Haunted

Let the Teaching Begin

“I couldn’t defeat a demon that had possessed my husband, but it wasn’t just because I wasn’t strong enough. I was away for work when the demon murdered my family. ” She pauses. “I should have been there.” Her words are silent almost in a whisper. “In the months leading up to the murders, Miranda had been complaining that her father was distant. I thought she was just upset because I hadn’t been home much and was trying to make me feel bad and to make me spend more time at home with her. I promised I’d make it up to her when I got back.” Amy swallowed hard; the pain of making a promise to her daughter that she couldn’t keep is written on her face. 

“Distant how,” Jack asked.

“I’m not sure.  At first, it was small. Little things that only Miranda or I would have noticed. He still went to work, did his job, picked Miranda up after school, bought groceries, made sure there was dinner on the table. Miranda said he just seemed, somehow . . .” She trails off, searching for the right word.

“Absent,” Emily supplied.

“Exactly.” Amy nodded sadly. “Anna complained that he was angry with her even when she hadn’t done anything, when he wasn’t he had nothing to do with her,”

“So you just quit.”

“I just quit,” Amy agreed.

“But couldn’t you—I mean, as a medium couldn’t you feel the spirits.  Couldn’t you feel there was a demon in the house? I mean, when you were home?”

“So many spirits follow me everywhere. My teacher  had taught  me  how to tune them out so I could concentrate on my life.”

Amy stood up and turned so that her back was to us. She takes a shallow, ragged breath like she’s trying not to cry. Emily glanced at Jack. Maybe all these questions are too much for her. We’re practically forcing her to relive her family’s murder.

“I’m sorry—” Emily began, but Amy held up her hand, cutting her off.

She turns around to face us, her pale face flushed with color. “You’re stronger than the demon. I promise you that.”

Emily shook her head. She had never felt strong. She gets winded walking up a couple of flights of stairs. She had been picked last for every team in every gym class she had been in since kindergarten. “I can’t even kill a spider,” She insisted, shuddering. “Believe me, I’m kind of a weakling.”

“You’re stronger than you know,” Amy said, and it sounds like a command. 

“When?” Emily answered, turning around, her tears splashing hotly against her cheeks and chin. But she’s not sad anymore. She is angry. “When will I be stronger? Once the demon is exorcised using some kind of magical medium weapon? Once more the warmth of  Emily and Jack's house feels oppressive. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and unwrapped her scarf from around her neck. Emily walked to the window, throwing it open. The curtains blew back and she stood there, letting the wind wash over her.“I’m beginning to think that mediums- ugh- whatever the plural is—are the bad guys. They desert their children. They place innocent people in jeopardy.” It actually felt good when the breeze made goose bumps blossom on her arms and legs. She turned around to face Amy, the wind at her back. “I don’t want anything to do with any of this,” Emily sniffed, swallowing the lump in her throat and pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead.

“I know this is difficult,” Amy said quietly. “There are so many questions I can’t answer,”

“Won’t answer,” Emily mumbled, wiping away her remaining tears with her sleeve.

“But I can tell you that the first step toward clarity will come with freeing your house from the demon’s hold—and even if you don’t want anything to do with any of this, I know that more than anything you want to save your home.”

She’s right. Emily lowered her hand from her forehead so that she’s covering her eyes.

She took a deep breath and dropped her hands, shut the window, and walked back to the couch. She lifted the smudge stick off the floor and stared at it once more. Lit it with the lighter that was on the table and proceeded to smudge herself. Removing the demon from within her. “How did you know that it was inside of you,” Jack stared at her in awe.

“I realized that I was getting angry for no reason, I saw the smudge stick still laying on the floor and decided it couldn’t hurt to try, Amy did say it was a mediums weapon,” Emily gave Amy a brief smile. "It didn't take you long to figure out how to demon out of you," Amy smiled back.

The morning of Halloween Emily had trouble getting dressed. It’s the silliest of all possible problems she could have, considering the circumstances. Still, it’s really frustrated her that there didn’t seem to be anything in her closet that was appropriate to wear to medium training. Not that she had any clue what a person is actually supposed to wear to be trained to become a medium—I don’t think there’s an etiquette guide to cover this particular event—but all my clothes are so brightly colored, and it seems like the kind of thing you should wear dark colors to right. Like you’re going to a funeral. Or robbing a house. Or walking into battle.

She wished she had armor or camouflage, but she finally settled on the Levis she had bought back in August and a navy blue top she had found at her favorite thrift shop. It has tiny little white flowers embroidered on the cuffs of its long sleeves, but other than that, she thought it was literally the darkest, plainest thing she owned. Which feels like a kind of camouflage.