______________EXORCISM
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Right from infancy, I have always known Papa to be one weird and mysterious fellow. He was like no other father I have seen or known. Unlike others, Papa was a bald man with a dark inscription at the center of his head. I could remember once trying to touch the inscription with my bare palm but ended up getting my fingers burnt, where the fire had come, I did not know.
Papa was a mystery. He also had this little life tortoise worn round his thin neck. It was a mystic ornament, more like a talisman that never came off his neck. He was also famous for his style of clothing; a long black gown and a red scarf always tied to his head.
As I grew older, I came to realize Papa was an exorcist. He was neither a witch doctor nor a herbalist but one who specialized in conjuring demons out of people. He was the only one who practised such in the whole village and beyond, and this in turn earned him many accolades and widespread reverence.
Papa got so many invitations from demon possessed victims in far away villages, hence he was widely traveled. He spent days outside home and would sometimes return home bloodied and battered, like someone who was attacked by a tiger.
On such dire occasions, mama would spend the night in his hut nursing his wounds. Mama would later tell me Papa’s injuries were from violent demons he had succeeded in driving out of their victims.
When I turned eleven, Papa began taking me with him on his every exorcism mission. This was a nice exposure on my part, but Mama would always frown at it. I heard her on a number of times pleading with Papa to reconsider his stance on taking me with him. Her reasons were apt and cogent, but Papa wouldn’t listen to her, he never does.
Papa’s job was no child’s play. before he leaves home for any mission, he performs some eerie and exerting rituals on himself. This was a kind of fortification against the wiles and attacks of the enemy he was to confront. Papa once told me that as demons vary in shapes and sizes, so does their strength and mode of attack. He also told me that some persons are most times possessed with ten or more different demons, hence the need for utmost fortification.
My first mission with Papa was one hell of an experience. I was instructed by him not to eat or drink two days to the D-Day. This according to him was an act of accumulating spiritual strength and agility. During those days of mortification, he would subject me to further torture by cutting my body with a blade and letting the blood trickle down to my toe.
According to him, this was a sign of purity, one must be both inwardly and outwardly pure to defeat the impure demons. He would also shave my hair and lock me in a dark and airless room for hours. This was the last rite for me, and was pivotal since we were contending against forces of darkness.
My ritual was nothing compared to his, so I dare not complain. Before we set out, he would take me to an underground room where he stores his fetish items. At the far end of the small room was a wooden shelf that housed hundreds of bottles.
These bottles according to him may look empty to the mortal eyes but was a prison for defeated demons. He further told me that during the act of exorcism, demons tends to leave their host and go in search of a new host. So in other not to let them possess the next available person, he conjures them right into a bottle and shut them up for life.
We would pick what we needed and vacate the room. We would then return home, redo the rituals one last time and set out for the home of our host. We sometimes spend days before returning home. But one thing was sure, we always came back victorious.
One faithful day, Papa informed me of an invitation to carry out a session in another village. According to his report, the victim was a princess to a rich and famous king. Papa told me she was possessed by water spirits and was untamable. Papa also told me water spirits were the hardest to drive out. He also recounted an experience he had some many years back were he almost lost his life in his quest to drive out one.
Our ritual for this mission was the most exerting I had ever witnessed. I went four whole days without food nor water, feasting only on bitter herbs and kola. Papa also locked me up in utmost darkness for two full days. On the eve of our departure, Papa killed a young calf and smeared it’s blood on our bodies. He also gifted me all kinds of protective amulets and subsequently dished out some stern warnings to me. That night, i went in search of new bottles, got six and washed them clean. Papa also provided me a goatskin bag where I put all six bottles as we awaited the dawn of a new day.
Early the following morning, we set out for our quest. Mama was all teary the whole time as she watched us depart, knowing the full implication if our mission eventually goes wrong. Papa wasn’t bothered one bit, he led the way as we trekked miles to our destination. We eventually got to the palace a day later and the king ushered us in amidst a warm reception. He offered us food and drinks but we politely declined his offer and immediately set out for the job at hand.
Papa demanded for the princess and we were led to a small dark room located somewhere in the courtyard. There we met the young princess in chains. The king told us she has broken free a couple of times and had succeeded in killing five guards during her wild attacks. He also recounted how the last sorcerer who had attempted to deliver her had eventually met his waterloo.
Papa demanded to be left alone and everyone including the king dispersed, leaving us all alone with the possessed child. We both settled on the floor and the exorcism process began. Papa lined up the six bottles before us and instructed me to shut my eyes, he further admonished me never to open them under any circumstances else I face something worse that death. He began to recite some enchantment and the conjuring began.
In my world of darkness I could hear the shriek of a thousand voices. I also heard the roar of a lion and the meowing of cats. I soon began to feel the presence of third parties hovering about the small room. The aura of the room suddenly changed and the funk of burning incense possessed the room. I began to cough.
While the screams continued to grow deafening, the room was also heating up like a furnace. I began to choke, lost breath and utimately lost consciousness. I woke up moments later to find the chains broken but the princess was nowhere in sight. I turned around and found Papa in the most horrendous state ever. He looked like he had just been battered by a hundred soldiers.
I tried reaching out to him but he warned me to stay clear. He told me the princess was possessed by a hundred fierce demons and the only means of delivering her was providing another host for a transfer. He further told me he tried negotiating with them but since they were hell-bent on a transfer to another body, he had to give up himself.
Papa finally told me as the new carrier and host, his only fate was death. This way they would be forever trapped in the underworld.
At his order, I picked out a dagger from his bag and drove it right through his heart. I watched in tears as he struggled for a while before giving up the ghost.
It was a painful sight to behold, one that may never erase in a thousand years. His dark red blood freely trickled down his chest right down to where i sat. I saw him one last time, his ghost floating in midair and leading the legion of demons down to their eternal resting place.
#OpraDre EXORCISM EXORCISM EXORCISM EXORCISM EXORCISM EXORCISM EXORCISM EXORCISM EXORCISM EXORCISM EXORCISM EXORCISM
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