do you think I am here,” Aaron replied as though in a conversation.

“Do you wish to die,” the voice asked again?

“Well,” the question gave him pause. This was the real thing - the moment.

Had he made his decision? “I guess I am just tired of feeling this way. Tired

of existing for no reason. Tired of being me.”

“Do you wish to die,” the voice with greater firmness? “What do you
resolve to do you worthless coward?”

It took Aaron by surprise. In this conversation with the voice in his head,

the voice acted awfully independent. Obviously the insanity of the moment
had destroyed all logic. Now it wanted his freewill and hope. All of those

things were now irrelevant anyway, so why not jump?

Somewhere in the Bible it says, “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out.”
Why not then - if thy life offend thee, snuff it out. A single step forward into

the darkness would end it all.

“Do you wish to die, coward?”

“Yes,” Aaron whispered.

 “Then step off into the mist,” came the voice again, not in his head, but
from behind him. Aaron whirled around in shock. Evidently he hadn’t been

alone. What an embarrassing way to be caught? All he could see in the

darkness, as he lost his balance and fell backward, was a featureless dark

figure. It could only be seen because the figure was darker than the dark night

itself. Then everything went black as he fell into the foggy mist.

******
Aaron slowly opened his eyes. He felt oddly rested and relaxed, in fact the

best he had felt in a long time. A splash of salty water hit his face. He

expected to be in bed at home, but something odd must have happened.

“Where am I,” he said lifting his head. Aaron looked down at the deep

impression of his face in the wet sand. The impression immediately filled with

water. He pushed himself into a kneeling position. As his vision cleared, he

said, “How did I get on the beach?”

“I don’t remember how I got here either,” a familiar female voice said.
“Lover boy, I have been asking that same question for days.” Aaron turned his

head to see Trisha. Lover boy, a nick name she had insisted calling him, was

both annoying and cute. It tended to be embarrassing when spoken in public,

which she was prone to do.

“Trisha. Why are you here?”

“I just told you. I don’t know,” she replied a hint of light sarcasm with a
little smile. “I’ve been here all alone… (a funny look twisted her face) for a

while I guess. Then I found you here this morning.”

“So you didn’t see how I got here?”

“No,” she replied. “Sorry.” She smiled and shrugged.

 “Is there anyone else around?”
She looked up toward the top of the cliff, the lookout point. “I’ve seen a lot

of things… but not people. You are the first person I have seen since I got
here. You okay, lover boy?”

Aaron did a quick inventory of his body parts. “Seem to be. In fact I feel

pretty good. Weird, huh.”

“Yeah, same for me; very weird.”

“Wait you said you’ve been here a while. How long?”

“No idea, really,” she replied still unusually calm considering the

circumstances. “One day I woke up on the beach just like you.” She pointed

southward down the coastline. Way down there somewhere.”

“And you don’t remember anything else?”

“Not much? No.”

“What’s the last thing you do remember?”

She thought back. “Well, the start of Christmas Break of course. You told
me you were leaving town.” She wrinkled her brow in the cute way that

always made him laugh. “Wait, you said you would be gone for the whole

break. What happened did you decide not to go with your parents after all,”
she asked with a happy smile? “I felt bad about you leaving. Real upset,

crying my stupid head off. Pretty childish of me, I know. It’s not like you left
town forever. Well whatever, you’re here now.” Her smile was warm.
Stunned, Aaron didn’t know what to say. “Trisha,” he said as calm as he

could. He didn’t want to alarm her but... “You came here at the start of
Christmas Break?”

“I think so. Yeah.”

 “You’ve been here for two months?”
She laughed, “Oh sure, funny.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “You

always seem to think you can pick on me. I’m not stupid, lover boy.” She
knelt down next to him, put her arms around his neck and went to kiss him.

He pulled back and held her so she couldn’t. “Listen. I’m not joking around

Trisha. That was two months ago.”

“Stop it.” Her voice was sharp. “It isn’t funny.”

“I know it isn’t,” he replied. The nervousness shook in his voice. It told

Trisha he was being serious. “I heard you were in Alaska. At least it’s what

your mother told me. She was pretty angry with me at the time, and drunk, so

maybe she lied.”

“Don’t be silly. Why would my mother be mad at you?”

He decided things were weird enough, so he ignored the question. “Why

on earth would you come here to hang out at the beach all alone – in the

middle of the winter?”

