The Demon Woman
Short Story : The Demon Woman.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark ( Horror Story)
By Prabir Rai Chaudhuri . All Copyright Reserved 2018
Hello, my name is Diana, I am 34 years old and I am currently head nurse at the hospital where I work. I feel very happy with my job and what I do, although I have to tell you that it has cost me a lot of effort to get to where I am, more than you can believe, it has been very difficult, and I always thought that for nothing in the world would I leave what I have achieved, but a little over a year ago, I had a terrifying experience at the hospital where I work and I was about to quit my position, my job, everything, at that moment I didn’t even give myself the chance to think about it, I just wanted to be far away from there…
I remember when I opened my eyes, I saw the silhouette of that demon woman in the window again, I took off my oxygen mask and the IV, jumped out of bed and went to the hospital locker, grabbed what I could of my things from my locker, got dressed and almost ran down the emergency room hallway, without turning around once, I was more than terrified, I couldn't take in what had just happened to me and I didn't know how to handle it, I just wanted to be as far away from there as possible.
Dr. Carmen, the head of emergencies and one of my best friends since I arrived at the hospital, came out after me and reached me by the shoulder at the ambulance ramp. I stopped but didn't turn around at any time, I was shaking with fear, then she stood in front of me and hugged me, while she told me that she did believe me. I didn't understand her words at that moment, but I started to cry. I hugged her very tightly. I didn't understand what was happening, but she kept telling me that everything would be okay. That helped me calm down little by little.
Now calmer, she accompanied me to the avenue to take a taxi. That afternoon I did not return to work, I called in sick, and the next day I just showed up with Paquito, the human resources guy, to ask for my vacation. They owed me several days. I hadn't taken any for about two years, ever since I separated from Rubén, but this time I really needed to be away from the hospital, at least until I could come to terms with the fact that what had attacked me that horrible night, when I suffered cardiorespiratory arrest, had been a demon woman.
I was able to stay at home for a few days, but it began to happen to me that at dusk, when I was going to bed, I would barely close my eyes, when that horrible image of that woman's deformed face would come back to me. Sometimes she would appear to me with one deformed eye in its bloody socket, staring at me fixedly, with black drool dripping from her mouth, while she would clack her yellow, rotten teeth together, clenching her jaw again and again, producing that horrible sound that pierced my ears.
I woke up terrified, bathed in sweat, full of chills and scared to death, to the point that I couldn't sleep for three days straight. I also began to feel very nauseous and disgusting at mealtimes, my stomach would turn and I would start to vomit the little I had been able to eat. There came a time when I began to expel blood with phlegm. I really felt very bad. I lost track of time and could barely stay conscious. They were very difficult days, so much so that I thought that was where my life would end.
One afternoon my doorbell started ringing very insistently. I hadn't ordered takeout for days, and since I had separated from Rubén, no one really visited me. My whole family is from Puebla so they didn't come much. I could barely get out of bed. I felt very dizzy. I had to hold on to the walls wherever I could. The walk was very difficult, and it was only a few meters.
I barely managed to turn the key and unlock the door, when my legs buckled. I leaned against the wall next to me and slowly sat down on the floor as the door slowly opened. When I was able to open my eyes again, I saw the distorted face of Dr. Carmen, which seemed elongated. I remember that in my dreams she told me that we were going to see a lady who would help me. I didn't quite understand what she was telling me; her voice seemed very far away and as if it had an echo.
He put my arms around his neck, took me by the waist and helped me up, he practically dragged me to one of the armchairs in my living room, checked my vital signs and gave me some serum to drink, he also took out a syringe and a small vial from his bag, I guess it was epinephrine or something similar, because as soon as he injected me, I felt like an electric shock ran through my entire body and my legs and arms were returning strength to my arms, as if the extreme tiredness I had had all these days was shaken off, and even so I still felt weak, right there on the armchair he helped me change and get ready a bit.
