Chapter 119 – Reunion with Lorraine
"I didn't expect to see you here, Father Gideon."
Lorraine's face lit up with genuine delight as she stepped forward.
"This is my husband, Ed Warren."
Then she turned to her husband, explaining softly,
"He's the priest I told you about — the one who helped us back at the exhibition."
Recognition dawned on Ed's face. He immediately extended his hand, gripping Gideon's firmly.
"Thank you for saving Lorraine and Judy," he said with deep sincerity.
Gideon smiled faintly in return.
Standing before him were none other than Ed and Lorraine Warren —
legends in the world of paranormal investigation and exorcism.
It seemed fate had a strange way of weaving paths together.
"If it weren't for the charm you gave us," Lorraine said, recalling the chaos of that exhibition,
"Judy might have been seriously harmed by the entity that appeared that day."
She shook her head slightly, her tone tinged with relief.
"I've been meaning to thank you in person, but every time we went to your parish, it was empty."
"I've been away for some time," Gideon replied simply.
"Mom!"
A young girl's voice chimed from the shop interior.
Judy came running out, clutching a small paper bag.
"Where have you been? Your father and I have been looking everywhere for you."
"I was here — in Father Gideon's shop!" Judy pointed proudly behind her.
Lorraine's eyes widened, then softened with realization.
"Ah… I should've guessed."
"It's nothing fancy," Gideon said with a modest smile.
"Just a place that sells small trinkets and charms."
"I'm sure business will flourish," Lorraine replied warmly.
"That amulet you made — I still have Judy carry it everywhere."
Judy nodded eagerly and pulled a small pendant from beneath her blouse,
holding it up for him to see.
"See? I kept it safe!" she said with an impish grin.
Lorraine chuckled and hugged her daughter tightly,
but her expression soon turned thoughtful — hesitant, almost reverent.
"Father Gideon… there's something I've been wanting to ask."
Her tone softened, cautious yet curious.
"You've… awakened Holy Power, haven't you?"
Gideon's brow lifted slightly.
After a pause, he nodded.
Lorraine's eyes brightened with wonder.
It wasn't a strange question coming from her —
as an exorcist herself, she understood what that meant.
But for Lorraine, it was more than admiration.
It was longing.
Though she had assisted in countless exorcisms over the years,
Lorraine had never manifested Holy Power herself.
Her methods relied instead on purchased relics and sacred instruments —
and on her unique gift: the Clairvoyance.
From a young age, she had been able to see spirits —
a gift said to be passed down through her family's bloodline.
Her grandmother had once told her that their lineage might trace back to Saint Lucia,
the patron saint of light and vision.
But that was an old legend — lost to time, impossible to prove.
Beside her, Ed's skills were rooted in science —
a mix of electronics, sensors, and faith.
For minor hauntings, it was usually enough.
But when they faced truly malicious entities —
like the one at the exhibition —
all they could do was pray for divine protection.
And now, as evil incidents grew more frequent and more violent,
Lorraine knew the world was becoming a darker, more dangerous place.
She had pinned her hopes on her daughter.
Judy, too, had inherited the Clairvoyance.
If she could one day awaken her own Holy Power,
she might become an exorcist far greater than either of her parents.
For that reason, Lorraine had dedicated herself to Judy's theological training —
teaching her prayers, exorcism rites, and protection liturgies.
Though still young, Judy already had real experience facing minor spirits,
holding her ground better than some academy students.
Yet fate seemed stubborn —
Judy, too, had shown no signs of manifesting Holy Power.
Even so, Lorraine never gave up.
She shifted focus, helping her daughter sharpen her "spiritual sight" instead.
If Judy couldn't wield divine energy,
then she would at least learn to see the truth clearly enough to survive it.
That was why the Warrens had come to this city.
Through their network, they'd been put in touch with a parish bishop in Philadelphia
who had just received a disturbing exorcism request.
The reward?
A five-year-aged bottle of Holy Water.
If Judy could use it to purify her eyes,
her Clairvoyance might evolve —
perhaps even allowing her to finally touch the power of the divine.
But…as Lorraine would soon discover,
things were far more complicated than she'd hoped.
The Warrens had traveled to the address listed on the commission.
