Myosotis - Exorcist's Beginnings

Chapter II: Enigmatic Figures

Ten years passed and not even one investigator or the police made any progress on the case, nor their memories ever came back, and although they kept searching for Virgil, their lives continued beyond that and changed. Both sisters Macaria and Benedicta went to the convent in Sta. Perpetua. However, the youngest was not happy about being a simple nun, so she also studied medicine outside of town and she was both a prodigious student and an exemplary novice. On the other hand, Macaria was quite a troublemaker and the other nuns asked themselves what led that girl to become a nun, since she was not gifted at all for such a task. She would often wake up late, she messed up recipes, was overly impatient and would not keep quiet and still at church and didn't even seem to care much about the less fortunate ones. This led Abbess Prudence to put her in an enclosure in an attempt to straighten her up. The abbess and the other nuns expected Macaria to disagree with such a harsh decision. After all, she would be denied access to the outside world, which included not visiting her mother and grandmother; however, Macaria accepted the decision easily and without any complaints. Some thought she was changing for the better, others thought she had ulterior motives and the latter were right. Not everyone had access to the enclosure area of the abbey, only the abbess, the town's priest and a dozen other nuns, and now Macaria was one of them. She had been in it for almost two years and she learnt a lot from it, things she wouldn't have imagined ever before.

"Benedictus Christus Rex, Caritas Christi, et Beata Virgo Maria, Mater Dei, et beati qui ambulant lege domini. Sodes dirumpo hoc circulus vitiosus, id est celer, sileus, mortalis. Ut te bono malum superate et ut sit tibi fortes in fide, integer vitae scelerisque purus et libera te tutement ex inferis. Stamus contra malum, ergo vade retro satana. De praescientia Dei et in nomine Domine, ego te absolvo!" screamed the priest at a patient bound to a bed, who yelled wildly like a beast and squirmed in disturbing ways, as if she was trying to deform herself.

After Macaria was admitted into that enclosure area, she took the liberty of investigating it and she was always curious about a certain room that was isolated and far away from the other divisions. After stealing the abbess' key for it, she entered it, but did not find anything special. However, while she was still there, misfortune hit. She heard loud noises and quick steps coming her way and quickly hid inside a closet. Then, through a slot, she saw the town's priest and his helpers holding an unconscious woman and they bound her to the bed. As soon as she was strapped, the priest sprinkled her with holy water and she immediately woke up and screamed in pure agony as the water burnt her flesh and that was when Macaria witnessed her first exorcism. She was fascinated by it, but she knew it would be dangerous to keep hiding there. Not only could she be caught by the priest, but also by a demon, so she decided to watch from a safer distance. She perforated two small holes on the floor of the room upstairs and watched the exorcisms from there. Since then, she witnessed about a dozen exorcisms and ten of them were just from that year alone, which Macaria found peculiar.

"May I ask you what are you doing?" asked a voice right behind her, as she was lying on the floor looking at the exorcism that was happening right below her.

"Oh! You startled me, abbess. Nothing, I... lost something and was trying to find it" Macaria said.

"Is it true? You know you shouldn't lie, right?" asked the abbess Prudence, in her typical stern tone and expression.

"Yes, I lost an earring and was looking for it" Macaria replied.

"Earring? We don't wear such mundane embellishments here" said the abbess, suspecting her even more. "Move aside" Macaria shook her head and did not comply and so the abbess glared at her and her intense stare made Macaria finally move and that was when she saw the holes on the floor. "Were you spying on things beyond your understanding? Don't you know that exorcisms are off limits not only to you, but to all of us?"

"Why?! Why can't women be present and learn about it?" asked Macaria.

"Women are keen to give to temptation. Have we not taught you that? They are dealing with dangerous demons, which are temptation-shaped. It is better for all of us to be away from such evils. Is this why you wanted to get into the enclosure?!" asked the abbess angrily. "I have forgiven you everything, but I can't overlook this."

"I was just curious! Do I really have to be punished for this?"

"This is beyond simple punishments. This is an affront to me, to this institution and God Himself. You represent a danger to yourself and others and I can't keep a person like that in here" stated the abbess.

