possessionmask1994

Chapter 2: One Magical Experience Several hours passed in relative silence. Javier eventually re-entered the room, apologizing for not being the first to tell his mother about the diagnosis because he needed to speak to the doctors and the hospital about costs and bill payments. Esperanza nodded to show she understood his reasoning and did not ask further. Javier seemed to want to say something further, probably another request to either shift to home treatment and hospice or at least to a less expensive room, but he could not seem to get the words out and just awkwardly stood in the corner looking around the room for something to distract him. Eventually, he asked his mother if he could turn on the TV and watch soccer, and Esperanza agreed. Esmeralda had still not said anything else since she had delivered the news. She was no longer crying, but she was still laying on her mother's lap with her face buried in the quilt they had brought to keep Esperanza warm in the hospital. This

Chapter 1: At Death's Door The weather was lovely. In mid March, temperatures in San Diego were around 67° F. There were a few clouds, but not enough to distract from the bright, warming sunshine playing through them over the area. There was a light breeze coming off the water, and the birds were out chirping and other small animals were playing in the grass. As lovely as this day was, the people at St. Angela of Mercy's General Hospital were unlikely to be able to enjoy it, as best as they could try. Lying in her bed looking out the window with longing is one Esperanza Almaveda. Other than trips to the restroom or the occasional bout of exercise in the cancer ward's fitness room, she had been laying in this bed or sitting in the lumpy looking metal and plastic chair sitting across from her for more than four years now. This view of the outside world was one of her few pleasures in this place. She could watch TV, but there were only so many times she could watch the same terrible

Chapter 10: Rewards "Darla! It's time to get up!" Ethel Higgins yelled from downstairs. Darla groaned heavily and turned. She was in her bed, all cozy under her covers as the early morning sun assaulted her through the window. Turning to her nightstand, Darla looked at the clock on the table. It read 6:35 AM. Shocked and alarmed, Darla jumped out of bed and ran to her overalls. Pulling them on over her pajamas as she ran down the stairs, she nearly tripped and fell to the ground. Righting herself, she ran into the kitchen. "Mom! Dad! I'm sorry I slept so late. I will get right to-" Darla stopped. Her father was sitting calmly at the table eating some toast covered in eggs and bacon while reading the newspaper. Her mother sat across from him eating some grits that she would occasionally dip some bacon into. "No need to rush, sleepyhead," Ethel Higgins answered. "Have some breakfast." Darla was now utterly confused. She had woken up after the sunrise two days in a row, and this time

Chapter 9: Retribution Bradley Henderson sat on the remnants of his porch staring out at the broken fence, the torn up fields, and the ruined barn that made up what was left of his property. Every few seconds, he would take a swig from the plastic 2 liter jug of Admiral Jerry's rum he bought from the general store with the last of the money he had in the house. Georgia objected of course, but what did it matter. Everything was gone anyway. Taking one extra long swig, Henderson threw his head back and looked at the ceiling. At that moment, there was a loud whoosh of wind in front of him. Looking down from his bottle, a tall muscular woman with long braided hair and a sun hat was standing at the bottom of his stoop. The hat was keeping the woman's face in shadow and out of sight. "Evening, neighbor," the woman said, waving. Henderson stared at the strange apparition that had appeared before him. He looked at the bottle in his hand. He had drunk a lot of it, but not that much. He looked

Chapter 8: A Deal with a God Darla could not believe what she was seeing. She appeared to be beneath the surface of a pond looking up into the face of one of the strangest and yet most beautiful women she had ever seen. The strange green color did not hide the strong cheekbones, the cleft chin or the neat tiny nose. Her eyes blazed a fiery orange red, similar to her own eyes but with a much more intense color. Her hair started red at the roots before blazing outward from orange to shining yellow at the ends, resembling the fiery waves of the sun as it billowed behind her in a huge braid. She was smiling brightly at Darla. Her smile showed the broad pearly white teeth between her darker forest green lips. "Thank you for getting back to me so quickly, Darla. I knew you would be wanting to talk after last night." Darla just stared blankly in awe at the woman. "Who, what are you?" The woman frowned at her. "Well that's not a very kind way to address someone, is it? Didn't your parents