Radiant

- 11 -

Salt and Holy Water


Mary went to Anna's after school one day to get more paint. "Hey," Ben greeted when she came in. "I got your tickets for the show." He gave her an envelope with three tickets inside.

"Thanks," she said.

"Did you ask your mom about making the mobile?" he asked.

She nodded. "She said it's not a good time right now. Money-wise. Plus, she thinks you're going to steal me and sell me into slavery if I come over here more often."

They both laughed.

"Well, if things change, just let me know," he said.

"I will," she said. "And thanks for the tickets."

After she bought what she needed, she started back for the bus. But she stopped in front of the fortuneteller/psychic's shop for a moment.

Carter had been avoiding her again for the past couple days. He sat in the back row in Physics, and he didn't speak to her in the halls or wait outside her classrooms. Mary had debated for a while what to do about him. She seemed to be the only one who figured out what was "wrong" with him. She didn't tell anyone else that he was possessed, for fear of looking like a lunatic. Perhaps she was. But when it came down to it, Mary figured that no one should be possessed by something he didn't want. And even though she didn't like the old Carter very much, since she was the only one who knew, it was her responsibility to try and help him.

Mary didn't know the first thing about this possession stuff. And maybe the best person to ask was someone who dealt with spirits and otherworld-type things regularly. Ben's purple-curtained neighbor seemed to know what he or she was doing, since the shop had been there for a long time. Mary took a deep breath and went inside.

She expected skulls, black cats, and crystal balls. But to her surprise, Mary found herself in an ordinary waiting room, like in a doctor's office. There were chairs, a desk with a computer, and some tall plants. A sign on the desk read, "Lakshana has been expecting you. Please have a seat."

Mary sat down and waited. Her knee began tapping nervously. Most of her bruises had healed, but there was still one on her knee that was taking longer to go away. She looked around and saw a poster on the wall. It had a picture that was shaped like a person, but the inside of the person was colored to look like stars and space. The edges of the person were glowing, like a light was shining behind it. At the bottom of the poster were the words, "Radiant. The Energy Within."

Mary heard voices. A door in the back opened and two women emerged. One of them mopped at her red face with a wad of tissues. "Thank you so much, Lakshana."

The non-crying one patted her hand. "You're most welcome, dear." Like her shop, Lakshana didn't look very unusual. No bohemian skirts, bangles, or scarves holding back a wild mess of hair. If anything, Lakshana looked like a teacher at Mary's school. "I'll see you next week. And remember what we talked about."

The crying woman nodded. "Yes. I will. See you next week." And she left.

Lakshana turned to Mary. "How can I help you, dear?"

Mary stood. "Hi. Um, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions."

Lakshana went to her desk and pushed the sign aside. "I'll see if I have some answers. Is this for a school project?"

"Well, sorta," Mary said. "Have you ever dealt with anyone who was possessed?"

Lakshana looked at her curiously. "Possessed? Like by a demon?"

Mary nodded. "I know this is gonna sound nuts, but I think a boy at my school is. And I was wondering if you would know how to help him and—"

"Whoa, wait a minute," Lakshana said. "Are you asking me to perform an exorcism on him?"

Mary nodded. "I don't have a lot of money. But I—"

Lakshana raised her hand. "Listen love, I work with spirits. But this is beyond my expertise."

"So, there's nothing you can tell me to help him?" Mary asked.

"Have you tried throwing salt on him?" she suggested.

"Will that get rid of it?" Mary asked.

"I've heard that demons don't like salt," Lakshana said. "Or maybe that was slugs. Anyway, maybe you should check with a church and ask them."

"Oh," Mary said. "All right. Thanks."

***

"Mom? Do we have extra salt?" Mary asked the next morning at breakfast.

Mom looked in the cupboard and pulled out a canister. "Here you go. What do you need it for?"

"Art," Mary said. "I want to try this technique with watercolors in class." And that was true, so she wasn't lying. However, she had more plans for the salt.

Carter was still avoiding her, and Mary had several challenges with her plans to exorcise him. She couldn't chase him down the hall and throw salt on him, but she didn't know how to get him by himself to where she could do it. She didn't really want to do this at school and freak other kids out, since she wasn't sure what an exorcism outside of the horror movies looked like. But she didn't have many options, so she had to plan things out carefully.

In between classes, Mary found David at his locker. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure," he said. "What's up?"

Mary sighed. "Here's the deal. It's gonna sound weird. And you have to keep it a secret. Is that okay?"

He eyed her suspiciously. "Um, okay."

Mary took the canister of salt from her bag and gave it to him. "You have Physics one class before I do, right? After the bell rings and everyone's out, can you sprinkle some of this on the second desk from the left in the back? But you can't let anyone see you doing it, so it has to be after everyone leaves."

He looked at the salt. "Are you serious?"

"I said it was gonna sound weird," she said. "Please?"

David thought for a moment. Then, he shrugged and put it in his bag. "Well, you let me borrow your brushes a bunch. I think I can handle this."