In the end he looked for my house keys, put them in his briefcase, helped me up by holding my arms, and although I was already feeling a little better, the floor was still shaking a little, I was still a little dizzy. We stopped to lock the door, we went down the stairs very slowly, I live on the fourth floor of an apartment building, until we reached the parking lot and we headed toward his car.
She held me by the arm the whole time, holding me tightly so I wouldn't fall, she helped me settle in the back seat as best she could and adjusted my seat belt, I could barely stay awake when she started the car, the effort of getting out had completely exhausted me, by the time I opened my eyes again, we were already in the middle of traffic, until then I realized it was afternoon, at first I couldn't locate where we were going, but after a while the road became familiar to me, we were on Ignacio Zaragoza heading to the Mexico-Puebla federal highway, Dr. Carmen tried hard to talk to me, so I wouldn't lose consciousness again, I tried hard to pay attention but it was very hard for me to keep my eyes open.
I remember her telling me about the lady we were going to see, Doña Mariana, a very powerful healer, one of the best in the State of Mexico, who knew a lot about what was happening to me, and that she would help me, who lived past the municipality of Ixtapaluca, a little beyond the town of San Francisco, the voice of Dr. Carmen, although I heard it clearly, still seemed distant to me, my eyes were very heavy, they were closing, and no matter how hard I tried to keep them open I couldn't take it anymore and I closed them for a moment.
By the time I opened my eyes, I was in a very dark room, lit only by a few candles on a small wooden table, which was next to a brazier with lit coals. I was lying on my side, on a very hard bed. I couldn't move. I still felt weak, but at least I didn't feel dizzy anymore. My mouth was dry and very bitter. At that moment, I felt like my eyes were going to close again.
Behind me I heard the voice of Dr. Carmen asking someone if they could help me. There was a long silence, it was desperate for me, and then, that's when I heard the calm voice of the healer, Doña Mariana, to whom I will be eternally grateful, telling Dr. Carmen that things would be difficult, because what I had on me was a female demon, and one of the difficult ones, because she was the sister of the Devil himself. When I heard her, I felt a shiver run down my spine, I was horrified by that answer.
My whole body began to shake uncontrollably as if it were extremely cold. I tried desperately to get up. I wanted to run out of there, but I couldn’t even turn my body to see them. I felt so helpless that all I could think of was praying something, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t. I didn’t remember any prayers, not even an Our Father, nothing. It had been many years since I had done it, ever since my mother died when I was fourteen. But at least thinking about her relieved me a little from the horror of that moment. I wished with all my soul that my mother was here with me, hugging me and telling me that everything was going to be okay… it was enough. I couldn’t help it anymore and my tears ran down my face. I closed my eyes, and then I stopped hearing Mrs. Mariana’s voice…
But before I continue, let me tell you how it all started…
As I was telling you a little while ago, it was just over a year ago when I had that horrible experience with that demon woman, Ara, as Mrs. Mariana called her. At that time I had the night shift, that early morning in particular was quiet despite the fact that it coincided with the second half of November and the weekend, even so there were very few admissions to the Emergency Room, and most of those treated were for apparently minor situations, nothing serious, although we had a very strange case, that of a girl who arrived with convulsions, the strange thing about the matter was that her body, which at times twisted in a very grotesque way, was completely cold, as if she had been lying on ice, however the thermometer showed us close to 41 degrees, that situation somewhat disconcerted Dr. Carmen, Head of Emergency.
In order to give her the injection we had to hold her down between three of our colleagues and the doctor. She had a lot of strength in her limbs for her weight and height. After a lot of struggling we were finally able to stabilize her, but we couldn't bring her out of her unconscious state. The doctor decided to send her to intensive care to keep her under observation and get a full diagnosis. When suddenly, out of the blue, the young woman sat up straight in bed. Almost all of us jumped in fright. She stared at us as if she were very angry with us. She opened her mouth slightly. I thought she was going to speak, but no. Then she started vomiting black, viscous blood with a horrible smell. She stayed like that for a few seconds. As soon as she finished, she fainted again on the bed. Everyone in the emergency room was paralyzed and silent.
