“Daddy, please come home!! Mom is screaming…”

It was just another ordinary workday when my son frantically called me multiple times while I was in a meeting. With each missed call, my heart sank deeper. During a break, I finally gathered the courage to call him back, my hands shaking in anticipation.

“Daddy, I don’t know what to do. I just came home and can hear Mom screaming in her room,” he said, his voice trembling with fear.

Trying to maintain a calm demeanor despite the growing panic within me, I inquired, “Why didn’t you go inside her room?”

“I’m too scared to go inside. I hear other voices too,” he replied, with his fear palpable even through the phone.

My heart racing, I immediately dialed my wife’s number, but there was no response. With no other choice, I called 911, hoping they could arrive quickly. The drive home that felt like an eternity was filled with terrifying scenarios racing through my mind.

When I finally arrived home, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I sprinted towards our bedroom, prompted by the distant wail of police sirens. Bursting through the door, filled with adrenaline, what I saw paralyzed me in place.

My wife was convulsing and screaming on the bed, her eyes wide with terror. Surrounding her were three individuals, two men and a woman, chanting in a language foreign to me. They held peculiar objects, and the room seemed to radiate an eerie glow.

“Get away from her!” I bellowed, but they paid no heed to my command. Consumed by a surge of adrenaline, I lunged at the nearest intruder, knocking him to the ground. The other two, startled by my sudden aggression, retreated.

“Daddy!” my son cried from the doorway. I turned to find him standing there, tears streaming down his face.

“Call the police again, tell them to hurry!” I ordered, redirecting my attention back to my wife. Despite her unending convulsions and piercing screams, I firmly grasped her shoulders, attempting to steady her. “Everything will be okay, my love. I’m here,” I whispered, more for my own reassurance than hers.

Within minutes, the police swarmed the room, forcefully removing the assailants. Paramedics followed closely behind, urgently attending to my wife. Helplessly, I watched as they worked to stabilize her, feeling my heart shatter at the sight of her pain.

After what felt like an eternity, the paramedics managed to calm her down. She was swiftly transported to the hospital, where they sedated her and closely monitored her condition. Meanwhile, the police apprehended the conspirators, leaving me to piece together the mysterious events.

I sat by my wife’s side in the hospital, holding her hand and praying for her to awaken. My son remained beside me, his tiny hand gripping mine tightly.

“Daddy, what happened?” he timidly asked, his voice filled with fear.

“I don’t know, little one,” I replied, my voice choked with emotions. “But we’ll get through this, I promise.”

When my wife finally regained consciousness, she was disoriented and frightened. Her recollections of the incident were hazy, with only fragments of feeling unwell throughout the day before everything turned dark.

The ensuing police investigation unraveled the shocking truth: the intruders were part of a dangerous cult, deluded into believing they could harness their energy to heal others. Mistakenly, they targeted my wife, wrongly believing that she possessed unique powers.

The days that followed were a blur of hospital visits, police interrogations, and tirelessly comforting my son. However, through the chaos, we stood united as a family, finding strength and solace in one another.

Healing took time, both physically and emotionally, for my wife. While the physical wounds gradually mended, the emotional scars proved harder to overcome. Seeking a fresh start, we relocated to a new house and devoted ourselves to rebuilding our lives anew.

Reflecting on the past, I shudder at how close I came to losing everything. Yet, in the midst of utter terror and uncertainty, I discovered an inner strength I never knew existed. Most importantly, I learned that no matter what hardships befall us, the unbreakable love and bond of a family can navigate even the darkest of times.