She thanked him, and they both headed to class.

Mary didn't concentrate at all during English. They were supposed to be reading Romeo and Juliet. But since it was reading, she had little interest. And since it was Shakespeare, she had even less. Plus, she was nervous about Physics. She hoped that David was able to sprinkle the salt on Carter's desk. Her knee tapped nervously.

When the bell rang, Mary raced to Physics. She got there just as David walked out.

"Mission accomplished." He gave her back the canister of salt.

"Thanks," she said and went into the empty room. Mary went to her seat, but not before glancing at Carter's desk. White grains littered the surface. It looked like David also spilled some salt on the seat. Perfect.

The other kids started coming. Carter walked in without looking her way, and he headed to the back of the room to his desk. His brow wrinkled when he saw the salt.

Mary held her breath.

Carter put his bag on the floor and then started sweeping the granules from the seat and desk into his hand. He took it to the waste bin and dumped it before returning to his desk like normal. The bell rang, and Mrs. Stanton began class.

Darn. Mary had hoped that when the salt touched Carter's skin, it would cause the possessing thing to leave him. But it didn't seem to have any effect. She thought of what she should do next.

There was a church not far from her apartment. On her way home from school, Mary walked a few blocks towards the pointed steeple. There wasn't a service going on, but a few people inside sat on long wooden pews or knelt at altars with statues on them. Mary wasn't sure where she should go. Then, she spotted a gift shop off to the side.

"I didn't know churches had those," she said to herself as she went inside.

The walls were covered in crucifixes and the shelves displayed statues of the Virgin Mary, jewelry, Bibles, and all kinds of religious stuff. In glass cases, there were sculptures of angels. Mary studied them for a moment. Most had white robes, golden wings, and predominantly Caucasian faces as they raised their hands and appeared generally peaceful. If Mary had known that that was how they really looked when she was younger, she wouldn't have thought the stars were guardian angels. These ones looked like they couldn't help anyone.

Mary saw a shelf with several clear bottles. When she picked one up and examined it, she read "Holy Water" on the label. She brought it to the counter, where a young nun sat reading a Bible.

"Is this real?" Mary asked.

"Oh yes," the nun said in a smallish voice. "It's the same water used in our services."

"I see," Mary said. "What about with possessions?"

The nun looked at her curiously. "Possessions?"

"Yeah," Mary said. "If I poured this on someone who was possessed, would that help?"

The nun's jaw dropped a little. "Well, um, it would actually take a priest to do an exorcism."

"So, I'd have to bring him here?" Mary asked.

"Who?"

"The possessed guy."

The nun blinked a few times. "Are you sure he's possessed?"

"Pretty sure," Mary said.

The nun stepped out from behind the counter. "Why don't you come with me and we'll talk with Father Cohen?"

Mary followed her up some stairs that led to the church offices. They came to an open door with Father Cohen's name on it. The nun gently knocked on it.

The white-haired man at the desk looked up. "Yes, Sister Emily?"

"Father," she said. "This young lady has a question she'd like to ask you."

The priest nodded. "Come in, please, and have a seat. Tell me what your concern is."

Mary sat in the chair across from his desk. It was like coming in for a teacher conference. She then took a deep breath and told him how she suspected Carter was possessed. He asked her a few questions, and she answered them as best as she could.

When Mary had finished talking, the priest said, "Well, Mary, I thank you for coming to me about your friend. But it doesn't sound to me like he's possessed."

"It doesn't?" she asked. "But what about him speaking Viet?"

"Are you sure he never learned it before?" he asked.

"Well, no," Mary admitted. "Then what about him suddenly not being an ass?"

"Eep!" Sister Emily yelped, covering her own mouth with her hand.

"Sorry," Mary said. "I meant to say 'jerk'."

The nun squeaked again.

The priest chuckled. "It's all right. But you said Carter was in an accident and almost died. He might've decided to change his ways. Big events like that can do that type of thing."

"I see," she said. That was the same thing that Mom had said. She felt a bit discouraged.

Father Cohen studied her for a moment. "Tell you what. Why don't you bring him here to see me? I'll talk to him, like how I talked with you just now. Maybe I can find out a little more."

"I don't know," she said. "He's not really talking to me right now. And it'd be kinda weird just ask him to come here."

The priest chuckled again. "Well, if you do start talking to him again, you might consider inviting him to one of our Sunday services. Or even a choir concert. Many people from the community come for those, even if they don't attend regularly."

"I'll try," she said. "Thank you, sir. Father, I mean."

They shook hands, and she went back to the gift shop with the nun.

"I hope that was helpful," Sister Emily said.

"It was a little," Mary said as she put the holy water on the counter again. "I'd still like to buy this."

The following day, Mary poured the holy water into a regular drinking bottle and marked it "HW." At lunchtime, she ventured into the cafeteria for the first time in a while. It was packed and no one paid attention to her as she scanned the room. She saw a freshman sitting by herself at a table along the side. Mary went and sat down across from her. "Hey, wanna make a couple bucks?" she asked.