"What do you mean by that? Are you expelling me?" Macaria retorted.

Yes, she was. Upon hearing the news about Macaria's expulsion, no one could say they were surprised. Knowing how she behaved, everyone seemed to be expecting it; some were even bold enough to say she was due her time. Since her sister was at that moment out of town studying, only one person came to say goodbye to Macaria. She was also a novice and her name was Orabelle. Even though she was about the same age as Benedicta, who was twenty at the time, Orabelle still cared for her dolls. She was a very innocent girl, as she had lived in that convent since she was abandoned there as a baby. Her big eyes were light-blue and she had freckles on her pale face and long wavy hair that was hidden by the white novice habit, which had white lace details.

"Are you really going?" Orabelle asked at the exit of the convent with watery eyes.

"Yes, and why are you like that? Since I've been put in an enclosure, we barely see each other anyway" Macaria replied with a black leather bag on her hands. It was not very big, but it did have everything that she had. She was no longer wearing her white habit on her head and so her long black hair was again loose.

"Still... We saw each other every Sunday at mass and now your sister is barely here too. I'll be completely alone! Can't you ask the abbess for forgiveness? I'm sure if you beg, she will take you back", Orabelle said.

"I'm not going to beg to that old hag! That's so humiliating!" Macaria retorted.

"You know, pride is a sin. You shouldn't be that way."

"Don't worry, you will make more friends. You should just get over your shyness and try to say something to others" advised Macaria, trying to appease her friend, as she was visibly upset.

"I wish it could be that easy... Everyone thinks I'm weird" she pouted.

"They are the weird ones. You are perfectly lovely. I'll come to visit you, when I can, alright?"

"I guess... What are you going to do now?" Orabelle asked.

"I don't know. I was thinking about trying to figure out what happened to my father."

"You still want to find him? What if the rumours are right and he is just some... loose man?"

"I don't care, I still want to know. And if he is like everyone says he is and really abandoned us, I want to shout at his face how much of a bastard he is", Macaria stated, and Orabelle smiled at her.

Only having Orabelle there made Macaria realize what little impact she had in that place. She was in that convent for five years and only made one friend, which reminded her of her time in school, where she also only managed to make one friend and she didn't even remember that friend at all, she only remembered a warm presence by her side. Macaria started to think it was only some imaginary friend. Nevertheless, that friend no longer existed in her world and now she was saying goodbye to her only friend and that made her more upset than being expelled from the convent. She walked around town for a while, by the river Lethe, wondering what her life would be like in the future. It was night before she came to any realization and then rain started pouring, so she rushed home with her black leather bag on her head to protect it from the cold heavy rain.

"Oh? Macaria?! What happened?" asked Benedicta, when she opened the door to an awfully wet Macaria.

"I should be the one asking that! Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Today is Saturday, you know I always come home on the weekends" Benedicta replied, while Macaria just barged in. "But what happened to you?"

"You don't want to know!" said Macaria, sitting exhausted on the couch and throwing her bag over it to where Mr. Mortimer was sleeping. It almost hit him and so the poor cat jumped out alarmed.

"Who is it at this dreadful hour?" asked Rosaura from the kitchen.

"It's me" replied Macaria, almost screaming.

After some seconds of commotion in the kitchen, both Rosaura and Genevieve appeared in the living room conflicted.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in an enclosure" said Genevieve.

"What are you doing all wet on the couch? Do you want to start a mold plantation in the living room? Go, change!" ordered her grandmother Rosaura.

"Good evening to you too. I was kicked out" replied Macaria.

"Of course you were. Look at your manners! It's a miracle you lasted this long" commented Rosaura.

"No news about... Huh? Who is that man?"

Suddenly, from the kitchen a man appeared. He seemed to be near Genevieve's age by the lack of wrinkles on his face, but his long wavy hair was grey. His eyes were yellow like two lanterns and he used small round glasses as well as a top hat with embroidered ravens. His loose clothes were a bit ragged, but somehow fancy, although the fancier thing on him was a huge emerald ring he wore on his finger. However, the strangest thing about him was his expression that Macaria could not decipher, but she was sure she had seen it somewhere else before.

