Bad Memories and Bad Men

His hands were gigantic compared to mine, and so much warmer besides. I honestly don't know what possessed me, I usually don't like being touched, it feels intrusive. But this time his touch felt different, it felt comforting even though it made me slightly nervous. Well, it made me very nervous, and then when I saw the collection of waterstones I was too nervous to…

I knew I should have asked permission before taking them, but I was too scared in case he said 'no'. Then maybe I shouldn't have taken them if I knew that he might not want me to do so. But I like it when it rains and since my magic was still underdeveloped I thought they'd be a useful tool to help me cast the right spell rather than just relying on my hands alone.

But I really should have asked first, I know. I'm just not that confident yet. However, the more time I spend with Doctor Facilier the more confident I feel. He's the only living person in the world I trust besides my sister. I find myself putting aside all the other things that take up my time just to be with him. If only my sister could learn to trust him like I have, but she's still very judgemental about the people I met, especially when they're men. I suppose I can't blame her, she's only looking out for me and she has good reason for protecting me like she does.

I waited for my sister at the hotel that afternoon. The last time I saw her she had a rather urgent phone call from Princess Cameron and I wanted to know if everything was alright. I sincerely hoped that Queen Tiana hadn't taken a turn for the worst.

Soon enough the automatic door of our hotel room opened up to reveal an electric wheelchair and a blond-haired teenager at the joystick.

"That conniving, slippery git is in a LOT OF TROUBLE!"

I was startled when my little sister came booming into the room, screaming her lungs out in anger. "Jenny, what's wrong?" I ran to her urgently. "What's happened?"

"I'll tell you what's happened!" She growled out and tensed the muscles in her face. "That creepy friend of yours has only gone and paid the Queen Mother of Maldonia a visit!"

I was quite astonished to say the least. "I didn't even know he knew her-"

"-I'm not FINISHED!" Jenny screamed out, scaring me into silence in the process. "Do you know what he did? He only went and pulled the plug for the oxygen tank out of the wall!" ...He what... "He could have killed her!"

I didn't believe it. "Who told you something like that?"

"Only the Princess of Maldonia!" Jenny insisted as she revealed the source of her information.

I couldn't have been true. What would Doctor Facilier be doing at New Orleans hospital anyway? "Princess Cameron must be mistaken."

"Princess Cameron went up to the hospital to visit her grandma and Queen Tiana told her what happened in person."

"Then the Queen Mother must be mistaken." That would make sense. She is more than one hundred years old. I know that when many people reach old age their mind isn't want it used to be. "She's an extremely elderly lady. Her mind and her senses are probably not working as they should do."

But my sister took that suggestion as an insult. "Are you saying she's demented!?"

"Well, not in an insulting way." I tried to redeem myself by clarifying my remark.

I still would not believe that my new friend would even contemplate doing something like that. He had been nothing but kind to me and he certainly wasn't the sort of man who was capable of carrying out malicious acts like that. However, my sister still held an unjustified grudge against him and she continued to justify it as best she could.

"Charlie, that creep visited Queen Tiana in the middle of the night and sabotaged the medical equipment that was keeping her alive!"

"No." I defended Doctor Facilier. "He wouldn't do a thing like that."

"Well he did!" Jenny objected.

"How could he have been there at that time?" I noticed a flaw in my sister's accusations. "The hospital doesn't allow visitors at that time. And anyone visiting the Queen Mother must be a direct family member or have her family's direct permission like you did." Now that I had some evidence with which to protect my good friend with I could feel some frustration building up inside of me. "What's he supposed to have done? Break into the hospital in the middle of the night?"

"I wouldn't put it past him!" There was just no stopping her! She wouldn't let this drop!

"Jenny…" I would try my hardest to justify my trust with words alone. "I don't know where to begin telling you everything that man has done for me. He's helped me find my magic, he's offered to help me save my soul, he's protecting me from the Loa, he's patient and supportive-"

"-Charlie." My sister swiftly interrupted me. "Wake UP!" She yelled. "This guy is bad news! You need to terminate this dodgy friendship you have with him!"