The freshman looked at her. "Doing what?"

Mary took the bottle of holy water from her bag. "You know who Carter Maxwell is?"

She nodded.

"After the last bell, follow him outside and throw this on him."

The freshman looked at the bottle suspiciously. "What is it? Acid?"

"Just water," Mary said. "It won't hurt you if you get some on you. But most of it has to be on him."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Do you want the money or not?"

She didn't say anything for a moment. "What if I pretended to bump into him and it spilled on him instead? Would that work?"

That was actually a better idea. Mary wished she had thought of it. "Yeah, that works. So you'll do it?"

"Yeah," the girl said. "For twenty bucks."

Twenty bucks? What did Mary look like? A bank?

"I'll give you five."

"Fifteen."

"Ten."

"Do it yourself then," the girl said.

Mary frowned. "Thirteen."

The girl thought for a moment. "Fine."

Mary gave her the water.

"What about the thirteen dollars?"

"I'll give it to you when you've done what you're supposed to do."

"I wanna see that you have the money."

Mary frowned. She took out her wallet and showed her the cash.

"Okay," the girl said.

"I'll be by the bike racks," Mary said.

At the end of the day, Mary didn't bother stopping by her locker to get her stuff. She followed Carter at a distance, watching him visit his own locker before leaving through the front door. Outside, Mary lingered near the bike racks as Carter walked across the schoolyard. The freshman was near the gate. She had an armful of books and the water bottle perched on top of them with the cap missing.

As Carter began to pass her, the freshman pretended to see someone she knew and darted into his path. She collided with Carter, spilling books and water all over him.

"Watch it!" she snapped.

"I am sorry," Carter said sincerely. His black sweater and the front of his pants were soaked, but he ignored them as he helped her pick up the books. "I was not paying attention and did not—"

"The hell you weren't! What'd you think? Lil' frosh's easy to push around? Boy, I will cut you!" she cried.

Mary watched slack-jawed as the girl continued to berate him. Suddenly, she was furious. The freshman was scolding Carter when she was just supposed to spill some holy water on him.

Carter apologized again. When he finally walked off the campus, the freshman came to meet Mary.

"What the heck was that?" Mary asked. "Why'd you yell at him?"

"You didn't say I had to wipe his ass and give him a bag of gummy bears," the girl said. "Where's my money?"

Frowning, Mary shoved the cash into her hands. The freshman left without another word.

Mary sighed. Trying to get rid of whatever was possessing Carter was getting expensive. That thirteen dollars was the last of her allowance until next week. She was going to have to figure something else out.

Or maybe, as Father Cohen had said, Carter really wasn't possessed. And all this effort was for nothing.

Mary continued pondering as she headed to Agape. After she said hi to Ms. Nancy and signed in, she looked around for Ba. She wondered into the game room and found some of the residents relaxing, including the Pennys and Emma.

"Hi there, Mary," Mr. Penny greeted her. He and Mrs. Penny sat at a table playing checkers.

"Hello sir," Mary said. "Have you seen my grandmother?"

"Oh, we saw her on our way down to the elevator," Mrs. Penny said. "She's still in her room getting ready. She said you were both going shopping."

Actually, Ba was going to buy things that she thought Mary should wear. And as usual, Mary would have to return everything later so that Mom wouldn't completely freak out when she saw the bank statements. Still, shopping was something that Ba liked to do. And Mary liked getting her out and about a couple times a week so that just the two of them could hang out.

Mary nodded. "We'll be gone for a couple hours. I'll just wait here until she comes down." She sat in the soft chair next to Emma, who was reading her Bible quietly. Mary watched her for a moment. Then, she asked, "Hey Emma?"

"Yeah, Baby Girl?" Emma said.

Mary chose her words carefully. "Do you know the story about Jesus exorcising the demon from a boy?"

"Sure do," Emma said. "He cast out demons many times. And so did some of his followers."

"Do you know how they did it?" Mary asked. "Did they use holy water or say some kind of special phrase or something?"

"Well, with the boy you're talking about, Jesus said that kind of demon needed to be cast out by fasting and prayer," Emma said. "But casting out demons was just a small part of Jesus' ministry. He healed people, taught them, fed them, and a whole bunch of things. And it was all because He loved them."

Mary wrinkled her brow. "Loved them?"

Emma nodded. "That's why he came to save us, Baby Girl. Because he loved everyone. Even the people that killed him."

Mary didn't really understand most of what she said. Probably because she only read that one part about the demons. She'd have to read the rest to put it all in context. And that was of course going to be a challenge because she didn't read much.

Ba came downstairs with her purse on her arm. "Ready to go, Con?" she asked.

Mary thanked Emma and headed out with her grandmother. During their shopping spree, she pondered Emma's words. If she understood correctly, then the way to help Carter was to love him? How was Mary going to do that? She barely even liked him.

Reading the Bible suddenly didn't seem as much of a challenge compared to that.

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