Little red family

As far as I know, other than the little red family, I have not come across anything that could remotely be connected to the paranormal realm, and for this I am very grateful. Why grateful? Because as a believer in the God who even the demons, according to scripture, describe as the Most High, I tremble at His word.

God made it abundantly clear to the Israelites how much of an abomination dabbling in the occult is. I remember one time a family friend was telling my father with some pride that he seemed to be able to predict what would happen in the future. I was amazed as a young child to hear my father sternly tell the man that this was nothing to be happy or proud about. “Repent and ask God to take away any such power.”

The Bible is very unambiguous about how much of an abomination such things are to God. Here are a few of many scriptures as proof of this.

‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:31)

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer (Deuteronomy 18:10)

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)

Let me get to the point and tell you about the little red family.

I would have been about three years old perhaps, and we were going to get my ears pierced. The city was Coimbatore, and I was walking in a busy shopping area holding on to my cousin Rathna akka’s hand. As we came to an intersection of sorts, I saw an interesting little group pass us by. The group comprised what I presumed to be a dad, a mum, and a child. They were very short; the dad himself was not much taller than I was. They looked rather strange because their bodies seemed to be of a translucent red colour.

When they got really close, the dad made eye contact with me, and we continued to stare at each other, even turning our heads as we passed. I must have slowed down quite a bit, for Rathna akka asked me to hurry up—she did not seem to have noticed them at all—and the moment passed. Even now, I can remember that the look he gave me was not a friendly one. I am sure a rational explanation exists for what I saw that afternoon, but because of how young I was, I could only understand what I saw, within my frame of reference, as the little red mum, dad, and child. A dad, mum, and child was as perfect as it gets, just like my own situation was as the only child to my parents.

I WhatsApped Rathna akka just now to ask if she remembers anything about it. Well, just as I thought, she remembers some aspects of our CBE trip but not the little red family, which I don’t think she noticed.