During all that time, until Dr. Carmen reacted and approached the girl, placed her head on the pillow and began to take her vital signs, they seemed stable, the rest of us reacted and rushed to support her, it was somewhat shocking despite the fact that we are to a certain extent used to seeing very hard situations every night, but already recovered from the impression, Dr. Carmen asked me to speak with the young people who had brought the girl, to find out what she had consumed that had made her like that.
I left the emergency room and approached the boys who were sitting on the benches in the waiting room, to ask them what they had given her to drink that had made her so sick. At first they just looked at each other in silence. I insisted several times with the question, it seemed like no one would say anything, until I mentioned that we would turn the case over to the police. That's when one of the girls looked up at me, she seemed somewhere between doubtful and distressed, she looked at the rest of her classmates for a moment and then looked at me again, and with a trembling voice she told me that they hadn't even taken anything, that they had spent most of the night playing with the Ouija board. I saw that the rest of the young people began to get very nervous. I didn't believe her. The girl fell silent again and lowered her head. I didn't want to insist any more. I knew that in the laboratory results we would find out what they had consumed. I told them that her friend would stay until tomorrow for observation, that they should tell her family. I turned around and went back to the Emergency Room.
My colleagues had already returned to their areas, only Dr. Carmen was at her desk, filling out some forms, I sat in front of her and we began to talk about the girl's case, as a joke I told her that maybe a demon had entered the girl, like in the Exorcist movie, because according to sources that is what they had been doing all night: playing with the Ouija board, we both began to laugh, but between laughs she told me that she was a little scared of the girl's reactions, that for a moment that idea did cross her mind, then we began to talk about some of the strange cases that were told about the hospital, stories that some of our colleagues had even experienced firsthand, especially those of us who covered the night shift.
Most of these stories agreed that they felt like someone or something was following them through the hallways, or watching them from a distance while they were making their rounds or attending to their patients. Others said they saw things moving on tables or stretchers in the hallways, and a few more claimed to have had even more horrible experiences, such as seeing ghosts wandering through the hallways. Of all the stories we were talking about, there was one in particular that had a huge impact on me, which supposedly happened to Graciela, the former head nurse. Dr. Carmen told me that about three years ago, the head nurse came to see her in her office around three in the morning as part of her rounds, which were quick and she barely had time to say hello when she had already disappeared in the hallway on the way to the elevator.
Dr. Carmen told me that she was already used to seeing her in a hurry like that, so she didn't give it much importance and continued with her work, filling out reports in front of the computer, when, about fifteen or twenty minutes after Graciela had passed, José came rushing into her office. One of the hospital's security guards at the time seemed upset and asked him if he knew where Graciela's boss was. The doctor, somewhat surprised, told him that she was probably on one of the upper floors doing her patrol. José barely let her finish when he ran down the hallway toward the elevator, without even thanking her. Dr. Carmen found this very strange and went after him, asking him if everything was okay. The guard didn't answer and didn't stop until he was in front of the elevator, insistently pressing the button for it to go down, while he tried to communicate via his radio with Mario, the other guard, his partner, who was in the camera monitor room at the hospital entrance.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, José and Dr. Carmen got on, then the guard told him that Chief Graciela had contacted them by radio, to tell them that she was following a woman who had surely smuggled herself into the hospital, because when he called her to ask her what she was doing there, the woman instead of stopping began to walk faster, when suddenly they only heard a horrible scream on the radio and then nothing.
They called his cell phone several times, checked the security cameras and nothing, they had lost her. José remained silent. Dr. Carmen did not ask him any more questions, but she told me that it was very noticeable that he was very worried about his boss, and that as soon as the elevator doors opened, the guard ran out into the hallway, toward the area where Graciela was probably located, with the doctor behind him. As they ran down the hallway they glanced at the offices on either side, but everything seemed closed until they stopped in front of the double doors to the Intensive Care area. José called his colleague over the radio to be alert because he was going to come in. The doctor told me that the guard still turned to look at her and with a gesture of his hand indicated that she should wait there. He pulled out the gun he had on his waist, took a lamp out of his jacket, pushed the door gently with his shoulder and entered the room.