"Oh yes, Mr. Lucero, please sit. This is my oldest daughter, Macaria", introduced Genevieve.

"Please, there is no need to be so formal with me. We are family after all" he said.

"Family?" asked Macaria, confused.

"Yes, according to him, he is your uncle and my brother-in-law" said Genevieve.

"What? How come?"

"The last private investigator that we hired finally delivered some good news to us. He managed to track down your father's brother, who is Mr. Lu... I mean Lucero" corrected Genevieve, and Lucero smiled at her.

"Are you sure of that? Is there any proof?" asked Macaria, glaring suspiciously at Lucero.

"Oh yes, I have plenty of pictures, which oddly also have a face burnt down" replied Lucero, getting a couple of photos from the inside pocket of his coat.

Macaria analyzed the pictures in detail. Some photos showed a couple with two kids. One of them had his face blanked out. In other photos, it was just the two kids, but older and once again, there was only one face showing. "This could be anyone. How are you so sure it's the same person?"

"When I talked to the private investigator and your mother, we realized there were details in common. We lost the memory of that man at pretty much the same time and then I also went in search of this man, who by the photos, seemed to be my brother. I talked to my mother and she cried and cried, feeling a horrible emptiness, because she knew she had another son, even if she didn't remember him. You know how strong a mother’s love is and it terrorized her the fact that she could not remember her other son. But sadly, I could not find my brother even after all of this time."

"Your mother? You mean our other grandmother? If she remembers having a son, maybe if she tried really hard she could remember his appearance or name, at least. We have to talk to her" said Macaria.

"Unfortunately, that is impossible. My mother died consumed by the agony of losing a son" said Lucero.

"Losing? How do you know he is dead?" asked Macaria inquisitively.

"Oh... I meant in her memory" replied Lucero, visibly uncomfortable.

"Macaria, please, stop your interrogatory for now. This man lost his brother. It's also hard for him" Genevieve reprehended.

"Yeah, sure..."

"I do understand your suspicions, child. That is why I'm here today, to make sure my daughter was not being fooled by someone" said Rosaura, sipping her hot tea on her armchair. "If you feel suspicious of his story, then wait to hear what he does for a living."

"I know for some people it's a profession frowned upon and judging by your... nun attire, it probably will be for you too, but I am a seer, yes" said Lucero.

"What?!" exclaimed Macaria.

"I told you" scorned Rosaura.

"Sister, let's not judge him yet. Let's listen to him, there is a possibility that he is telling the truth. Don't forget, he may be the key to find our father" said Benedicta, and Macaria sighed.

"We are all tired, mainly you, Miss Macaria. You had a long and troublesome day. It's already late, it's better if we rest and continue another day" advised Genevieve.

"Very well said, Lady Genevieve. Not only are you beautiful, but also wise. What a fine choice my brother made. I know it's a little hard to digest, so I'll give you time. I'll be waiting for your call whenever you're ready to listen to me so we can find the missing piece of our heart" said Lucero, and Genevieve nodded politely and showed him the door.

Macaria went to her room. Nothing had changed there. She laid down on the white sheets and her mind overflowed with thoughts, either about her father and that new man, or about her uncertain future. She was expelled from what she thought would be the rest of her life and now she had to start over. If she was honest with herself, she had to admit that she didn't really want to be a nun. She never got to decide what she wanted to be, but she knew what she didn't want to be and that was being married. After her father disappeared, there was always a voice that said to her that there was a possibility that her father had just run away. She knew to whom that voice belonged and that was pretty much every investigator and police officer they contacted. They always said that men running away from their family was very common, which made her distance herself from men. In her time, it was also common for women to get married as soon as possible and there was a stigma against unmarried women. The only unmarried women who were treated with respect were nuns and that was how she arrived at the conclusion of becoming a nun. She was able to escape marriage like that, but still found a pretty dull life. She wished she could get out there in the world and investigate her past by herself, but again, times did not allow such things as they were too dangerous for women who were on their own.

"Are you awake?" a gentle voice asked.

"Yes. What is it?" Macaria replied, while turning on her lamp, which had an orange-colored light.

