They came to me when I turned 9.
My church called them demons, shadows of nightmares, haunted souls of the damned. They christened, baptized , prayed over and shunned me. Then suddenly, one day, I was cured. My demons had gone away for good. It was magic and we all rejoiced.
Except. They hadn't. They were still there and with every passing year I learned something new about them. The first year I learned their name.
Ani.