Plagued by her fears, Mariam was held captive by her past.
To add to her misery, the dark, restless night in which she’s now helplessly confined to, and the natural hoot of a large grey eyed owl as he flew from a tall tree, adjacent to her quarters, into the shadows of the night, didn’t do much to abate her uneasiness. She rushed breathlessly as if being chased by a ruthless serial killer on the prowl to a somewhat dilapidated cottage in which she stayed.
“Open up! Open up!”—she screamed, banging on the door “Aunt Sally, open the door, please!!” She cried anxiously, turning her head ghastly as if to measure how close her pursuer was. As soon as she was about to turn her direction back towards the door, it flew open.
“What’s the matter with you?” Came a harsh voice “Don’t you dare come banging on my door like that ever again, you hear me?” Aunt sally scolded.
Mariam ran into the house falling to her knees.
“I said do you hear me ?” she reprimanded.
“Yes..Yes…Yes maam” she mumbled, trembling.
“What’s wrong with you anyways, why do you look so frightened? If you had chopped the firewoods like I told you too this morning, you would not have been punished outside in the dark, and you know how you love the dark” Aunt Sally said sarcastically “Hope you learn child!” she reiterated.
It was now time for bed, aunt Sally checked her door once again and her windows, her usual nightly routine right before she turns in, making sure they’re all locked and secure. “Well it’s about that time now, head on to bed, tomorrow is another day, and theres lots to get done, go on!” She shooed her.
Mariam, a sixteen year old girl, scruffy exterior but underneath all that, beautiful, if only she’d care about combing and letting her hair down, her long lovely, black hair. If only she would wear clothes that was actually made for her body type and not a 200 pound woman, and wore that fetching smile that she’s allowed to be ensconce ever since that tragic day, if only she’d allow herself to get over that day.
See, it was a sunny August day, a lovely day for a picnic, Mariam’s mother thought and then voiced, conveniently for Mariam, an adorable happy go lucky thirteen year old girl, who was a week into her summer break, had more free time than she knew what to do with, she wasn’t needed in school today, so an outing sounded great, she then smiled at her mom in agreement.
“Alrighty! who’s gonna help me make the sandwiches then?” her mother had asked teasingly.
“Me! Me! Me! I will!” Mariam said smiling.
“Ok guess I’ll go get the car ready then, make sure its fueled up” her dad had said cheerfully. A few minutes later, they were all packed and set so they hopped into the car and went, looking forward to what was going to be a lovely day together.
But no sooner had they left the house, about to head on the interstate, out of nowhere, came this heavy duty powered sand truck, toppling over parlously. Nothing in its path stood a chance and unfortunately, the front of their car was in the immediate path of the reckless machine, killing both of Mariam’s parents on impact, she started screaming, her face crimson red from the blood of her parents spilling directly on her, Mariam was miraculously unharmed, even though the truck hit the front of the car, it’s impact carried all the way to the middle of it, she screamed again, that’s when it happened, it was then that Mariam heard a voice for the very first time, without seeing anyone, she looked around still very traumatized by the fate that befell her, then she heard it again, it was clearer now.
“Hahahahahahaha!” someone was laughing, laughing at her.
“Hahahahahahaha!!” It got louder.
“Who’s there?” she asked panicking.
“Where are you?” she inquired, terrified and visibly debilitated.
“You’re next!” she heard. “You’re next!” said the insatiable voice. Within a split second, she heard another voice, sighing like wind through the trees, it was much softer and stilled, she had to listen carefully.
“I’ve got you, everything’s going to be okay” she thought she heard, it was almost a whisper. At that point Mariam was stupefied and trembling uncontrollably, she heard it again, “I’ve got you, everything’s going to be okay, just hold on to my words” the voice sounded reassuring, her breathing altered, it was a bit more controllable. Mariam fainted.
No one knows exactly what happened that day, but the police report stated, that the driver of the truck, who mystically survived the accident, swerved from a man on a bicycle, whom he said he saw at the last minute, but because of the lawless speed the truck was going it toppled, catalyzing what was suppose to be a wonderful family outing into a day that alter the fate of three persons and seemingly engender the bewilderment of one.
Ever since the tragedy, it’s been common knowledge to everyone in the neighborhood, that Mariam wasn’t the same. She was now living with a woman named Sally Benjamin who got custody of her through a government institution for special needs kids, who gets paid to take care of her. Sally has no kids of her own, but decided she could manage the maternal role, plus make some extra bucks in the process. A stocky caucasian woman about five feet four inches tall, hair cut in a bob, a flustered and lofty character she is. One had to be uber tolerant to condone her ways. Unfortunately for Mariam, she wasn’t in a bargaining position, as far as everyone was concerned she is the indigent patient, in need of all the help she can get, despite the fact that the woman now caring for her is indifferent to her tragic past and current emotional state. The tragedy had made an indelible impact on her capacity to process and perceive everyday life in a normal prosaic fashion , she was always hearing voices, and purportedly feeling as if someone’s watching her most of the time.
