Conjurer & The Sacred Lemons

by Prakash

  The William’s were already early on that Saturday morning. Ursula and Patrick woke up early in the morning. They had bathed and touched the holy cross. The children got up at around 7.30 am. Ursula almost forced them to be ready by 8.30 am. Poor kids did not know what all this rush is about but like good kids they listened to their mother. Ursula’s mother was ready since 6.30 am. All of them had breakfast and coffee at around 8.45 am and they were eagerly waiting for the father and his associates.

  The William’s had to wait for almost 3 hours before the father and his associates arrived there in their house. It was exactly at 11.45 am the father and his troop entered the William’s house. Patrick and Ursula welcomed them at the gate. It was a big gathering than expected by the William’s. Father Agnel was accompanied by a dozen of his associates. His disciple Jeery was carrying a huge basket which consisted of numerous items.

  Father Agnel and his associates thanked William’s for the welcome. They seem to be in hurry and wanted to finish the job at hand.

  Initially father Agnel had called all the William’s to come together. Patrick, Ursula, Mom and children assembled in the living room. Father Agnel then sprinkled the holy water on all of them. After sprinkling the holy water on the William’s, he sprinkled the balance water on all the pastors including him who were going to be the part of the cleansing activity.

  The father Agnel and his group of 9 pastors came together. They all prayed to the almighty –Jesus. They recited the part of sermon which depicts Jesus’s resistance to the devil. They recited that the devil tried three times to woe Jesus. First time Jesus was tempted with the bread, second time he was tempted with the glory of the world and third time he was tempted with his pride. While reciting to the Biblical description of the devil and the Jesus dialogue , Father Agnel and the pastors prayed to the Lord to get the William’s of the Evil who is somewhere into the house.

  Ursula, Patrick, Children and Mam were watching the ceremony standing nearby. Ursula and Patrick were completely forgotten themselves and were part of the whole rituals.

  After the initial prayer to the Lord Jesus, Father Agnel and his associates were now ready for the prayer of the fire god. Father Agnel believed that the fire is both a symbol of respect as well as symbol of terror against the sin. To him fire manifests the holiness and the purity in the life. The logic was that fire purges the impurity. The Fire was considered to be a holy spirit and have presence of the God himself. It is considered to be having the power to destroy the evils.

  Father Agnel asked Jeery to burn the holy William in the house. When Jeery did the same the William started burning and the smoke started moving all around the house. Till that time everything was alright. The burning William was carried all over the house by the pastors covering the entire house including the lawn and garage.

  Father Agnel then asked all the pastors to be at one place. He asked all the William’s to come together also. In the name off almighty Lord then he started his cleansing of the house. He first took the holy water he had carried from the church and started sprinkling the water in every room of the house, while sprinkling the water he was chanting the Biblical verses. The pastors were supporting him chanting the verses with him. They first covered the living room. After sprinkling the holy water in the living room they fixed a small cross in the living room.

  The next 2 bedrooms on the ground floor were covered by them. There also they sprinkled the holy water while chanting the Biblical verses. Ursula and Patrick were following them. The children were amused to see the ritual going on. In the bedrooms also after the ritual father Agenl fixed the cross.

  After covering the bedrooms father Agnel and the pastors moved to the first floor. When they reached the first floor along with the William’s they found that the burning William extinguished. The fire was completely doused. Father Agnel got upset at this. He asked Jerry to light the fire on a new William. While Jeery was trying to ignite the fire, suddenly he was thrown with a big force to one corner of the room. The pastors accompanying father Agnel also got scared.

  Father Agnel thought for a minute and then started his prayer. “Oh lord Fire is a symbol of purism. It is you who taught us that fire is a symbol of victory over the devil and the sin. Please forgive us the sinners and help us in this hour of crisis “. As Father Agnel was praying the William started burning again. Father Agnel understood that the evil on the first floor is powerful enough to challenge the purity. However he was sure that Jesus the Lord is the supreme and no one is above him.

  Meanwhile the William’s were watching the ceremony under deep stress. They were not sure whether this ritual is going to end the misery which Patrick was going through for the last 6 weeks. The only person who had faith in the ritual was Ursula’s mother. She was confident that Father would be helping them to drive out the sinful elements out of the house.

  Father Agnel then sprinkled the holy water everywhere on the first floor. They covered each and every area of the first floor. By this time it was already 1 pm. But Father and his team of pastors were not ready to stop even for a minute.

  The next area they embarked upon was the bunker. While stepping down the stairs of the bunker father Agnel and his associates were having some strange feeling. Somehow they were feeling that the sinful element resides here. William’s also followed them in the bunker. Father Agnel first tried the fire ceremony here. Here also his associate Jeery had faced some unknown force. While trying to light the firewood he experienced lot of push and pull. Finally Father Agnel himself came forward and lit the firewood. The entire bunker was now having more light. Father Agnel and pastors again prayed to the Lord Jesus and asked his help in getting over the sinners.

