The night's breeze was a bit warm despite the time that Cillian arrived in the village. It was eight pm yet the atmosphere was so warm that he had to loosen his necktie to breathe more. Carrying his suitcase he left his car and headed to the village's hall where he could see three people waiting for him.
"Are you the exorcist that we were expecting?" An old man asked. He seemed to be in his seventies, and behind him was a man and a woman, probably in their forties.
"Yes I am, My name is Cillian Dario." He smiled, reaching out his hand for a handshake on the old man. "You're Mr. Eigor I presume? the village chief."
The old man reached for his hand for a handshake. "I am indeed, you're finally here, let us head into my office for more information regarding our village." The old man hesitated for a moment. "Perhaps we should discuss it tomorrow, you're probably tired from your trip."
"Ah, no need, I am fine truly am. We should discuss by now so I can start the exorcising ritual early tomorrow." He smiled.
"Well, you're the exorcist, you know how to do your job. Let us head to my office for a formal conversation, this way." The chief looked at one of his assistants, the guy one, and gestured for him to lead the way.
"Which drink would you like, Mr. Cillian? I'll have my assistant, Joanna fetch a drink for us." the chief offered as they walked upstairs.
"I'll be fine with cold water, Sir," Cillian replied, he specifically chose cold water and wondered why the people here don't seem to be bothered by the warm temperature despite the nighttime.
The chief gestured to Joanna to get some drinks, and Joanna left as they headed to the chief's office.
"Pardon me for asking but... Is it really that warm here... despite that it's nighttime?" Cillian couldn't hold himself to ask as they headed inside the office and took a seat.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Cillian, it is indeed warm in here, which we believe is the work of an evil spirit that has been pestering our village for months." The chief explained.
"I was told that... it's been four months? What else do you suspect was the work of an evil spirit?"
"The children would become disoriented, like they were just playing then suddenly they would stop and look somewhere, as if they become petrified. They couldn't explain what they saw or felt. The villagers would experience nightmares every night. That and other unexplainable things..." The chief explained in a very sad tone. "I myself had experienced those nightmares... we'd rather not talk about."
Cillian nodded in understanding, looking at the Village chief with sunken eyes, even his assistant too, they looked like they never had enough sleep, he thought about the fact that it's been going on for four months. The pity he felt made him clench his fist and swore to banish the evil spirit.
Meanwhile, Joanna arrived with the drink prepared for them. Though as she entered, she was very pale.
The three looked at her with concern.
"What happened?" The chief asked.
Joanna placed the tray with drinks on the chief's table before she spoke, stuttering a little.
"T-the chairs... I... I saw the chairs in the conference hall moving by themselves when I passed by..." She was sweating a lot. "I... I can't do this anymore. I can't keep on pretending I didn't see anything! I've had enough!" She couldn't hold herself from breaking down. "I can't anymore! I might as well die! I hadn't slept ever since my son died! and now-" And she cried.
The man hugged him, he was actually Joanna's husband, and he comforted her. The couple was the chief's assistant, which Cillian realized.
"Hush now child, I know you've been enduring this... Mr. Cillian, the exorcist is here now." The chief said.
"How? I've lost count of how many exorcists have been here! and they all disappeared! They couldn't save us! What more of this newly graduated one?!" Joanna yelled, her face had gotten red from the overwhelming feeling of fear, frustration, and a lot more.
Though Cillian was surprised about the exorcist that disappeared. How many exorcists disappeared lately? He had heard about it before but didn't pay attention as he was busy at his school, he thought it was one of those rumors made to test their dedication to being an exorcist.
The chief noticed Cillian's discomfort.
"Mark, please take your time off with Joanna. You two should rest." The chief ordered.
"Rest? How are we supposed to rest? This exorcist would probably be gone tomorrow! Almost everyone in this village had left! we're hopeless!" Joanna protested and Mark had no choice but to carry her out of the office.
Cillian followed and patted Mark's back.
"Here, you two take this with you. It's my blessed book... I always sleep with this every time I'm overwhelmed, tired, and feeling down... and honestly, it helps. I hope this will be able to help you to get a better rest at least... And I will do my best to banish the evil spirit in this village. I will not leave until I finish my job here." He looked at the couple with a promising look. Joanna seemed to calm down a little as Mark gave her the book.
The chief sighed heavily and sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples.
"So it's true... some exorcist indeed went missing... and... this village was the reason?" Cillian looked at the chief, with a lot more questions forming in his head.
The chief sighed heavily before speaking.
"Yes... And I'm afraid most people here have left because the evil spirit is too much. Me and my people had talked about it... That if you failed to banish the spirit... it's time for us to leave this village. We've contacted the previous villagers... it seems that only this village is haunted by the evil spirit, they don't seem to follow outside..." The chief sighed heavily.
