Page 41 of Splintered
“There is another option,” Father Mathew said. “We fight the demon inside of him.”
“Perform an exorcism? You’re serious?”
“Something is afflicting Evan. And whether you believe in demons or not, they are real and they do attack us. I have been an exorcist for thirty years. I have faced more than my share of demons.”
“In America? Here in the modern world, not in some far-off medieval country?”
“In Silicon Valley, in South America, in Africa, in Europe, and in Rome herself. Demons do not care where their victims live. In fact, I would say there are more sufferers of possessions and infestations here in America than there are in other parts of the globe. Other cultures still remain open to the treatment value of an exorcism.”
“AndIremember reading news stories where people died during exorcisms. Some starved to death, or were beaten to death, or suffocated while the priest was doing absolutely insane things trying to get the demon out of them.”
“Those were deeply misguided and improper exorcisms.” Father Mathew shook his head. “Those were not done by the Church—”
“Anneliese Michel’s was.”
“Evan will not starve to death.”
“What if there’s no demon?” He couldn’t believe he was even saying it aloud: the possibility of a demon inside of Evan. “Exorcisms are known to be suggestive, especially on the mentally ill. What if an exorcism just reinforces a psychiatric emergency in Evan? Or gives him a new delusion to fixate on? I remember in college we learned about twelve patients who all believed they were Jesus Christ. Their doctor thought it would be a great idea to put them in a room together to try and break their psychosis by forcing them to confront their illogical beliefs. Twelve hours later, what do you think happened?”
Father Mathew and Dr. Kao said nothing.
“They all walked out and reintroduced themselves. They’d figured out which one of them was the real Jesus and who was who of the disciples. Minus Judas. Their delusions had been strengthened, not broken.” He shook his head. “I’ve never forgotten that lesson, ever. The power of the mind and of the myths we’re saturated with is immense. The history we all have inside of us and the hold it has on us. Evan, he grew up in the Church, like you said. So what if heisin crisis and heisreaching for familiar myths to explain his hallucinations?”
“That is a clinical possibility we initially considered.” Father Mathew nodded. “But we also ruled that out. I ask you: what of the voices you hear from him? The Aramaic? And the supernatural knowledge?”
“Buddhist monks and Hindu yogis can activate both sets of vocal cords, the upper and the lower. Maybe he’s doing the same in his distress. Aramaic? I—”
“Ben—” Dr. Kao began.
“I don’t want to make anything worse!” Ben snapped. “I don’t want to hurt him anymore! I don’t want to destroy his mind! You’re giving me two choices: a psychiatric hospital or an exorcism, neither of which are great options. What if I choose wrong?” He scoffed, throwing his hands out. “You’re asking me to put my faith in something I don’t believe in. With noproof.” His voice rose, bellowing until it filled the house, echoed off the walls. “And you can’t even tell me that this will help him! Can’t guarantee that this is what he needs!”
“Ben, we wouldn’t have brought this to you if we didn’t think it would work, or if we weren’t certain Evan was suffering from a possession and that this represented Evan’s best chance at healing.” Dr. Kao set her coffee mug down on the table. She rose gracefully. “I promise you, we all want the same thing for Evan. We all want him to heal. We all want him back to his old self. We all want him happy again.”
“But an exorcism?” He sighed, slumping in his chair. He shook his head.
Father Mathew stood as well. He thanked Ben for the coffee and set his card next to the empty mug. “You should know,” he said, “Evan’s first choice in his treatment is the exorcism ritual. That’s why we are here now, to talk it through with you since you are his medical power of attorney.”
“Ihave to decide this?”
“You, or, if you surrender your legal responsibility to him, Evan’s next of kin. However, he doesn’t have a close relationship with his family, does he?”
Ben scrubbed his hands over his face. “I need to talk to them.”
“They should know what is happening with their son. They can pray for him.” Father Mathew squeezed Ben’s shoulder. “I have heard so much about you, Ben. I am sorry we had to meet this way. I wanted to meet at your wedding.”
He shook his head as the tears flooded his eyes, as his throat closed and his lungs stuttered. Father Mathew followed Dr. Kao out of the living room and then out of his house. He remained seated, staring into nothing as his tears overflowed and ran down his cheeks, dropping to his thighs like rain.
Eventually he moved, rising and plodding up the stairs to change. He had a long drive ahead of him.
He stopped on the stairs and stared at the amber light overhead, burning steadily at the top of the landing.
* * *
Chapter Thirteen
When she openedthe front door, he felt his heart crack.
She looked like Evan, in her eyes, the shape of her cheekbones. He had her smile, too, he could tell. Even just answering the door to a stranger, she had a ready smile waiting for him. “Yes? Can I help you?”
