But I might as well get back to the beginning of my story,
Miss Inez thought; Anastasia was in trouble with her professors
who demanded to see her prescribed work - Latin, mathematics
and everything, but the blushing girl offered them nothing and she
received her punishment, they confiscated her beloved bag with
writing materials and sent her off to the coldest place, adorned
with gargoyles galore, to be locked up for her sins, she was left
there chained to a bed and chair to suffer for her transgressions
for months on end, but there was a wonderful Knight,
Professor Pieter DuPlessis, filled with insight, and he came
galloping in on his trusty steed - as Anastasia wandered the
hospital's passages almost like haunting herself, she complained
to him, the MOST delightful and courteous Knight you could ever
see, a Troubadour Lord who played the violin at night, the father
of the delightfully puckish Monica Dee - Dear Enchanting Professor
Knight, I don't even have shoes you see, I was dragged here by
an angry mob and now barefoot I must roam these passages,
my glasses all broken thanks to the irrational attempts of a very
distraught Queen of Hearts to save my life from a supernatural
entity she claimed to have espied ready to take my life - so I can't
even see - this most Mischievous and Kind Knight who never in
his life forsook a damsel in distress immediately took off his
shoes for Anastasia to wander the hospital wards without her
feet freezing off - and the next day his Delightful Queen, Titania
Queen of the Fairies commonly known by other people as Tannie
Yvonne came bringing clothes and sweets everything Anastasia
needed to improve in health - but this was just a short interlude
on Ana's way to the Gargoyle Institute known as Sterkfontein
Mental Hospital - the deluded Anastasia, already 24 years old
at the time, was taken there in an ambulance, when she arrived
the learned men claimed - This is a child of about 14 years -
No, Anastasia said, I'm already 24 and a junior lecturer at
university, but somehow the Queen of Hearts got exorcism
into her head and tried it on me and now I enjoy the attention
of a supernatural entity strangling me at night - Hogwash, the
clever men said, you are ONLY 14 years old and there is NO
Such thing as supernatural entities child; Anastasia replied: I
taught philosophy and did my BA degree with English, German
and French -- RECITE -- the group of learned men ordered Ana
who seemed just like an Alice, lost and confused in a Wonderland
of her mind, and Ana addressed them in German, not as perfect as
her German tutor wished, but quite passable - The Walrus twitched
and ordered a German Ogre to come take note of a changeling child
claiming to have studied although she was no older than 16 - or 14 -
or something - and Ana sang German songs to them as they hemmed
and they hahed - I also did my third year French at university - What
delusions the poor child has, they sighed - so tell us something, and
Ana greeted them and discussed le train-train journalier - the Walrus
and the Carpenter said: We shall be here all night! Tomorrow we
shall find a French teacher to unmask this hoax being perpetrated
on our good selves - and Ana was led away, feeling scared of the
supernatural entity, a presence trying to strangle her which might
make her commit homicide in the night so she asked to be locked
up and away for the safety of the inhabitants of the Gargoyle
Institute - and the kind staff gave her her wish, locked her up
alone in a dark room, Ana blind without glasses, alone in a
hospital room with no-one to talk to - she scratched a cross
with her fingernails on the bedhead - when she fell asleep
the entity tried to strangle her again and she was paralyzed -
Did the hospital staff give her a sedative? - Ana could not
open her mouth to shout or order the supernatural being
away and when Ana in desperation tried to think of magic
incantations, just pronouncing the name of Lord of the New
Testament, NO word came, the Black Hole in her brain had
swallowed the words and she could not pronounce any -
much less express a single thought in her head - Ana was
at the mercy of the strangling presence all night - so she
informed the Queen of Hearts she was right; after that lady's
illustrious exorcism performance there really was a super-
natural entity terrorizing her at night and the Black-Hole-
Medication took her speech away just as she needed it
to chase the devils off, so please pray for me, Ana asked
Her mother - did she save Ana or was she the one who
brought the entity with her? - In any case, the learned men
thought the Queen of Hearts was just as deluded as Ana
when this storybook dame also insisted Ana was 24 years
THEN came Professor Pieter DuPlessis and Tannie Yvonne
and Identified me with an ID and finally the Philistines believed
and from then on Tannie Yvonne took me into her home every
weekend, and my Dad who would later save my life when the
medical establishment was committing homicide with pestilent
Medicine to which I was so allergic, I had chronic left ear
infection, could not see with or without glasses, and a hole
as big a R1 coin had formed in my throat, and I had black-
outs even when standing at my desk, my knees buckling and
me falling - somehow my guardian angels, of which there
Must be a legion, as proven by my wild driving techniques without
any accident - touch wood - a legion of guardian angels caught me
just in time so I never got hurt - but I feel deeply offended that the
medicos were happily extinguishing my life, my feet registering a
chronic burning sensation, all for making me conform to the norm -
though it did enable me to get full marks in my French 3 and French 4
courses at the Department of Foreign Affairs, it was empty consolation,
nobody even saw my certificate, now the mice are feasting on it
in the old service quarters at home - [first editing, throbbing welt on left shin,
eyes out of focus, the CharLord still sleeping, back hurting propped up in bed]
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