The Vision (Original Short Story)

Kim woke up with a start. She had been having visions again. Her mind began to contemplate between the pills and the Bible. But deep inside, she knew she had a third option.

Kim Lapp started having visions when she was 6. At first, she thought everyone could see what she saw. It took the jeering from her playmates to realise she was unusual - or, in their words, weird. That day, she had described the bright constellation in the middle of the apple tree in the center of the play garden. She saw the bright star in the centre and the stars that surrounded it. It was such an awesome sight for her that she shouted to all of her playmates to come have a look. All they saw was a hole burrowed by a squirrel who used to live there. They thought she was joking. When it began obvious that Kim was serious with her claim, they all burst out laughing. Kim got into a fit and called her friends blind.

The visions continued. Each one different from the last. Sometimes, they occured by day; at other times she saw them in her dreams. Everytime, she described what she saw, people thought she was going mad. Soon the other children became scared of her and her visions. That was when her parents began to take her serious.

Her father was very religious. He believed in angels and demons and witches and spirits. His first thought was that Kim had been possessed and would require an exorcism. The local priest thought otherwise. He felt that since Kim had not shown any visible sign of demon possession, she was receiving signs from the divine. He exhorted her to read the Bible and recite prayers from the prayer books. He sprinkled holy water on her, the house and declared everything to be alright. Her father felt honoured to have a daughter who received divine visions.

Her mother on the hand wasn't all that enthusiastic. Following her recent switch into atheism, she believed Kim was manifesting some kind of mental disorder or hallucination. She immediately demanded Kim be admitted into a mental facility. Her husband would have none of it. At the end, they settled for regular checkups. Her mother didn't stop with checkups. She read online articles, newspaper clippings, medical journals, anything that shed light on her daughter's unusual condition. She consulted with doctors regularly and ensured Kim took her pills at as when due.

Kim sat on the bed and stared hard at the pills in the little yellow bottle on the table. In the last two months, Kim didn't have any vision, thanks to her continued mingling with a sinful world and the drugs. Her father wasn't disturbed. The priest assured him everything was alright. Kim was gradually losing her spiritual innocence and divine connection due to her continued stay in her sinful body and constant mingling with sin. Her mother was relieved. Finally, she had a normal child. The hospital bills had taken a toll on her and she was grateful to learn that Kim was returning to normal. Of course, the doctors' care and regular medication had taken the problem and not the superstitious beliefs her husband still held onto. She couldn't wait for Kim to return to school.

In the last two months, Kim didn't have any vision because she was tired of visiting the doctors by morning and priest by night. So to create peace for herself and her parents, she kept her visions to herself alone.

Not really to herself alone. She walked to the door, turned the knob and walked to her chest drawer. She brought out the large crucifix, followed by the Prayer book and Bible and then a plywood just the size of the drawer. Underneath, she brought out a large drawing book she had bought with her piggy bank savings.

That night, Kim sat by her bed, using only the faint light from moon, and drew her latest vision.

This is my entry for The Fifth Fractal Writing Contest organised by @nyarlathotep The picture was provided by @nyarlathotep and serves as the prompt for this piece.