Possessed

Chapter 22: The Psychic

Ed stood up and paced on our living room rug, running a hand through his hair repeatedly and continued, “We fought that night. Even my mother couldn’t hold me back. I had a future ahead of me! I couldn’t let him ruin it! I wanted to start a family, a HAPPY family, something he hadn’t been able to do. In the fight, the gun somehow ended up in my hands. I accidentally pulled the trigger just as he was about to snatch it from me and I…….I killed him. I killed my own father. My mother forgave me, but I haven’t been able to forgive myself, even though he deserved the end he got.” He finished his story with a mirthless, hollow laughter.

I looked at him, intrigued, “How do I fit into any of this?”

“You moved in about a month ago and found the skeleton in the closet. That was my father’s. After I killed him that night, we had to hide his body. My mother couldn’t bear to lose me; I was the only one she had left. So we both stuffed his body inside and left the house in the dark of the night. We made sure no one saw us and took all the money and jewels, but left our belongings here. At first, the police investigated our case and the newspapers printed it but slowly, in the absence of leads, people forgot about it. My father was a feared man, so people maintained their distance as much as they could. With time, the house was sold until it finally came to you. But that room was never opened before you opened it. We’d locked it well. The family before you consisted of two elderly who never bothered with it.”

I gazed at him curiously, “Your name….Wasn’t it Salvins before?”

“Yes, I changed it to Ed Perkins,” he told me briefly, “My mother insisted on moving back to this area but we had to change our names to avoid the risk of people finding out.”

I stood up now, letting all his words sink in. I faced him, fully aware of recent revelations, “Now I have a story to tell you.”

After an hour of confession and narration, Ed decided to take me to visit some psychic that he knew. I left a note on the freezer for mom and Ed drove me to the woman’s house.

I stepped out of the car. It was a cool, clear night. No stars littered the sky. The moon hung low, disappearing now and then behind the clouds. Ed had assured me that this psychic, Madam Zara, was an expert on spiritual matters and was certainly better than a teenager who had yet to learn full control of her powers. Although a little offended at that remark, I had agreed. It was true after all.

We knocked on the door twice and as I was about to knock the third time, the door opened suddenly. Front of me stood a queer-looking woman. She stood tall at what I assumed to be five feet eight or so. Her jawbone was mannishly square and prominent, her eyes rather alert and a mixture of ice blue with flecks of grey.

“I’ve been expecting you,” she welcomed us. Her voice was not what I’d expected at all. I’d thought it would be somewhat misty, maybe a little dreamy. It was actually rather clear and had a commanding edge to it.

We stepped inside the threshold. I looked around me and saw all sorts of objects that made little sense to me. It was a small house with only two bedrooms. One of the rooms had her bed, dresser and closet while the other was adorned with shelves that carried jars of suspended slime on its wood. In the middle of the room, and this is what caught my eye, stood a table with a purple star covering it. Atop the table was a crystal ball that glowed red even as we were led into the room.

“Ah, I see your problem,” she turned to me, “Do not worry, my dear. All evil loses. This time is no exception.” She motioned for me to sit down and I did, along with Ed beside me.

“Are you sure she’s for real? All these…doesn’t it look phony to you?” I whispered as Madam Zara set about searching for something and humming to herself loudly.

“Absolutely positive,” Ed told me, “I came to her before for help.”

When I opened my mouth to ask him for what, he hurriedly added, “Some other time, not now.”

I nodded and looked away. Madam Zara positioned herself in front of us, on the other side of the table. She waved her hand around the crystal ball and it turned bright blue.

“What do you want me to do?” she inquired, looking toward me.

“I want to get rid of the thing possessing me. My friend already tried-“

“Shh,” she shushed me, “Magic is not to be meddled with. I can help you, but I need something as a pay in return.”

“What do you want? Money? I have fifty dollars with me,” I told her.

“Money will do me no good, child. Can I have your nails? Here, have a nail clipper and give me the cut nails.”

I stared at her, appalled. She wanted nails? I offered her money and she wanted nails instead? Fine with me, as long as I didn’t have to spend a penny from my allowance! I shrugged and began clipping away my nails. After I was done, I handed her the clipper along with my nails and we came back to the task at hand. I watched as she stored my nails in another jar of hers and put it on the shelf.

“Now,” she smiled at me, baring her crooked teeth. A shiver ran down my body. I wanted to get this done with as soon as was possible, “we begin.”