“That’s right it is winter isn’t it,” she responded with a faraway look. “Why

am I not cold? I mean, all I’ve had is this sweater to keep me warm. She

pulled the sleeves of her pink sweater over her hands. Then she asked Aaron,
“Are you cold?”

“No, I’m not. Trisha, what the hell is this?”

“You’re not kidding are you?” He shook his head. She tightened her arms
around his neck and held on with no intension of letting him go. “Lover boy.

I think I’m afraid.”

For some reason she doesn’t remember the break-up letter, so Aaron

decided to let her hold him. She was scared after all. Besides, being hugged
like this made him remember her warm body - thin and light as a feather. She
had this way of blending her form to his so perfectly. He admitted to himself

how much he had missed her. Why had he broken up with her anyway? She
loved him, no doubt, but he didn’t love her. Why not? She was beautiful, soft,

giving, honest and true to a fault. Why would he not want her in his life,

especially since he had been so unhappy until…? Until what?

She pulled back enough to kiss him. They sat there together on the wet
sand kissing, caressing and holding. “I missed you so much,” she said.

“Please don’t ever leave me again. I couldn’t live without you. You

understand don’t you?” After a while she let go of him and whipped her eyes

on the sleeve of her sweater.

“This is the base of our scenic overlook, right,” Aaron asked?

“Uh-huh,” she nodded.

“Well let’s go up there and look around. Maybe we will find a clue or two.”

“No,” she said, nervous. “I don’t want to go up there.”

“Why not,” he asked with a little laugh? “Up there, is where you and I got

serious. You haven’t forgot the night have you?”

“No,” she said with a shy glance. “I wanted you more than life itself. I
remember thinking how I could make sure you would never forget me… or

leave me.”
“Bingo,” he said. An unrestrained laugh followed. “Mission
accomplished.”

She laughed too. Then she quieted down. “Lover boy,” she said. “I love
you.”

“I know,” he said breaking eye contact. “I don’t know why though. Maybe
you shouldn’t love me so much.”
“Don’t say that!” The snap of anger went away as quick as it had come. “I

don’t… I know I am more certain of us than you, but if you will just give us a
chance you will eventually catch up with me. I know you will. I will wait for

you forever, if I have to.”

He reached up and touched her face and smiled. “Sorry, I’m just confused.”

He stood up and offered his hand. “Come on. Let’s go exploring.”

Trisha reluctantly followed him to the trail that lead to the overlook. The

two of them had been on this trail often. The overlook and the beach had been

one of their favorite places to hang out. They had made love on this beach

once. She thought it had been so romantic, like in a movie. He seemed to like

it, she thought as they climbed up the stairs and trails to the top. That day had

meant so much to her, but Aaron acted so guilty afterward. It had bothered

her. Oh, he was plenty into the moment, but soon he became moody. Why did

he always back away from her like that? It had been a beautiful day, but he
made her feel uncomfortable, and maybe a little guilty too. Aaron seemed to

get more moody every time they made love. That hurt her.

They reached the top. The place was deserted, the parking lot empty.
Aaron looked around confused. “It’s strange,” he said. “How did I get here?

I assume I came on my bike, but it’s not here now.”

“Maybe you walked.”
“Long walk. I hope no one stole it. The key is still in my pocket.” Then he

looked at her. “You don’t remember coming here?”

She shook her head. “No, but I think I might have walked all the way from

home.”
 “I can believe it. You’re always doing crazy things. Dangerous things to do
in this angry world.”

“I can take care of myself, lover boy.” She playfully pushed him. “I’ve
always liked to go for long walks alone - to think and figure things out. Even

in the rain. I love walking in the rain.”

“Have you figured life out yet?”

“No.”
They walked over to bench next to the lookout barrier and sat. “Is that why

you have been hiding out on the beach for so long. You’ve been thinking?”

She felt a cold chill and snuggled into him. “No… yes… maybe. I’m

cold,” she said. “Like I said. I don’t think I have been here that long.”

“You also said you didn’t feel the cold, or is this just an excuse to cuddle

into me?”

She smiled. “No, I don’t like it up here. It’s always cold.”

They sat together like lovers enjoying the time together. They watched as
the sun slowly made its way toward the west. A pocket of cold air hit them.

This time Aaron felt it too, not a cold wind, but a cold spot in the air around

them. Trisha looked around worried.

“What is it,” he asked?

“It will be dark soon,” she replied, her nervousness obvious. “We can’t stay
here after dark.”
“Why not?

