Haaotia

The Haaotia first came when you were young Crawling into your presence cleverly disguised in the skins of your own blood, they began to tell you their lies They told these lies in soft voices, the voices with the same timbre and tone you'd come to trust, they'd chuckle in the same cheerful way that you'd heard so many times in the light, when you were young Even in the dark, you could see the smiles on their terrible faces, as they told you not to be afraid, the same smiles that before, had lifted your heart and made you laugh, when you were afraid Telling their lies to you behind those familiar smiles; with their soft voices and chuckles, they were such friendly, cheerful demons, so familiar, so familiar even their smell and their touch was familiar How could you be afraid of the Haaotia? But, you were afraid and so you kept quiet, with all the smiles and chuckles and smells and touches in the dark, you were so quiet, because you were very afraid of them finding the others, the younger ones You found a way to leave your body to keep quiet; in your mind you went elsewhere, somewhere far, far away from there, far from the familiar smiles and soft voices and chuckles Far away from the smells and the touches in the dark, as far as you could go, to places with no name in your language, places the Haaotia couldn't know When you'd come back, they were always gone, their smiles and chuckles and smells were gone, but the feel of their touches never left you The feel has never left, it may never leave Because the Haaotia, with their familiar smiles and soft voices and chuckles Touched your soul Author's notes: Haaotia is a Beothuk (Native North American language) word for demon. This was written for someone that I loved very deeply who suffered terribly at the hands of their own loved ones. I dedicate it to them and anyone else who has felt the terrible touch of their own Haaotia