ELEVEN

It'd been a week since the visit to church and Mother had said nothing to her about her supposed demons yet. Mother however took her phone and stopped her from going to out. It was on a Friday evening, mother returned with a long white dress for her to wear. "The prophetess would be coming for your deliverance". She never thought her mother would be this superstitious but something told her aunty Ebere had a strong hand in it. "Your Aunty suggested we do this at home" mother said. She opened her mouth to speak but bit her tongue instead. She was going to ask when her mother became so spiritual.

She had a bath and got dressed in the awful dress that was sitting on her bed. She couldn't explain what she was feeling but she knew it wasn't sadness or anger, it wasn't even disappointment. But then again who would she be disappointed in? As she waited for the prophetess to arrive, she began to blame herself for her bad luck. If she wasn't so careless and forgetful all the time, she wouldn't have to watch her mother get scammed by her aunty and a stupid prophetess. She did so much thinking her head began to ache and so she took a nap. A short one because mother slapped her awake after ten minutes.

"It's time. Tie your hair!". She grabbed the white scarf on the table and wrapped it round her hair.

The prophetess and two others were sitting on the couch making a not so silent prayer.

"Come, kneel" the prophetess said and she looked at her mother who sent her a glare. She swallowed the lump sitting in her throat and did as she was told. The prophetess her and minions all surrounded her. They began to shout at the top of their voice in the name of singing. The singing was making her ears bleed particularly because they were yelling directly in her ears. "Let us pray" said the prophetess.

"Madam, pray for your daughter. What we are dealing with is a great power but the Lord is greater!" An "Amen" echoed in the room.

"Every unclean spirit in this body, leave!" The prophetess yelled and her minions echoed an amen. She pulled out a bottle of what she called Holy Water. "Take" The prophetess placed the bottle in mother's hand. "Feed your daughter" she said. Mother looked a bit confused but she went along with it.

"Open your mouth" Mother instructed. "What if the water isn't safe" she protested.

"Ta! Shut up your dirty mouth!" Aunty Ebere yelled at her. "We are trying to help you and you are saying nonsense" The woman hissed at her niece and then closed her eyes and began to pray. "Drink it" mother instructed. Her tone made it clear that she wasn't going to listen to any complains. She grudgingly drank the water and then mother returned the bottle to the prophetess. They all began to pray after the prophetess instructed them to.

While everyone had their eyes closed, her eyes were fixed on her mother. How could this be her own mother. It didn't feel right at all but she was powerless. The prophetess laid hands on her head and she slapped it off. "Don't touch my head" she said. "Bia, I will slap this girl oh" her aunty said. "No you will not" Mother shot her sister a glare. A smile decorated her face when mother defended her.

"It's the demon talking! Bring the cane!" the prophetess said and she looked at her mother whose face held no emotions. "Mummy" she called but was completely ignored.

Six healthy canes were pulled out from underneath the couch. The prophetess held two and so did her minions.

"Mom?!" she called again and was ignored. "Out of this body!" the prophetess yelled and used the cane on her. "Stop hitting me!" she yelled. She caught the cane with her hand and began to struggle with the prophetess. One of the minions grabbed her legs and tied them together like she was a chicken waiting to be slaughtered. They began to flog her with the canes. She wailed and called her mother for help. "Mummy, please. I'm not possessed. You have to believe me. Please" . She knew that herself and her mother weren't best of friends or even friends to begin with but she knew that mother loved her immensely. Despite all the mean things her mother said or did to her, she never doubted her mother's love. She also knew that her mother would always be there for her whenever she needed help. She trusted her mother to always protect. But for the first time in her life,she began to doubt that.

"Mum, they're hurting me. Make them stop, please!" She grabbed her mother's leg but Aunt Ebere slapped her hands. "This is for your own good" The woman told her niece. She looked at her aunt with pure hatred and spat on her. Aunt Ebere told the prophetess to hit her harder because the demon was beginning to come out. "Stop!" she yelled at the top of her voice as the tears fell freely. "Leave this body!" the prophetess yelled. "There is nothing wrong with me. Leave me alone!!!!" Her body was sore and swollen but the prophetess didn't relent. She wanted the suffering to be over. Maybe if she agreed to being possessed, they would let her be. But that also meant that things would change for her.

She looked at her mother one more time and begged her to make them stop but mother didn't move. She made her decision.

"I'll confess, I'm possessed"

The prophetess and her minions stopped their assault. "Mummy please, I need to use the restroom" She had always known her mother to be fearless and strong but she saw fear in her mother's eyes. "Please mum, I need to use the toilet" Mother nodded her head slowly. She made a move to stand up but her body wasn't having it. Her mother rushed over to help her but Aunt Ebere stopped her. "Don't touch her until the demon is out" she warned. She ended up crawling to her room which wasn't too far from the sitting room.

While she was in the room, mother and aunt Ebere both took a seat. Aunty Ebere was consoling mother who was almost in tears. "Don't worry, she'll be set free. You'll have your daughter back" The prophetess and her minions made silent prayers as they prepared for the next phase of the deliverance.

"The blood of Jesus!" No one heard her walk into the sitting room but the prophetess' exclamation announced her arrival. She looked like she had just survived a war. Parts of her body were bleeding slightly and her eyes were red from all the crying she did. Her head wanted to split open and it felt like her eyes were bleeding. Her legs were wobbly and so were her hands that held a gun. She had the gun pointed straight at her mother. "What are you doing?" Her mother asked and she didn't reply. "What on earth is wrong-" Before mother could finish she was shot. Mother's eyes went wide when she realized what had happened. She looked at her daughter and saw nothing but pure rage.The next target was her aunty. She wasn't hesitant to pull the trigger because her aunty was responsible for her suffering at the moment. The prophetess and her minions made an attempt to pray and she shot all three of them. She looked around the room and smiled. She saw her mother move and she shot her again, this time in the head. She watched as the light in her mother's eyes went off and it gave her a great level of satisfaction. If she had known killing her mother would be this fulfilling she would've done a long time ago .She took a deep breath before placing the gun on her head and pulled the trigger