When The Devil Comes

Chapter 25 : Ashes To Ashes

The day that I was hoping for, it had finally arrived on the second of August. My graduation day. I was shilly-shallying from a high to foul mood all morning.
The main reason being the fact that my beloved mother wouldn't be to see me. She wouldn't be there in person to see me walk across the podium with a smile on my face and collect my certificate of achievement.

I guess whoever had said that sorrow cometh after joy, they were indeed right. The moment Rosie phone rang this morning while we were eating breakfast. It was not the fact that the phone had rang it was due to the fact that it came from the hospital.
This sudden ill feeling had started to gnaw away at my inside. She had sent me an anxious look from across the table before she cautiously took up the phone with trembling hands.

I knew that we were both wondering the same thing that if my mom and in her case, her good friend and employee had died last night.
I saw her take a big gulp from her glass of water before she cleared her throat. Rosie will always be the definition of extra.

" Good morning...yes it is me ".
She replied to the other person on the other end of the call.

I on the other hand had pretended to busy myself with my breakfast. When in reality my appetite was lost and I was really eavesdropping. As I pushed the food around on my plate in an idle manner

" Andrea what?. We should come to the hospital now! ".
She questioned as she screeched out in a high pitch tone. The worry lines were really starting to show on her forehead.

At the mention of my mom's name I looked to her immediately. While my heart started to beat as if going into overdrive. God, this is not looking good. Please let my mother be alive. I didn't even get to say goodbye to her.

It was like I was physically there in the room hearing Rosie's conversation but I wasn't being attentive to anything around me. The temporary shock that had hit me rendered me completely immobile. I swear there was a low static echoing unpleasantly in my ears.

" Anna we need to go now! ".
I heard the distant loud shouting of Rosie calling out to me in distress.

Suddenly I felt my shoulder being shake quite violently. I suddenly came back to my senses and tried to get a grip of reality. As I heard Rosie voice sweetly called out to me.

" Anna sweetie snap out of it. We need to get to the hospital now ".

She gave me a nod and once over to check if I was alright. Then held my hand as she help me to stand up and hauled us both through the door.

While on our way to the hospital there was not a single conversation being shared between Rosie and I. My legs kept shaking in nervousness as I bit my fingernail and look around with tears in my eyes. I was a complete wreck.

This prickly gut feeling kept gnawing at me again. It was right there on instinct that I had felt a certain chill in my bones. It was as if a connection bond was snap clean in half.

I had turn to Rosie's side profile and said to her very solemnly.
" I can feel it. I just know that my mom is dead ".

She had tried to refute my statement but I simple reconfirmed it again. I just know that this had to be the doing of my monster-of-a-dad. Rest assured I knew I would avenge her death if it was the last thing. I would ever get to do on this godforsaken earth.

The conversation that my mother and I had yesterday kept replaying in my head. It was the exact part where she said to me.
'Little Bug promise you will keep me beating right...here'.
As she pointed to where her heart was. It was like an never ending loop.

Immediately my eyes welled up with tears and I wailed out in anguish. By the time we had arrived at the hospital, my eyes were blurry with more unshed tears. What I didn't expect was to see the hospital staffs to be looking at us with fidgety movements and fleeting facial expressions of uncertainty.

When we had finally reached up to them, they had beckoned us into a conference quarter to have an impromptu meeting. Well if this isn't strange, I don't know what is then. I looked around and saw other doctors in the room.

Upon recognizing Dr.Vazcían, I was thoroughly surprised. His eyes had looked swollen as if he had been crying. Well isn't he a peculiar one. Yet who am I to judge, maybe my mom's death had an impact on him somehow. However he took the leadership role and conducted the meeting.

" Good morning Miss Margiñez and Miss Mariah. We are here to regrettably inform you of the passing of Miss Amélie Torris. We offer our sincerest condolences to you two.

Anna, there's a camera footage which we had manage to recover. It captured the entire aftermath of what had happened in your mom's room. We can't seem to wrap our head around what we had seen. We aren't trained to deal with occurrences outside of the medical field.

On the footage it seemed as if Miss Torris was arguing with this invisible force. She crying out from suffering excruciating pain in her head. I think words aren't enough to describe this situation. I deem it would be best if we show you, if that's alright ".
He said to me in a tone that was so solemn. While I gave him a nod in response.

I watched Dr.Vazcían turn to a panel that was behind him and powered the screen on.

In the video, I had seen that my mom had woken up sometime after ten in the night. She then started to pray until around eleven thirty. It was right around that time when the video got very peculiar.

There lay my mother in the hospital bed begging this invisible thing not to hurt her. The footage seemed to get more distorted towards the end. Due to the unusual level of heat from the flames that was in the room at the time. Which the camera had luckily captured before things went haywire.

The last thing I heard my mother said was,
" God have mercy upon me. In thy hand I commit my spirit ".

I look up at the screen just in time to see her in agony. As she was engulfed in flames.

" Turn it off now! ".
I screamed at them in languish.

It was due to the feeling the pain of losing my mother. Then to watch how horribly she had to exit this world. What had she done to deserve such a cruel end?

I swear the pain never felt so alive until now. The pain and anger was completely engulfing me from inside out. To the point where I had felt suffocated.
After the footage was finally turned off. Everyone in the room turned to me with baffled expressions. As if I had the answer to the silent question in their eyes. That seemed to say,
' Who could do this and how do we solve this? '

I knew exactly who did this, that monster Samiel Darkstar. It was a pity he didn't know two could play this devious cat and mouse game.

There was no worrying and trying solve who did this. I had every intention to annihilate the culprit Samiel. Who had commit this inhumane act of cruelty.

" Anna - ".
Rosie begged me with desperation and resignation in her voice. As she turned to look at me with tears in her eyes.

" Rosie please -. Doctor can I have my mom's remains please? ".
I ask doctor Vazcían as the unshed tears stung my eyes viciously. A tell tale sign that they would soon make their way down my cheeks.

" Sure Miss Mariah we can do that. Anna, again I would like to extend our condolences to you ".
Doctor Vazcían replied to me in a sorry tone. As he and his associates file out of the room one by one.

When the door had closed Rosie pulled me in a hug. As wept bitterly of the lost of someone so dear to our hearts.

Oh dear 'ol daddy dearest...this little game isn't over just yet. As a matter of fact things just got heated.

Wait, wasn't today the day I was supposed to be graduating?