actually, i CAN Blog

 I saw the face behind my eyes, a stranger's skin, familiar lies.  In the depths of my drinking, it felt like something inside me would snap without warning. One moment, I was calm, even in control, and the next, it was as if a stranger had hijacked my thoughts and emotions.  The changes weren't gradual or subtle they were sudden and jarring, like being yanked from my own body and replaced by something unrecognizable. Those closest to me saw it, too, their reactions shifting from confusion to outright fear. My bizarre thoughts and unpredictable emotions surfaced without warning, sending a chill through the room before I even understood what I had done.  At one point, they were so disturbed by what they saw that they even suggested performing an exorcism to rid me of whatever was overtaking me. I wanted to tell them they were wrong, but deep down, I wasn't sure they were. Growing up Catholic, the idea of an exorcism wasn't as far-fetched as it might sound to others. T...

  In the first days, when the breath of God still hung fresh upon the void, light poured forth and named the world good. But the dark watched in envy, its hunger growing beneath the veil of shadow. It longed not to rule the heavens, but to touch the souls who would walk the earth — to leave in them a trace of its own quiet power. And the Almighty, who knew that choice gives birth to strength, decreed that the dark should have but one move. One gesture to stake its claim. So God allowed Satan one act before we were born. And he chose the simplest, most lasting sign — pressing his finger to our upper lip, leaving the small indent as his mark. Then he whispered: “shhh.”  Don’t speak. Don’t tell. Don’t. It is the quiet scar we all carry — a reminder that life will test you, silence you, and demand you choose whether to stay hushed or to speak anyway. https://open.substack.com/pub/timmy2bits/p/the-philtrum?r=5yul19&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=fal...