Chapter 2 - Recovery

This is the second chapter of the book.

Later, that same night, Alessandro found himself asleep in his own bedroom. As he enjoyed his deep slumber, Alessandro began to have nightmares of the torment that Striga had put him through. The sounds of the strokes of the whip that hit his bareback, the jingles of the chains that bounds him, the searing of the silver shackles on his wrists and the endearment of being punched caused Alessandro to toss and turn on his bed. The wanting of the nightmare to stop caused Alessandro to wake up and breathe heavily. To forget about it, Alessandro picked up his sword and practice his swings until breakfast with the witches. The demon tried with all his might to enjoy his meal, but the nightmares remained on his mind. “Is there something wrong Jonathan?” said Helena. “No. Helena.” said Alessandro. “You sure?” said Natalie. “Well last night I got to sleep for the first time in my life.” said Alessandro. “Oh, that’s great to hear.” said Sage. “Well, the thing is I had a terrible nightmare about what my mother did to me.” said Alessandro. “What exactly did she do to you?” said Faith. “This.” said Alessandro as he took off his shirt and showed the witches the marks on his back from the whip. He also showed them the scars on his wrists from the shackles. “Good grief!! Look at that!!” said Natalie. “That’s horrible! How can anybody do that to their own son?” said Zoe. “She is a demon. What the hell do you expect?” said Sage. “That may be true, but Jonathan is a one of a kind good one.” said Helena. “You got that right.” said Natalie as she rubbed Alessandro’s arm. “I’m curious Jonathan. Why did she do this to you?” said Helena. “Because I refused to eat human souls once.” said Alessandro. “Any mother who would beat their child because they refused to eat is a disgrace.” said Faith. “Yeah.” said Natalie. “I just want to forget her entirely.” said Alessandro as he put his shirt back on. “If that is what you want then I know just the person who can help you.” said Helena. “Really?” said Alessandro. “Yes. He has been a great help to all of us. We each see him regularly.” said Helena. “Great.” said Alessandro as he smiled. “Natalie, how about you take Jonathan to meet him?” said Helena. “Will do.” said Natalie. So later, that day, Natalie took Alessandro over to an oval shaped brick building on Columbia Road in Dorchester via rideshare. Alessandro stared at the building as he stepped out of the car. “So, this is the place?” said Alessandro. “Yes. Come on this way.” said Natalie as she led Alessandro to a lower entrance of the building. On the door it said: “New Horizon Therapy for all species.” On the lower middle right side of the door said: “Licensed Mental Health Counselor Michael Wheeler.” The two then approached the African American secretary at the front desk. “Hello Natalie. Do you have an appointment with Mr. Wheeler?” said the secretary. “Not today, Selena. I like to see if my friend here can sign in for a session today.” said Natalie. “Well Mr. Wheeler did say walk-ins are allowed. I will call him.” said Selena as she picked up her landline phone. Alessandro spent the next few minutes staring at Selena until she hung up the phone. “So can we see him?” said Natalie. “Mr. Wheeler said that he can meet with him.” said Selena. “Okay thank you Selena. Come on Jonathan.” said Natalie as she led Alessandro to the office of Michael Wheeler. Natalie knocked on the door and heard a voice say, “Come in.” Natalie opened the door and inside was Michael Wheeler himself sitting at his desk finishing reading what appeared to be letters. Michael had white skin, a crew cut hairstyle, wore a sky blue buttoned up shirt that matched his jeans and had his sleeves rolled up. He wore a silver metallic wristwatch on his left arm. “Hey Michael.” said Natalie. “Natalie, how is it hanging? And who is your friend Selena told me about?” said Michael as he stared at Alessandro. “This is Jonathan. I was wondering if he can have a session with you.” said Natalie. “Of course he can. Have a seat.” said Michael. Alessandro and Natalie both sat down facing Michael. “Hey, can I ask one question before we start?” said Alessandro. “Sure. Go ahead.” said Michael. “You and your secretary out there are both human. Aren’t you?” said Alessandro. “We sure are. We’re just both mortal humans in the flesh.” said Michael. “If you’re humans then why are you helping nonhuman creatures.” said Alessandro. “I don’t mind answering another question. The reason for that is because I’ve dealt with both angels and demons. I’ve seen them and they were some of the nicest people you ever want to meet. They even helped me solve the case behind my wife’s death. One of them gave me this watch. Every part of this led me to believe there are other creatures out there with powers who may need help. So, I launched this practice. Any other questions you want to ask?” said Michael. “No.” said Alessandro. “Okay. So may I have your name and species.” said Michael. “It’s Jonathan. I’m a demon.” “Jonathan. Where are you originally from?” said Michael as he wrote in a notebook. “I’m from Hell.” said Alessandro. “Reason for leaving?” said Michael. “To escape from the misery my mother put me through.” said Alessandro. “Can you explain that, Jonathan?” said Michael as he continued to write. “I remember being whipped, punched, chained and kept in a cell by my own mother.” said Alessandro. “How old were you when that happened?” said Michael. “In human years, I was only five.” said Alessandro as he shed a tear. Natalie quickly wiped Alessandro’s tears with a tissue. “That must’ve been a very hard experience.” said Michael. “It was. I don’t wish that on anyone.” said Alessandro. “Exactly. No one deserves that just like you didn’t Jonathan.” said Michael. “Thanks for acknowledging that.” said Alessandro. “So, what is it that you want to achieve from this Jonathan?” said Michael. “I want to stop myself from making what happened my identity.” said Alessandro. “I see. I would love to meet with you for another session. Are you up for it?” said Michael. “Yes.” said Alessandro. “Sweet. How about next week?” said Michael. “Of course.” said Alessandro. “So, it’s settled. I’ll be seeing you next week.” said Michael. “Will do.” said Alessandro as he shook hands with Michael and left the building with Natalie. “So how was your that for you Jonathan?” said Natalie. “It was great. I can’t be any more proud of doing that.” said Alesandro. “Good.” said Natalie as she returned home with Alessandro. “Hey guys, just in time for lunch.” said Helena. “Helena. There is something I need to ask you.” said Alessandro. “Go ahead.” said Helena. “I need to work on my powers. Can you help me with that?” said Alessandro. “Of course, why?” said Helena. “When I fought those demons, I somehow absorbed their powers. They ran away from me after that.” said Alessandro. “Wait. You have the ability of plunder.” said Helena. “I remember that being my mother’s ability.” said Natalie. “What’s plunder?” said Alessandro. “That’s the name of your ability.” said Faith. “Yes. You have the most valuable ability. With that anyone could come after you. Demons, humans, and anyone else that could want your powers. Now we know that you must be protected. Tomorrow we will work together to harness it.” said Helena. “Right.” said Alessandro as he began to eat his food with the other witches. He looked at the first session with Michael as well as the agreement to train the beginning of his road to recovery.