4.

There are no incantations to be had. Symbols and icons are nothing more than symbols and icons; they are only representations, time stamps or maps and nothing more. They cannot contain or control evil; they cannot free a person of a demonic presence. Possessed or not, people are capable of committing cruelty. Yeah, this is true of all people but how many people give in to such things and be free of guilt and remorse? How many people in good conscience are capable of committing unspeakable acts?

Yeah, there are demons, just as many demons as there are angels; perhaps demons outnumber angels though demons are no more than shadow, shadow capable of possessing the weak and vulnerable, the naturally darkest of mankind and those with underlying problems or enough inner darkness already present. The strong and good willed can be taken advantage of but only for so long.

There are no magic words or symbols that can free one of darkness. Speak to their humanity, their soul and if that is not enough then an end might just be the only way forwards. To overcome darkness, it must be played at its own game.

With all this too there are lines which are blurred. There are those of light and there are those of darkness then there are those who can be of both or neither, Magpies and non-Magpies. A war rages between the Light and the Darkness and it may be won or lost by what lies in between ...

***

No matter how strong, or weak, one's faith may be, it is clear that there is something very special with an infant child and it is agreed among many, among those who matter and know something special does exist, that nothing about this child should be made public. An infant cared for within a convent, a girl who shines, if people in general were to know or were to believe there is a child of God in the world, a girl and not a boy, or if it were to be believed that this child has a special power of any kind then there would be problems.

If it could be known or thought that a special power moving through a child has aided a blind nun to fully regain her sight in an instant, then people will either want to prove or disapprove the existence of this power and exploit it too if it could at all be possible. Imagine the lack of privacy, just to begin with, that the child would have all through her existence in this world if her gifts were known or speculated about or her origins known. A miracle would not be given the room to be exactly what it is.

Whether or not that there is a directive from the Vatican to keep things normal and quiet, it is indeed agreed to have things kept as close to normality as possible. Every effort is made to ensure that Mark and Helena White are as well-equipped as possible to raise a special daughter and every effort is to be made to ensure that a family is not kept apart.

Cleaning crews are sent to the White household, mum and dad have no idea as to why there is so much of a fuss, they have no idea of the importance of the position they are in. They have no idea as to how exactly their child was born or as to how she had vanished and they have no idea of the importance of what has come, is coming into their lives and to live in their home, nor will they understand any of what the guests who accompany their daughter to her rightful home will have to tell her.

Baby Cassandra is a child of Light and it is imperative that she is given every opportunity to grow into who she needs to become.

Helena White is a wreck on many levels when Father Jason Alveron arrives to her home for a second time. Of course, Mark White is there too though he is more at a loss for what to make of any of what is going on. His main concern is to keep a family wide sanity and as much a sense of calm in the household as possible. Father Alveron arrives ahead of others in order to prepare Helena and Mark for the responsibilities they are taking on as parents.

None of this is in any way ordinary. Parents usually prepare in their own way to be parents, this, this is different. If truth were to freely be known, then they freely would accept the huge responsible laid upon them. The priest is invited into the living room of the White home. All cleaning crews and any other personnel to have come in and out of this home have all gone for the day and in this moment, there is just Helena, Mark and Father Alveron present.

'Father ... please, where is my daughter? Is she near ...?' asks Elena, it is clear that she possibly has been crying for the better part of the last month, ever since she awoke in hospital and being no longer pregnant.

'She will be here soon ...' the priest says as he sits then reaches for Helena's hand in order to assure her that the child is coming and as he takes Helena's hand, he also glances toward Mark also to portray assurance. 'First we need to have a little chat.'

'About what?' asks Mark.

'Your daughter ...'

'What about our daughter?' inquires Mark as if he is preparing for bad news.

'You both know she is special, right? She is a special child ... special in a very unique way.'

To some degree Mark and Helena White do know something so they listen for a moment in silence; they will wait before asking any further questions.

'Your daughter is very important; she will forever be important and she will have a lasting effect on the world and that will be so whether the world will ever know her or not.'

Father Alveron can see that the people before him are patient people, loving people, people who are worried about a girl they have yet to hold, yet to even see. Ensuring the child comes here is the right move. He continues to talk and speak of the child without directly telling that she is the daughter of God and he does tell of one miracle which has already occurred, the blind nun who can now see.

It is Sister Mary Kate who brings the child into the house and Sister Mary Kate is followed by the convent's Mother Superior who in turn is followed by the lawyer and psychologist who made the journey from the Vatican with Father Alveron. There is plenty of emotion, plenty of tears and plenty to discuss.

'Your daughter is a true miracle ...' speaks Sister Mary Kate both not wanting to hand over the bundle of joy and eager to unite a family and for a first time the White family have come to form a very unique trinity.

When the time comes to leave a family be, Father Alveron leaves a list of numbers where he, his associates and a few other people of importance can be reached stating that he will be back on a follow-on visit or two. He also leaves a small, locked trunk telling mum and dad that it contains gifts for their daughter though it is not to be opened for some time.

Father Alveron hands over a key to this wooden trunk and then goes on his way not knowing that despite how important he has made this infant child out to be that a larger importance will lay with someone else. He does not know of this importance or on who it will belong, however he does know or at least he feels ... something.

The night before this day, as Father Alveron slept, he dreamt. He dreamt of shadows, he dreamt of two girls, one with long blonde hair as immaculate as can be, and another with dark hair. These girls are different, yet they are the same. They will come together. Whether or not this is a good thing he does not know. What this dream means he has no idea but for some reason or another he feels that it means something, but a dream is just a dream, right?

Something dark will be coming; Father Alveron does not know how to react to this feeling of his. For now, uniting a child with her parents is a task he must perform, still in the years to come, despite his dream, despite how he feels, his faith still slips from him and no matter how he will try to get away from what he has come to be a part of, there will be no way for him to completely move away from all of what is happening, from all that will happen.

He, in time, will have a further part to play. It will find him, even if he tried to hide and even if he decides to dismiss his faith. There is something pulling at him as if something is being grabbed from his chest and this feeling will always stay with him. On some days he will feel it so much more than others.

The small trunk gifted to the White household is placed upon a small living room coffee table where it remains unopened for the years to come. In a way it tempts and tests, for Mark White wants to open the trunk, he wants to see what it is it holds though he resists. The trunk was given to him and his wife but was not gifted to them. The trunk is a gift, apparently an important gift, for their daughter.