March 1997
“WAKE UP CHILD!”
The old lady yelled at her young prodigy as she hastily packed a suitcase with whatever necessities she could find.
The gossip was quickly spread by the old lady’s friend who just moments before had fled the house in terror that The great spiritual leader Gonzalo Melfi had “disappeared unintentionally” and the people were about to find out that the young “Witch” Maritza had something to do with it.
The local police were going to get involved.
“But Madame Melfi, I swear I…”
“IT doesn’t matter child,” Madame Melfi explained, “Whether what you did was justified or not does not matter at this point. We need to go, we’ll talk about this later. Where is Violet?”
“Right here mama.” Said a small girl with a Sullen and somber tone. She had just woken up to see her mother and Maritza staring back at her with distress.
“Violet,” Madame Melfi began, “get whatever you can fit in your backpack and let’s go. I don’t have time to explain but… We have to go now.”
“But mama,” Violet interrupted as she was hurried into her room by her mother, “What if daddy gets back, and we’re not here?”
Madame Melfi’s eyes welled with tears as she helped her daughter pack.
Mere minutes before, Madame Melfi and her friend Lorena watched in horror as her husband Gonzalo plunged a blade to the back of Maritza as he yelled “Back to hell with you, demon!”
Maritza yelped out in immense pain as she turned around, pointed at Gonzalo, and yelled “QUEMATE!”
Her eyes then glimmered a bright cerulean blue, and out of her fingers spewed a deep blue flame that swiftly engulfed Gonzalo, quickly turning him into ash.
Madame Melfi knew this would eventually happen. She had talked To her husband weeks before about her attempt to help Maritza control her powers, to help the child fight back against the demon who controlled her.
Gonzalo was disgusted, and retorted that Maritza was not in fact human, but simply one-sixth of the demon in human form, and therefore did not deserve pity or help.
He had slowly indoctrinated his daughter Violet’s mind with his beliefs, who in turn also grew very distrustful of her mother’s plan.
She also grew very distrustful of Maritza.
Madame Melfi had two choices:
1) Let the incoming mob brought on by Lorena’s accusations of witchcraft and murder come down on Maritza, causing countless deaths before Maritza herself would be struck down or,
2) Run. Escape before the mob saw that the home now filled with ash also held three very distraught witnesses.
She chose the latter.
“Violet, Maritza...” Madame Melfi stated, “We have to go. We have to leave the Dominican Republic. Luckily, I have a friend who can help us...”
