Chapter 4: Manifestation

Five years have passed since Elijah and Sarah first decided to raise Ramiel. Ramiel was now a curious five-year-old boy who displayed an unusual maturity and wisdom beyond his years. He was often mistaken for being much older than he really was. He seemed to genuinely possess an adult worldview, even at such a tender age. In conversations with grown-ups, he often asked questions that were far beyond his years – so much so that Sarah and Elijah were at a loss to answer some of them.Once, when he was in kindergarten, his teacher asked the class to draw their ideal houses. Ramiel didn't draw the usual castles and playhouses of his peers. Instead, he drew a plan for a fully functional home with bedrooms, bathrooms, and a kitchen. When his teacher asked him about it, he just smiled in a knowing manner and said it was the kind of house he wanted when he was an adult. Ramiel had the wisdom of an old soul, but it didn't end there, as he was displaying a couple of strange behaviors. When he was only a year old, Elijah and Sarah whom Ramiel and townsmen believed were his grandparents, became perplexed by his strange behaviors. Ramiel spent most of his days staring off into the distance, seeming to be lost in the depths of his own thoughts. He was unresponsive when spoken to, and seemed to be in another world. Another time when Ramiel was two years old, he was in a play group with some of his mates, and a kid wouldn't allow Ramiel play with his toy, and so he kept staring sternly at the kid, which strangely caused the kid to start bleeding from the nose. Everybody was shocked and horrified. Although the teachers could deduce what exactly had happened, Elijah and Sarah knew Ramiel was responsible for what had happened to the kid. Luckily enough, the kid was rushed to the hospital and he was fine. That was when Elijah and Sarah decided to homeschool Ramiel, so things doesn't get out of hand, and his abilities be made manifest for the entire populace to witness. At this time, Elijah had retired from priesthood since raising Ramiel and focusing on going for exorcisms wouldn't be convenient. infact, exorcising Ramiel alone, was far too much a task which could almost take a lifetime. Elijah knew Ramiel was possed, but it's not like in other cases where he could just perform an exorcism and the demon would leave. In this case, he was born possessed-it's in his blood and cannot be totally expelled. Rather, Elijah feels he could inculcate the doctrines of the Bible in Ramiel, so that his light could miraculously quench the darkness inside of him. So far, Elijah's efforts and Sarah's nurturing, have proved progressive as Ramiel was a bright child, showing a knack for understanding complex concepts far beyond his years. He wasn't unreasonable - he wanted to be able to speak for himself.

Ramiel was homeschooled till he turned 16, and then his rebelious attitude grew stronger even towards his grandparents- Elijah and Sarah, as he believed. That morning when his parents wouldn't let him have any more food, he wanted to express his frustrations. Unfortunately, despite being so perceptive, Ramiel found himself frustrated with his inability to express himself in a healthy way. Ramiel was feeling more fragile than ever. When Sarah told him he had to be satisfied with the meal and couldn't have any more food, he felt helpless. Then a spark of anger flashed in his mind, and he found himself fixating on the food. If he couldn't have it, nobody could. With a wave of his hand, Ramiel levitated the plates and cups off of the table and sent them crashing into the walls of the dining room. As the dishes exploded shatteringly around him, Ramiel's grandparents both stared in stunned silence. He watched their expressions shift from shock to confusion to disbelief, and he felt his anger leaving him in an almost visible rush. Finally, with an apologetic look, he scooped up what was left of the fragments on the floor and muttering a soft apology. Elijah and Sarah didn't say anything, they just sat down and watched him clean the shattered glass off the floor. Later that night, Elijah was reading the Bible with Ramiel in his room, when they both heard a loud scream from Sarah who was watching t.v downstairs. Rushing to the scene, they quickly descended the stairs and saw Sarah suspended midair by a mysterious figure wearing a black cloak. They were frozen in disbelief at what was happening before their very eyes. The cloaked figure, who appeared to be some kind of demon, was chanting a spell in a language that Elijah did not understand. "Leave her alone!" Ramiel shouted at the demon- he seemed to understand what language the demon was uttering. Sarah calmly addressed the cloaked figure. 'You may take what you wish,' she said. 'But please leave my brother, and my son alone.The cloaked figure let out a deep laugh and said in a thundering voice; " your son or my son?" Elijah's eyes widened as he realized that the demon was the same one who had impregnated Rose and therefore is Ramiel's father. Before Elijah could say anything, Ramiel shouted at the demon a second time; " I said leave her alone!" this time, as the words came out from his lips, Ramiel sent the demon crashing against the far end of the living room. It's black cloak flew a different direction, revealing a terrifyingly ugly figure. Its eyes shone an eerie yellow color that sent a chill down Ramiel's spine, and its scaly skin seemed to blend in with the shadows. But the most frightening thing of all was the set of razor sharp claws that it possessed. At this time, Sarah had fallen back on the couch, and passed out. The demon stood up and spoke to Ramiel but this time, it didn't use words, instead it used energy and vibrations that were universal and ancient. Ramiel looked puzzled as he seemed to understand what the demon said, and then the demon vanished in a swirl of black smoke and a loud bang.