  This ritual was followed by the sprinkling of the holy water all across the bunker. The William’s were watching the events with a hope to end the crisis which Patrick was facing for the last 6 weeks. Father Agnel recited the biblical verses commanding the Lord Jesus in overcoming the demon and asked his majesty to give the same courage to the William’s. Then he carefully fixed the cross in the bunker.

  Next destination was the garage. Similar ceremony was performed there. This was followed by the ceremony at the lawns and the backyard. By now the entire house was covered by the group. Every room and place within the vicinity was purified and fixed with a cross. Father Agnel and his colleagues took a rest of 20 minutes before starting the balance ceremony.

  After securing the place with fire, cross and Biblical verses Father Agnel and the pastors were ready for the balance part of the ritual. With his vast experience of more than 25 years Father Agnel knew the rules of the games very well.

  Then the group started with a ritual of calling the evil or the demon to come forward and give itself in front of the supreme – The Lord - the Jesus. The group was chanting the verses which force the demon to submit before the almighty. However to their surprise even after half an hour of the ritual they couldn’t get a hint of the sinful or demon residing in the house. Father Agnel was disturbed. He had never experienced such incidence earlier.

  Father Agnel suddenly remembered that they forgot one important virtue. The virtue was to be humble. Father Agnel prayed to the almighty that none of them measure to the expectations and the requirements of the Lord Jesus. As such all of them are feeling bad and asked for forgiveness for everything they have done wrong so far in the life. Father Agnel and the pastors also committed their life to the Lord –Jesus.

  However even after this Father Agnel and pastors found that no devil or demon is coming forward in the form of any signal or hint. However the group was convinced that after the fire ceremony and sprinkling of the holy water the place is purified perfectly and as such no hint of any sinful or demon is getting noticed.

  Father Agnel called the William Family together. He had sprinkled the holy water on all of them. He also tied small cross to their hands and blessed them.

  At the end Father Agnel told William’s that the cleansing ceremony is over. The sinful el
ement or the bad has gone and the William’s are now free of any evil spell.

  The William’s thanked father Agnel and his colleagues. The group left soon after.

  Ursula and Patrick were relaxed now. The cross at their hands was giving them strength. The purification ritual had convinced them that the Lord was with them and No evil could think of harming them.

  The William’s were without lunch till now. The ceremony ended at 3 pm after which all of them had lunch. They rested for a while before they set out for a dinner outside in the late evening.

  Chapter 10

  Evil Fights back

  The new week started on a positive note. In the afternoon Ursula got a letter from her travel magazine communicating that she was selected to make a short film on tourism in India. She was to be accompanied by the video unit and assignment was of 2 weeks. After struggling for nearly 10 years as a freelancer contributing numerous articles on US and Canada tourism finally she got appreciation in the form of this first international assignment. Ursula’s mother was happy to hear the news.

  Ursula however was both elated and worried. This assignment of 2 weeks in India means leaving Patrick and children in Mandeville alone. Although she was comfortable for kids as her mother could take care of them. She was worried about Patrick. If similar incidences again happen to Patrick when she is away in India, who would support him and will take care of him. The whole afternoon Ursula’s mind was thinking on this aspect only. On one hand she was elated to get recognition in the form of the proposed assignment on the other hand worry about Patrick was making her depressed.

  When Patrick returned from factory in the evening he was looking disturbed. Ursula could read this on his face.

  “Honey are you ok?”

  “Yes so far so good” Patrick replied.

  “Looking disturbed. Any trouble again?” Ursula asked

  “These things in the house are affecting my performance in the factory “Patrick replied.

  “Today there was a major rejection on the machine I operate “Patrick added.

  “I can understand that. You have also lost your weight and also many sleepless nights” Ursula told him.

  “Almighty is with us .everything will be normal honey “Ursula comforted him.

  Patrick went for a quick shower while Ursula went to kitchen to make coffee for him.

  While both of them were having their coffee Ursula showed the communication received from the travel agency.

  “Dear congratulations... This is a fantastic opportunity for you. Please go ahead “Patrick looked happy.

  “Yeh Honey but who will take care of you in my absence?” Ursula asked him.

  “Mom is there, Kids are there. You need not worry “Patrick tried to cheer her.

  “No, my mind is not allowing me to leave you alone here” Ursula was firm.

  For a while both of them just kept mum.

  Ursula broke her silence “Patrick, if you can accompany me to India then it would be a stress free assignment for me “

  “Ursula but what about Kids “Patrick enquired.

  “Anyhow they are going to have 3 week school break. They can go with Mam to Jersey.” Ursula replied.

  “Let me check in the factory. If they can allow me leave then definitely I would be with you. I do not want to sabotage the chance you have got “Patrick replied.

  By this time Kids also came to know that their mother would be travelling to a country called India. Of course they did not have any idea about India but what fascinated them was the air travel involved in the trip.

