Wicked Little Saints

by Tanya R. Taylor

  Bella quickly looked to her right, then felt like an idiot for doing so. She reached over and pulled the sheet up to Rachelle’s chest. “That’s foolish talk, Rachelle. You go ahead and get some sleep now.”

  She started to leave.

  “Nurse...”

  Bella stopped and turned. “Yes, Rachelle?”

  “Do you think I’m crazy?”

  Bella didn’t hesitate to respond. “No, I don’t. You’ve just been through a lot lately and your brain is struggling to cope; that’s all.”

  Rachelle licked her dry, cracked lips, then said, “So why don’t you believe me? Didn’t you feel something on your ear and that’s why you touched it?”

  Reluctantly, she nodded.

  “It was my Priscilla who did it. It was her, I tell you...”

  Bella thought to indulge her for a moment. “How can that possibly be, Rachelle? I’m five feet, eleven. Your daughter was how tall?”

  “She doesn’t need physical stature to reach your ear, Nurse Carey. Her feet were at least a foot off the floor when she did it.”

  The thought of what Rachelle had just described sent shivers through Bella’s spine. She didn’t know if to believe or dismiss what the patient had said. But suddenly, she was very uncomfortable being there and quickly left the room.

  “Why don’t you ever say anything when you come to see me, Sweetheart?” Rachelle was looking up above the doorway where Bella had just passed through. “How I wish you would tell me where you are, so I can come get you! Are you okay? How did your eyes get that dark…so… black? And your face… it looks different. What happened to you, my sweet baby? Tell Mama, so I can find you and bring you home.”

  It was mere seconds later when Rachelle, under the spell of the sedative, drifted off to sleep.

  * * * *

  Sauntering along the corridor were both young and old men and women who seemed to be in a mysteriously confined world of their own, making strange faces and mumbling words no one in their normal frame of mind could decipher.

  Sally Thompson, one of those who found the corridor a nice place to be everytime she was allowed to venture outside her room, had been a resident of Hufton’s for two years. Having been blessed with the face and body of a model, Sally’s features had changed dramatically when her right cheek seemed to have moved a few inches higher than the left and her now crinkly nose looked deformed as if it had been broken and was never splinted or manually realigned. Her right eye bulged out prominently; the texture of her skin was dry and wrinkled although she was only thirty-eight years old; and her once beautiful, silky, black hair had turned straggly and gray. Folks in town were sure she’d let some demons in after Frank, the man she was set to wed, had left her standing at the altar. The day he’d pulled fright and skipped town to begin a new life without Sally was the day Sally’s life took a downward turn. People who knew her said they heard she’d sought solace in occultism, which may have back-fired. And others felt like someone had worked Voodoo or Witchcraft on her for some past misdeed. She started seeing things that weren’t there and whispering the names and dates of death of many famous men and women in history. Everyone was astounded by her knowledge of the lives of those that had impacted the world in one way or the other, although she never excelled in History class and was never before interested in such matters.

  “Sally, it’s time for supper now.” A male nurse gently approached her as she slowly walked up the corridor.

  Bella had just passed her after leaving Rachelle’s room. She hadn’t even noticed Sally or any of the others as she was consumed by her own thoughts.

  3

  _________________

  Hours later, Bella could not shake the nagging feeling she had that something extraordinary might be going on with Rachelle Wigby which went beyond the scope of her medical diagnosis. Bella was almost certain the grief Rachelle suffered had now escalated to her exhibiting hallucinatory behavior that was not present the first time she arrived there at the hospital for treatment. She also considered that somehow these hallucinations were affecting her surroundings, which might explain why she personally felt what she did in the patient’s room. She’d never mentioned to a soul, especially being the introvert she was, that it wasn’t the first time she’d experienced something odd, or perhaps…paranormal when tending to Rachelle. She believed there were things out there she could not see or explain, maybe Rachelle needed something more than the help she was getting at the institution – at least before her condition further deteriorated.

  Bella was relieved the coast was clear when she entered the filing room, and she eased the door shut behind her. Access to the room was not prohibited; she just thought not having to answer any questions pertaining to her reason for being there would be perfect.

  She stepped lightly over to the filing cabinet marked “T – Z” and pulled out the drawer with surnames starting with the letter “W”. Skimming through as quickly as she could, she finally located Rachelle Wigby’s file.

  “Person to contact in case of an emergency...” she read, “...Doctor David Barns—sibling.” She slid a pen and a small notepad out of her skirt pocket and jotted down the relevant information, then, quietly pushed the drawer shut again.

  Hurrying over to the wall-mounted phone, Bella dialed the number she’d scribbled down.

  “I’m trying to reach Doctor David Barns,” she quietly said as soon as there was an answer.

  She was told he was in with a patient.

  “Could you ask him to return a call to...” then she changed her mind. “Please tell him it’s an emergency. It has to do with his sister.”

  The receptionist, Brenda Scrivens, immediately placed the call on hold, then moments later, sent it through to Dr. Barns.

  “This is David Barns,” he said with a tone of concern.

