The Ancient Hours by Michael Bible

The Ancient Hours by Michael Bible

Author:Michael Bible [Bible, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Melville House
Published: 2020-12-08T00:00:00+00:00


6

I WOULD LIKE TO PUT A FEW things straight. After my little intervention with Johnny and Debra from Christian Recovery my parents sent me off to the same rehab camp Paul went to. It was a church-sanctioned place. Deeply cruel. They locked us up together for days in cabins. The teachers fought us. If we tried to leave, they made us sleep outside with broken jaws and dislocated shoulders. If someone was caught drinking or smoking they were locked in the dark for twenty-four hours. The mind begins to fracture without stimulation. You begin to hallucinate. That’s when I first began to see my own past lives.

They selected a few of the boys to work in the faculty house. If you wanted special treatment you had to get in good with Dr. Rex, the headmaster. He wasn’t a real doctor. Had a PhD in theology from some Baptist college. They’d set this place up in an old summer camp. When I first arrived we were woken up at 5 a.m. every morning and made to run for miles through the woods before breakfast. We worked long hours in a call center selling Christian vacation packages to the Holy Land. But after the first month I was moved to the headmaster’s house staff. We did the laundry and cleaned his rooms. Then he asked me one day to help him with his back. At first it wasn’t anything too bad. I’d rub one spot on his back and he would thank me. But for days and days that’s all he’d talk about. How I’d worked wonders on him.

He asked me to come to his room one Sunday night after Bible study. When I walked in, he took his shirt off. He told me to use oil. I knew it was weird but it was better than night exercises. When I was done, he told me to wait downstairs while he showered.

I’m surprised you didn’t find this already, he said.

He pulled a Dr. Pepper from the fridge and opened it, poured us both a glass. He let me watch TV for an hour and ordered us a pizza. He turned the TV off and we sat awkwardly in his living room.

I got to go back to the dorm, I said.

Suit yourself, he said.

As I left he thanked me again. Told me he’d never felt better. He patted me on the back.

This was great, he said. But I think we better keep this night between me and you. Wouldn’t want the other boys to get jealous.

Sure, I said.

Things went back to normal. Work detail. Exercise. Bible study. But a few weeks later he asked me to come back again. He ordered another pizza. We sat on the couch and watched Law and Order. An old episode where a maid’s body is found under a bed in a sleazy motel. After it was over, I stood up to leave.

Maybe you could tell me a little about yourself, Dr. Rex said.

I should get back, I said.



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