The library was empty. At a table in the front of the library, seven elderly people rotated reading a book with a child surrounded by snow on the cover. She passed them to get to the botany section.
She picked up books on flowers and fruit, looking to see if any of them might appeal to her brother. It didn't matter. She'd learned when he was seven that he could and would read anything.
She checked out four books, two about fruit and two about flowers before moving toward the front desk.
It only took a second for her to wonder if what was happening to her or what'd happened to her mom might be in a book. She wondered if she should research demons or monsters, hallucinations or magic necklaces.
If this was happening, maybe she could kill the demon it in the daydream. Maybe getting rid of the demon could save both her parents.
If the dreams weren't real, she'd be the only person who knew she'd tried.
The first book she stumbled on was related to possession. For a minute, she wondered if that was what happened to her mother. The demon in the memories always seemed to move closer to her. What if it'd been trying to possess her?
"Why are you researching possession?" Apollo asked, looking over her shoulder. This time, she didn't flinch, even though he'd startled her again. She allowed herself a second of pride for that.
"It's none of your business, pea brain. Go check out your books." She responded, handing him the books she'd picked for him.
"Yeah, yeah." He said dismissively as he took the books. "Seriously, what's with the demon stuff? You've freaked grandma out enough."
"It doesn't matter."
"Seriously, I want to know."
She looked at him, and noticing the genuine curiosity, decided to tell him the truth. She mentioned the necklace and the note, the demon and baby Sage, and her confusion about what was happening.
"You're insane." He stated, "...like certifiable."
"Probably." She shrugged in response, "But if I'm not a thousand percent sure of that, then I'll spend the rest of my life wondering if I could have saved our mom."
"Yeah." Apollo agreed. "So, you think the demon was trying to possess her?"
"It's something to rule out."
"Okay." Apollo said. He gathered three books she had been considering, carried them to a table, and chose one to read. She decided to do the same.
Eventually, they decided to take notes from the books. Rose wrote what the book called "Exorcisms." in her notebook. According to the books, they were prayers that cast out demons.
According to all the books, demons can be banished or trapped, but not killed. To rid yourself of a demon, one author advised to deny and ignore it. That gave Rose hope her grandmother believed her and her mother, after all.
When she and her brother were satisfied with their research, they decided to go home. Rose wondered if she could somehow allow Apollo to see the things that she'd been seeing. If there really was some magic transporting her to the past, she thought he deserved to see their parents happy as much as she did.
"What do you want to eat?" Apollo asked, walking toward the kitchen as soon as they arrived at the house.
"You know grandma isn't going to let you cook," Rosemary said, her arms over her chest. She did not want her grandma yelling at them for touching her kitchenware again.

YOU ARE READING
My Mother's Shadow
ParanormalAt her mother's funeral, Rosemary is gifted a necklace that lets her witness her mom's memories. She finds shadow lurking in each one. As it closes in on her mother, Rose wonders how she can save her.