Her sister Benedicta entered her room and sat on her bed. "I also can't sleep."

"If you knew about that man, why didn't you tell me? I was here two weeks ago!" Macaria reprehended.

Even though Macaria was in an enclosure, she always managed to get out of there whenever she desired, so she would visit her family often, mainly at night, when she couldn't be seen by other people on the street. Her slyness impressed her family and she was never caught sneaking out.

"We didn't know then. The investigator only brought the news a couple of days ago and I only found out today too, right before he arrived", Benedicta explained. "That man is strange, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is. You better not trust anything that he says, are you listening to me?!"

"You don't have to tell me, I already know. Still... what if he is the real deal? We are finally making some progress after ten years. And maybe it is true, you know I get this very familiar feeling coming from him, but I don't know what it is..."

"Oh, you too?" said Macaria, surprised.

"Oh, you also got the same sensation! I feel like I've seen his eyes before, you know? Do you think it's because they are similar to our father's eyes?" asked Benedicta.

"Maybe or maybe he seems familiar because he was the one who erased our memories" Macaria hypothesized.

"How can a person do that? But I get what you are trying to say. If we can't remember our own father, maybe we are also forgetting other things or other people."

"Exactly. Let's not trust anyone. It is best. And how are your studies?" Macaria asked and Benedicta shrugged her shoulders. "What?! Have you been failing your classes?!"

"No, it's not that. It's just... I was expecting to find out something by now, but I didn't. No matter how much I research and ask to so many of my teachers, I never find out anything..."

"What are you talking about?" asked Macaria upon seeing her sister so discouraged.

"You know why I wanted to become a doctor. I wanted to know if there was some type of condition or substance or anything that could cause what we all have; something that the other doctors whom we asked were forgetting, but until now I have never found anything... What is wrong with us? Why can't we remember our father? I'm sure he was important to us. I'm sure he wasn't just some horrible man who left us like everyone believes."

"What if he is horrible and poisoned us in some way?" asked Macaria.

"Poisoned us with what? Only lethium does that, but he had to give it to everyone. It's honestly hard to believe he gave it to every single person he knew: his entire family, our neighbors... Something is not right..."

"Maybe the answer will not be found by traditional means" said Macaria, pensive.

"What do you mean?"

"I stole something from the abbey" revealed Macaria.

"Macaria! What type of nun steals? No wonder you were kicked out..."

"I was not kicked out for stealing, I was caught while spying on something" replied Macaria.

"What... were you spying on?! Oh God... were you... watching nude people? Please, sister, don't tell me you became a pervert!" exclaimed Benedicta, appalled.

"What? No! Are you crazy? And that does not matter right now. Give me my bag" said Macaria, referring to her black leather bag that was on the floor by her bed and from it she took out a book. "Do you know what this is?"

"An old dusty book that... has pages falling off" replied Benedicta, unimpressed.

"Yes, this is a grimoire, a magic book. I stole it from the library that is in the enclosure area of the abbey. It was an ass to get there."

"A magic book? Do you intend to find our father using magic? I thought you were against those things" said Benedicta.

"And I am. I will not use it, I will only see if there is something in it that can explain what is happening to us. Maybe we are victims of some kind of curse", Macaria explained.

"Strangely, that would make sense. Many of our neighbors don't seem to like us, maybe one of them is crazy enough to curse us" agreed Benedicta.

"Exactly! I stole it with that mind. Sadly, it is written with some strange characters and I can't read any of it" said Macaria.

"Let me see" Benedicta opened the book, which emanated an old skin smell, which made her nose funny. "Yes, I see."

"Can you read it?" asked Macaria with her hopes up.

"Not a single word... I mean some symbols are from astronomy and others from chemistry, but I can't make sense of any of it. Still, this could be helpful. We should find someone who can read this thing."

"Who? The priest and the abbess probably can, but we can't ask them. That b***h abbess will throw me in jail, if she dreams I stole something from the abbey."

"I never saw this type of writing before; it probably isn't even a real language. Maybe it's a code only witches know or something."

"I think I know someone who provides that type of service" said Macaria.