"As much as we don't want to leave because... we're poor and not used to the city life... maybe it's time..." another heavy sigh as he leaned his back on the chair.
"This village held very dear memories in each and every one of us..." He said as he caressed the picture frame in front of him.
"Please help us. Save us..."
Hearing those words made Cillian feel a sting in his heart. Those were his very reasons for becoming an exorcist, he wanted to help people and save them from demons.
"I will, like what I said before, I will not leave until I banished the evil spirit here. So, please tell me everything I need to know about the occurrences here. And I'm not doing this just to get my Exorcist's license, I'm here because I want to help, so you and your people can finally sleep with sweet dreams, with nothing to fear at day or night." The chief can see the dedication in Cillian's eyes, something he hadn't seen in the previous exorcists.
"Well... we don't really know how or when exactly but four months ago, our neighbor's living room became a mess, the furniture, tables and chairs, the paintings, everything, they were oddly arranged from the smallest to biggest. The next day, the same thing happened to a different house. We realized that it happens to the houses where there are children. If you noticed, all the children here are gone, their families had to take them out of the village."
"I see... so, you prioritized the children first. Do you know why it's the children? Did the children play with something like an Ouija board?"
"An Ouija board?" The chief scratches his head to try to recall something.
"Yes, here, let me show you." He took out his smartphone and showed an image of an Ouija board.
"I'm afraid I don't know, the children never said anything, perhaps I should contact their families tomorrow and get their statement. So, what is this board for?" the chief asks, hoping to get more enlightened.
"It is a tool to communicate with those who have already gone into the other life. Yet if the ritual is not properly conducted, with no prayers of meeting and parting, the spirit that was summoned to communicate will be trapped here in the living world... and the longer it takes them to return to the afterlife, they slowly become consumed by negative energies such as emotions. And after that, their spirit may merge with phantoms and cause chaos in the living world." Cillian explained, recalling whatever he had learned in the Sanctuary of Exorcists.
"Still... why would the children play with such kind of device... moreover where did they find it..." The chief scratches his chin. "And what kind of a spirit have the children summoned..."
"Based on what you said before about pieces of furniture moving, I believe it's the work of a poltergeist. It is usually a spirit that has the ability to interact with the physical world around it. This spirit could be able to move objects, create strange noises, or even manifest itself in front of people. It's different from a ghost, as a poltergeist is able to directly affect the real world, such as throwing objects around, causing strange noises like knocking on doors or tapping on windows, or even manifesting itself as a shadowy or cloud-like figure. Ghosts can't do that, and poltergeists can be summoned by spiritual communicating tools." Cillian paused to think of other possibilities.
"Perhaps... since the children played with an ouija board... they mistakenly summoned a poltergeist instead."
Cillian noticed that the chief was not familiar with what he said.
"So, spirits... poltergeist... ghost... they are not the same?" The chief asked with a very confused look.
"Yes, well, ghosts are spirits but not all spirits are ghosts, some are poltergeists... some are forest spirits."
The chief's reaction is a bit more puzzled, but he starts to believe that Cillian knows what he's saying.
"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with those terms, Mr. Cillian but seeing how knowledgeable you are... I have my faith in you and the gods. But then that means that the children were playing with a spirit communication tool and... accidentally summoned something that is now causing trouble in our village?"
"Yes, that may be the reason and my hypothesis. But children are innocent of course, they had no idea that it would cause trouble so please if you would speak to their families, make them explain and realize not to put the blame on their children for whatever tragedies that have happened in the village."
"I see, I see, I'm having a grasp of what I can tell to the families. Thank you, Mr. Cillian." He glanced at the clock. "It's already almost eleven o'clock... you should take a rest. I'll be the one to guide you to your room. This way." The chief then proceeds to guide Cillian to his room.
The room for a visitor wasn't that bad. Though there was an electric fan and air conditioning at the same time. The mattress wasn't that hard but it was obvious that it hadn't been used for a long time. Cillian sat on the bed and then looked at the window. Nothing could go wrong if he looked out the window, right?
He took a peek at what was outside the hall. He noticed a child walking right next to the Village Chief who seemed to be on his way back to his office. The child looked up to him and smiled, then happily jogged next to the Village Chief.
"Hmm... I thought all the children in the village had left..." Cillian said to himself before sitting again on his bed and starting his evening prayers.
"I can feel... something strange here... Well, I should cast prayers that would make lowly spirits stay away and not disturb my sleep."
He added and closed his eyes.
"Heavenly Gods, we are mere mortals who can only hope to seek your benevolence. We, the ones who walk on this Earth, have been taunted by the evil forces and the sins that roam this world. We ask to be blessed when in fear and the dark. We ask for your blessings as I pray for a safe night, free of worry and harm."
After saying those prayers, he lay down and stared at the ceiling.
"I wonder... what kind of poltergeist would I encounter..."
He slowly dozed off with a mixture of excitement, worry, and hope.