“Because I don’t like it.” She stood. “Just come with me.” She pulled on
his arm. He gave way and followed her back down the path to the beach. The

closer the sun got to the horizon the faster she ran.
 “Why are we running? Slow down,” he yelled ahead to her. “What is this
all about?”

“You’ll see,” she replied out of breath. “Just follow me, please.”
The tide poured in quickly over the sand. They ran toward a large rocky

outcrop located a few hundred feet from the cliffs. Whenever the tide receded

all the way out, the outcrop rose dramatically up out of the sloping sandbars.

When the tide came in all the way, it became an isolated island.
The tide had already started to surround the outcrop, so they were forced to

wade through the cold, knee deep water. They climbed the outcrop all the way

to the top where it leveled off. The evergreens and scrub brush growing there

had been scrubbed and beaten by wind and rain, which left them misshaped

and gnarled. Only after the surf fully surrounded the outcrop did Trisha relax.

She sat at the base of a tree and lean back to rest. She closed her eyes and

soon her breath settled down as she fell asleep.

Aaron was baffled. What were they supposed to do up here? They were
now totally cut off from land, trapped for the night. He had a lot of questions,

but obviously exhaustion overcame Trisha. He would let her sleep. On the

other hand, this gave him time to explore. He worked his way back down to
the water’s edge on the mainland side of the tiny island. The sun had fallen

just below the horizon.

“What is she so afraid of?” He spoke out loud. “As far as I can tell we are
alone in this place. Well, I guess I stand watch tonight, like a man should.” He

saddened. “A man, what a joke.” He was anything but strong and brave. He
had left town after mailing a breakup letter to his girlfriend. Who does that? A

coward of course. Fortunately she didn’t seem to remember anything. Maybe

she hadn’t got the letter. It would be a relief if she hadn’t. Had a second
chance to do it right been given him? He still believed she should move on

without him. Nothing had changed, but the letter had been a terrible, cruel
idea. This time he would tell her with kindness and…

Something moved on the far beach interrupting his thoughts. A dark figure

appeared out of nowhere. The amber glow of the setting sun still cast golden

light across the water and the beach. The man, or whatever it was, appear to
be nothing but a shadow - dark and motionless. Well almost motionless. The

dark thing leaned forward and cocked its head to the side.

Even though Aaron stood in the dark shadow of the island, he was sure he

had just been seen. Was this what Trisha feared? The dark thing sure gave

him the creeps. Well, whatever it was, he was here and could protect his

girlfriend - ex-girlfriend.

“Get lost you creep,” Aaron yelled out recklessly. “If you are not going to

help us then get the hell out of here. This is our island.”
From across the tidal surf Aaron heard a laugh. Then the words came like a

whisper on the wind. “Do you wish to die Aaron,” it asked? A flash of

memory went through Aaron’s mind. The voice had been from before. He
remembered turning and falling backward and then darkness. What had

happened? Had he fallen?

The man laughed rhythmically the way little kids mock each other, “HA-
HA, ha-ha, HA, ha.” He laughed again the same creepy way.

Chills made the hair on the back of Aaron’s neck prickle. Then just as the
light faded, he saw something even more peculiar. The sandy beach began to

move, or rather things moved on the sand. He strained his eyes to see. What
was it, crabs, and spiders – if so real big ones? The legs, however, looked
more like tentacles. They would be stiff one minute then go all wriggly the

next. Octopuses… no, octopi made no sense. He had never seen an octopus
skitter around on land, like it had stiff legs, except in cartoons. Cartoons could

be real creepy when you thought about it.

Aaron didn’t have a good feeling and hoped the creatures would stay away.

Stepping backward, he tripped, fell and scrapped his arm painfully on the
rough rocks. The strange creatures stopped at the water’s edge, as if they

could go no further. They pushed forward and then quickly receded with the

waves. Evidently not water creatures. Aaron turned and scrambled as fast as

he could to the top of the little island. There he found Trisha awake watching

the seen from above.

“They can’t go into the water for some reason,” she said. “I think it has to

do with the salt.”

“Salt?”
“You know, like in a horror movie. You pour salt out around doors and

windows to keep the evil out.”

“This is why you were afraid?’ She nodded. “And this happens at night?”
She nodded again. “Every night,” he asked? She nodded a third time. “Holy

freakin’ shit Trisha, what are those things?” He needed to understand, but
Trisha couldn’t or wouldn’t help. She didn’t seem to know any more than he
did.

