by M. K. ROZE
“This is not a game,” Marissa.” Adelyn looked out the
window, wishing she never told them.
“I didn’t say it was,” Marissa replied, “but you can’t
expect us to believe that the mirror you’re holding is evil.
Come on, Adelyn. That sounds crazy as hell. And I didn’t see
anything like you said the last time I looked in it. Maybe when
you fell, you scratched your back like you told the nurse.”
“See what?” Nellie asked.
“Nothing,” Adelyn and Marissa said at the same time.
“Fine. Bloody Mary … Bloody Mary,” Nellie joked.
Adelyn glared her way. “Not funny. Why else would I
act the way I did at school? You guys know me enough to
know I would never talk like that or act like a wacko. And
what about the voices I keep using?”
Marissa’s expression turned serious. “You told me that
you learned how to speak with a Romanian accent from
watching movies. And anyone can mock a Southern voice.”
“I lied to you because I didn’t want to tell you what was
really going on.”
Marissa didn’t look convinced. “Your parents said it was
from the infection you have. Not from a damn haunted
mirror.”
Nellie glared Marissa down. “Again, I was left out. You
never told me what her parents said. And I assumed you
didn’t either when you made fun of her about the bug bite a
few minutes ago.”
Marissa leaned into her. “You know I like to joke
around. Get over it.”
Nellie folded her arms. Get over it, she mouthed.
“Okay. Stop it you two,” Adelyn said. “You sound
like—”
A loud thump came from beneath her, cutting her off.
Adelyn rushed up, ran over to the bed, and leaped next to
them. “See, it’s not in my head. It’s Muma. She’s going to
possess me again because I won’t bring the mirror back.
She’s going to kill me.”
Nellie scooted away from her. “Then, you better stay
the hell away from me,” she said in a shaky voice.
“Pizza’s here,” Mom called out.
Marissa got up. “Guess Muma isn’t here yet. Let’s go eat
and summon her to see if she’s real when we get back.” She
looked back at Adelyn. “Unless it’s the meds making you trip
out.”
“Hell, no,” Nellie whispered and rushed out of the bed.
Adelyn placed the mirror on the end table, not wanting
to put her friends in danger, but she knew she needed to
prove Muma was real. “If that’s what it takes for you guys to
believe me, then we will summon her.”
“I’m not having any part of that satanic crap.” Nellie
stormed out of the bedroom.
Marissa and Adelyn glanced at each other then went
downstairs. As Marissa and Nellie ate, Adelyn looked in the
refrigerator for something else. “Mom, where are the steaks
you were going to cook the other day?”
“They’re on the top shelf, in the plastic container,
honey. Why?”
“Because I don’t want pizza again.”
“I wish you would’ve told me,” Mom said. “I could’ve
stopped by the steak house and picked one up.”
“I wasn’t thinking about it.” Adelyn pulled the container
out, opened the lid, and her stomach started growling as she
stared at the thick meat. She wanted to eat them raw. She
peered over her shoulder to see if anyone was looking. When
no one was paying her any mind, she dipped her finger into
the container and licked the blood from it—her eyes rolling
back in pure euphoria.
Mom walked over to Adelyn, jolting her out of her
trance. “I’ll cook it for you on the stove so it doesn’t take
that long. Unless you would rather have me cook it on the
grill instead?”
Adelyn licked the blood off her lips and turned to her.
“No, the cauldron is good.”
“Cauldron?” Mom repeated and laughed as she took out
a pan.
“I meant pan,” Adelyn snapped.
Mom turned the gas burner on high and set the pan on
it. “Calm down. Do you think I’m a witch?”
“No, not even close.” Adelyn watched Mom add oil to
the pan and listened to it sizzle and pop.
As Mom began cooking the steak, Adelyn stood next to
her and scowled at the meat turning brown. She tapped her
finger in threes on the counter. Each tap was loud with a
rhythmic beat. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. “Okay,
it’s done,” Adelyn shouted.
Mom glanced at her. “It’s still raw, honey. Let me cook
it well done as you like it.”
Adelyn took a fork out of the drawer, stabbed it into the
meat, then plopped it on the plate—blood splashing into her
Mom’s eye. “I said … it’s done.”
“Honey,” Mom rubbed her eye.
Adelyn ignored her. She walked away and sat at the end
of the table. Mom sat at the other end and eyed Adelyn with
a concerned look.
As Adelyn was eating the steak with her bare hands, the
blood oozed out of the meat with each bite, drizzling down
her chin. She wiped the blood off with her hand, then licked
it off.
When silence filled the dining room, Adelyn raised her
head to everyone grimacing at her. “Do you want some?”
she asked in Muma’s voice. “This blood isn’t what I crave,
but it’s better than nothing.”
