You Did Good

Three

The groups sits in shock, their mouths agape as they stare at the groundskeeper. Hills of chills rest on their forearms as they process what they've just heard, unable to believe it but whole-heartedly wanting to.

"So this is where a murder happened?" Benji is the first to break the silence, his voice brittle in the stale air.

"That's what we think, yes." She confirm.

"Even worse, it was accidental." Renata breathes. She looks to Seth, noticing how he's just as shaken by the tale of this house as she is.

"Well, not accidental."

"Excuse me?"

"They meant to kill those girls," the housekeeper says. "When they kidnapped them, they thought they were someone else. And no matter how many times they tried to beg for their lives, this group of guys wouldn't listen."

"And those girls are still here?" Benji asks, earning a nod. "Are the murderers still here?"

She shake their head. "No, they're not. But there is something...other, that likes to hang around a little."

The group groans.

"That's great."

"Wonderful."

"What do you mean?" Renata asks. "An evil spirit? Poltergeist? Demon?"

"We don't know, really." She explain. "All we know is there is a good spirit, one that likes to play the piano and just do harmless things, and then there is another one that will do you harm." She pauses, a pitiful chuckle escaping. "We've actually experienced these two entities fighting each other a few times."

"Like the evil one is attacking the good one for being nice?" Benji guesses.

"That's what we think."

"That's horrible." Renata frowns. She jumps as Seth throws his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. "Can you imagine? Being murdered mistakenly and then being tortured for eternity by something?"

"I bet she can't leave because of this dark spirit," Benji says.

"That's horrible." She repeats.

"I think she's doing okay here." The groundskeeper admits. "We think it's actually Phoebe Hill that is here. She plays the piano, she whistles around the house, breaks the mirrors."

"Yeah, we did hear that!" Benji reaches for the bag in Renata's lap, pulling in closer. Plunging his hand inside, he roots around for a little bit before pulling out a small mirror. Less than four inches in diameter, it's nothing to look at, but it's enough to make the housekeeper tense. "We brought a mirror to see if she'll break it."

"Mirrors are the only thing that makes her angry," she says. "And when she gets angry, that evil spirit tends to show up more."

"Oh..." His hand slips back into the bag, bringing the mirror with him.

"I think she gets angry because she's trying to protect whoever is in here."

Seth's head tilts. "What do you mean?"

"Uh..." She resituates herself in her chair. "In this house, we believe that mirrors hold memories, just like how mirrors open portals. I believe, personally, that Phoebe is so traumatized by what happened to her, and every time she sees a mirror, she sees the memory."

"And she believes that we can see that memory, too." He concludes.

"And she's really trying to protect us." Renata smiles.