  “Doctor Barns, my name is Bella Carey; I’m a nurse at Hufton’s Mental Health Facility in Nirvana. I’m calling in reference to your sister, Rachelle.”

  “Mental health facility?” Barns was a tad surprised. He knew from a former neighbor of Rachelle’s, a while back, that she’d been admitted to a mental hospital months after he’d last seen her.

  “Yes. I’m not sure you’re aware, but your sister has suffered another nervous breakdown. She was brought in yesterday. Let me first say though, that this is not an official call in that I wasn’t asked to contact you. I noticed your name was listed as a contact in her file and have taken it upon myself to inform you of my concern regarding her condition.”

  “I didn’t know about the nervous breakdown. No one notified me,” Barns replied. “What is happening in terms of her treatment? Is there a problem?”

  “Her treatment is going well. She’s been placed on anti-anxiety meds, but my concern is that she’s now exhibiting some behavior that is sort of strange to me.”

  “How so? Could it be because of the medication?”

  “I highly doubt that, sir. If I thought her behavior had anything to do with medication or even perhaps, Schizophrenia, I would’ve promptly brought it to the attention of her psychiatrist,” Bella replied.

  “So, what’re you saying?”

  “I believe something unnatural is happening to her, Doctor Barns. She claims to see her daughter, at times.”

  Barns heart sank. The thought of what happened to his niece still affected him deeply. He’d blamed Rachelle for Priscilla’s disappearance, although deep inside he knew she thought she was doing the right thing by sending her on that trip. He’d convinced himself since the day he heard Priscilla was missing that Rachelle had selfishly sent her away to get rid of her for a while since the child had become a handful in recent years. After the investigation into the matter stalled more than two years earlier, he never spoke to or saw his sister again and didn’t go to see her when he heard she’d suffered her first nervous breakdown.

  “She says she sees Priscilla? So, she’s talking out of her head?” he asked.

  “I thought so. I mean…I thi
nk so,” Bella clarified. “But I, too, have experienced some very odd things when around your sister.”

  “What kind of odd things?”

  She went on to relay what happened earlier that day and a few more instances when she heard humming sounds in her ear and children singing nursery rhymes when there were no children around. She emphasized that these experiences only occurred when she was in Rachelle’s presence.

  “This is quite shocking for me to hear,” Barns indicated.

  Bella knew the time was now or never. “Please pardon me, Doctor, but as we live in a small community, I heard that you and your sister are sort of estranged. However, I was wondering if there’s any way you can come and pay her a little visit, even if she’s not still here at the hospital. I think not having any family around and having lost her only child, her physical and mental condition could be rapidly deteriorating. I just feel she needs someone here to help her get through this difficult time, and hopefully, these other behavioral symptoms would go away on their own.”

  Barns sighed deeply and was silent for a few moments. “I’m not sure if what you described has anything to do with Rachelle being alone,” he finally said. “It sounds kind of...I hate to say this, but...paranormal in nature—and that’s a completely different thing altogether.”

  “I agree, Doctor. Believe me when I say I was reluctant to contact you about this as I didn’t want to come across as someone who’s unstable myself and in that state, also assigned to tend to your sister. I risk losing my job just by having this conversation with you, but I had to call anyway.”

  “Nurse Carey, I can tell by the sound of concern in your voice that you’re a level-headed individual and I appreciate the risk you’ve taken for Rachelle’s sake.” He paused. “I tell you what...I’ll think this thing through and do what I can. Thank you for calling, and rest assured, no one will hear about this phone call. You’ve got my word.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.”

  Bella breathed a sigh of relief. She hung up the telephone and left the room knowing she’d done the right thing for a patient no one else seemed to care very much about.

  4

  _________________

  Dr. Barns was having an emotional battle ever since receiving that call from Nurse Bella Carey. Having left the clinic that evening without breathing a word about the call to anyone, he found himself sitting outside on his back porch, looking out at the forest trees behind his house. He reminisced of the times he used to watch Rachelle as she played in the large backyard they both grew up on. He was sixteen years her elder, since their mother had gotten pregnant with her when she was in her early fifties – which came as a huge surprise to the family. Barns was more of a father-figure to Rachelle, than he was a brother, particularly after their father died when she was just eleven – around the same age Priscilla was when she disappeared. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to protect his sister and he felt the same way about his niece – whom he felt his sister had cruelly rejected for many years.

  He told Rachelle he’d never forgive her for Priscilla’s disappearance, but after that unexpected call, he wasn’t quite sure he was still as mad at her as he used to be. He started to wonder if his anger toward her was ever truly justified. They say that time heals all wounds and tends to soften the heart, and he figured maybe that’s what was happening to him. Or perhaps it could be that he’s gotten some satisfaction knowing that his sister is suffering for the wrong she’d done in her life, especially where it had to do with Priscilla. Maybe Nurse Carey was right, in so many words—maybe it was time he went and paid her a visit. It would give him a good opportunity to inquire about the case again at the local precinct. However, he felt strongly from the experiences Bella had described that he might need some help in an area he had absolutely no expertise in, which went beyond the scope of him just being there for his sister.

  He picked up his champagne glass from the small white table next to his chair, then got up and went inside the house.