Mariam battled with the voices in her head constantly. One evening, approximately three years after the accident, she’s sitting in her room, it was always worse when she was by herself, one of the voices was always louder it seems, the first voice she heard at the scene of the accident, the nefarious one, was louder, always bombarding her mind, but somehow in the midst of all that, there was that reassuring voice, she could tell it was there, she could hear it, if only she could focus, if only she could find a way to drown out this evil voice.
“Your parents are dead, you have no one left, it’s better to die, there’s no one to take care of you now, you can be with them again” coaxed the evil voice.
Frightened, she clasp her hands over her ears and ran out of her room. Sally Benjamin was in her living room throwing darts, Mariam ran towards her. “Aunt Sally can I stay down here with you tonight?” she asked.
“Little girl you must’ve lost your mind, can you stay with me tonight? You better get back to your room and see how much sleep you can get, you see how the weather is changing, we need as much firewood we can get!”Mariam clearly still very frightened, turned and headed back to her room. No sooner had she got back in there, came that voice again.
“I told you, no one here cares for you, except your parents, you need to go where they are, I can help you get there, I’ll tell you what to do” coaxed the voice again. Normally Mariam would be scared at the sound of that voice but something seemed to change now, she is considering what was said.
“Maybe this is right for me, I should be with my parents” she pondered. “There’s no one who really cares for me, no one loves me here.”
“Now it seemed Mariam has found a voice of her own but sadly, the more she spoke, the more it sounded like hers was in unison with the one coaxing her. “Aunt Sally, yea she gives me food, and I have a place to stay but she really doesn’t care.” She was interrupted in her thoughts by the small still voice “Remember what I said, believe it and you can be free, resist that evil voice and he shall leave you.” It was hard for her to focus it seems like the other voice didn’t let up but she managed to hear. Mariam sighed half wearily and half relieved, she wish she could believe that, she wanted to, but that don’t make any sense to her, she knows which one is stronger, it always seemed to scream out at her, especially when she was alone, why is this happening to her she thought.
“Why!” she screamed.
“Mom! Dad!” she called out tearfully. “I want my parents back, Why did they have to die..Why did they have to die and leave me?” Her voice breaking as she cried, the soft voice spoke to her again.
“Your mom and dad is in a better place, their going to be okay, I love them, I died for them just as I died for you so that you can know me.”
Mariam’s eyes flew open wide, she remembered, she can remember her mom telling her about a man that died so that she can live, a man called Jesus Christ, the son of God her mom use to say, and if she believe in him she would have eternal life, the story was coming clear to her now. Mariam jumped to her feet, “My parents are not dead!” she exclaimed.
“He’s right, they’re not, they’re with me, and they need you with them now,” that loud voice spoke to her again.” This can’t be real, Mariam thought “I saw my parents crushed, I was right there, they died,” she said regretfully, “I was at their funeral,” she mumbled, her hopes dim once again.
“My parents are dead!” she voiced, she sat back down, she thought, even if this was true, my parents wouldn’t have died the way they did, what kind of God would let that happen? Exactly! she heard the loud voice agreed. Then God spoke “Your parents fullfilled their purpose that I’ve created them for, it was their time, everyone here is just passing through, this earth is temporal, I know it seemed catastrophic in the natural what happened to your parents but that was just the physical, my child, their both very much alive, and I have the power to give them new bodies. You are still here Mariam, because I love you, I take no pleasure in seeing my people perish, I take no pleasure in sentencing anyone to eternal damnation and by the grace that is bestowed upon you, through my son Jesus, I’m beckoning you to come to me.”
“But why, why like that, why did I have to see that or go through what I’ve been going through, what have I done to deserve that?”
“Give thanks that what you deserve I did not bestow” was the response.
“Time is running out, whatever it takes to wake my people up, that I will do, because there is coming a time when it’s going to be too late and just like you saw your mom and dad with you and in a twinkling they were gone, so it shall be” He warned ” You weren’t tortured Mariam, you were spared, who do you know, rides a bicycle on an interstate?”
Mariam fell to her knees.
“It is true, mom tried to tell me, I wanna know you, I wanna know you lord, forgive me! forgive me!” she cried out, she was comforted.
For the first time since the accident Mariam felt alive and hopeful, but it wasn’t that long before her newly found solitude was interrupted, there came that voice again “Do as I say and you can be with your parents right now, you don’t have to wait, they’re calling for you” Mariam can see through him now, the enemy of her soul, she can detect his lies and his sneers, oh..he had her fooled, he was deceiving her, she heard the voice again, this time as soon as he began to speak, Mariam said “It is over, I’m done with you.”
“I’m not done with you!” she heard furiously.
Mariam stood up, full of dominion and said “God is with me, I’ve received him as my lord and saviour and his blood commands you to leave!” there was peace, for the first time in three years her mind was at peace.