Doctor Carmen told me that those minutes of waiting seemed like an eternity to her, because she was really very worried about Graciela, so she began to despair, so without thinking much she pushed the door a little to find out what was happening, but she didn't go in, she just poked her head out, but she almost pulled it out immediately, an intense rotten smell made her nauseous that she was about to vomit, she began to breathe deeply through her nose to calm down, once that sensation passed, she looked for a face mask that she had in her gown bag and put it on, she pushed the door again, even so the smell was penetrating, she tried not to think about it, this time she did go in but she stayed a few steps from the door, stretching her neck trying to locate the guard but the room was very dark, it seemed strange to her that José had not turned up the main switch for the lights that was on one side of the same door, she turned around towards the switch and turned it up, the click of the button was heard with a great echo, because there was a very deep silence in the room. the entire area.
Not a single one of the lights turned on, he told me he tried several times, he turned the switch up and down but nothing, it seemed like all the lights had burned out, because all the other appliances were still working normally, he searched for his phone in the pockets of his gown to send a message to Miguel, the maintenance manager, to check it first thing tomorrow morning, it was only then that he realized that he had forgotten his cell phone in his office, he turned around, he confessed to me that seeing the room in darkness scared him a little, he tried to relax, he waited a few more minutes to see if he saw the guard or Graciela, but nothing, finally he decided to look for them and began to walk between the beds in the room, some had the curtain that separates them drawn, to give a little privacy to the patients, he told me that he began to feel very cold, that he was even shivering, but he continued walking, checking between the beds.
It was then that she pulled back one of the curtains that she saw Graciela lying face down on the floor, still convulsing. She bent down towards her and held her head so that it would stop crashing against the floor. Then she felt the head nurse's body fade away in her hands. Very frightened, she checked her vital signs. She was barely breathing and she couldn't hear her heart. She very gently turned her over so that she was lying face up.
She unbuttoned her blouse until part of her chest was exposed and, without thinking twice, she pulled the cart with the defibrillator that was next to the patient's bed, turned on the machine and placed the paddles on Graciela's chest for the first shock, trying to revive her heart, she did it several times, she was so concentrated that suddenly she felt something grab her by the shoulder, in fright she threw the paddles and fell backwards to fall on her stomach, all frightened she saw that it was José, the guard, she wanted to tell him that she was going to die, but then she heard a slight moan coming from Graciela, she rushed towards her, while the guard communicated with his partner requesting support.
Apparently Graciela had had a heart attack, she spent a few weeks recovering and as soon as she was better she asked to be transferred to the Siglo XXI Hospital. Everyone at work assumed that the heart attack had been due to some congenital disposition or due to stress, a result of having a job as demanding as hers, but what no one knew was that one day before Graciela left the hospital, she stopped by to visit Carmen to thank her for saving her life, and when they were alone in her office, Graciela started to cry and told her to be very careful, and that if she had the chance to get out of there. The doctor was surprised by what she had just heard, so she asked her why she was saying that. Graciela was silent for a moment, as if thinking carefully about what she was going to say, and then she gestured for her to come closer to her.
It was then that she told him in her ear that that morning, while she was following the supposed unknown woman who had entered the Intensive Care area between the patients' beds, when she moved one of the last curtains at the back of the room, the most horrible visions of her entire life appeared before her, a terrifying, enormous being, half demon, half woman, with a deformed face, red eyes, cracked skin, pale, standing next to the bed, staring at the patient lying there, then that woman turned to look at her, just feeling her gaze paralyzed all the muscles in her body, she could no longer move, as if her feet had been nailed to the floor, nor could she scream, as if an invisible hand was squeezing her throat so hard that she could no longer breathe.