“I don’t know, lover boy,” she replied cuddling into him. “I really don’t
know.” Her voice was so lost, almost lifeless.

“Trisha?” He tenderly put his arms around her to comfort her. She shook,
not with cold but with shock. He led her back to the tree and the two of them
sat down together.

“You’re bleeding,” she said. Blood trickled down his arm.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.” He held her tight until they both fell asleep.

When Aaron awoke Trisha was already up and busily gathering wood.

“Let’s have a fire tonight, okay. It will be like a camping trip,” she said in an

unexpected good mood. Maybe we can do a little more than cuddle tonight,
lover boy.” She grinned at him. She saw the concern on his face and said,

“Don’t worry. They only come out at night. How’s your arm.”

He looked, but the injury was gone. “See,” she said. “You can’t even get

hurt.”

“What about the tide?”

“What about it?”

“If the salty water is the only thing that holds those things back, what do

you do when the tide changes?”

“Oh that’s easy. I’ve got a boat.”

“A boat?”

“I keep it down on the ocean side of the island.” She stopped and gave him
a sexy smile. “Our little island.” She giggled teasing.

This was all too much to handle. “So when the tide is out at night, you
paddle out into the Pacific Ocean and sleep out there – all alone.”
“Yup,” she said. “Very Robinson Caruso. Of course, I have you now. I was

thinking this could be more like Swiss Family Robinson.” She knelt next to
him and smiled another sexy smile. The one he could never seem to say no to

(The one that got him in this mess in the first place). “Sorry, lover boy. I’m all
out of birth control. We will just have to make a bunch of babies.” His jaw
opened with a stupid wide eyed stare. The look on his face made her laugh so

hard she fell back onto the ground, clutching her tummy in uncontrollable
giggles.

“Yeah, you’re so funny.” Then he smiled and leaned back against the tree

again. “I wonder what it would be like to be a father.”

“You have my permission to try all you want.” She said in the midst of
giggles. Then she went reflective. “There was something I wanted to tell you,

before Christmas Break. I had… but I just can’t seem to remember. I guess I

should have told you before it slipped my mind. Jeez, I sound as brain-dead as

my boozy mother. Yuck.”

“Are you hungry,” Aaron asked?

“No not really. Not much to eat around here anyway.”

“I guess we could walk to the nearest town.”

“Tried that. All I did was get lost and ended up right back here. She asked
him, “Are you hungry?”

“Not at the moment. Maybe later.”

“Okay then let’s go for a walk on the beach. It’s a beautiful day. This is
Oregon after all. It’s like spring today. Enjoy the sunshine while you got it.”

This was their routine for the next several days - walking on the beach all
day and be back before the dark. A few nights later they spent their first night
together on the boat. It was a small aluminum dinghy. Where she had found it

was a mystery, in the sense she couldn’t seem to remember.

“Someone must have left it behind by accident,” she said.

“Seems strange.”
 “Whatever the case, we have a boat and it’s is a good thing. Right? An
outboard motor would be nice, but beggars can’t be choosey. It keeps those

strange creatures away.”

Eventually the tide cycle returned in their favor and life went on as it

should. No, not the truth. This existence wasn’t anything like it should be.

For instance, every night there was a fire, another strange mystery. He

remembered gathering wood every day, but he couldn’t remember lighting the
fire himself, or seeing Trisha light it. It was just always there. These strange

events were so unnatural it got him to think. He had a scary question to ask.

One night as they cuddled together around the fire, he got the courage to ask

it.

“Trisha… are we dead?” This had to be on Trisha’s mind as well.

Trisha stiffened. “Why would you ask such a horrible thing?”

“Because none of this is normal and there has to be a reason,” he pleaded

for understanding. “Where are we? Where is everyone else? What are those
creatures and the dark man?”

“I don’t know,” she yelled. “I don’t want to know. I just want to be with

you.”
“Every night I hear the dark man saying things.”

“Don’t listen to it.”

“The voice won’t stop.”
“Shut up. We have it all worked out. Leave well enough alone. Why do

you always ruin it… just when everything is perfect? Just like you did at
Christmas time.”

“Wait, have you remembered something?”

 “Yes! No!”
“Well, which is it?”

“This is your fault. I don’t remember why, but this is your fault. But don’t
you see? I don’t care. I forgive you. I love you. Aaron please, just leave it

alone!”