  “Mom would you be travelling in the Aero plane “Victor asked.

  “Yes Dear. It takes 24 hours in plane to reach India “Ursula replied

  “Oh Great you would be in the air for a complete day” Victor said.

  “What would you bring for us from India “Sophie Asked?

  “Some sweets some toys dear “Ursula replied while cuddling her.

  The night went without any issue. Ursula thought the cleansing ceremony had ended Patrick’s 2 month long ordeal. In the morning as Patrick got ready for going to the office Ursula reminded him to check with the factory about the 15 days leave. Patrick nodded in affirmative and left for the factory.

  Ursula spoke to the travel magazine office in the afternoon. She thanked them for her selection to make a visual cover story on India. She enquired what other formalities needed to be done and the likely date of the travel. The office had asked her to fill up the business visa form and sent it back to the office as early as possible.

  Ursula also checked with them whether her husband could join her on the tour. They did not objected but told all the expenses of her husband had to be borne by her. Ursula was ok with that. After the call Ursula had searched both Patrick’s and her passport and checked the validity. Both the passports were valid for 2 more years.

  She also visited the local business center in the town and collected two visa forms. She was now eagerly waiting for Patrick to come home. She was sure that Factory wouldn’t mind granting of holidays because Patrick was a regular in his job.

  As Ursula expected Patrick’s factory had allowed him to take advance leave of 15 days as requested by him. Ursula was really happy as now she wouldn’t have to worry about Patrick as he would be travelling with her. Besides the business work she would also get time with Patrick to do some local sightseeing.

  After the dinner, Ursula and filled the Visa forms for both of them carefully. She had also collected the other documents which were needed as supporting documents. She asked Patrick to courier these to her office so that they could apply for their visa in time.

  In the night, Patrick woke up midway as he heard some strange noises. However he did not get up and put on the light. He was just listening to the sounds lying down in the bed. The sound went on getting loud and loud. Patrick thought now it was almost near the door of the bedroom. He had a look at Ursula. She was sleeping peacefully. He wondered whether she was able to hear these strange sounds or only he was able to hear the same. He kept watching the entire bedroom. Suddenly the sound stopped.

  Next thing he could sense was that someone was trying to lift him in the air from his bed. He resisted and got hold of one of the corner of the bed. But the force was much stronger. Patrick could feel he was lifted almost a feet in the air and suddenly again he was dropped on the bed. He could feel the back aching as he landed on the board very fast. Sensing his movement Ursula woke up and put on the lights.

  “Patrick what happened? Are you alright? “ Ursula asked

  “Yes dear some little discomfort “Patrick replied.

  “Patrick tell me what happened..?” Ursula knew he was trying to hide something.

  There was no alternative before Patrick to tell her the truth.

  “Are you meaning you got lifted a feet in the air and I did not notice?” Ursula asked.

  “Ursula before this particular thing, there was some strange sound for almost 4-5 minutes and you were sleeping without noticing the sound. It suddenly became loud and I could feel it is at our bedroom door” Patrick told Ursula.

  Ursula literally started crying now. She had done everything in last one and half month. From doctor to Church everything was tried and still Patrick’s trauma was not seeing an end. She was angry and worried also. What could be behind this? If the house is haunted or had ghost, they did the cleansing in the proper way. How could some supernatural element dare to challenge the supremacy of the Almighty? When the pious cross was put in each and every room, how dare those evil elements enter the house and trouble Patrick?

  She was still sobbing. Patrick was now in the reverse role. He was trying to pacify her.

  “Ursula let me tell you, this time I was wide awake and even tried to resist being lifted from the bed into the air. I tried to gauge what could it be “Patrick told her.

  “Now I am used to this sort of trouble. I know someone is trying to hurt me but there is also someone who is protecting me. In all
those incidences the evil or so couldn’t harm me. So let us not worry “Patrick tried to calm down Ursula.

  “But Patrick it is affecting you. You did not get hurt that is blessing from our lord but I am unable to think now why you are targeted again and again? “Ursula was still sobbing.

  “We never did anything wrong to anyone. We religiously follow what Lord Jesus had advised. Then why the hell this so called Evil is behind us? “Ursula was again becoming uncontrollable.

  “Ursula, let us not think too much about the incidence. If this does not stop we will change the house ok? “Patrick assured her.

  Both of them slowly fallen asleep.

  In the afternoon Ursula alone went to the Hill point church. She did not inform her mother about the earlier night incidence. She explained the incidence to Father Angel. Father Agnel was surprised hearing the same.

  “Daughter … It was really unfortunate that the trouble started all over again even after we cleansed the house with the Fire and the holy water. This is unbelievable “Father Agnel told Ursula.

  “Yes Father ...Even we thought the same way. How could an evil challenge the supreme power of almighty?” Ursula expressed her anguish.

  “Let me consult some of my other colleagues in the town and then I will come back to you on the future course of action. “ Father Agnel said.