Saturday, May 1, 2010

So we meet again

Honk! Honk!

Hooooooooooooonk! Honk! Honk! Honk!

The sliding glass door opens, and a maid from the resort who is cleaning the living room, pops her head out to speak to me. "There's someone out front," she says with a smile.

I save what I'm working on, and mentally file away the next plot point before walking through the cottage towards the front door.

As I walk outside, I see Linda sitting there in a pick up truck; honking away with a big smile across her face.

"Come on!" she says.

"I can't," I tell her as I walk towards the truck, "I'm in the middle of plotting out a scene."

"Noooo," she says and discounts everything I just told her, "You have to come. There's something that I want you to see."

I hesitate for a second, but she gives me a look that tells me this is something that could actually enhance my movie (or at least that's what I tell myself). I jog back through the cottage to bring my laptop inside, and a minute later, me and my rubber arm are riding along one of the back roads near the resort.

"What are we going to see?" I ask her. She tells me that one of the tribes she is researching is performing a purification ceremony for someone they believe has an evil spirit, and that it sums up Mysticism, and that I should see it.

"They believe that an evil spirit has been taking over bodies in and around these areas. It's really fascinating. Similar to the belief system that a lot of African tribes have," she says.

"Why do you want me to see this?" I ask. I 'm a little confused.

"Because," she says with a big smile, "the presence of God will be there."

"I see," I tell her. I don't really, but I learned a long time ago that sometimes you just have to sit back and see how things play out. Besides, I've already committed to taking a break for a couple of hours.

It won't be a complete waste of time.

We pull up to the reservation about 20 minutes later. On the way Linda explains to me how the tribes in this area classify different types of psychological distress as being embodied by an evil spirit.

"What's even more interesting," she says as we walk towards one of the houses on the reservation, "is their belief that an evil spirit can only take you over if you are out of touch with yourself. Not following your life's purpose; or if there's an emptiness in your soul from heartache or fear."

We open the door, and are greeted by a very worried looking plump woman who gestures towards the back room. She speaks in a native tongue to Linda.

Linda turns to me a moment later as we approach what appears to be a bedroom door and whispers, "they say her son was heartbroken when his girlfriend left to work in the city for the summer, and as a result -- the evil spirit took him over."

Linda opens the door.

The teenager is laying on the bed, and is surrounded by what I assume are village Elders who are chanting melodically.

"It's a purification ceremony," she whispers, "they're streaming in the pure energy of the Universe through his body to expel the evil spirit."

"If this kid starts levitating, I'm out of here." I whisper back.

Linda tries not to smile.

We watch for a few minutes as the chanting becomes louder. All of a sudden I feel like I'm in some sort of emotionally charged environment. My heart starts to pound in rhythm with the chanting, and I can see the hairs on my arms start to rise.

"It's working," says Linda. I look to her for some sort of explanation, but she gestures for me to lock my eyes on what is happening.

I turn my attention back to the boy.

His body starts to convulse in rhythm with the chanting. As the volume of the chant increases, so does the intensity, and so does the boy's convulsions.

My eyes widen. I take a step forward to get a better look at what is happening to his facial muscles, when --

his head jerks to the right and he locks eyes with me. I look through the natural layer of his brown eyes and can see supernatural deep black eyes peering back at me.

My heart skips a beat.

Caballos Demonios!

The boy grins maniacally, and so I take a step back and hide behind Linda's arm. I know exactly what kind of evil is lurking in his empty soul.

But, like a deflated tire, the Elders chant love back into the boy -- and a moment later the beast is gone.

The tense air is replaced by soft warmth and serenity. Birds chirp with more intensity in the background, and a super intense ray of sun beams in through the window and illuminates the bed the boy is recuperating on. The Elders continue to chant, and a moment later the boy awakens; unaware of the ceremony that just took place. As he takes his first breath, a flash of white light bursts through the room -- and then is gone.

I smile at the boy, who is all sweaty from his ordeal, and nod my head to the Elders as I follow Linda back out to the truck.

"They've been performing ceremonies like this in abundance these last few weeks. They say it is a strong evil spirit -- stronger than what they're used to dealing with. They don't know why it keeps bouncing from person to person. They suspect it is using the people as temporary shelter until it can enter the person it is really after."

I nod.

"Did you feel it?" she asks me as we get back in the truck, and head towards the highway. "Did you feel that calm wave of energy wash over you?"

I nod.

"That," she says "is the presence of God."

"It felt good," I tell her as I stare out the passenger window. I want to tell her about the Caballos Demonios and how I think that it is actually after me -- but I can't. All I can do is take shallow breaths and stare out the window at the trees whipping by as we pass them.

"You ok?" asks Linda after a minute or two of silence.

"Yeah," I tell her. But the truth is, now that the beast has seen me -- I have a feeling that I'm going to need a whole lot more than some chanting Elders to win this battle. I start to feel a wave of melancholy, but then I remember the white flash -- and so I ask Linda what it was.

"They believe it is their Ancestors chasing after the evil spirit. Once it's out of the body, the soldiers who take of us in the Supernatural can battle it," she says and gives me a big smile.

"Soldiers?" I ask. I'm starting to feel slightly optimistic.

"Yes, soldiers. You know. For the Natives it's Ancestors. For many religions it's Angels," she tells me.

I nod.

Aunt Nancy always tells me I have good Angels. So I really hope they're keeping a watchful eye on me, because I am fighting off a broken heart -- and I really can't afford to be possessed by a killer demon at this moment in time.

I have a deadline.