“I can’t. Look, I already know this is my fault. There is something inside

of me that is broken beyond repair. Trisha, I have been like this for a long
time, long before we met. I am chaos, the destroyer of all I love.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

He looked out at the sea. “It’s what the dark man keeps saying to me. Then

he/it always asks, ‘Do you wish to die?’”

“If it is asking if you want to die, then you must not be dead.”

“Maybe we are just caught in some strange limbo.”

“Limbo?”

“Yeah. I suppose a place between life and death would make some sense.
So maybe those creatures are here for a reason.”

“What possible reason would the afterlife include those creatures?”

“Maybe they are here to make us choose.”

“Choose what?”

“Okay, hear me out,” Aaron replied. “I’ve been thinking. They are here to
make us choose life or death.”
“We are alive, Aaron. They are the ones who want us to die. If we don’t

keep doing what we have been doing every night, we will die. Well, I don’t
want to die. I want to live… with you… here.”

“Don’t you want to go back home where it is safer?”

 “No I don’t. It won’t fix anything.” Again she insisted, “I want this, you
here with me.”

“I will be with you back at home too.”

“Liar!” She screamed so loud it scared him. To his shock she started to hit

him hard. He covered his face to block her blows. He knew why she was so

angry. The second he had said it, he too knew it was a lie. “You liar, you

cheater, you coward,” she went on. “You betrayed me. We could have been
happy. We should have been a family. We should have had a baby together.

My baby!”

Those words hit him like a brick to the head. How could he have been so

dense? Back when he broke up with her at Christmas Break, Trisha had been

pregnant. Oh God, if it’s true. Oh God! Why hadn’t she told me? For

whatever reason this insane universe had lots of screwed up ways to turn my

life into a nightmare.

For a long time he had known the two of them were not meant to be
together, no matter how much Trisha wanted it. He had let this thing go on too

long. It had kept her hanging on to hope – a false hope. What a terrible thing

he had done to her - unforgivable. He put his face in his hands. “What
happened to… our baby?”

Her tears flowed like rain. “I don’t remember.”

“Where oh God is the death that will end my pain?” The voice in his head
insisted. “Do you wish to die, now?”

“It’s what I deserve,” Aaron answered back.

Trisha tucked herself into the fetal position next to the fire, still crying. He

tried to comfort her, but she pushed him away. Soon she quieted down and fell
to sleep by the fire. Aaron went and sat down next to the tree. He decided to
keep guard over the sad, petite girl for now. A new day might heal her

wounds - another lie to sooth his shame. She had been mortally wounded. It
was obvious. It was also obvious he had inflicted that wound.

Just before sunrise the dark man approached the surf’s edge as had many

times before. The two humans had brought forth emotions tonight, if left

unchecked might ruin his plans. Humans were weird that way. Once these
emotions came to the surface and started to bleed, the healing process often

took over. The creature couldn’t allow that. It would need make its move

now. Although it couldn’t walk into the salty water, the tide had gone out far

enough to leave the little island only twenty feet away, which was close

enough to step over the water, in a manner of speaking.

The creature’s shape transformed. Black tentacles replaced the human-like

arms and legs, but the head, chest and abdomen maintained a vague human

appearance. The eight tentacles extended out from its upper body. The two
tentacles closest to its head stretched out over the water. When they reached

the island’s rocky shore they firmly anchored themselves to the rocks. Two

more tentacles extended and did the same. In this way it began shifting the
weight of its bulky body center over the water, until most of it was on the

island side. The last two tentacles withdrew from the shore. Now on the island,
the it transformed back into the dark shape of a man.
The dark man scurried up to the top in distinctly inhuman movements.

There the girl lay asleep. The boy, also asleep, leaning against a tree. The dark
man bent down and scooped up the sleeping girl. It disappeared with her into

the pre-dawn morning.

 Aaron woke up as the morning sun crested the mainland’s tree line. The
rays of light hit his face. The warmth of the sun felt good. Squinting, he

looked around. “Damn,” he said. “She has gone off on her own again.” Last
night had ended badly, so he wasn’t surprised. Standing he went to the eastern

edge of the little island and scanned the beach in both directions for signs of

her. She was nowhere in sight.

He wanted to find her and somehow make it better, but who was he
kidding. If she had remembered everything last night, there would be no way

to make this better. She no doubt hated him now. Probably for the best, he

thought.

Helpless he searched the beach, looking around for any sign of where she

may have gone. He found nothing, so he sat in the sand facing his failures?

He needed to stop making excuses and do something about his sorry ass?