Dad glanced at Mom’s baffled look. “I think you need
to up the dose on the medicine.”
Mom picked up a slice of pizza, keeping her eyes on
Adelyn. “I’ll call the doctor after I’m done eating.”
“Since when do you eat rare meat?” Marissa asked.
Adelyn stopped staring at her parents and glared Marissa
down as she kept eating.
“Maybe you are possessed,” Marissa mumbled and took
a bite of her pizza.
Nellie set her pizza down and looked on her phone.
Moments later, someone beeped the horn, and Nellie
jumped up. “My mom’s here. I have to go.”
Mom stood. “I thought you were staying the night?”
Marissa avoided Adelyn’s glare. “I forgot about an essay
that’s due tomorrow. My books are at home, so I have to
go.”
“I see,” Mom replied.
Adelyn’s body jolted forward, and she grabbed her
stomach, ready to puke.
“Do you have hiccups?” Marissa asked.
Adelyn nodded, not wanting to tell her it was Muma
who just left her body.
Marissa walked back upstairs with Adelyn following her.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were leaving?” Marissa
asked as she stared Nellie down.
Adelyn said nothing because she was certain Nellie was
freaked out after what she just witnessed at the table. She
wanted to tell them it wasn’t her, but it was worthless even
telling them because she feared they wouldn’t believe her
again and think she was nuts.
“I just want to go, that’s all.” Nellie grabbed her bag off
the floor and gave M
arissa a quick hug. She went to hug
Adelyn but her feet came to a stop like she was afraid of her.
“I’ll talk to you two tomorrow.” She walked out and rushed
down the hall.
“Love you,” Marissa called out.
“Love you, too,” Nellie replied as her footsteps faded
down the stairs.
“Why aren’t you saying you love her?” Marissa asked
and shut the door.
Adelyn sat on the bed. “Don’t feel like it.”
“Okay, then.” Marissa sat next to Adelyn. “So, how are
we going to do this?”
Adelyn took the mirror off the end table. “Just say her
name and see if she appears.”
Marissa took a pillow, placed it against the wall, and
leaned against it. “I already know it’s not magical, but
whatever floats your boat.”
“Yes, it is.” Adelyn held the mirror in front of them.
“Can you see?”
Marissa pulled the mirror closer to her. “Now I can.”
Adelyn cleared her throat. “If I start acting weird, tell
my mom and dad that I stole the mirror. Maybe mom can
call Susan and get rid of the spirit that’s inside of me.”
She giggled. “Isn’t she the ghost hunter that’s obsessed
with finding Sula?”
“Yes.”
Marissa chuckled. “Okay. And stop wishing you’re
possessed before it comes true. I wouldn’t want you
throwing me out the window like Ragan did with that drunk
guy or the priest from the Exorcist movie.”
“I would never toss you out a window.”
“If you’re possessed, then it’s not up to you, duh. Now
stop freaking me out and call Muma. I want to see if this old
hag is real.”
Adelyn repositioned herself and stared into the mirror.
“Muma, are you here with us?”
They stared into the mirror for a while in silence, but
nothing happened.
Adelyn repeated what she said the day before, hoping
she’d appear. “Who does this mirror belong to?”
They waited a few seconds and nothing happened.
Marissa sighed and took the mirror out of her hand.
“Hey, Muma, show your ugly ass or I will smash this mirror
into a million pieces.”
Adelyn grabbed the mirror and set it on the end table.
“Are you fucking crazy! Why would you say that? She can kill
you.”
Marissa chuckled. “You have to provoke the spirit so
they will show themselves. Sexy Zak on Ghost Adventures
does it all the time. You know this. You used to watch it with
me and your mom.”
“I don’t care. Don’t say anything like that again.”
“Alright, chill.” Marissa took her phone out of her
pocket. “What’s Muma’s last name?”
“Why?”
“Because I want to see if this bitch is even real.”
“Pădurii. And stop calling her names before she comes
here and kills you. Or she makes me kill you.”
Marissa rolled her eyes. “How the hell do you spell
that?”
“I don’t know. Just look up Muma.”
Marissa typed Muma into Google and it came back with
her first and last name.
Adelyn glanced at her phone. “Yup, that’s her.”
Marissa and Adelyn read the short article to themselves.
Marissa sighed. “She’s a witch from Romania, who ate
kids. And its folklore.” She set her phone down. “Not funny,
Adelyn. I thought you were serious. Now I know where you
got the Romanian accent from.”
“I am serious, Marissa.”
“How the hell would a witch from Romania get to St.
Augustine?”
Adelyn shrugged. “Before I found the mirror, I saw
glowing red eyes in the cabin’s upstairs window when we
were on that tour in the woods. But I thought it was a prop
to scare us. I think it was her the entire time. I can show you
my diary entry I made after I got home. I’m not making it
up.”