Then that demon woman began to walk towards her, that was when she felt a great pressure in her chest, next to her heart, and how her legs were bending as if they were made of rags, everything happened so fast, even so she managed to put her hands in to cover her head a little when she hit the floor, she could barely breathe and everything was spinning, she hadn't lost consciousness at all, that demon woman walked towards where she was, bent down towards her, and with one of her claws grabbed her by the blouse and lifted her as if it were nothing, as if she were a rag, and brought her close to her face, desperate Graciela closed her eyes to avoid seeing her face to face, but that rotten breath was so intense that her stomach began to contract over and over again until she could no longer avoid vomiting.
The rest of her body began to convulse, that demon-woman slowly lowered her claw and let it fall at her feet, it was then that she saw those horrible legs, human but with enormous hooves, like those of a goat, that when moving away from her, made a horrible noise as they dragged them on the floor tiles, while she also heard the horrible moans and laughter coming out of what seemed to be that woman's mouth, a black mess half-open with deformed, yellow teeth, it was the last thing she remembered, it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to breathe, she closed her eyes and lost consciousness, until she found her and she revived...
Dr. Carmen did not want to contradict her in anything she had just told her, because she thought that she had probably hallucinated when she had convulsed, or when her brain had lacked oxygen. Graciela stood up and gave the doctor a big hug, while thanking her again for having saved her life, she still insisted that she leave there as soon as she had the chance. Carmen told her that she would do it so that she could leave in peace. Graciela turned around and left her office. It was the last time she saw her. She has not heard from her since then, and although she tried not to give much importance to the story she had just heard, from that day on she began to have very intense and recurring nightmares with that demon woman that Graciela had told her, to the point that it began to affect her physical and mental health, so one of her aunts, Lola, her mother's sister, sent her to Doña Mariana, the healer. That's how Dr. Carmen finished telling me Graciela's story. evening…
I was speechless from the shock, and in the middle of that silence my cell phone alarm went off. It was ten minutes to three in the morning. As head nurse I had to make my routine rounds of all the areas. Much to my regret I had to get up, while I jokingly told Dr. Carmen not to go and that I would be back quickly. I knew beforehand that she didn't get out until six in the morning, just like me. I remember that she looked at me for a moment over her glasses, while she pretended to be annoyed, and then looked back at her computer screen. I grabbed my clipboard with my report sheets that were on her desk and while I was reviewing them, I headed towards the office exit.
At that time I began my journey from the fourth floor down, from the Intensive Care area and ended precisely on the ground floor, in the Emergency area with Dr. Carmen. As I walked down the main hallway I felt a very cold breeze all over my body, my skin even got goosebumps, I got a very intense chill, it seemed strange to me, in the hospital they avoided these types of air currents, but I thought that I had been influenced by the story that the doctor had just told me. I tried not to give it importance, I shrugged my shoulders and continued walking and checking my files, but as soon as I took a few steps, I had the feeling that someone or something was behind me, it's like when you feel that someone or something is staring at you but you can't see it. At the moment I did get scared, but I remembered that it could be Diana or Jimena, one of my fellow nurses who work with me on this shift.
I stopped and slowly turned back, the hallway was completely empty, there was no one around, the doors to the offices and consulting rooms on the sides were closed, everything seemed calm and silent, then several of the ceiling lights began to turn on and off as if they were short-circuiting, it didn't seem so strange to me, it happened sometimes, I looked up to see which ones were failing, so I could report them to maintenance, I kept looking up, it seemed like they were blinking in sequence and when they did so you could hear a moaning sound, or a lament, there was something that wouldn't let me take my eyes off the lamps, until I heard a very loud bang on a glass.
I quickly looked down at one of the windows of the offices that were a few steps away from me, then I thought I saw the face of a young woman peeking through the curtains, I was very scared, I jumped back, the muscles in my arms and legs became very hard, I almost screamed, that face disappeared just as I saw it, that made me doubt, I thought I had imagined it, I still thought that I had been very influenced by Dr. Carmen's story, so I tried to calm down, I took several deep breaths, I felt my muscles relax, now calmer I slowly approached the window of that office and looked inside between the folds of the curtain and nothing! There was absolutely no one there, I was angry with myself for being such a coward, I finished writing down the number of the broken lamps and just at that moment a sweet, very intense aroma reached me, it did not surprise me at all, some of the relatives of our patients manage to bring flower arrangements in their sick ones, but that aroma had something very familiar, it seemed familiar to me, I tried to remember the place where I had smelled it before, but as hard as I tried I couldn't remember where or when, what I did realize was that the more I breathed it the more overwhelmed I felt, to the point where I began to feel nauseous and my stomach began to turn.