  Dr. Barns lived alone in large split-level house with many large glass windows, each posing high above a perfectly manicured lawn. Although he lived alone, he had many friends and never felt lonesome. He surmised it wasn’t the same way for Rachelle and seriously wondered for the first time how she’d been managing.

  After setting the glass on the kitchen counter, he walked over to the living room and picked up the telephone.

  Mira Cullen answered on the second ring.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting any family time,” Barns said.

  “Not at all,” she replied, stretched out in bed. “Rosie and Mom went out after dinner, so I’m here alone watching TV. What’s up?”

  “I need a special favor, Mira. I know this is a heavy one to ask, but I think I could really use your help.”

  Mira sat up. She could hear the concern in her boss’ voice. “Sure, Doc. What is it?”

  “I don’t know if I told you about my sister...”

  “What exactly?”

  He sat down on the couch. “Something happened sometime back, but as I think about it, I’m pretty sure it was around the time you were home recovering after the accident. Well, my niece, Priscilla, went missing about three years ago—actually, it was an entire school bus full of children and a few adults.”

  Mira was shocked that he’d never mentioned it to her.

  “The police never found any trace of them in all that time, and my sister has been struggling to cope with Priscilla’s disappearance. I learned today that she’s in a mental hospital after suffering a nervous breakdown. I’ve decided to make a trip down there to see her.”

  “I’m very sorry, Doc.,” Mira said. “Where does your sister live?”

  “In Nirvana. You know where that is?”

  “Sure. It’s a short flight away or a few hours’ drive.”

  “I must admit, I haven’t seen her for a long time.”

  He went on to explain their strained relationship. “Well, the person that called in confidence said my sister has been exhibiting some strange behavior and that she’s personally experienced things she cannot explain while in Rachelle’s presence. That’s why I called you. I’m wondering if you’d be interested in making a short trip down there with me.”

  “Okay. I can do that. When were you thinking of leaving?” she asked.

  “As soon as I can arrange for a couple of doctors to fill in for us at the clinic.”

  “When you know for sure, I can make arrangements with Mom, as far as Rosie’s concerned.”

  “I will let you know. Thank you, Mira. I appreciate you coming along,” he said.

  “I’ll do whatever I can to help,” she replied. “Again, I’m really sorry about your sister and your niece.”

  “Yeah. Me too. Have a good night.”

  He ended the call.

  Mira sat up for a while thinking about the conversation. The distress in Barns’ voice lingered with her after he’d hung up. Finally lying down again, she looked at the television, and soon what came into view was a girl with black eyes apparently standing in the midst of nowhere, looking at her through the glass; her face void of expression as the regular TV programming continued on in two separate rectangular walls on both sides of her. Mira sat up again and stared into the screen—into those eyes that seemed fearless and void of innocence. She knew now, more than ever, that she must make that trip to Nirvana, for whomever was on the other side of that screen was expecting her.

  5

  _________________

  Rosie and Sara hugged Mira tightly after Dr. Barns had pulled up onto the driveway. He hailed from his car and Sara waved back.

  “I’m gonna miss you, Mom,” Rosie said.

  “I’ll miss you too, honey, but I’ll be back after a few days,” Mira told her.

  Sara looked at her daughter lovingly. “Now, you snuggle up really nicely over there as the weather is kind of chilly. Checked the weather report this morning and Nirvana’s temps are in the sixties.”

&n
bsp; “That’s not too bad, Mom, but I have my coat, just in case. Bobby will check in with you guys while I’m gone.”

  “I know. He always does.” Sara smiled.

  Mira gave Rosie one last kiss, then hurried off to the waiting car. Sara and Rosie waved goodbye to them as they were pulling away.

  “Rosie is surely developing into a lovely young lady,” Barns said. “How old is she now?”

  “Thirteen,” Mira answered. “It feels like just yesterday when I brought her home with me from the hospital. Where has time gone?”

  “Ah...they don’t stay kids for long. After all, the world needs them—their minds, their intellect to help move it forward.”

  “I never thought about it that way.”

  “And what about that handsome fiancé of yours? What’s his name again?”

  “That’s Bobby.” She smiled. “He’s a real sweetheart. Sometimes I don’t think I deserve him. I’m amazed he stuck around for so long and just took all my crap.”

  Barns glanced her way. “That’s real love, for sure. You’d be a prize for any man out there. You’re a wonderful person, Mira.”

  His words caught her by surprise. “What a nice thing to say, Doc! Thank you.”

  They boarded their flight an hour and a half later and as Mira looked down at the ocean far below the aircraft, she remembered the day, so many years ago, when she and Rosie were flying home to pay her parents a visit. Rosie was very excited to be seeing them again. She was just six-years-old then and had lived her entire life in California up until that time. Mira recalled that visit being a life-altering one, when her father passed away, thus ripping everyone’s heart in two. She knew her mother had felt the loss more than anyone since Michael had been her entire life, other than their children. And now seven years later, she was coping well, though she never as much as looked at another man to spark any romantic relationship with. Mira was sure her mother would never marry again—that Sara would rather be old and completely alone if fate had it that way.