“She’s stable now,” a doctor said trying to comfort her father. “She came out of her coma, and the awareness and senses tests are positive. We just have to keep her here for a couple more days to monitor her. After that she can go back home and start chemotherapy.”
“Is there hope, Doctor?” Abdulraheem with a mixture of hope and despair.
“There is always hope in Allah, and medicine is advancing every day.”
“Thank Allah, Thank Allah.”
The family stood at the door of Sawsan’s room, whispering to one another; Mrs. Raja, who had not slept in weeks, was sleeping in a chair. Dr. Abdulraheem got a call, so he cut the discussion with the doctor short and answered his phone in a low voice, as if he did not want anyone to know who he was talking to.
“Yes, yes, Abu Attiyah. I told you the amount is not ready! I can’t come up with the rest. I took three loans from the banks and one from my work, put down the house as collateral, sold the car, and borrowed from everyone I know.”
He listened. It was difficult to hear him beg like this. “But two million is too much! I almost have a million and a half. Can’t he take that, and I’ll promise to give him the rest later? I’m losing my daughter… Thank you, Abu Attiyah. I don’t know how to repay you.”
That scoundrel Abu Attiyah! I had to get to him and his sorcerer friend before it was too late. But how? I had to see his number. I reached out to the phone as the doctor removed it from his ear. I held it in my hand, and I felt it. Yes, I felt it! A solid object in my palm. I pulled it, and it moved out of Dr. Abdulraheem’s hand. He was frozen with terror. I looked at the screen, and the call was over; I pressed the “call” button and Abu Attiyah’s name came on. Then I lost my grip on the phone and it fell to the ground. I tried picking it up but could not. At least those few seconds when I’d held the phone had been enough for me to remember Abu Attiyah’s number!
All I had connecting me to your world were two phone numbers: Abu Attiyah’s and Eyad’s. Unfortunately my ability to affect your world was almost nonexistent, as if I were watching a movie and trying to change its events. So I had get to one of the actors to help me change the plot. I had to get to Eyad!
First I went back home. Jumara had not slept;. I sat next to her and held her in my arms. I owed her that, at least. I was all she had left, and she was all I had. As we embraced I felt as if my mountain of worries shied away for a moment.
After that Jumara slept like a child who had been playing all day. I entered the house and went to the phone in the living room. I gathered my strength, along with the abilities I inherited from my Fayhee ancestors that I started to discover and master! I moved my hand over the phone until it fell over. I was able to catch it before it hit the ground, and I put it back on the table as I nervously and quickly punched in Eyad’s number. I failed on my first attempt, but then I remembered that you Humans use numbers from left to right. I heard ringing, then Eyad’s voice.
“Hello?”
“Eyad? Are you Eyad? Can you hear me?”
I was talking, but he was not responding, I shook the phone in my hand and screamed, and it echoed in the room.
“Yes, this is Eyad,” he said, sounding scared. “Who are you? I said, who are you?”
I heard the sound of a car—the doctor and Hattan had returned. I begged Eyad, “Log on to Facebook for Sawsan!”
I let go of the phone, and it fell at the exact moment Hattan opened the door, causing both of them to panic.
“Who’s there? Who?” the doctor shouted as he turned on the lights.
I had no time to waste. I raced to Sawsan’s room, praying to Allah that her tablet still had enough battery for me to chat with Eyad. I reached for it, turned it on, and passed my fingers over the screen, looking for Facebook. I logged in with Sawsan’s username and found Eyad online, so I started a chat.
“Eyad…”
“This is not possible! Who are you? Hattan?” he typed back.
“No… I’m trying to save Sawsan’s life.”
“Who are you? Tell me!”
“It’s a long story, but before I tell you anything, you must answer me: does Sawsan’s life concern you?”
“Of course it does!”
“To what extent?”
“More than you can possibly imagine. But who are you?”
His words bothered me. They stabbed my ego. But then I thought, To hell with my ego! To hell with my entire life if it would save Sawsan!
“I am Hawjan.”
Eyad’s delay in answering exposed his fear—and the fact that he knew the rumors about Sawsan’s Jinni lover. But his courage was my only hope to save her, and I would not let him coward out, even if I had to threaten him.
I pulled him out of his silence. “Are you scared of me?”
“Me? No! How can I help Sawsan? I’m willing to do anything no matter what!”
“No matter what?”
“No matter what!”
“Even if I touch you?”
“Touch me?”
“Possess you! So I can interact with your world and help Sawsan.”
I was expecting him to refuse or to run away, or at least to stay silent. But he really surprised me, and at the same ignited my jealousy.
“Come on, Hawjan. I’m prepared to sacrifice my life for Sawsan.”
(14)
A Jinni’s Madness
Before I go on, you must understand what it means to possess someone. This is not a simple, shallow topic, and I apologize upfront for the complexity and mystery. I will try to simplify it as much as I can.
Your dimension is far simpler than ours. A Human is a combination of two blended sets: a primitive material set represented by the body, which has a group of biomechanical organs. These would not be so complicated if it were not for the brain, which has all the control centers that are linked to the other Human set— the one related to the higher dimension, or the sprit. Your materialistic sciences have advanced a lot while your spiritual sciences have devolved; even religious worship that is supposed to be highly spiritual has been distorted, making it a bunch of lifeless rituals and talismans without soul—just like the rest of your life.
