Letter from a Desperate Father (3 page)

“This is my body now,” she screamed
back. I told her I’d have her exorcised, and she laughed. “Go ahead
and try. Your God didn’t put me here, and he can’t remove
me.”

When we arrived, my wife stopped
kicking and yelling. I went straight to the church and yelled for
the priest from outside. I didn’t know where he lived, but surely
he must be nearby.

Lights turned on in homes across the
square.

“I told you, he can do nothing,” she
said, speaking so only I could hear. She was limp in my arms now. I
wished she wasn’t, because I feared the priest wouldn’t believe me
again. That must have been her intention.

“What will make you leave, then?” I
wanted to growl, to intimidate her, but my desperation was
obvious.

She smiled horribly. “Nothing. Bodies
are but vehicles for the spirit, and I have made this
mine.”

I never felt as cold as I did at that
moment.

“You’re a demon,” I
whispered.

“No,” she said sharply. She tensed
under my grip. “I am human, but I can transcend the
flesh.”

I wanted to wail, but I didn’t have the
energy. How could this be happening? The loss of my son, the
betrayal of my wife—it felt worse than a gash through my
abdomen.

Through my tears, I said, “Why did you
pick my son? Why not me instead?”

“He is young, with a full life ahead of
him. It is also difficult without shared blood.”

“And when his body dies?” I asked. A
plan began forming in my mind.

“I will
not
,” she spat, as if affronted by the
idea of herself dying.

I hated the direction of my thoughts,
but the solution seemed clear. If she considered his body
uninhabitable, she might flee it. Invigorated with purpose, I flung
her to the ground—not too forcefully—and took my son’s tender
throat in my fists.

“Leave!” I ordered her, squeezing
down.

Her gasp became a sputter, and she
jerked and thrashed beneath me.

I had some awareness of approaching
lights and a woman’s shriek. I pressed down harder. It was the
worst thing I have ever done, and it hurts to recall it
now.

Someone ordered me to stop. I couldn’t
waste any time. I fixed my gaze on my son’s eyes, the window to his
soul. When they rolled backward, I waited half a second more and
then released him. At the same moment, someone seized me by the
shoulders and yanked me backward. I fell to the ground, too weary
to struggle.

“Check on the boy!” a man shouted. I
saw only my son, lying still on the ground.

I panted, delirious with fear and hope
and exhaustion. Someone approached my son and examined him while
another person grabbed my arms and pulled them behind me. I didn’t
resist.

“He’s alive!” a woman shouted. “He’s
just fainted.”

Those were the most beautiful words
I’ve ever heard. I thanked God and prayed my act was enough to
drive my wife from my son. I didn’t care when a man roared, “You
villain!” and struck me in the face. Once, twice, three times, and
then I was unconscious.

I assume you know where I am now. My
story must sound incredible. If you speak with the priest, he can
at least confirm that I sought him for exorcism.

My fate is uncertain. Last year two men
were hanged for attempted murder, and I’ve been told the witnesses
are demanding the same for me. Whatever the outcome, I implore you
to intervene on my behalf for a single request. Please let me see
my son—I must know what happened. If I can just look into his eyes,
I’ll know. Please. Nothing else matters to me but that.

Yours Sincerely,

Martin Hardy, a desperate
father.

Maron Anrow grew up in California,
came of age in the Midwest, and is now passing time in New Jersey.
She lives with her husband, stepdaughter, and three awesome
cats.

Laika in Lisan

A novel

“
I wish I could say this is
a story of how I saved everyone and set the world to right. But it
isn’t. This is a story of my failure.”

Laika Roen has always been strangely
attracted to Lisan, a mysterious and isolated country where the
citizens worship their despotic leader. When Laika is invited to
travel to Lisan as a visiting scholar, she jumps at the chance to
experience Lisan’s unusual culture firsthand.

But Laika gets more than she bargained
for when her trip is disrupted by violence and she’s forced to set
out on her own. As she journeys through forbidden sections of the
foreign country, Laika discovers horrible truths about the
relationship between Lisan's leader and his people.

Can a simple scholar change the course
of an entire country? And even if she can, should she? The
distinction between right and wrong blurs as Laika explores not
only Lisan, but her own conscience.

Many thanks to Steve Young,
Jennifer Brown, Elizabeth Bell, and Jay Hill for their feedback
on
Letter from a Desperate
Father
. The photo on the cover is by Phoebe
Strafford (https://unsplash.com/photos/EBbP0Wrbmqs). Cover design
by Maron Anrow.

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Letter from a Desperate Father
, please consider leaving a rating or review.

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