Yeah, he was a broken boy, but it didn’t give him the right to inflict pain on

others. This level of selfishness clearly rested in the category of the

unforgivable. His self-centered nature needed to come to an end before he did

any more harm.

Of course, if he was already dead, how could he repent of anything? No

time left to make amends, or to hope for a do-over. Life after death completed

- a done deal. This realization hit him hard. He would be haunted by guilt for
the rest of eternity. A deep sadness flowed over him, drowning him in regret -
a remorse greater than he could stand brought him to tears once again.

“Please forgive me,” he cried. “Please, someone forgive me.”

As he cried, he slowly emptied his soul of all the self-pity and bitterness.

When he finished, a warm feeling comforted him. The pain lifted enough to
allow him to think. He stood, ready to renew his search for Trisha. For better
or worse they were stuck in this limbo together. There needed to be peace

between them. To survive this ordeal they both needed a forgiving peace.
First Aaron treked north. After a couple of hours of hiking through loose

sand and occasionally over coastal rocks, he found nothing helpful, no

footprints in the sand, no indication of which way she might have gone.

Even though he knew she hated the lookout area, he backtracked and went
up to the top, all the while calling out her name. He felt more and more

desperate to find her, so he returned to the beach and headed south. He

remembered she had told him on the first day, that she had first awoken further

south somewhere. All he could think to do was keep walking south. The

search had taken nearly six hours thus far, yet not a single sign of her had been

found.

Two hours later he found something. By a cave in the rock cliffs, there were

strange markings in the sand that looked like a herd of snakes had wondered
through. He had no idea what to call a massive number of snakes hanging out

together. Maybe a slither of snakes? Whatever, the snaky things had either

come out of the cave, or had gone into it. He couldn’t tell.
Maybe the dark man’s creatures, he thought? They might make such tracks.

Even more concerned, Trisha’s safety became paramount. If Trisha had gone
down to the beach this morning before light, the dark man may have taken her.
“Trisha,” he yelled out.

His only clue thus far, he followed the tracks into the cave. The cave was
deep and dark. He yelled out again. “Trisha.” No answer came, but the echo

of his voice bounced off the rocks. Then he heard something else. A loud
screech and thump came from deep inside the cavern. He called out again.
“Trisha, is that you? Where are you?” The creepy noises got louder, coming

closer. Although too dark to see, whatever made the strange noises made him
sensed danger. Turning he ran out of the cave.

Aaron ran down the beach following the tracks further south. There were

areas where the sand gave way to rocks, but the tracks always reappeared

when the sandy beach continued. The tracks eventually led to a swampy inlet
where a small river emptied into the ocean. Footprints appeared in the mud.

Alarmingly two sets of footprints mixed in with the other snaky tracks. One

set of small prints and a much larger set. The tracks seemed to indicate a

struggle.

Near panic Aaron yelled out, “Trisha,” but still no reply. Convinced he was

close to finding her, Aaron ran out into the muddy swamp. He called her name

desperately. The mud was getting deeper and harder to navigate, but he

plodded on. His legs sunk into the mud almost to the knees causing him to
stumble and fall.

Once again the sun was low in the west. Getting darker, it became harder to

see. The tall swamp grass blocked Aaron’s view in every direction. Covered
in mud he broke out of the tall grass into and open area of swamp water, but

the water deceived him bearing nothing but more, and even deeper mud.
“Trisha,” he yelled as loud as he could. Within minutes he knew just how
stupid it had been to go out into the muddy swamp this far. This mud acted

like quicksand, and he began to sink.

Franticly he tried to remember everything his dad had taught him about

quicksand and deep mud ponds like this. Don’t struggle, he remembered. It
will just make me sink faster. Try to lie flat to create a greater resistance with
the full surface of my body. Floating is easier to control and will conserve

energy. He rolled onto his back, gently raising his legs to the surface an inch
at a time. “There,” he finally said in relief. “Now what should I do?” Slowly

rolling back to the more solid shore seemed the likely choice.

“Clever boy aren’t you?” The dark man’s voice broke into the tense

moment.
Aaron looked up at the large dark creature looming over him. Its eight long

tentacle like legs spanned the edge of the bubbling mud pond like a giant

water-strider. Although terrified, Aaron looked at the creature in all its

ugliness. He had found water-striders fascinating when he was a little boy, but

this was nothing like the little long legged bugs skittering across the surface of

a pond. There was nothing fascinating about this monster. It was horrific.

