Chapter 259: Miracle in the Psychiatric Hospital
Click... Clack...
The friction between the flint and the wheel sparked, and a wisp of flame rose.
Sssss—Hooo.
Karras exhaled a puff of smoke, then handed the lighter back: "Thanks."
"Keep it." William didn't take it.
Karras spread his hands and put the lighter into his pocket.
"Do you... work here?" He pointed to the hospital behind them.
"No... I came here looking for a job." William had already thought of an excuse.
"You know, being a priest these days isn't easy. Every day you have to balance faith and livelihood, and if you have a family..."
He spread his hands as he spoke, looking deeply moved.
The hand Karras used to hold his cigarette froze in mid-air; these words were simply describing him perfectly.
Seeing that William was much younger than himself, he suddenly remembered his past—
Entering the Church right after graduation, being sent to a prestigious school to study psychology for community religious work, and successively obtaining master's and doctoral degrees in psychology...
"It seems my luck was much better than this gentleman's."
He sighed inwardly, feeling some sympathy for William.
"What position are you applying for?" Karras asked with the cigarette near his lips.
"Psychological counseling. I've always been somewhat interested in this area," William said. "What about you? Same as me?"
Karras smiled and shook his head, telling him about his resignation and his mother's hospitalization.
"She isn't willing to leave with me right now. I can only settle her here first, and when I find a job then..."
William patted the other party's shoulder.
"Although I can't feel your pain, I don't think your decision is wrong."
"Although caring for an elderly person with limited mobility is extremely exhausting, it's also a rare opportunity to spend time together."
"As children, when we grow up, we are often so busy with various things that we can't split our attention, and we have very little time left for our loved ones."
"I believe that decades from now, when you grow old, you will be glad you made this choice today."
With the cigarette dangling from his mouth, Karras was momentarily stunned in place.
A moment later, his eye sockets turned red, and he blinked rapidly.
"You are indeed very good at psychological comfort. I'm far inferior to you," Karras also patted William, the depression in his heart lessening a lot.
William smiled slightly: "Why don't you let me go see Auntie? Maybe I can persuade her."
Karras was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Why not?"
Thus, the two walked towards the hospital.
Inside the ward.
William observed the patients present with [Holy Eye].
The vast majority of their souls had experienced dislocation, which was the cause of their mental abnormalities.
And the nurses were busily running among the patients.
Administering medicine, cleaning, mediating disputes...
This was the daily routine at Manhattan State Psychiatric Hospital.
As a public hospital, the treatment costs here were very cheap.
So most families with average economic conditions would choose this place.
Therefore, this hospital became the largest psychiatric patient shelter nearby.
Especially in the current difficult times, the hospital's "guests" were actually increasing.
William followed Karras all the way to the last hospital bed. After seeing the latter's mother, William quickly formed a plan.
Karras had said his mother's dementia was caused by brain blood vessel problems, making it difficult for her to communicate normally.
But William could communicate directly with the soul through the Holy Arts of the "Soul Body" stage.
Thus perfectly bypassing this issue.
So he sat on the edge of the bed and gently took the hand of Karras's mother.
"Don't touch me!" the latter shouted in her native language.
"Hey, Mrs. Karras, I am your son's friend..."
Relying on [Messenger of Sin], William saw a faint gray aura on the spirit body of Karras's mother.
This was the manifestation of the "Pain" emotion.
William immediately comforted her with words, striking directly at the deepest part of the other party's heart.
Karras aside was originally full of worry.
But a moment later, his eyes flashed with surprise.
He saw his mother actually turn around and tightly hold Mr. William's hand.
She spoke of how she missed her son, and also expressed that she wanted to live like a normal person.
Karras simply couldn't believe his eyes.
Since his father passed away, this was the first time he had seen his mother like this.
"Mr. Karras has already decided to resign from his Church job, which is why we came here to take you home..." William smiled and waved at Karras.
The latter hurriedly leaned close to the bed.
"Oh~ Dimmy, so glad to see you."
Feeling his mother's hand brush across his face, tears flowed from the corners of Karras's eyes.
"Mom, I've come to take you home."
"Okay."
The two hugged each other tightly.
William quietly released Mrs. Karras's hand.
Before long, the latter's expression became confused again.
Previously, William used Holy Power to isolate her, allowing Karras's mother to talk directly to her son using her soul.
That was why she could stay lucid.
But this wasn't a true cure after all, so it couldn't be maintained for too long.
