As he walked toward her, she stepped back. He hastened his steps to see what was wrong. She shifted away, clasping her head, screaming, and falling to her knees. "Please, Father, please don't come any closer."
"Sarah, what's wrong?"
She lashed out. "Father, please!" Her voice rose in pitch.
"Sarah, let me get you home," he said, concerned.
"Stay away from me, necromancer... please, don't hurt me?"
Her words confused him. It was probably a hallucination, but "necromancer" seemed too precise a word for that.
Her cries started calling attention. The closer he came, the more she tried to cover her ears, to the extent it felt like she was going to crush her own head. Then he raised his right hand and brought out a rosary with his left from his pocket.
"Behold the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! Flee, all you powers of darkness!" Her frantic behavior started to calm. "The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered! Hallelujah! Whatever you are, whoever you are, I am a minister of the Lord. Depart in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
He walked to Sarah slowly. Her vision was blurry, an array of white figures behind him. He walked her into the church, rushed to the rectory, grabbed the car keys, put Sarah in the car, and rushed her home. On the way, he called Mama Beatrice. "Sarah is being frantic; I am bringing her home." Mama Beatrice was already at the door when they arrived.
"Father, please leave me alone," she mustered.
Mama Beatrice rubbed her palm over Sarah's face and turned to look in Bernard's direction, only to gasp. "So it's true," her aged voice nearly a whisper.
Father Bernard was already confused at this point. He had a lot of questions, but he knew when he had overstayed his welcome.
"Thank you, Sarah, for today. I am really grateful."
The car door thudded, and a trail of hot exhaust heated the air as he drove away.
He walked into the rectory. Thunder clapped, and the sky started pouring. It seemed the rain was waiting for him to get home before acting on its mischief.
Looking up, he saw the time was 9:00 PM. The loud pouring rain didn't allow the house to echo like it used to. It was kinda peaceful. His mind was disturbed about what was going on. Why did Sarah act the way she did? And what did Mama Beatrice see?
Necromancer?? Where did that come from? "The frantic questions began to blur, the edges of his thoughts softening into the sound of the rain. The last thing he was aware of was the sound of his own breath slowly fading ... then, a bell dinged, sharp and immediate, yanking him back into his body. He gasped. He'd been asleep.". Looking at the time, it was 11:30. This time, he decided to ignore it to see what would happen. He had never done that before; he wanted to know the consequences. It was his devotion, after all. He could decide to do and undo. He shut his eyes, hoping to fall asleep.
At 11:45, he was tapped on the knee where he sat sleeping . He couldn't make up what the touch was , he was sure . But it could have been phantom. Opening his eyes, he saw no one, but he saw ashes on his thigh. He stood up and dusted it off. He was scared, but fear was a normal emotion in his life now. He needed answers, and he was not going to get them by forgetting his promise.
He grabbed his Mass box and the table that he uses for his altar and headed out into the cold, damp atmosphere. His sandals splashed in the cemetery grass as he set up. He was willing to get this over with. He needed answers. Why was he thought a necromancer by Sarah? The questions folded his senses; his heart for devotion at Masses at night seemed to die in these moments. How heartbroken he felt.
He hurried back to his rectory after Mass, kicked off his soaked sandals, and scurried to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he saw all the food Sarah had prepared for him. It left him still dumbfounded and confused about what was going on. He closed the fridge, turned to the countertop, elbow on the table and hands on his temples, obviously frustrated. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, went to his room, and went to sleep.