Dybbuk
A fan fiction by LM Simpson
Disclaimer: The original Arthur books and the cartoon were created by Marc Brown. This story, which is based on the series, was written by yours truly for fun. It is not intended to be anymore so.
LM Simpson's tidbits (A/N): Welcome to my fourth Arthur fanfic, which is in reality a belated Halloween fanfic. This fanfic concerns a type of spirit found in Jewish folklore; as I am not Jewish I researched what they are and how they are exorcised. Please note that is NOT racist (some of my friends and one of my favorite teachers are actually Jewish—do you think I'll bash them?), and that this contains abbreviated bible verses as a psalm is part of the ritual for an exorcism of a dybbuk.
For anyone that reviews, please note that although you will still toast, I will only accept positive reviews or constructive criticism; for more information, see my flame policy in my profile.
Enjoy!
0000
Catherine Frensky walked into the kitchen yawning, her brown hair made in a ponytail and wearing a denim jacket, white shirt and jeans. "Morning, Mom!"
"Good morning, honey," Missus Frensky said as she placed the tub of butter on the table. She looked up and noticed only the oldest of her two daughters was present. "Catherine, is Francine up yet?"
"I think she is…"
"FRANCINE!" Missus Frensky called out. "Breakfast is ready!"
There was no answer.
"Francine! You're going to miss breakfast and be late for school!"
"Mom, Francine isn't exactly interested in sch—"
"Catherine, shh! I think she's ignoring me…"
She was correct—there was no reply that time as well.
"Go wake up your sister."
Catherine dropped her toast onto her plate and got up from her seat, sighing. She left the small apartment kitchen and walked towards the room she shared with her younger sister.
Their mother did not know anything was wrong until she heard Catherine's screams.
"MOTHER, GET OVER HERE!"
It wasn't long before she found her oldest daughter standing stiff as a board looking into the room. "Honey, what is going on?"
They stared at Francine. Her hair was messy and she was still in her pajamas. This was not strange in itself, but what she did in there was out of character. She was looking through Catherine's bookcase, which housed nothing but classic novels and teen magazines.
Missus Frensky barely managed to ask her daughter "Francine? What are you doing?"
Francine stopped and turned her head towards Catherine and their mother.
"Where is the guide to poisons?"
Both screamed. Catherine closed the door and pushed herself against it, huffing.
"Catherine…" Missus Frensky said between deep breaths "call your father. Maybe even the rabbi. I'll guard the door."
0000
"Uh-huh, uh-huh… No, Francine has never even heard of arsenic… Huh? Oh… Really? Okay… Thank you, Rabbi Ezekiel… Bye!"
Click. The phone was hung up.
"Well, what did he say, Oliver?" Missus Frensky asked her husband.
"He said it sounded like it was something called a dybbuk, and judging from the symptoms, it was a hostile one."
"What did he say to do?"
"He will have to do an exorcism. But, we'll have to wait until he gets back from a convention all the way on the other side of the country."
"Oh dear… And how long will that take?"
"At least one or two days. Ezekiel also said that until then, Francine will have to stay in her room."
"HEY!" Catherine yelled. "Where will I sleep then?"
"You can sleep in our room, honey." Her mother replied.
Catherine said, "I guess that will be fine…"
DING-DONG!
"I'll check it!" Mister Frensky informed his wife and oldest daughter.
He looked through the peephole on the top of the door and was met with the appearances of Ed Crosswire and his daughter, Muffy. She was carrying a stack of papers.
Mister Frensky cracked the door open. "Ed, this isn't really the best time…"
Ed pushed the door open. "But, Oliver, the best time to talk about cars is anytime! And besides, Muffin here is supposed to give your daughter her homework."
Francine's father struggled to close it. "But you don't understand!" he grunted. "We're in a serious situation!"
"Is it financial? Then I can take care of all of that!"
And with that, Ed barged right into the apartment. Muffy followed suit.
"Muffy, how's about you go give Francine her work while I talk to her parents about that new car?" Ed asked Muffy upon sitting down near Missus Frensky in the kitchen.
"NO!" all three Frenskys shouted.