I shook my head and started walking faster so I wouldn't be in that place anymore, little by little the aroma was fading, but I didn't stop until I was in front of the elevator door, I pressed the button, I still felt a little uneasy, while I arrived, I checked my report sheets again, at that moment I felt someone staring at me again, out of habit I turned to both sides of the hallway but everything was completely empty, nothing out of the ordinary, at that moment the elevator doors opened, I breathed a sigh of relief, but when I entered I thought I saw out of the corner of my eye the silhouette of a very tall and corpulent woman , all the way down the hallway on my right side, my skin crawled, for a second I thought about the demon-woman from Dr. Carmen's story, besides there wasn't supposed to be anyone in that area at this time, I had the impulse to stop at the elevator doors and go back to check, this could also be a bad joke from my colleagues, I felt very angry, if it was I had to end it, but As I tried to take a step out of the elevator, I heard a horrible whisper on the back of my neck that made my hair stand on end and left me completely paralyzed. That horrible voice kept repeating over and over: “Leave her alone, leave her alone.” I couldn’t react anymore. The doors closed and the elevator began to rise. I didn’t know what to think or do. I was truly scared.
As I passed the third floor, the elevator lights started flickering, turning on and off uncontrollably, I felt like the floor was moving as if it were shaking, very distressed I leaned my back against the back wall, pressed my report board against my chest and closed my eyes, I can't tell you how long that lasted, but suddenly everything stopped shaking and I felt like the elevator was no longer moving, I slowly opened my eyes, the lights were no longer flickering and the doors were open, my body still felt very stiff, I don't know if it was just instinct that I hurried to get out, but I stayed out there, a step away with the elevator behind me, not knowing what to do, paralyzed with fear, trying to explain what the hell was happening to me, I began to think that I was hallucinating, that it was all in my head, because I had not been able to sleep or eat well for a few weeks, and the last few days I had been working double shifts.
I knew I was pushing my physical and mental limits, but the breakup with Rubén still hurt me a lot even though it had been going on for two years, and the last thing I wanted was to go home because everything reminded me of him. I tried to breathe deeply and calm down, but at that moment my phone rang in my lab coat pocket and made me jump in fright again. It was Dr. Carmen. As soon as I answered, she asked me if everything was okay. Her voice sounded somewhat distressed. That surprised me and I asked her why. She remained silent for a few seconds, which gave me a bad feeling. After that silence, she told me that the security staff had told her that they had seen on the surveillance camera monitors a very strange woman leaving the Emergency area, around three in the morning, towards the elevator hallway, almost at the same time that I had started my journey. That on the screen it was seen that she had passed right next to me, she had practically walked beside me for a few steps, and then she moved forward towards the elevator, that she had been in the elevator for a few minutes. They still saw me get on and right at that moment the cameras started to fail and they lost the video signal from the entire floor and the elevator, one of the two guards ran down the hallway to try to reach the woman, but told her that he only managed to see her in the distance, behind me, when the elevator doors were closing, Dr. Carmen paused, I felt a chill run down my spine, I don't know if it was from fear, but I discreetly turned back, towards the elevator, it was empty, while I thought about the strange things that had been happening to me during my journey, especially the feeling that someone was watching me very closely or stalking me, but believe it or not, it also gave me some relief to a certain extent.
