Devil's Daughter

“Morrisa!” Jane called. “Lunch is ready! If I have to call you one more time, I’m coming up there, young lady!” She’d already called her five-year-old daughter twice. “One!…Two!…”
“I’m coming!” Morrisa cried, running, as quickly as she could, down the stairs to the kitchen.
“What were you doing up there that took you so long?” Jane asked.
“Talking to Luke,” she replied, picking up the grilled cheese her mother had just set in front of her.
“And who is Luke?” Jane asked, thinking it was a new imaginary friend. Morrisa had just gotten over Stacy, her other made up friend.
“A man with black wings and black hair like mine.”
“Has Daddy been letting you watch scary movies again?” Jane asked, irritated. Her husband, Carl was always letting Morrisa watch R-rated movies.
“No. He makes me go to bed.”
Jane sat down and looked around for a moment. “What were you talking about that was more important than lunch?”
“He told me things,” she replied hesitantly, setting the grilled cheese back on the plate.
“What kinds of things?” Jane pressed, getting worried that someone had broken into the house.
“I’m not apposed to tell,” Morrisa said, gripping the table, almost as though she were frightened.
“Well, Mommy doesn’t count; you can tell her anything.”
“Luke said…he said you and Daddy aren’t my real mommy and daddy,” Morrisa replied, nearly in tears. Her face bunched up and her breathing was hard and fast. Without warning she slammed her head into the table. Jane was so taken aback and startled that Morrisa had done it three more times before she stopped her. The girl screamed and kicked against her mother.
Just then, Carl walked through the door. He saw the blood streaming down his daughter’s face and reached for the phone.
Within minutes, an ambulance arrived and two paramedics were needed to sedate Morrisa.
At the hospital, police officers, doctors, and nurses all interrogated Jane and Carl about what happened. Finally after hours of waiting, the doctor came into the emergency room.
“Mr. and Mrs. Byrd?” They both nodded. “Your daughter is, to put it frankly, a mystery. We’ve run blood tests, CT scans, MRIs, you name it, and we can’t find any reason for her to have acted out so violently. Could you walk me through exactly what happened?” He sat down in a chair across from them and prepared to take notes on his clipboard.
Jane retold the whole thing in a shaky voice.
“Did it concern you that she said she saw a man with wings?”
“Of course. I thought someone had gotten into the house.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to keep her here for the night for observation under the supervision of a psychiatrist.” He looked up at them questioningly.
“That’s fine,” Carl replied, putting his arm comfortingly around Jane.
“Did Morrisa’s being late for lunch upset you?” he asked suddenly.
“What?” Jane asked in shock.
“It’s a question I have to ask.”
“You can’t possibly think my wife would slam our daughter’s head into the table four times…” Carl said defensively.
“I’m sorry, I have to ask these questions in situations like this.”
“I was irritated, but not that much. I’ve never had to call her three times before.”
“Well, get some rest and we’ll talk more tomorrow.” With that, the doctor got up and left them there.
“God, I just wish I knew what happened,” Jane mused.
“Let’s go home and sleep, so we’ll be ready to take Morrisa home tomorrow,” Carl said hopefully.
* * *
Jane was wide-awake, staring at the ceiling of the dark bedroom. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Morrisa with blood pouring from her forehead. What disturbed her more than that now was how Morrisa had known she was adopted. Even if she didn’t believe what this made up person said, it was strange that she should say such a thing.
The phone rang, making Jane jolt upright. She picked it up. “Hello?…Hello? Is someone there? It’s not funny to-“ She was cut off by the off-the-hook sound. “Just dreaming,” she muttered and replaced the receiver.
No sooner had she set it down, than it rang again. She picked it up. “Who is this?” she asked, irritated.
“Mrs. Byrd?” It was the doctor’s voice.
“Yes?”
“You might want to come down here. Your daughter is having fits. We may need to sedate her again.”
She hung up and woke Carl.
They drove as quickly as they could to the hospital. A nurse led them to Morrisa’s room. The little girl’s screams could be heard down the hall. Jane took off at a run to the door. Looking in, she saw two nurses trying to restrain Morrisa while another attempted to inject a sedative.
“What the hell happened?” Carl asked when they finally got the girl calmed.
“She just started screaming and beating on the door,” one of the nurses replied.
“Sweetie,” Jane asked, gently stroking Morrisa’s hair from her face. “What made you scream?”
Morrisa took a deep breath and sighed, “Luke said you and Daddy weren’t my real parents again. Then he said you were going to leave me with the mean people like my real mommy.” Tears fell from her eyes.
Jane wiped them away and looked concernedly at Carl. She hugged her daughter and rocked her until she fell asleep. Laying her back, she stood and left the room. “How would she possibly know that her mother left her at a hospital?”
“I haven’t told her anything, if that’s what you’re getting at,” Carl said.
“This is just very odd. We shouldn’t leave her alone. I’m staying in that room with her for the rest of the night. You can go home or whatever you want, but you’re not changing my mind.”
“I’ll stay with you, then,” Carl replied and together they went back into the room.