Every sprit is connected to its body and controls it with the brain. That control is weakened or lost during sleep or when the body is in a coma. Then the spiritual awareness is severed from the control centers of the brain and flies to the higher dimension. When these centers are stimulated again, they call on the spirit to come back and control the body.
The spirit’s movements in the higher dimension are instantaneous, unrestricted by time or distance, but the brain’s centers’ response to the return of the spirit are slow sometimes. At others it might be totally damaged, to the extent that the spirit finds it difficult to reconnect with the body, which causes its death. That is the reason for a lot of mysterious deaths, while others escape certain death because their sprits clutch on to their bodies and control their minds.
Possession is simply a domination of the control centers in the Human brain in a slight absence of the spirit. You practice such domination amongst your selves through what you call hypnosis. Most of the possessed cases you face are nothing but self–possession—a sort of spiritual instability where a spirit convinces itself that it‘s under the domination of a Jinni. However, Jinn have nothing to do with it save for some Devils who whisper to spirits to convince them they’re possessed. This means that most possessions are just cases of delusion and psychological instability.
Some of you commit crimes and, when caught, claim you were possessed to try and get away with it. Possession is very common among those who are obsessed with Jinn and sorcery, but most of it is illusion, fraud, or trickery for personal gain.
A real possession case needs a lot of preparation and the right circumstances. For a person to get possessed, first he must be in a state between consciousness and unconsciousness, such as when someone is in an extreme state of fear, sadness, or happiness. Then the Jinni must be flexible
in dealing the Human brain, which is not an easy matter. A Jinni needs lots of practice to perfect complete control of a Human mind and body.
I explained this all to Eyad, but he had no interest in all of the details. He was just interested in helping Sawsan. He sent me a map to his house—or, more accurately, his palace. Eyad’s father, Mr. Mansour Al-Zaydi, was a brilliant businessman who had moved to Jeddah when Eyad was a small kid to manage many real-estate projects in Jeddah and Makkah. Eyad, an only child, made him the only recipient of his father’s fondness and wealth. Along with it, his hope that Eyad would someday take over his empire. Eyad, by nature, was an impulsive boy who loved life. He had everything any young man would dream of: health, wealth, good looks, intelligence, and good manners. Yet he opposed his father’s demand that he study business management and insisted instead on studying medicine—followed by an MBA to accommodate his aspirations as well as his father’s.
I arrived at that palace in the district of Obhur, far north of Jeddah, in just a few moments. Eyad opened the gates and stood there waiting. It seemed to me that he lived there alone with the servants because of all of his parents’ traveling. I went close to him, concentrated to cross into your world, and whispered, “Eyad.”
I was expecting him to panic, or the least to be surprised, but he answered me calmly and with confidence: “Come on in, Hawjan.”
He walked in front of me as if seeing me. I followed him to the main hall, where he sat on a couch and pointed for me to sit on the one next to him.
“I have no idea how I can show you hospitality, but consider yourself at home,” he said.
“Do not worry.” Unlike the first time I’d spoken, this time my voice was clear. I could hear my echo bouncing off the marble floor and walls. Now I knew I could talk in your world easily, without the need for your devices.
Eyad was looking with interest at the couch he had asked me to sit on, as if he were looking at a real person. I appreciated that even though his gaze was not aimed toward my eyes.
He started off by asking me the question that had been burning him up: “Hawjan, I need you to explain what’s happened. I need all the details.”
“It’s a long story.”
“I have nowhere to go!”
I spent two hours telling him the story with all of its details. Eyad listened silently, looking at the void on the couch and holding back his tears for Sawsan. When I stopped talking, he picked up his phone.
“What is this damned Abu Attiyah’s number?” he asked me.
I gave it to him, and he dialed it. When he spoke, his angry tone changed suddenly to calm confidence.
“Hi, Abu Attiyah? How are you?”
“Hey, who is this?”
“I am Eyad Al-Zaydi. Someone gave me your number. Our relative started having nightmares, and his hand would go numb ever since he moved into his new house. They told us the house is haunted and that you knew experts that can help us.”
“Are you Eyad Al-Zaydi? Your mother is Noora Abdulmuhsin?”
“No, I think you have me confused. My mother is Manal Al-Aqeel.”
I wished I had ripped the phone out of his hand before he could say his mother’s name, but it is too late now.
Abu Attiyah wrapped up the call. “Okay. I will excuse myself now as I am a bit busy. But I will save your number and call you back the moment I have time.”
The moment Eyad hung up, I asked him, “Why did you give him your mother’s name?”
“Why? What’s wrong with that?”
“This weasel must be an expert in sorcery and the like. He asked for your mother’s name to do a background check and make sure you’re not setting him up! Now he’ll know and take precautions. We’ll never get to him!”
“He got me there. Don’t worry, though. I wouldn’t be Eyad if I couldn’t find him.”