If the cameras and the guards had seen that woman, then it was real and it wasn't just happening in my head, and it certainly wasn't the first time this had happened to us, on other occasions we had had some reckless and foolish relatives who wanted to see their patients at odd hours, but up to that moment nothing that represented a real danger to the hospital staff... Doctor Carmen brought me back from my thoughts, asking me again if everything was okay, I told her not to worry, that most likely the guards would find the person who had come in and would invite her out without any problem, I said goodbye to her, told her I would come down in a little while and hung up, I waited a few more minutes standing there outside the elevator, to try to relax, a little calmer I began to walk towards the Intensive Care area, which was at the end of that hallway, to the left, and again to the end, as I walked through the rooms and offices I felt that cold breeze all over my body again, especially in the part of my neck and the nape of my neck, the skin on my arms and back went goosebumps, and I perceived that sweet aroma again all the way, but I tried not to give it importance anymore, but when I turned left, I thought I saw in the distance the same tall and corpulent silhouette of a woman like the one I had seen floors below, entering the Intensive Care room, I even thought it was Rocío, one of my companions, also very tall and corpulent, but she only worked the morning shift, so it was not possible, she was the only one on this entire floor, it could not be anyone other than the woman the guards had seen on the cameras, I stopped and for a second I hesitated between following her and confronting her or calling the guards so they would come up and take care of the situation, I did not think about it much, I took out my phone to call Dr. Carmen but something stopped me.
It wasn't the first time I had found myself in the painful need of removing some reckless relative, so I decided, without really knowing why, to continue. I quickened my pace and reached the end of the hallway. I stopped in front of the door to the Intensive Care area. It was still swaying a little. I felt my heart begin to beat, but I kept telling myself that everything had an explanation. Besides, I had always considered myself a strong woman, at least in these cases. So I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. I took a step inside and, without going all the way in, I took a look. As far as I could see, everything seemed calm. I only heard the sound of some of the vital signs machines and respirators. At that moment, I doubted what I had seen. Maybe that woman wasn't here. The room was kept half-lit so that the patients could rest. It was a large room. We had 24 beds divided only by curtains, so I began to walk very slowly between them.
I took the opportunity to review the latest medical reports, some beds had the curtain drawn, so in order to check them properly I had to move it gently so as not to wake the patients. Suddenly I felt very cold, really very cold, I was even shaking, at times it seemed like I was losing my breath and it was hard for me to breathe, even so I continued to advance little by little between the beds, there was a very deep silence, I stopped to check the IV of one of the patients, at that moment I heard several steps behind me, as if someone was walking very slowly, almost dragging their feet, I let go of the patient's wrist and turned around very scared, I began to look around the beds and curtains, trying to locate where those steps came from, but nothing, I kept telling myself that everything would be okay, I put the patient's arm back under the sheet and continued walking, I was so focused looking for that supposed woman, that I hadn't realized that I only had a few beds left to finish checking the area, I stopped again at the last two beds at the back of the room. room, both were covered by the curtain, I moved to the first one and when I crossed the separation I got the scare of my life.
There she was, with her back to me, that woman that I had seen enter the room a few minutes ago. Now that I saw her more closely, she was really too tall and corpulent, she seemed to be dressed as if in a black habit, but very faded and very old, her hair was very long and black, it reached her waist, but it looked disheveled and unkempt, even stiff, she was leaning towards the girl with the convulsions who had arrived that night, she had one of her hands on the girl's forehead, it seemed like she was praying or something, although I thought that woman was strange and scared me a lot, in my head I told myself that she was made of flesh and blood, like any other person, so without thinking much, I swallowed because my mouth was very dry and bitter, with the loudest voice I could I told her that she couldn't be there, who had let her in at this hour, but that woman didn't even flinch, I didn't receive any answer, I could only hear my labored breathing and the beep of the machines, I insisted again, but as soon as I finished the last word I felt that my voice was lost, as if someone was squeezing my throat very hard, desperate I brought my hands to my neck, I felt like I was suffocating, then that woman turned very slowly towards me, she was huge, it gave me the impression that her head reached the ceiling, her red eyes, almost bulging, stared at me fixedly, she advanced towards me, when she emerged from the darkness that surrounded her I could clearly see her face, it was horrible! It was emaciated, with many sores on her cheeks, from which a black, disgusting liquid came out, she opened and closed her mouth clashing her horrible yellowish and rotten teeth,It seemed like she was making fun of me with that twisted grimace on her lips, she got closer and closer, she didn't seem to walk, I had the feeling that she was floating above the floor, when she had me in front of her, she raised her arm, extremely thin, it looked like a deformed bone, and her hand looked more like a claw with thick, long and sharp nails, she grabbed me by the robe, lifted me up and shook me like a piece of rag, I felt like I was dying, I couldn't breathe and I felt a very strong pressure on my chest, everything was spinning, I was about to faint when I felt her let go, I went to crash against one of the mechanical ventilation machines and some oxygen tanks, when I fell to the floor I hit my head so hard that I lost consciousness for a few seconds, I was face down, when I opened my eyes I realized that I was at the feet of that demon woman, one of them looked more like the leg of a turkey, but much larger, with very thick and sharp claws, she put it on my head and He began to press me very hard against the floor, I felt the blood dripping through my hair from the claws that held me, I couldn't move, I felt like my head was going to explode, I tried to pray, but as if he were reading my mind, I heard his horrible voice in my ear again, over and over again, telling me: "leave her, leave her," it was all I could bear, it's the last thing I remember.
