Debbie was talking to her boss, but everything he was saying was nothing but babbling sounds because her mind was busy thinking about something else, like
'It is happening again! '
'What am I going to do!? '
'I bumped into him. It means it can touch me,' she thought restlessly.
"Are you listening, Ms. Casis?" her boss called her attention. "Hi, Miss Casis, to earth, are you here?" Mr. Johnson asked.
"Nothing, I'm ... It's just... I'm not feeling well," she said.
"I see, you really don't look well, actually. You look like you are severely anxious. You looked like you were about to cry. Anyway, I won't hold you any longer. I have more business to do. I'll check this manuscript and give you a call. Have some rest today,Ms. Casis," he said, and she was dismissed. How nice to have a sudden sick leave. It's alright; she already submit her assignment, and that is the priority.
The plan to check the recommended abandoned place was cancelled. If she encountered another tangible vengeful spirit again, she'd be doomed. If the script she wrote will be approved. She'll have to stay at the shooting locations.
It doesn't matter if she will be there with a lot of people! They cannot see what she sees! nor touch what she can touch.
"What's going on?" she muttered as she rode the taxi. She prayed that her way home would be safe, and she reached home peacefully...
Just to see her cat lying lifeless on the floor.
'Oh,' was the only thought that played in her mind.
That was sad; she loved Sailor Moon so much. She often loved to wait for her to go home.
'Maybe..." she has a hunch.
'It was the death that arrived last time. It started to take lives. People started to die one after another in the area. It seems like it finds this innocent feline. It was nothing special, it's just the only family that accompanies her.
Tears were running down her cheeks.
If she knew, she would have brought her with her, or she should have stayed at home so that when she sensed the spirit of death. She and her baby girl can escape.
She cried helplessly like a kid when she suddenly sensed something coming.
She went to look at her balcony window and see her neighbors talking to each other.
Afternoon was the time when most of the people in the neighborhood were outside, which is not a very usual time for the spirit to go and wonder outside. The spirit of death is coming.
It will pass the crowds of people. Will she warn them? They won't hear her if she shouted, and if she haste to go there. What will she say? No one will believe her. It'll also be too late and she will expose herself to danger however if she don't do anything she will be guilt neglecting. It hard to help somebody when you cannot even help yourself.
Most of the time, the spirit of death won't take every life it encounters, and no one knows why. Was it according to the life condition? Or was it based on an assignment? Who knows? Was he like a decent man who holds wear a suit and a list? Like most grim reaper you can watch in Korean drama or the cloaked skull with a hooked blade, like in folklore? Or where they they formless angels? Who knows?
A memory flashes back in her mind. Way back when, she is having a conversation with her brother. "Did you know in most movies there is always a stubborn character that never listens to others? And also there is another character that cannot abandon that person," he said. "And both of them die earlier than the others," he added.
Well, she appear to be the second but she doesn't want to do something stupid like that. She wanted to do another stupid thing rather than that and that is to bury the body of her baby cat in the backyard and lie down on her bed and see if the spirit of death will kill her tonight.
She is used to ignoring things. She doesn't want to go for a checkup. She's afraid that there will be possible findings. She doesn't want to drink any medicine that will affect her brain functions. She saw people who literally take it and get even worse. She doesn't want anyone to invalidate what she is seeing and tag it as unreal while it bothers her night and day. She doesn't want to expose herself to gaslighting. She doesn't want to invalidate her emotions. She doesn't want anything to destroy her, not anymore.
She doesn't want her family worried, her mother is growing old. She cannot bare to see her parents worried about her anymore.
Because if she let that happen, they win.
No one can fully explain what is happening, not even most of the people at the church, except for those who have really had divine interventions. Debbie won't be exposing herself to any mediums because the next thing that will surely happen is sickness, possession, and also high-ranking demons will be tailing her again.
And when we say demons, it is the one flocking above the area and the other one that is often appearing to do annoying things just to trouble her. Indeed, that is her own assigned demon whose task is to ruin her life. So, if she reacts harshly to the things around her. It will win. She will be restricted from living normally and tagged as the insane one. Her life will be ruined.
She wakes up the next day and no spirit of death dares to touch her. So Debbie was still able to go to the church and do the faculty work. Once again, it's another way to see her mom again while handling another Korean drama like court/council issues. She was so busy with work and doing the script that the boss was looking for but then there is an issue that pops out again.
'Aren't they even tired of those issues? We are no longer kids nor celebrities,' she thought.
However, like what they used to say, those people who have a lot of idle time want something to do but not really. It was because Debbie contradicted some narcissistic manipulator.
'There are people who honestly have a rare gift. They can make lies sound perfect and a hundred percent true and no one doubts it. They will twist, gaslight and even try to trick you with the context, pointing the blame on you. You will need to do a lot of reasoning and even question you what they exactly did. It's funny how your brain abandoned you and deleted every memory the moment they started to ask. Nonsense arguments are sometimes exhausting, especially when you have been doing it for years with a manipulator. They will use all your reactions against you and make you appear like the problem. Well, not everyone wanted to be lawyers and argue about something nonsensical. If they wanted to believe such things, it is best to let them. If you argue with someone who doesn't want to listen nor believe you, then why waste time? Making everyone believe was really not my cup of tea,' she thought.
"Debbie, where are you going?" Cecille asked.
"I will be heading home because I don't want to deal with this st*pid nonsense again," but that is not the statement that comes out of her mouth; instead, she smiled.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I left my pet cat at the vet for a while. I needed to tend to her because she's sick. I just went to check for a minute." She said.
She was talking to the girl who sneered at her because she spoke up against the narcissistic manipulator. Debbie sighed, but she cannot leave because the connection she has in this faith is the only thing that keeps her safe. It is either to save herself from toxic people or to live her life haunted.
There is a figure behind her, although not clearly visible but the fact is "there is something evil that Debbie is sensing behind her," and that's the demon responsible for her actions.
Is she responsible in dealing with these people? Maybe? Or maybe not.
She'll just talk to her mother about the issue. Her mother still listen if her point actually make sense and aligned to what she believes in.