✓ | 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒, larissa weems

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗
𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐀'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕

i lay in bed, cocooned under a pile of blankets, uninterested in the world around me. for the last four hours, i had been fixated on the cracks in the wall, lost in thought. meanwhile, wednesday sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by candles and an ouija board, trying to summon our deceased relative, goody. she muttered to herself, her voice hushed as she called upon spirits to communicate with us. i watched her with a mixture of curiosity and amusement, wondering if anything would come of her efforts.

     as wednesday's candle formation flickered and danced with an otherworldly energy, suddenly, a gust of wind burst through the open door and extinguished them all at once. enid skipped into the room, beaming with a wide smile on her face, completely unaware of the ritual that had just been interrupted. she casually walked over to the light switch and flipped it on, flooding the room with a bright white light that made wednesday scowl in frustration.

enid's cheerful expression faltered as she realized what she had done. "oh crap, sorry wednesday," she apologized, but wednesday only groaned in frustration. she explained to enid that she had been attempting to contact their deceased relative, goody, through a séance, but our extremely distant cousin seemed to be ignoring her.

enid walked towards the bunk beds, her eyes scanning the room until they landed on my bed. with a furrowed brow, she gazed up at the top bunk where i was curled up, wrapped comfortably in blankets.

"you haven't moved in hours," enid said with concern in her voice.

     i gave a noncommittal hum in response, pulling the blankets up to my neck to hide from the world. i felt sluggish, and my mind was clouded with a jumble of thoughts and emotions that i couldn't seem to sort out. the truth was, today wasn't just any ordinary day. it was a special day that my sister and i kept hidden from everyone else - our shared birthday.

but it wasn't just the fact that we were turning a year older that made me feel this way. it was the realization that we were growing up and time was slipping away from us.

enid approached my bed, concern etched on her face. she tiptoed to get a better view of me, then whispered, "are you okay?" i remained silent, staring back at her with half-opened eyes. i turned away from her to face the wall, not in the mood to talk or interact with anyone.

suddenly, we heard a rustling noise coming from under the door. "maybe goody answered you after all," enid suggested, turning her attention to the door. i didn't move from my curled-up position, but i listened intently. "i doubt she communicates in magazine cutouts," wednesday quipped, rolling her eyes as she picked up the note.

as she read out the message, my curiosity was piqued. "if you want answers, meet me inside crackstone's crypt. midnight," she recited, her eyes scanning the paper. i sat up sluggishly, my eyes devoid of emotion as i gazed down at them.

"this is perfect!" enid exclaimed, her eyes widening with excitement. wednesday and i exchanged a confused glance before my sister spoke up. "how?" she asked, her tone skeptical.

"you and winona have been arguing like cats and dogs for the past two weeks," enid explained, her tone suddenly firm. it was a side of her that we rarely saw, so i knew that she genuinely meant it when she said, "so we're all going together because i'm tired of being stuck in the middle."

     i could tell that enid was invested in our friendship and it meant a lot to her that we got along. her declaration was unexpected, but it was also a relief to know that we had someone who cared enough to intervene.