Marissa picked her phone back up and began searching
the internet.
“What are you looking up now?”
“To see if Muma was in St. Augustine. If nothing comes
up, then it’s the infection messing with your brain. Or it’s the
lingering bug spray that’s making you see and hear shit. The
smell is getting me high, and I haven’t been here that long.”
“Muma told me who she was. But whatever.” Adelyn
picked up the mirror, hoping that Marissa would see her so
she could prove that she was telling the truth, but nothing
happened.
Marissa tossed her phone on the edge of the bed.
“Nope, there’s nothing about her ever being in St.
Augustine.”
“Maybe she was there, and it’s not telling us.”
“She’s folklore, Adelyn. Let’s watch a movie. I have to
get up and go to school, unlike you.”
Adelyn said nothing, wishing Marissa believed her.
“Hey, I was kidding about you being sick. And what you
thought you saw or heard is from the infection. Evil isn’t real,
it’s just meant to scare people. Let the meds kick in, and it
will all go away.”
Adelyn sighed, not convinced. “You know I don’t eat
raw meat, so why do you think I ate it?”
Marissa shrugged. “The meds made you crave it?”
“No, that wasn’t it. How do you know if someone is a
psychic?”
“Ask them something about your past or future, and if
they get it right, they are a true medium. But I don’t believe
in that shit. Only God or the devil himself can answer those
questions.”
Adelyn gulped. “What if I told you I knew where the
bodies were, and told someone, then come to find out it was
true?”
“You mean like that couple said about you at your job?”
“Yeah.”
“It wasn’t true or your ass would be in jail right now, so
what’s your point?”
Adelyn looked away, knowing she couldn’t mention
Detective Able, so she dropped it. “I was just messing with
you. I’m not psychic or possessed. I think it is the meds
messing with me.”
“Ass.” Marissa shook her head and took the remote off
the end table. She turned the TV on. “What do you want to
watch?”
“Watch whatever you want to. I’m sleepy from the
meds.”
“Sweet.”
Adelyn rolled over, took the mirror off the end table,
and looked into it. “Night.”
“Good night, Muma,” she joked.
Adelyn elbowed her softly in the stomach. “Not funny.”
Marissa giggled. “Sorry.”
Adelyn stared in the mirror at her chin, waiting to see if
her scar vanished. When it didn’t, she sighed with relief, set
it next to her, and passed out.
***
“Adelyn, Adelyn,” Marissa whispered as she shook her.
“What?” Adelyn moaned and opened her eyes. She
squinted at the bright lights coming from the TV.
“Did you feel the bed shaking?” Marissa asked.
“No.”
“How did you not feel
that? It was vibrating badly.”
Adelyn sat up. “What did you watch?”
“The Possession movie, with the girl who gets possessed
by the woman in the dybbuk box.”
“No wonder why you’re freaking out. That movie was
scary.” She yawned and lay back down. “Go back to bed.”
Marissa snuggled up to Adelyn and wrapped her arm
around her tightly.
“Are you gay for me now?” Adelyn joked.
“Shut up,” Marissa replied and laughed.
“Turn the TV off. It’s bright in here.”
Marissa found the remote and turned it off, leaving
them in pure darkness.
After a few moments of silence, Adelyn’s body jerked
slightly, then a faint moan, followed by scratching sounds
coming from the roof.
Marissa squeezed Adelyn. “Please tell me you just heard
that?” her voice trembled in a whisper.
Adelyn smirked. “Told you I was real,” she provoked in
Muma’s voice. She scooted away from Marissa, who was still
holding her.
Marissa rolled over with her back toward Adelyn. “Stop
using that creepy voice. You’re freaking me the fuck out.”
“Get used to it.”
Marissa exhaled. “I could never get used to that ugly ass
voice.”
Adelyn grinned as she stared blankly into the mirror,
where she was forced to watch in terror as her eyes crawled
with black veins, reminding her of a spider webbing its prey.
delyn, who was standing on a thick branch up in a
tree, narrowed her raging eyes on the couple
walking down the dark trail of the mountain. They
were laughing as the aimed their lanterns ahead of them.
Hunger for them overcame her as she watched them
disappear down the hill, still laughing.
Adelyn crawled down the tree like a cat and took off
running after them. She leaped onto the man’s back,
chomping down on his neck, tearing his throat out.
“Jenny, run!” the man shouted then gurgled up blood as
he tried to fight off Adelyn.
Adelyn ripped his neck apart as she glared Jenny down,
who lifted her red Victorian gown above her shoes as she
stood there in shock.
“Anthony,” Jenny’s voice trembled with pure terror as