Aaron screamed at the grotesque creature, “What have you done with Trisha?

Give her back to me.”

The creature’s face had no features except for two large non-human, black

eyes, only visible because the glossy texture reflected what was left of the

setting sun. The first night he had seen the dark man on the beach, the eyes
had appeared to be yellowish. It must have been the result of the reflecting

sunset.
The creature looked down at Aaron. It reached out one of its tentacle arms
and proceeded to playfully poked at the boy. Placing an arm at the center of

the Aaron’s forehead, it pushed hard. Aaron’s head went down under the
water and mud. Flailing in panic, he grabbed at the tentacle. The creature was

slippery and cold, but Aaron managed to get enough a hold to free his head
bringing it back up to the surface. He gasped for breath. The creature
violently ripped its arm out of the boy’s hands. Aaron wiped the mud from his

eyes and spit the gross tasting water out of his mouth.
Aaron yelled in defiance, “What the hell, you ugly freak.” Of course

antagonizing his attacker might not be the wisest thing to do at the moment,

but when had he ever made a wise decision?

The creature laughed. “My, my, sticks and stones.” The tentacle arms came
at Aaron again. One wrapped around his neck, another his right leg and

another his left. The creature pushed the boy down into the mud with

incredible force. Then it let go.

Aaron barely managed to regain control. He got his head above the surface.

Unfortunate for Aaron, his feet pointed downward and the mud and water now

lapped at his neck. This struggle had robbed him of needed energy. He

wouldn’t last much longer.

He screamed out in desperation. “Help! Somebody help me.” Maybe

somebody would hear him and come to his aid. Maybe Trisha had gotten

away and would hear his call for help, but he almost immediately hoped she

hadn’t. The creature would simply kill her too.

“Please stop this,” he screamed, trying to reason with it. “What do you

want? Why are you attacking us? Can’t you just let us go, leave us alone?”
“Too late,” the creature replied. “Last night you said you deserved this.
You wanted to die, remember? Your life is mine to take.”

“I don’t want to die here. Not like this… all alone!”

The creature laughed. “You aren’t alone dear boy.” Two tentacles arms

reach down into the mud to Aaron’s right. The tentacles wrapped around
something solid and lifted it to the surface.
“Here’s your friend,” he explained as the mound of mud formed next to

Aaron. The mud dripped away and Aaron saw a lifeless body lying on its side.
The mud fell from her face. It was Trisha’s face. She looked peaceful, at rest

with her eyes closed. The gray pallor of her skin made it clear she was no

longer alive.

“Oh no, Trisha,” Aaron moaned. He got an arm free and reached out to her.
He wiped the mud from her face, then gently touched her cheek. It was cold.

So deep and horrible was his anguish, that he wished he could cease to exist.

“Trisha,” mocked the creature. “Say hi to your boyfriend. Go on now give

him a little kiss. Oh dear,” he said. “I guess she’s too shy. Or maybe she is

still mad at you for last night? I think you two need to kiss and make up.” The

creature grabbed Trisha by the head and shoved her face hard into Aaron’s

face. “Forget about your little spat,” it sneered. “You two are meant to be

together forever. Of course she is dead now, so that just leaves you, my boy.”
Aaron gently held her head to his. “Trisha, I’m sorry I was not able to give

you what you needed. I just was too broken and didn’t know how to fix it.”

“I know,” Trisha’s voice said inside his head. He looked at her gray face
confused. It was still lifeless.

“I have no right to ask forgiveness, but I am asking for it anyway. If I am to

die, then I want… I need you to forgive me. I wouldn’t blame you if you
didn’t, but I hope you can. Maybe then I could die... you know, better.”

“I do forgive you, lover boy.” Then she said something that shook his soul.
“Live, lover boy. It is not your time to die, and I want you to live.”

“Why?”
 “Because I love you.”
“Too late for such nonsense,” the creature yelled, the anger spitting like

venom. “The boy is mine now. He wished to die.”

“No!” Aaron abruptly felt wide awake, and alive. More alive than he had

been in years. “No,” he shouted again. “I do not wish to die!”

“You stupid boy,” the creature screeched back. “You can’t change your

mind now.”
Trisha’s voice came more firm in his mind. “Don’t believe him. It is not too

late. If you want to live, then live. Only by living can you find the forgiveness

you desire.”

“Then I want to live,” Aaron begged.

“Too late,” the creature screeched even louder.