"Father William, I really don't know how to thank you. Your knowledge in psychological comfort commands my admiration." Karras wiped his eyes.
William nodded: "Dragging it on like this isn't a solution. Auntie's condition still requires hospital treatment."
Karras looked lonely upon hearing this: "I understand... but I don't have enough money... I can't afford expensive medical care for my mother."
William also sighed inwardly; curing illnesses was indeed one of the "difficult problems" for the American people.
But he subsequently thought of something.
"According to the original work's timeline, Ms. Chris's daughter should already be possessed by a demon," William thought secretly.
Then he stood up and said: "Father Karras, you haven't paid today's treatment fee yet, right?"
"Yes, I will settle the bill when we leave later."
William waved his hand: "Perhaps the hospital will waive this fee for you."
Karras looked puzzled upon hearing this.
He was just about to ask, but saw the other party walk towards a nurse.
"Need my help?" William smiled and held down a thrashing patient.
The female nurse was finally able to slip the medicine into the patient's mouth.
"Oh~ thank you so much, sir." She wiped her forehead. "Mr. Wells is the most rowdy one here. Every time I feed him medicine, it's a challenge for me."
"What illness does he have?"
"Psychological trauma. When Mr. Wells was traveling with his family, they got into a car accident, and he was the only survivor."
"Oh~ that is truly unfortunate."
"Yes, now his daily medical expenses are borne by the hospital, but the hospital is almost unable to afford it either. When that time comes..." The female nurse sighed.
"Can I talk to Mr. Wells? I happen to be responsible for community family visits at the church."
"You might be disappointed; Mr. Wells has lost the ability to communicate normally for many years."
William smiled slightly and still sat down in front of the man.
"Mr. Wells, you must have been tortured so much all these years..."
At first, the female nurse didn't pay much attention.
After all, the hospital had tried many times.
Many professional psychiatrists were helpless; how could a priest possibly communicate with these patients.
But gradually, she noticed an anomaly.
Mr. Wells unprecedentedly stopped being noisy, instead staring at the priest beside him.
Immediately after, an even more surprising scene happened in front of her.
Two lines of tears flowed from the corners of Mr. Wells's eyes.
And a long-lost emotion appeared in those eyes—lucidity.
"This... how is this possible." The female nurse opened her mouth wide. "Am I hallucinating?"
A moment later, Wells stood up, nodded slightly to the female nurse, and thanked the latter for her care over the years.
This time the female nurse could no longer keep her calm.
She knocked over the medicine cart beside her and screamed as she rushed out of the ward.
William watched the other party leave, then righted the cart. Just now he had communicated directly with the patient Wells's soul, untying the knot that had trapped the other party in his heart for years.
After patting Wells, William looked at the next patient.
Before long, hurried footsteps echoed in the hospital corridor.
The previous female nurse had returned, and brought many doctors wearing white coats.
"Dr. Bernas, right ahead," she said to a middle-aged white man.
The latter was named Andrew Bernas, exactly the director of this State Psychiatric Hospital.
Not long ago, Bernas heard a colleague report that a priest had cured a psychiatric patient and was currently in the ward.
Regarding this matter, he only thought it was Church people coming to recruit believers again.
Although Bernas's mother was also a believer, he himself had no interest in the Church.
But as more and more colleagues came to report, Bernas also realized something was wrong.
When he arrived outside the ward in the South District, it was already blocked full of people.
Nurses, family members, guards...
Everyone crowded outside the window, discussing animatedly about the inside.
Bernas frowned.
Psychiatric patients were already emotionally unstable. The people gathered here would very likely cause them more stimulation, thereby causing irreversible harm.
"Please make way."
Bernas finally squeezed to the door, but the scene inside made him freeze directly.
He saw that in the ward, the originally noisy patients had now become normal and orderly.
Some of them gathered in twos and threes, chatting amicably like friends.
Some were holding phones, talking excitedly about something.
And others were taking care of other patients, bringing the latter in front of a young man wearing a black priest's robe.
"This... what exactly happened!" Bernas only felt like he was dreaming.
A black auntie who witnessed the whole process explained to him: "This is a miracle! That Mr. Priest cured these psychiatric patients!"
"They can communicate normally now! I just chatted with a lady, her illness is completely cured..."
Hearing this, Bernas's frown deepened.
How could this be possible!
Harboring a bellyful of doubts, he pushed open the ward door.
