A Battle Against Demons by Kjell-Vidar Åhman Teig

Author:Kjell-Vidar Åhman Teig [Teig, Kjell-Vidar Åhman]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Music Is Everywhere
Published: 2024-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

9

Robert

Initially, they wanted to bury Mom in Skjønnsund. According to regulations, she was to be buried by the church of the municipality in which she died. Grandpa insisted that Oslo was the only proper place, but not even his credit card could make that happen. After much back and forth, including a petition from the local residents of Øyerstad, we finally got our way. Mom was coming home to Øyerstad.

A little over a week after her death, we were sitting in church again. Friends, as usual, were on the left side, and family on the right, facing the altar. At the front stood the coffin, surrounded by wreaths with white ribbons and heartfelt messages. My thoughts scattered as I tried to wrap my head around what all this meant for Dad, Anders, me, and everyone else.

The sheriff was also present, partly on duty and partly as a resident. He was the first official to tumble into Mom’s house the night we found her.

“It’s the sheriff! Is anyone there? Identify yourselves!” he yelled before bursting in.

He made one hell of a racket as he kicked a pile of junk in the kitchen. We didn’t answer, not even when he insisted we put our hands up. We did nothing.

Shortly after, the paramedics arrived. Anders and I stepped back when they asked, but Dad didn’t listen, nor actively resist, yet it took three of them to pull him away from Mom’s side. They carried him through the room, placing him at the other end, close to the kitchen. He did not move. Soon, the paramedics focused on Mom. They did what they had to do, but she was already gone. All three of us knew it, yet they proceeded nonetheless. It seemed to go on forever. Apparently, protocol dictated that efforts should continue for up to an hour, but I don’t think they persisted that long that evening. I believe they gave up when Kyrre, the priest, arrived. He said something to Dad. Dad said nothing in return.

Later, after Mom was taken away and the house underwent further examination, they found a single box of pills in the bathroom. Not thousands, like I had seen in my… dream. One box, combined with a bottle of liquor, was more than enough to kill a woman her size. They said she had likely taken the mix of pills and alcohol, then changed her mind. That’s why she went to the bathroom, to throw it all up. Failing to do so, she stumbled down the stairs to the living room, where she called for help. Weakened, she lost her footing and fell through the glass coffee table. She never rose again.

Later, the local newspaper coined it a “family tragedy” when covering the event. Everyone knew what they meant by that, and it was bullshit. Mom loved us too much. She would never give up like that. She was stronger than she had been in a long time—on the rise. She had even landed a job. The local press also wrote that she was alone when she died.

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