My son heard his mother crying and strangers’ voices, calling me home—what I discovered was beyond belief.
One workday, my son called me 10 times during a meeting. When I finally called back, he was terrified: “Daddy, I don’t know what to do. Mom is screaming in her room.”
“Why didn’t you go inside?” I asked, panicking.
“I’m too scared. I hear other voices,” he replied.
I called my wife, but no answer. I called 911 and rushed home. Bursting into the bedroom, I found my wife convulsing and screaming with three strangers chanting in an unknown language.
“Get away from her!” I shouted, knocking one down. The others backed off. “Daddy!” my son cried from the doorway. I told him to call the police again. When they arrived, they pulled the intruders away, and paramedics stabilized my wife.
At the hospital, holding my wife’s hand, my son asked, “Daddy, what happened?”
“I don’t know, buddy,” I said, choking up. “But we’ll get through it. I promise.”
My wife woke up confused and scared, remembering only feeling strange before everything went dark. The police discovered the intruders were cult members who believed they could heal people with their energies and had targeted my wife.
The following days were filled with hospital visits, police interviews, and comforting my son. We leaned on each other for strength. My wife slowly recovered, though the mental scars took time to heal. We moved to a new house to rebuild our lives.
Looking back, I realize how close I came to losing everything. But through the fear and uncertainty, I found strength I didn’t know I had, and the love and bond of family helped us endure even the darkest times.