“I want to live. I want to get help and change my pathetic life into

something with purpose and hope. I want my mom and dad to love me. I want

to live!” He glared defiantly at the creature. “So you can just go to hell, you
ugly freak!”

The creature flew into a fit of rage, hitting the still terrified Aaron, driving

him down deeper into the mud. “Die, die, die,” it screamed.
A flash of light, temporarily blinded Aaron. It knocked the creature back

away from him. The light had a person in it, who looked like Trisha. She,
inside the light, had shot through the dark creature like a laser. The creature
backed away in pain, screaming and thrashing violently.

Trisha retreated to stand directly over Aaron. “Get the hell away from my
lover boy.” Her voice echoed like thunder. “He is not yours. He never will be

yours.”
 She stood there in the air for just a moment. Her face was a manifestation
of a true defiance in the face of this evil. Instantly she attacked again with the

fury of a poltergeist. The flash of light moved so fast it gave the illusion of a
swirling tornado hitting her adversary again and again. She could no longer be

seen, just light slashing through the creature’s body from every direction.

The creature continued screaming in pain, flailing its eight arms wildly. It

swatted at her as if she was an angry wasp, but to no avail. She was a spirit
and he could no longer hurt her. She, however, could hurt him, and she did so

with a vengeance. Her light was the pure white light of a beautiful human soul.

Such pure light reacted like an acid on the dark figure. She continued this

violent attack until nothing remained.

Aaron had managed to roll his way to the edge were he could get to his

knees. Trisha floated down to him and embraced him.

“You saved me. Thank you, but after all I did…”

“How many times must I say it? I did it because I love you, stupid boy.”
He shook his head. “How can you still love me?”

“Because I choose to love you, and to forgive you,” she said. “You are of

far greater worth than you realize. Both of us were of far greater worth than
either of us realized. I have moved on now, but you must stay and be the man

you need to be. Do it for me,” she said softly. “I always saw it, the thing that
made you worth saving. Now it is time for you to see it too.”
Aaron felt the warmth of her kindness. She had given him a magnificent

gift, a saving gift sweeter than anything he had ever experienced in his short
life. “If only…,” he started to say.

She cut him off. “There will be no more if-only. For some reason we were
not meant to be together. I am at peace now.”
“I will be forever grateful.”

“Just promise me you will forgive yourself. Don’t make my sacrifice mean
nothing. Be the man you are meant to be.” She began to fade away.

“Trisha,” he called to her.

“Don’t forget me.” She was gone.

******
Aaron could hear voices and beeping noises in the darkness, people talking.

His head began to clear. After a moment more of listening he recognized his

mother’s voice. Then he heard his father too. Slowly he opened his eyes.

“Mom, dad,” he whispered. His throat was dry and he felt woozy.

“Aaron,” his mom responded immediately. “Honey, go tell the nurses.”

His dad left the room, but quickly returned with a couple of ladies in

scrubs. “Dad,” Aaron said.

“I’m here son,” his dad replied eagerly.

“Where am I?”

“You are in the hospital sweetie,” his mom answered. “How do you feel?”

“Real… high,” he said with a small laugh. “What are they giving me?”
“That would be the morphine,” she answered crying and smiling at the

same time.
“Good stuff!”
His dad’s face looked real concerned. “You were seriously injured in a fall,

son. They had to operate on you for hours.”

Aaron then remembered falling backward off the cliff. He also remembered

the rest of what happened, about Trisha and the dark man. It would be a long
time before he would want to talk about it with anyone. People wouldn’t
believe him anyway. They would say it was a dream induced by a coma. But

he knew the truth. Later he would learn Trisha’s body had been found in a
swampy area along the coast.

“I can’t move,” Aaron said.

“You are in a cast from head to foot I am afraid,” his dad said. “It will be a

while before you will be doing much of anything.”

Then his mom said, “But you are alive, thank God. I don’t know what I

would have done if…? I love you so much, honey. More than life itself.”

A concept Aaron now well understood. “I love you too mom, and you too

dad.”

“We know son,” his dad replied smiling happily. “But it sure is great to hear

you say it in person. Welcome back to the real world.”

“I am glad to be back.” Aaron looked at his mom. She looked like she

wanted to say something but was holding back. “What is it mom?”

“What were you doing up there on that cliff?”

“Not now dear. Let him rest.”

“What happened?”
His dad started to protest again, but Aaron stopped him by answering her as

honestly as he dared. “I went there to think,” he said. “To exorcize my

demons.”

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