But when they arrived, what they found was far from ordinary.
The place was suffused with malice.
There were eerie dolls scattered throughout the house,
and here and there—
statues of nuns that seemed to move whenever one looked away.
For days, Lorraine had been living under the shadow of fear.
The entity in that house was unlike anything she'd faced before.
No matter how many prayers or wards she used,
she couldn't even learn its true name.
The only thing her research had revealed—
was that the spirit might be connected to Hell itself.
Beyond that, progress on the exorcism had come to a complete halt,
and the deadline promised to the bishop was drawing near.
Exhaustion had begun to show in Lorraine's eyes.
She hadn't slept properly in days.
But now—
standing in Father Gideon's shop once again—
a thought began to form in her mind.
"Father Gideon… I have a request. Would you consider helping us?"
Lorraine quickly explained the situation in detail.
"Mum! That's what I was going to say!"
Judy suddenly jumped in,
excitedly telling her mother how Father Gideon's shop hadn't even hung its commission board yet.
Lorraine's brows lifted in surprise.
A moment ago, she had worried he might refuse—
but now, her confidence grew.
"Then… could I have the honor of becoming your first client?"
she asked with a hopeful smile.
Gideon didn't answer right away.
Instead, he asked calmly,
"Do you have any documentation on the case?"
Even though he was eager to hunt more demons to fuel his divine growth,
he still had to gauge the risk first.
"Of course!" Lorraine said quickly, nodding.
It wasn't a yes yet, but it was close enough to spark hope.
"Perhaps we could discuss it inside?" she suggested, glancing toward a more private corner of the shop.
"Of course," Gideon replied, holding the door open for the family.
Once they entered, he subtly glanced toward the holy icon above the doorframe—
checking for traces of darkness.
Only after confirming that neither Lorraine nor Ed carried any demonic taint
did he close the door behind them.
In the resting room, Ed placed a thick envelope on the table.
"These are all the case files."
He opened the folder, pulling out a stack of reports and photographs.
Gideon picked up one of the documents and began to read:
"The doll can be traced back to the American Midwest, circa 1955.
It was crafted by a dollmaker in memory of his deceased daughter.
The couple allegedly attempted to summon her spirit through the doll..."
The next few pages chronicled a trail of horrors—
"Years later, the dollmaker and his wife took in six orphans and a nun.
Soon after, strange phenomena began to occur throughout the house:
children's notes appearing from nowhere,
rocking chairs moving on their own..."
Then came the grim line that made Gideon frown.
"Until one day, the killings began.
Only a single girl survived.
Twenty years later, she was found dead as well."
At the bottom of the page, the victim's name was written clearly:
Annabelle.
Gideon's brow arched.
"Oh, hell… her?"
A sardonic smile tugged at his lips.
The infamous Annabelle—
one of the most notorious cursed dolls in America.
A true rival, he mused,
to Mary Shaw's puppet, Billy.
"I wonder how those two are getting along down in Hell," Gideon thought idly.
He flipped further through the documents, recognizing something odd.
If memory served him right,
this case followed the events of Annabelle: Creation.
That meant the Warrens had dug deep into the doll's origins—
far more than most priests would dare.
Soon, he reached a police report.
Location: Santa Monica, California.
The report described a horrific home invasion.
The possessed girl from the previous tragedy had later joined a demonic cult.
A few weeks ago, she suddenly returned home,
murdered her adoptive parents,
and then broke into a neighboring apartment—
attacking a pregnant woman named Mia.
Mia was the client who had requested the exorcism.
According to her testimony,
she'd barely survived the night,
thanks to the police who arrived just in time.
Both intruders were shot dead,
and Mia and her unborn child were saved.
She thought the nightmare had ended.
But then—
one day, when she came home…
the doll her husband had given her
was sitting quietly in the nursery.
Watching.
Gideon let out a slow whistle, setting the paper down.
Two things immediately stood out.
First—this "Mia" was clearly the protagonist of the first Annabelle case.
In the original timeline, she had never met the Warrens.
Something in this world's events had shifted.
And second—
"For the love of the Lord," Gideon muttered under his breath,
"why haven't they just burned that damn doll already?"