When I opened my eyes, there were two guards, several of my colleagues and Dr. Carmen desperate, trying to get me up on a bed, right there in Intensive Care, it was already dawn, when they finally managed to accommodate me they gave me IV and oxygen, at times my eyes closed, I tried to stay awake but I couldn't, I lost track of time, when I opened them again, looking at the window, I clearly saw the horrible silhouette of that demon woman, the only thing I thought at that moment was that I had to get out of there no matter what, as best I could I ripped the IV needle from my wrist and the oxygen mask, I got out of bed and went straight to the locker, I took as much of my things as I could from my locker, I didn't even get dressed, even with my gown on I almost ran out through the Emergency Room hallway, I heard them yelling at me, but I wasn't going to go back, until I felt someone grab me by the shoulder I stopped, it was Dr. Carmen, she stood in front of me and He hugged me…and well you know what happened next…
That's how I got to Mrs. Mariana's house. She and Dr. Carmen laid me face up, straightened me up right there, and gave me a vase to drink. It was a very bitter liquid. I had to spit it out several times. I felt like it was burning my tongue and throat, that it was making my stomach turn, but they didn't stop until I drank it all. Then Dr. Carmen hugged me from behind and held me like that, while Mrs. Mariana pressed her thumb against my forehead, while she prayed something I didn't understand, over and over again. At times I felt like I was going to vomit, and other times I felt like I couldn't breathe, until I lost consciousness, and when I opened my eyes I was face down, on the floor or the bed. There came a time when I couldn't open them anymore. I only felt like they were holding my arms and legs tightly because my body was shaking, convulsing. I really thought I was going to die there... I don't know how much time passed, when finally my body remained still, calm, and although I didn't know how much time passed, I was still, calm, and although I didn't know how much time passed, and I was still, calm, and although I didn't know how much time passed, I was still, calm, and although I didn't know how much time passed, I was still, calm, and although I didn't know how much time passed, and I was still, calm, calm, and although I didn't know how much time passed, ... I could open my eyes, and in my dreams I heard the voice of Doña Mariana praying with great devotion…
When I finally woke up, I was in my bed, at home, Dr. Carmen was wiping a wet cloth over my forehead. When she saw me, she smiled at me. I didn't know what to say to her. I tried to get up, but I still had no strength in my arms. She gently stopped me from trying, while telling me that everything would be okay now, that I should try to rest, and that she would stay to take care of me.
After a few weeks I was able to recover almost completely, although I still have some scars and ailments, but apparently nothing serious. What I have not been able to avoid completely are the nightmares about that demon woman, as Doña Mariana called her, and sometimes I still wake up agitated and crying in the early hours of the morning, but it has lessened. I returned to work, but in another hospital, and every two weeks, without fail, I visit Dr. Carmen at her home, to whom I will be eternally grateful for having saved my life.
Copyright © 2018 Prabir Rai Chaudhuri
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