Guardian of Human Suffering

. A young girl lay on a small hospital bed. Her frail body was twisted in spasms of pain and helplessness, which periodically descended upon her in the soundless silence of the night. A doctor and two nurses stood beside her. They stared at her with blank, puzzled eyes, fear etched on their faces. They were there to help this poor girl, yet for reasons unknown, her "illness" exceeded their competence.

A moment later, the girl lost consciousness. Her skin was now covered in oozing wounds. As if an invisible animal were sinking its merciless fangs into her flesh. But then again, everyone was there. The entire night staff could see that there wasn't even a fly in the room. The sterile isolation ward protected against unauthorized access, yet for reasons unknown, new wounds periodically appeared on the girl's body before the doctor and nurses' eyes.

The nurse wordlessly approached the young woman and bandaged her arm, from which blood was trickling in tiny streams.

"Doctor, is it possible that this girl is possessed?" the nurse asked fearfully.

"No, it's not possible, just as impossible as what's happening here, and yet this 'something' is harming this girl right before our eyes, and we can't do anything to ease her suffering," the doctor replied, taking his cell phone out of his pocket. "Tadeusz?" he said into the receiver when he heard a familiar voice on the other end. "Come to the clinic. I have an exceptionally serious case here. Yes, I know you no longer work here, but only you can explain what I saw today."

Tadeusz shook his hand with his old friend. He hadn't considered what to do when he received that strange call at 4 a.m. Even though he had reservations about visiting the clinic to which he had devoted his entire life, from which he had been brutally thrown out for disconnecting a man who was already dead. After all, can you call someone alive who doesn't feel, doesn't speak, doesn't think, and isn't even able to breathe on their own?

Even though he lost his beloved job and lived with the heavy burden of mortal sin, he didn't regret his actions; he felt he had done exactly what his heart told him.

"What you're about to see is beyond my medical expertise. Perhaps this woman needs an exorcist, but she came here believing that only doctors can help her, and that's why I'll do everything to ensure her faith in the Polish hospital doesn't suffer because of what's happening here today. I believe that you, as a person of immense knowledge and unwavering faith, will help me understand or at least explain the secret this girl carries," Marcin said, looking at his friend with sadness. For the first time, he felt so helpless and simultaneously overwhelmed and despondent.

"So show me what's so strange about your doctor's eyes," Tadeusz replied, smiling warmly at his friend.

The bed the girl lay on was practically swimming in blood, seeping from the many wounds on her body. He had never seen anything like it before. He approached her and washed her wound. In place of the dried blood, he saw two marks, most likely the marks of wolf fangs.

The girl opened her eyes. She hadn't seen this man before, but warmth and kindness radiated from him. Perhaps because he had an almost angelic appearance. He sat down next to her bed, grabbed her hand, and asked,

"Tell me, dear child, who did this to you?"

"I don't know. I don't see it... I only feel it approaching. It's always there, attacking only at night, as if afraid of sunlight. I feel its presence, though I know it's at a safe distance now, but it will attack again soon.

" "Very well, then. Let's wait for its attack."

The girl nodded. There was incredible strength within her. Although her body was exhausted from the battle against the invisible tormentor, her soul still resisted.

The wait lasted less than 15 minutes when the girl looked fearfully at the doctor sitting next to her. She didn't count on his help; she simply gripped his hand tighter, as if afraid of being separated from the one person she believed could help her. A moment later, her body was covered with new bite marks. With each new bite, the girl gripped the doctor's hand tighter. With the sixth wound, the girl fainted.

Tadeusz sat beside her bed. He was as calm and composed as ever. He still held the hand of his extraordinary patient, feeling compelled to be there with her, to unite with her in the pain she was experiencing. He searched his memory for any articles, media reports, or statements from friends that might indicate similar phenomena he had encountered today. However, he was almost certain this was the first time he had encountered anything like this.

"Doctor," the girl whispered softly, opening her tired eyelids.

"Yes...?

" "I wish I could die.

" "Don't talk like that, child... You don't know what death is, and besides, I believe there's a rational explanation for what happened to you, I believe we can overcome it.

" "It won't let me die," the girl whispered, as if she hadn't heard the doctor's remark. "It never sleeps, it's my worst nightmare... it won't let me sleep without fear... it won't let me die because whenever I lift the knife... It's with me, poisoning my body anew with its vile venom... when I want to swallow the pills, it dissolves them in my hand and blows them to the floor with a gust of wind, then inflicts pain on me as if punishing me for no longer wanting to be its host. It depends on me; if I die, I... it dies too."

"You said it doesn't attack during the day

. "Yes, it doesn't attack unless there's a reason, but if something threatens its host's life, it emerges from its hiding place... It never sleeps... always watches... always nearby... like a dark angel of evil... guardian of my suffering and pain. Please, kill me if you can," she whispered imploringly, looking deep into his eyes.

He had never seen such a look before... For some reason, he decided to help this girl, decided to kill the beast within her at the cost of her own life. She had asked for death. And at that moment, that was the only thing he could give her. He went to the cabinet under the sink and took out the spare key he had with him. He never parted with it; it was a souvenir of those long-ago years spent at the clinic.

The cabinet seemed empty, but in the very corner sat a small, handy first aid kit. Tadeusz took out its contents. Then he walked back to the girl.

"I'll put you to sleep, but I promise you won't feel a thing..." he said to her calmly.

"Thank you. Even if you were to cause me pain, don't worry, nothing could cause me the kind of suffering I've been experiencing for the past few months."

Tadeusz gave her a small dose of anesthesia. New bites appeared on her body. Some extraordinary force tried to pull her from the bed, but the body of this frail girl seemed too heavy for the invisible being. After a moment, the doctor injected the girl with a drug that stopped her heart. It was the same drug used in the United States during the execution of the Death Penalty.

"And what about her?" Marcin asked, entering the isolation ward

. "It's all over," Tadeusz whispered, looking at his friend.

"Thank you for her and for myself; it was the only solution; there was nothing more we could do for her...

" "I know, otherwise I wouldn't have taken this step," Tadeusz replied, and left the clinic.

Exactly 24 hours had passed since that day. Tadeusz slept in his bed on the fifth floor of a skyscraper in the center of Warsaw. Suddenly, a strange pain near his foot woke him from his sleep.

He opened his eyes. The room was empty, but there was a distinct sweetish odor and an extraordinary warmth radiating as if from the distant depths of hell. At the same time, he felt someone's breath on his body, moving along the taut skin. He pulled back the covers and looked at his foot. The bedding was drenched in blood. His foot was bleeding, and where the blood had seeped, there were two holes left by wolf fangs...

Pain... incredible pain accompanied each subsequent bite until morning, when the heavenly sun emerged, bringing with it relief, joy, and divine strength...