"I will do no such thing based on hearsay evidence." I declared as I fiercely and emotionally defended the only man in the world I could trust. But I did not completely ignore my sister's warning. "I will confront him about the issue myself." I tried to give her one good reason to back down for the time being. But she would not.

"Great." Jenny threw her arms in the air and dropped them back down onto her lap. "Let's hope then that that's the last time you ever see him."

I could feel myself starting to break apart inside. "Jenny, please stop saying so many hateful things about him."

"I don't want you getting hurt again." That's the excuse she always comes up with. "The last man you made friends with abused you!" Oh no, not this again.

"I never made friends with him!" I argued back. "Mother set me up!"

"I know that!" Jenny screamed irritably. "But you still let him do all those horrible things to you without telling anyone what was really going on!"

I wanted to cry, but I held back as long as I could. "That's not going to happen this time!"

"How do you know!?" My sister was getting fiercer by the minute.

"I don't! I just trust him."

"He can't be trusted! He's just like that last bloke who played you like a pawn!"

It was all getting too much. "I never trusted him in the first place!"

"You still let him have his way with you!"

My eyes started to water. "Stop it!"

"And what happened? He took sexual advantage you!"

"STOP IT!"

That was it. I unleashed the tremendous emotion that was building up inside of me and threw my face in my hands, pouring out my pain through my tears.

Jenny immediately realised the word that had escaped her mouth, knowing that it would cause me pain and trigger this hurtful response.

"...I'm sorry." Jenny sighed out and began an effort to comfort me. "That just slipped out. I'm sorry." She held out her arms towards me. "Come here." She said as she looked up at me, offering me a physical method of relief.

At first I refused, I didn't want to even look at her.

"Well I can't come to you, can I?" She complained, briefly looking down at her wheelchair to hint at her reasons for being restricted so.

I changed my mind. I knelt down at the front of her wheelchair in front of her legs and let her wrap her arms around me. It was awkward and I didn't want to put my full weight on her, even though she actually weighed more than me despite being younger and not fully grown.

"Look." Jenny sighed out once more. "Why can't you just part ways and stay away from him? Just to be on the safe side."

"Because I need him to save my soul." I admitted and hoped that being reminded of this might satisfy my sister's judgment for now. "I can't do this without him."

"Is that the only reason?" She started sounding suspicious now. "You're not getting attached to him or anything, are you?" Why would that matter? "Because if you are you can tell me."

I pushed myself up from where I leaned over her chair. I strongly disagreed with her last statement. "I think I've already gathered that I can't tell you anything!"

"Charlie, please!" Jenny pleaded with me. "I didn't mean to say all that stuff or get into an argument with you about what happened. I just don't want anything like that to happen again. I'm worried about you!"

I knew she was being honest with me now, but it still did nothing to calm my anguish. I turned my back on my little sister and hastily made my way to my room with her calling after me the whole way.

It was still light as I laid my tired body down on my bed which was warm from where the sun had endlessly shone upon it for hours during the day. It was too warm in here for me. I lived in England where it was cold for most of the year. I quickly got up and closed the blinds, hiding the sun away and darkening my room the way I liked it. I didn't care if it was still day time, in a few hours the sun would disappear anyway, it was already starting to set.

I laid myself back down and breathed out, feeling myself starting to cry once more. I stayed there all evening. I just laid there and cried, haunted by the bitter memories that my overprotective sister had just caused to surface. Why can't people just leave me alone to make my own choices? I know my sister was only doing what she thought was best for me, but it was that sort of thinking that got me into trouble the last time. It was my mum's idea to set me up with someone, no mine. And now it's my sister's idea to leave someone. Once again it's not my idea. It's just someone else deciding things for me.

At least I could stand up to my sister this time, which is unusual because whenever she's acted like this before I'd always crumbled and just done as she's asked. Why had I now found the confidence to say 'no'? The answer was obvious.

Since the day I met Doctor Facilier I've started to see hope where I once only saw despair. Hope may be frail, but at least it's something that can make a person experience strength even in the grimmest of times.

I only hoped that the Queen Mother was wrong about what she saw that night. The man I know and trust wouldn't do a thing like that. He'd never hurt me and he certainly wouldn't hurt anyone else. They'd got it wrong. It had to be wrong.