Her Vision

 Everything you know about the Universe, the world, and religion is not what it seems. Everyone knows the story of the devil, better known as Lucifer. The angel of light, as some called him, betrayed God and deemed eternity in Hell. Lucifer has not rested since the fall. He has been plotting and planning on making a huge debut, so he can take the world back under his light. Though, to most of us, he is consumed by darkness but to some, he is a king. The day the damned fell was just the beginning of the story.    Chapter 1Year 2000 Family vacations were always such a bore. My mom and dad blared 80s rock music from the radio of our red Ford Focus. My brother, Justin, sat as close to the window, away from me in our small back seat. He was five years older than me, and according to him, I had cooties. Fighting sounds came from the latest Gameboy color that he played Pokemon on for endless hours at a time. I just sat there with a coloring book in my lap and a box of colored pencils on the seat. Snow fell fiercely from the cloudy sky. I counted each flake as it hit the window. I only knew how to count to one hundred, so boredom washed over me very quickly. Every Christmas we would head down south from northern Ohio to visit mamaw and paw for the holidays and this year was no different. The ride was so dreadful though. I kicked the back of the driver's seat and groaned in irritation.  "Anne, you should take a nap instead of complaining are we there yet," my dad said in his full rich voice.  I scoffed. I was way too old for naps. Once you turned five, you didn't need to take naps anymore. Regardless of how old I thought I was; the constant movement in the car and repetition of pine trees made my eyes heavy. The song 'Knocking on Heaven's Door' by Guns N Roses started playing on the radio. My mother's soft singing, lullabied me to sleep.  "Help! Help!" piercing screams woke me.  As I opened my eyes, pain shot through my head, down my neck, and into my feet. Blurred colors filled my vision and a high-pitched ring echoed through my ears. I kept blinking until my fuzzy vision cleared to the worst sight anyone could imagine. Gray smoke blew from under our car's hood and its side was rammed into a large pine tree. Another blue car was smashed into the front of ours. It looked similar to an SUV but the damage was so severe I couldn't tell. I gazed around for my mom but didn't see her. I silently prayed she got out of the car to retrieve some help. My dad sat over the dash through the broken windshield and my brother bled from what seemed to be everywhere. Glass glistened all over the seats. The bitter metal smell from all the blood burned my nostrils. The cold snow made my skin prick with numbness and as each flake fell through the broken windows, my clothes became damper. I shivered as a chill took over inside my body. My bones pricked from the cold, my body wouldn't stop shaking, and the whole situation felt foreign. I wanted to scream out for my mom, for help, for a miracle, but before I could move, think, or join my brother in screams of help, I blacked out.  At that moment, I was sure I died. I think I saw a light, but anyone in my predicament would imagine a light or think they met the end of fate. I tried to wonder what Heaven would be like but my mind would not process thoughts. My body was numb, indicating I must be dead. My ears echoed with whispers, voices, a southern accent I recognized all too well, and a high cheery voice I never heard. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes; preparing myself to see angels and blue skies like in all the movies and on the walls of churches. Instead, a bright white room with pale blue curtains greeted me. I looked around taking in the machines making beeping noises every few minutes, the light green couch, TV, and medical equipment hanging on the walls. My mamaw was talking to a blonde-haired nurse at the foot of my bed. They kept whispering to each other. I tried to listen in, but as soon as mamaw noticed my eyes were open, they went silent.  "Hey honey, how are you feeling?" my mamaw asked in her sweet Louisiana accent.  I kept staring at my mamaw, I just couldn't help it. Something appeared different. A bright yellow light followed her like a shadow, almost blinding me.  "Why do you have a bright shadow floating behind you?" I exclaimed and pointed. My mamaw turned to the blonde-haired nurse. They whispered and I yelled pointing at the nurse, "You have one too! Except yours is white instead of yellow!"  "There are no lights, honey, you hit your head really hard, so that may be causing you to see the bright spots," mamaw said with worry in her voice. She stared at the nurse with concern in her face. "No, they are there!" I argued. "Where is Dad? He will believe me!"  "Oh, hun," My grandma started, and at that moment, time stopped.  Minutes later, I received the worst news of my life. My parents died in the car crash. The doctors swore they did everything they could, but did they try? What would happen to Justin and I now?  "Why,God, Why?" I cried out feeling numb, but no one answered my plea. My mamaw hugged me, but I did not want her affection. I didn't want anyone's affection, I just wanted to be alone.  When my mamaw left my room to go check on my older brother, I prayed I would go to sleep and never wake up. Unfortunately, my prayers weren't answered. We left to go home with mamaw a week later. She forced us to pack up our important things and move down south to Louisiana. Saying goodbye to our farmhouse, our memories with mom and dad, our friends, and our life as we knew it was one of the hardest things I'd ever have to do in my life.  2005 Living with grandparents is a kids dream come true, but not for Justin and I. It has been years since my mamaw and paw have had to raise kids of their own. They were so out of date with the times, plus we were upset from having to uproot our whole lives to move with them to Houma, Louisiana, where the humidity was unbearable and the heat felt worse.  "Ready to visit the new therapist?" My mamaw asked, knocking on the door of their old walk-in closet, which became my bedroom. The room was only big enough to fit a bed, dresser, and small TV, so my mamaw stood at the door frame, waiting on me to get out of bed and leave with her.  "No," I said annoyed.  I have been to many therapists over the past few years to know the exact questions they asked their patients and how to answer them. The room always had a plush couch or plush chair to sit in. The therapist would hold out a box of Kleenex before I would start talking. They would bring up the constant reminder of the car accident, the way it made me feel, and my parents' death. After the excruciating hour ended, the therapist would tell my mamaw the lights I saw was my way to seek positive attention or a way I would express my depression, but soon we would make a breakthrough. When the breakthrough wouldn't happen, my mamaw would make me switch therapists in hopes for one.  I knew I wasn't crazy though. Every single person carried a light, almost like the shadow that followed around Peter Pan in the novel. Some shadows glowed bright, others not so much. Some people even had black shadows that I would look away from. Seeing the darkness would make my stomach churn and my arms get goosebumps. It had to mean something, but I was going to figure it all out on my own. I decided not to tell the therapist about the lights. I would ignore  their existence, at least until I could figure out what the lights meant. I slung my black messenger bag over my shoulder and followed mamaw out the door. She would be happy with a breakthrough, but little did she know I would be lying to her. I didn't even feel a little guilty about my lie, no one believed me anyway.