Kalona Ayeliski was a demonic spirit that preyed primarily on dying people. But Mrs Wohali had not been dying and then this meant that as Agilisi had said, we were dealing with a very strong and dangerous demon.
They could only be cast out by medicine men. People like Agilisi. Only Agilisi could see it because they were invisible and whenever they had been cast out, she usually banished it away to the gates of hell.
When I was done with burning the sage, over almost everyone, I walked towards the catholic priest and was about to put the sage around him when he flinched.
"Do not use that unholy thing around me." He squealed like a rat.
I turned to look at Agilisi.
Agilisi was angry and in no mood for games.
"You had better stand still and let my granddaughter use that sage to cleanse your soul if not when the demon leaves this woman, it would infest you and then I'll let you die." She told him.
The way she said it, scared the old man and I didn't wait for him to approve I set around him and his followers and then I went to stand.
Then Agilisi started her incantations.
The priest was looking so curiously at her and peering so closely down over Mrs Wohali that Agilisi shot him a dangerous look and he quickly backed away.
"Do you think she is going to make it?" A tearful Nina asked me shaking with tears.
Nina was the biggest bully at school, but here she was all shakey and teary.
It would have been nice to ignore her and leave her to her own thoughts but then I was not going to stoop so low.
"Hopefully she will." I said pitying her. Fear could bring out the worst in people.
She nodded fearfully and held her hands clasped together as she shook in absolute fear.
Agilisi started heavy on her incantations. Started praying and speaking in Cherokee.
She walked and brought out Une and then Nina's mother started struggling more. Started growling. The demon was beginning to depart.
Agilisi went on with her incantations calling all forces using the feather in her hand to wipe over Nina's mother.
Nina's mother began to ferociously grab the belt that they had used to strap her to the bed.
"What's happening?" Mr Wohali asked in fear.
But Agilisi ignored him and the bed began to shake so much it started to feel like an earthquake was occurring in the room.
Soon, she tore off one piece of belt and then her leg.
"Agilisi she is breaking free." I said in worry.
Then Une began to hoot over and over again.
Soon Nina's mother had broken herself free and just as she rose up straight on the bed, Agilisi slapped her forehead hard and she landed back on the bed and fainted.
Then I started to feel it. The demon departing her body.
No one could see it except Agilisi but you could feel it.
Agilisi then lit a fire and burned the feather and there was a loud scream and soon silence.
Everywhere was quiet. The energy was free and light.
The demon had gone.
Agilisi walked back to Nina's mother.
"She's asleep now." Agilisi said as she rose up from the bed. "I would give you some instructions and medicine on how to take care of her."
Nina gave a very heavy sigh of relief. So did everyone else in the room.
Except for the priest who was all frowns.
"Part of the reason why she is fine is also because of my intervention." He said.
Agilisi ignored him. She seemed too tired to argue with.
When Agilisi was done giving instructions, Mr Wohail said to her.
"How can I pay you? Anything. Name it." He told her.
She turned to look at him.
"I don't accept payments for my gifts." Agilisi told him.
"Thank you very much." Nina said to me quietly.
I nodded and together Agilisi and I packed up and left.
When we got back home, I could see that Agilisi was tired. She looked even more tired than usual.
"Agilisi is everything fine?" I asked her.
She smiled at me.
"Of course dear." She said. "I'm just tired. That's all."
Agilisi was not going to tell me it something was really wrong with her.
Once she had said a word, she never took it back. That was the beginning and end.
"Snow."
Agilisi was calling me from her bedroom.
"Yes ma." I answered.
"Come and sit." She said to me.
She was seated on her rocker chair and I sat on the floor just as I always did and placed my head over her laps.
The clock chimed and I guessed it was twelve by now.
"I would have to tell you something now." She told me.
I looked up and frowned. Something was wrong.
"Your father is alive Snow." Agilisi said.
I turned to look at her in shock.
"My father?" I asked in disbelief.
She nodded slowly.
I had been asking about my father from the moment I could talk and I had known nothing, but today Agilisi was telling me that my father was alive. All of a sudden.
"Www... wwww... well, where is he?" I stammered.
"He is lives in Tulsa, with your sister." Agilisi told me.
"WITH MY SISTER?" I gasped in shock.
I had not meant to shout so loud, but that last bit had shocked me.
"Twin sister." Agilisi said.
"TWIN SISTER?!" I yelled in disbelief.
Agilisi smiled weakly.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked in surprise.
"I wanted to protect you." Agilisi said. "You see, when your mother got pregnant, your father was already married. To another woman."
I gawked in shock as I listened to Agilisi.
"Your mother did not know and well, somehow, his wife knew and because your mother loved your father and wanted what was best, she allowed them take your sister. Even though she was very heartbroken. It was her way of letting her have a better life."
"But on the day of your birth, she gave birth to two. They had already taken your sister and so we kept you and then she died." Agilisi told me.
"I don't know how long I'm going to be here. I'm not strong. But I need you to know. If something ever happens to me, you would have somewhere else to go. Meet your father. And your sister." She told me.
I started to cry.
"No Agilisi. I'm not going anywhere and you're not going anywhere. I belong here. You are the only family I have had." I cried.
She cleaned my tears.
"Sweetheart don't cry." She smiled at me. "I'm not going to be here forever. I just want you to be ready. It could be today, tomorrow, any day. But I want you to be ready and prepared when it happens."
The tears flowed down my eyes uncontrollably.
She handed me an envelope.
"This is the address to meet your father. And some money that should carry you." Agilisi told me.
"I'm sorry that this is how things came around." She apologised to me. "I don't know how long I'm going to be here. My spirit is weak."
I had not even handled the shock that I had a father and twin sister alive, and here she was telling me that she did not know how long she was to be alive.
We wept together until I fell asleep on her laps.
By the time I woke up the next morning, Agilisi had past away with a smile on her face.