“The most important thing now is to prepare for facing Mussa the sorcerer and the Marids who follow him. We must stop them before they slaughter that goat! We must practice possession!”
“Why do you need to possess me? I can face them, or inform the authorities and have them thrown in jail.”
“First of all, if the authorities get involved Dr. Abdulraheem will be implicated. Secondly you cannot see or affect the Marids that are with the sorcerer.”
“When you possess me, will I be able to see them?” - Eyad asked.
“I’ll see them, and at the same time I’ll control your body to deal with the Humans while you will not be aware of anything, but I haven’t yet practiced full materialization in your world, and when I come into your world I feel weak, cold, and suffocating, so I can’t stay for long.”
Eyad followed, “so my body will be like a car for you. You’ll have all my strength!”
“Exactly! And I’ll bring out your inner strength.” - I replied.
“Inner?” - Eyad quipped.
“I mean your entire strength! Humans only use a fraction of their body’s capabilities. Their inner or potential strength only explodes in critical situations.” - I explained.
Eyad continued- “You mean the effects of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Wicked! I’m ready! but…”
“But what?” - I asked.
“I mean… shouldn’t one be unclean and unprotected and such to get possessed? I prayed Isha (night’s prayers) before you arrived and recited every prayer that I know… Please don’t be upset!”
“Do I seem like a devil to you? I also prayed Isha and recited my prayers! And, God willing, he will protect both of us from any devils and all evil!” - I added.
“OK, so how should we start to practice?” - Eyad said.
“You must be in a state in between consciousness and unconsciousness. And you must be far from any sharp, solid objects.” - I explained.
Eyad: “The conscious part I can understand, but what’s with the solid and sharp objects?”
Me: “The brain is a sensitive organ, and the possession process is accompanied by electrical disturbance in the brain, causing spasm and seizures. We wouldn’t want you to injure yourself when that happens”
Eyad: “Okay, and does it not have any effect on the heart?”
Eyad: “By the way I’m a doctor like you. So don’t worry. I am not sure about the effects on the heart, I’ll be careful.”
Eyad went through his home medical cabinet and found some Tramadol his father used to ease his pain and cause a state of numbness. He went out to the garden and took two of the pills. He sat on the grass in a yoga-like pose, bit down on a towel, and closed his eyes. I observed his energy colors;
I won’t take you through another scientific maze, but in short we can see the energy emerging from you Humans, and it tells us a lot about you.
The pills’ effect had started, and I had to move fast before Eyad got too sleepy or even totally blackout. I sat in the exact spot where he was sitting, closed my eyes, and concentrated on the fading violet shade of his energy. I had to make sure I didn’t materialize in your world while I tried this, otherwise I would kill him. I felt a strong shiver in my body, and I looked at his hands, which also shivered and retracted. I felt a stronger shiver, and I realized I was feeling his shivering. His legs got stiff, and the trembling became more violent as I felt pain all over my body. I tried to open his hands with no success. His eyes were half open, frozen toward the sky, and his legs beat the air uncontrollably—and I was feeling it all! I felt every detail. His heart beat like a loud drum in my chest. I had to stop before he got hurt.
I slowly moved away, and my shivering stopped, but he was still trembling. In fact it was getting worse. His face turned blue, and white foam came out from between his lips. I had to wake him up before it was too late. After I was sure I had left his body completely, I yelled to him as loudly as I could, but he did not respond. I materialized and held him by the shoulders, and shook him as I called his name, I turned him to his side, and the shaking slowly stopped.
When he regained his consciousness, he could hardly speak. “
So did it work? How was the test drive?” A few seconds ago he had been about to lose his life, and now he can joke!
“We must try it more than once. Can you stand up?”
He looked at me with heavy eyes. “Can you help me?”
I extended my materialized arm to him, and held his hand to help him up.
“Come tomorrow to try again,” he said.
“Sleep well. Your body must rest!”
“Wait, I have to give you something.” He went into the house and came back with a cell phone. “Can you carry this with you? This is my backup phone, so you can call me anytime.”
I materialized and took the phone. He looked at it as it elevated to my ear, allowing him to notice my height. “Man, I thought you were a giant. You’re small!”
“Let’s try,” I said, ignoring his comment. I dialed his number, which I knew by heart.
He picked up his other phone. “Cool, Dr. E Z is calling!”
“Dr. E Z? Eyad Zaydi?”
“Of course. It’s a cool name!”
My materialization reversed; I returned to my world, and the cell phone returned with me. I tried to call again, but the signal was gone. It seemed I had to materialize to make a call.
“From now on I won’t be surprised by any magic tricks,” Eyad went on. “I saw my phone disappear right in front of my eyes. It’s just a simple trick! So listen, I’ll pay the phone bill, and you find a way to charge the battery, but don’t break my back with cross-world calls to your Jinni girlfriends.”
His joke reminded me of Jumara, and I went back home—to Sawsan’s home. Honestly I got so absorbed with Eyad that I’d lost track of time and forgotten about Jumara being alone. I was terrified when I didn’t find her in our room in the yard, and immediately went to Sawsan’s room. I was sure she had gone back to it. I went in through the window and saw the last thing I wanted to see in that moment: Sawsan!
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