Got A Secret?

As the party died down, Emma and Margaret delved deeper into the candy bowl that was mostly full of butterfingers at this point. Red cups and wrappers littered Margaret’s lush beige couch as the last two of the party-goers waved goodbye to the girls and headed out the door.

“Wanna watch a movie? I think the Halloween marathon is still on,” said Margaret.

“I have something even better,” said Emma, she jumped up excitedly and ran to the other side of the room.

“Hmm? Please, dear lord tell me it’s not more Hocus Pocus,” said Margaret. “That movie has been on all day. I can’t handle you squealing ‘sistahs!’ anymore.”

“No, no. Better,” said Emma pulling out a large black box from her bag.

“Is that a?”

“Ouija!” Emma made a grand gesture opening the board up out of its case.

“No absolutely not, Emma. I won’t”

“Oh come on, miss tough pants. You can watch thirteen hours of Halloween movies, but you can’t play the Ouija board?”

“Nope. I won’t. I shant. I can’t. You cannot make me,” said Margaret crossing her arms.

“If you don’t, I’ll call Andrew and let him know who scratched his car last week in the parking lot.” Emma reached back into her bag and pulled out a phone.

Margaret glared back at Emma for a minute and then sighed, “Fine, but nothings probably even going to happen.”

“Oh contraire! Tonight is Halloween.  The night souls are free to roam the earth. There’s like a nine-hundred percent chance that this will work.”

“Nice science, Emma. Very professional, but I don’t believe in ghosts,” said Margaret.

“Not at all? Not even good ghosts?” said Emma.

“Nope. If I did, I would talk to my mom all the time.” Margaret dropped her gaze and started fidgeting with her knit blanket.

“Oh, crap. I’m sorry, Margaret. I totally spaced. We do not have to do this. I’m being stupid.”

“It’s okay. I was only twelve. We can play, I don’t care.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, let’s get started then,” said Emma. She sat with a thud on the living room floor and started placing the board right in front of her then motioned to Margaret to sit.

Margaret wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and sat cross legged on the other side of the board. “Let’s get started.”

“Just put two fingers on the doo dad,” said Emma.

“Doo dad?” Margaret laughed, “Ah, yes. The doo dad that spirits use to push over the thingy ma-bob”

“Stop! You’ll scare them all away! They don’t like to be disrespected, you know,” said Emma seriously. “Just call it the Eye.”

Margaret rolled her eyes and plopped her two fingers on the Eye and looked to Emma for her next directions.

“Now we wait,” said Emma.

The two sat staring at the board intently, every so often glancing up at each other. Emma closed her eyes and began breathing very deeply as if meditating.

“Maybe if we call out to a spirit,” Emma suggested.

“Sure.”

“Okay… Uhm, is anyone here with us?”

They waited.

“Is there a spirit in this house?”

They waited.

“If there’s a spirit in this house, can you tell us your name?”

They waited. Then the Eye began to move.

“Are you doing that,” said Emma with eyes wide.

“No, Emma. You aren’t fooling me.”

The Eye stopped over an E. Then an S

“E, S… I’m not faking. I’m a sincere person. I don’t pretend things. This is you or it’s real,” said Emma.

The Eye stopped over a T. Then an H. Then an E.

“T, H, E…”

“Emma, that’s not funny,” said Margaret pulling her hand away as it landed on an R and stopped.

“R. E-S-T-H-E-R. Esther?”

“Don’t pretend,” said Margaret hastily.

“I- what? Who’s Esther?”

“You swear you don’t know? You swear you’re not trying to mess with me?”

“Margaret, of course. What is it?”

“Esther was my mom.”

“No, shit,” said Emma horrified. “Do you… think she’s trying to communicate with us?”

“I don’t care. I’m done.” Margaret pulled her knit blanket tighter and scooted away from the board.

“Margaret, she’s trying to talk to you! You have to answer her,” said Emma.

“No.”

The Eye began to move. The girls looked at each other with horror, frozen in place. Both of their hands placed at their sides away from the moving Eye. They watched as it glided along the board.

The Eye stopped at H. Then E. Then L. Then P.

“Oh my god,” said Emma barely louder than a whisper. She looked up to see Margaret staring at the board angrily. “Why would she want help?”

Margaret was silent.

“Margaret, how did she pass?” Emma’s face was full of fear and concern.

“Poison,” Margaret whispered.

“Who did it?”

Margaret looked up from the Eye expressionless, “we don’t know.” There were red splotches all across Margaret’s neck as her eyes began to well up.

The Eye began to move.

Margaret lunged forward and tried to grab the Eye off the board but it wouldn’t budge.

“What are you doing? This is real, Margaret! You can finally know,” Emma grabbed Margaret’s wrists and pulled her nearer. “Let her tell you!”

The Eye began to move and Emma kept Margaret’s wrists in her hands and they both watched shaking.

The Eye stopped at M. Then A. Then R. Then G.

“Emma,” Margaret jerked her wrists out of Emma’s hands and stood up.

The Eye stopped at A. Then R.

“What the hell? What are you doing?”

The Eye stopped at E. Then landed on T and went still.

Emma picked up the Eye with shaking hands, “Margaret?” She turned to face her.

Margaret stood at the doorway with her hands behind her back.

“Margaret… Did you?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my god,” Emma began to cry. “Why? Margaret.”

“You found out one secret too many. I can’t let you know the rest,” she said stretching out her arms in front of her with a long thick kitchen knife in both hands.

“Margaret!” Emma scrambled to her feet.

“I’m sorry,” said Margaret as she lunged toward her friend.