Monster

Buying a lake home had been a dream of ours, but as long as our money was going towards alcohol, it would remain that way.

Susie, my mentor-turned-bestie, had an undeveloped lake lot for sale. She had been trying to sell it for a few years, with no serious takers.

“Missy Pooh,” she’d say, “I need to sell this land.” I’d tell her a timeframe and describe the potential buyers. When these buyers appeared, and when a price couldn’t be agreed upon, I’d look into it again.

Soon, the intuitive messages repeated.

During this time, my husband took a big step; he, an active alcoholic, entered rehab.

About five months later, Trinity was building a fishing rod when I told him about Susie’s land. I had done minimal research and knew the lake contained walleye, the holy grail of fish to my fisherman. That, and the fact that it was only 75 miles from Fargo, had his interest. “Let’s go look at it,” he said.

And look at it, we did. On a sunny late-February day, we sat in his pickup feeling majorly disappointed. We couldn’t see the road, the driveway, or even the land since it was covered in massive amounts of snow. Still, we were there and had snow gear, so we got out and walked around.

And that’s when we experienced the magic.

Traipsing to the top of the bluff, we looked across the lake and were humbled by the breathtaking vista. In fact, I was so moved – not only by the view but by the extraordinary energy – that my jaw fell open and I started crying. Trinity was a mirror image.

That was it. That was all it took. That land had been waiting for us, and as soon as we got back into town, I let Susie know it was sold. Our exuberance, as with any person who has realized a dream, was palpable.

Little did I know that a monster resided there.

On a fall evening, about a year later, I was walking from the recently built house to the shop. As I was reaching for the door handle, I heard strange, unearthly, and unintelligible whispering coming from a grove of trees off to my left. Instantly, the hair on my arms and neck stood at attention. I felt extreme, seemingly irrational panic and knew that something otherworldly was coming for me. And it was coming fast.

Shit! My body flooded with adrenaline. With wide eyes and a dry mouth, I punched in our keypad code, knowing there wouldn’t be time to redo it if I messed up.

Please God, PLEASE GOD!  I could feel its soul-sucking energy rushing towards me.

It unlocked. The door opened just as a high-pitched shriek flew from my throat. I leapt through the threshold, feeling the sinister entity glance off my auric field.

Slamming the door, I fell to my knees, gasping for air. My eyes found Trinity’s. “What happened?!” he asked. “Are you okay?”

“No,” I heaved in response while shaking my head. “Oh my God, NO, I’m not okay,” and while I told him what I had sensed and felt, the adrenaline wore off, leaving me shaking uncontrollably.

“I’ve never seen you look this way!” he said when I was finished and able to stand, then, “Come on, I’ll walk ya to the house.”

“Yes, please, and grab a flashlight.”

Once safely inside our home, I stared at the trees. They looked normal, but something wasn’t right. As I turned away from the window, I couldn’t help but think, What WAS that?!

The morning sun shone as I once again stood at the shop door, but this time I faced the seemingly innocuous trees, studying them. I was looking for something that didn’t fit or seemed out of place. I found it in a dead tree. As I stared, I knew one branch was a portal through which this thing gained access.

Slowly, I approached.  It telepathically spoke.

I almost had you last night. Your essence smells so sweet.

The words were hissed and drawn out. Its face, if you can call it that, was nothing more than rows of jagged teeth and obscenely large obsidian eyes. Its visage was similar to the malevolent figure I encountered during my astral projection experience at Farmer Randy’s. The energy was similar, but if it was the same bloodline, this one was definitely the older, way bigger brother. And this one was toying with me.

You won’t get that opportunity again, I toyed back while using my hands to draw a powerful Reiki symbol that breaks energetic connections.

Why are you here? I questioned.

I am a hunter. You are my prey.

You’re not from here. Go hunt on some other planet.

Silence.

I know you came through a portal, and I’m going to destroy it.

This was also met with silence, but I felt pretty cocky as I turned my back and entered the now unlocked garage. I grabbed my husband’s Sawzall, a ladder, and safety glasses (because I AM a Safety Girl!). I marched my indignant pootukus right up to that dead tree, laid the blade against the girthy branch, and lit ‘r up.

Only to not make any progress because Momma didn’t have the right tool for the job.

Talk about a wah, wahhh, wahhhhhh moment.

Luckily, Trinity was near and, of course, had the right tool for the job. He powered up the chainsaw and down came that portal disguised as a branch. And he didn’t stop there; he lopped off several more just to be sure.

He gets me. He totally gets me.

As I stood assessing the minor landscaping change, the energy of the trees no longer felt corrupt.  I took a deep breath and brush-clapped my palms together in a way that often symbolizes satisfaction for a job well done. A smile was forming when the monster spoke.

You think you have destroyed me, but I am only hibernating. I will be back in fifty years . . . for your daughter.

Mother Fu–