"Okay, Daddy!" Muffy responded, ignoring their one-word response. She walked out of the room and towards Francine's room.
While the others were in the kitchen, they heard Muffy shriek. The next thing they knew, she ran back into the room covered in a red substance.
"EW!" she yelled. "I came into the room and she was so rude! She laughed and threw all this cold tomato soup all over me. Vomitrocious!"
"That's it!" Mister Frensky yelled. "I've had enough! We need to get that exorcism performed tonight before she winds up poisoning someone!"
"'Cuse me? Exorcism?" Ed asked, clearly perplexed.
"It's a long story, Ed," Missus Frensky said. "Oliver, isn't Mister Cohen a retired rabbi?"
Her husband thought about it for a moment before saying, "Yeah, I think he is… I'll be right back!"
0000
"One… Two… Three… Four… Five… Oh dear, we are five short!" Mister Cohen, wearing only a red and blue striped robe and boxers, said shortly after entering the housing unit.
"What do you mean?" Missus Frensky asked.
"My child, along with me blowing into this shofar—"he paused to hold up a ram's horn—"a group of ten has to surround Miss Francine. We have only five people."
Mister Frensky sighed. "Let me go get a few more…"
0000
Mister and Missus Frensky, Catherine, Ed and Muffy Crosswire, Ms. Paraso, and four other neighbors surrounded the possessed third grader in a circle formation. She had been tied into a chair, and a homemade spear she had tried to throw at them earlier was on the floor.
Mister Cohen was holding the shofar. He informed them:
"Once I start blowing, recite Psalm 91 three times. Everyone knows it, right?"
All but one grumbled and/or raised their eybrow; Muffy even asked, "What's a psalm, Daddy?" to her father. Cohen took it as a no.
"All right, then… Everyone else, please recite what Miss—"
"Talbot," she responded.
"—Talbot says."
And with that, he began blowing into the shofar the exact way needed to make Francine's body "shatter", causing it to no longer be good lodging for the spirit possessing her.
The group of ten, meanwhile, began to dictate:
"I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
I will be glad and—"
"STOP! Talbot, that is Psalm 9!"
"Oh, sorry!"
They started over. This time, the ten recited:
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters—"
"STOP! All of you are reciting Psalm 19!"
"Oops! Sorry again!"
And for the third and final time, they started the exorcism. This time, as Rabbi Cohen blew into the shofar, they repeated Psalm 91 three times:
"He who dwells in the secret place of the most
High,
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust…"
0000
Once they completed the first part, Cohen stopped blowing and smiled. "The possessing spirit has been shaken up. It is time for part two of Kabbalah!"
"Spirit! What is your name?"
Francine began speaking in a masculine voice. "I'm not telling you!"
"All right, then… Who were you in life?"
"A toxicologist. I worked for the common good at first, but soon I was accidentally poisoned. It was my fault. I lost my sanity.
"Not long after I was fired, I started poisoning loved ones. I liked having control over how they died.
"But one day, I ran into a shady character on my way to a friend's house. He mugged me, and then shot me. I died not long afterwards.
"Now, Francine, as her soccer and baseball teams are losing more and more often, she has become angrier and sadder about herself. I decided I could teach her a new… hobby…"
"I have heard enough!" Mister Cohen yelled right before saying prayers it was not long he heard the voice screeching:
"CURSES! Not another prayer! I hate you! I hate you! …"
Once the dybbuk disappeared, Francine shuddered and started to groan. "Ow… My head hurts…" she looked around, half awake. "What are all of you looking at me for, and why am I tied to a chair?"
"FRANCINE!" Her parents, Catherine, and Muffy yelled, running towards her with arms wide open.
"OW! What happened?" she asked them once they started hugging her.
"It's a long story, Francine…" Missus Frensky replied with tears streaming down her face.
That's all Francine got for an answer all that night.
THE END
A/N: So, how did you enjoy it? I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Until my next Arthur fanfic, have a good day, and thanks for reading!
Ja Ne!
LM Simpson
(PS- If you feel this title should be rated differently, please tell me! I'm rating it for safety at the moment.)