I grew up in a rather abusive home. My biological mother had died from cancer before I could speak a word, and my father remarried someone from his work. Dolores had always been hostile towards me from the beginning, seeing me as someone who would take away her husband's attention. As a toddler, she used to beat me brutally and lock me in the closet for a day simply when she was in a bad mood. I still have bruises and scars from when she tormented me. The child protection service eventually took me out of their home, seeing it as unfit. My father remained silent throughout the situation.
From the age of 9, I grew up in an elderly foster family. They were benevolent and kind towards me but close-minded people. I loved them because I saw them as both parents and grandparents figures. By the time I turned 14, I heard the wife of my biological father had died from a stroke. Despite not talking to them anymore, I was more than glad to see the witch getting what she deserved. Even though I was now in a loving home, I still remained impulsive and irresponsible. I would go out and smoke with my friends despite knowing Mr. Mason had asthma.
"Karon my dear, please don't keep doing this. School is good for you!" Mrs. Mason would always say to me with that worried look.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't tell me what to do. It's not like you're my real mother anyway!" I would say in an insensitive manner.
I often enjoyed stealing from my foster parents because they were oblivious to it. They believed I was always honest, so they never put any skepticism in my words. At the age of 15, I took the money that was meant for Mr. Mason's healthcare for drugs and makeup. When he was unable to find it, he became apprehended.
Two years had gone by, and I was 16 when I got cancer. I was laying in the hospital bed with Mr. and Mrs. Mason holding my hands. They were muttering some prayers while having their eyes closed. I knew they were strict Christians, yet not to this point did I know how religious they were. Just as the doctors were about to report my heartbeat to end, I fell into a state of trans. I remember hearing the couple moaning out my name as the doctors were reporting something to them. I could see my energy leaving my flesh because I saw my own body. The feeling was indescribable. As apprehended as I was, I remained calm.
Suddenly, everything flashed into a room of light. I saw many familiar-looking figures in the lights, some of them were frantically whispering my name. Others were pulling at my arm, begging the force to let me go. However, the force was too strong for them to hold me together. I fell into a pool of what felt like fire. I heard many excruciating screams of innocent people, as well as flesh-tearing sounds. I saw a dark angel approaching me with a sinister-looking smile on its face. The tormenting scene will forever be part of my memory, even after thirty years. I was going to ask it what its deal was, but it just gesticulated for me to follow it.
Amongst all the tormenting moans and groans, there was a person crouched on a rock in the middle of the lava-like liquid. The angel walked across the lava, but I felt my bare feet agonizing with the liquid touching against it. I noticed that it was a woman clinging onto the rock for dear life. Her skin was filled with blisters and scars, showing the torments she had gone through. Her hair was dark blonde in a rather familiar way. I felt sorrow for her despite instantly recognizing who it was. It was none other than my stepmother Dolores. She was so astounded to see me with one of her eyes, the other one was already blinded and scared across the face, that she lost her consciousness.
"Dolores?!!" I remember saying in a frantic yet astounding way.
"Karon.....? Oh my gosh, what the hell are you doing here?" she said. I could tell that she was genuinely concerned about me, or at it seems.
"I don't know. The last thing I remember is being in bed!" I said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Her expression of genuine care quickly faded into something ominous. I knew that she did not change, it was still the same old sinister soul from the beginning. She smiled at me in a malevolent manner before laughing out in a demonic way. She was about to approach me with some liquid in her hands when the angel blocked me. Dolores acted insane when she began punching and kicking the dark angel, begging for him to release her. When he had her calmed down, he whispered something to me that I'll never forget. Even today, every time I want to do something immoral, the voice of the demonic angel would echo inside my mind.
"Karon, this is what would happen to you if you keep living your sinful life!" the angel said. "I'm happy to see you agonize the way she does. "
"I..... I don't understand," I said in a mortified way, "I thought I was different from her, better than her!"
"You would be if you give up on your sinful life," came the voice of someone who sounded eerie yet familiar.
I looked up and saw a man in the light. It was almost impossible to see his face clearly, but the silhouette appeared so familiar. Before I could look at my stepmother one more time, I was pulled out of the ground and lifted into the light. Then, I woke up. The doctors later informed us that I was slowly recovering. I told myself it was just an obnoxious nightmare, but I knew there was more to it than that. The gaunt and tormenting facial expression of my stepmother will forever be part of my memory.