"I plan to go back and take a look this afternoon. I have already contacted my daughter, she was very excited..."
"This time I have really figured it out..."
"You guy, last week when the nurse fed you medicine, you actually peed on my bed. Don't think I will forget this matter..."
Similar words entered Bernas's ears, and he gulped.
These patients before his eyes had no difference from normal people.
Bernas came in front of that priest, who was currently talking to a "normal" patient.
And aside, there were two patients helping the priest hold that person down.
A moment later, Bernas saw the priest shake his head.
"This gentleman didn't suffer an emotional and mental shock; I have no way to help either," William said.
Subsequently, as if inadvertently turning his head, he looked at Bernas and said: "And you are?"
The latter reported his identity.
"So it's Director Bernas..." William stood up and explained to the other party what had happened here.
During the time that female nurse left, he had had a conversation with all the psychiatric patients in the ward.
Relying on the abilities of the "Soul Body" lineage, William was like a sewage pipe worker, unclogging the mental knots that the patients found difficult to cross.
The vast majority of these patients had mental abnormalities caused solely by external stimuli.
For these cases, William could reset their souls through emotional guidance, allowing the latter to thoroughly "heal."
But for patients like Karras's mother...
Even though William could establish a connection with their souls, he couldn't completely heal their physical bodies.
Even so, Bernas couldn't conceal the shock in his eyes.
He pinched his arm forcefully.
The sharp pain told him he wasn't dreaming.
This young man in front of him actually really cured those patients!
No!
It's too early to draw a conclusion now! It must be confirmed after instrumental testing!
Bernas suppressed his excited mood and directed the doctors who followed him to immediately conduct psychiatric examinations for the patients.
After a detailed and thorough investigation...
Bernas still confirmed the answer he expected in his heart—the patients were cured.
This matter completely exceeded his cognition, thoroughly shattering the "scientific rigor" he had built up over the past decades.
"Could it be... miracles truly exist?"
Regardless of the facts, what happened today was destined to be recorded in history.
"Director Bernas?"
After sending away some patients, William found the other party again.
"Mmh? Father William, is there anything I can do for you?"
After accepting the facts, Bernas had unknowingly started using honorifics.
"This is my friend, Father Karras. His mother suffers from dementia caused by cerebrovascular disease."
William waved at Karras.
"As you know, a priest's income is not much, plus the current economic downturn..."
Director Bernas immediately grasped the meaning.
"I'm very sorry to hear this news."
"Oh right! The medical community has recently made new progress in Alzheimer's disease research."
"There is a specific drug that has completed Phase I clinical trials and is about to start the next round of trials. The State Hospital has also obtained participation qualifications and is currently recruiting patients. Father Karras, what do you think..."
In recent years, the number of patients at the State Hospital had risen significantly, which greatly increased the pressure on the hospital's medical resources.
Father William's actions simply helped Bernas solve an urgent crisis, and the latter was naturally willing to lend a helping hand.
Furthermore, he could also befriend such a capable priest.
Karras aside was stunned. He naturally knew this was William fighting for help for him.
Thinking of his bedridden mother and his own financial situation, Karras agreed without any hesitation.
Immediately after, he turned around and bowed deeply to William: "Your help saved my mother's life. I don't know how to thank you."
William made a sign of the cross on his chest and smiled: "Helping those in need is inherently our duty, isn't it."
Karras wiped his eyes and nodded vigorously.
"In that case, please have your mother stay for now. I will transfer her to a premium ward later..." Bernas smiled.
Subsequently, he looked at William again.
"I wonder if you have time? I'd like to arrange for the hospital's psychiatric doctors to learn from you. It just so happens we still have quite a few patients..."
William nodded: "No problem."
The deeds at the State Hospital quickly spread in the surrounding areas, and many media outlets rushed to report on this incident.
At the same time, in another location in Manhattan.
A nanny van parked at the entrance of a private hospital.
Inside the car, a girl wearing a hat suddenly opened her eyes.
Sitting next to her was a lady with short pale golden hair, exactly the young Chris.
This was the third time Chris had brought her daughter to the hospital.
Not long ago, her daughter Regan claimed that she often encountered strange things at home.
At first, Chris didn't take it to heart, thinking this was her daughter seeking more company.
After all, as a famous contemporary actress, Chris had many schedules to rush to every day.
But gradually, she found that Regan seemed like a different person.
And Chris herself also noticed anomalies at home.
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