The Twelve Chimes of Maligna Manor

A Halloween Escape

"I'm fine," said Sara.

"No, you're not," said Aunt Maggie.

Another flash. Who was she anyway? Of all the people who was she to tell Sara she wasn't fine. Sara felt the familiar surge of emotion. All that energy welling up inside her had to go somewhere so she decided to put it to the least destructive use of rushing out of her seat.

"Sara," Said Aunt Maggie, "I'm just trying to help."

"How can you help," Spat Sara.

There was no holding it back anymore. It was all too much. The fire couldn't be contained. It had to go somewhere. And Aunt Maggie was right there.

"What?" Asked Aunt Maggie.

She knew. Sara could see it clear enough. There had been a spark to that question, enough to tell Sara that she had struck a nerve. Before that might have stopped her, but not tonight, she wanted to see how far this vein went.

"You know what?" Said Sara, "You think we don't know about you?"

Aunt Maggie tensed up. Her mouth tried to make words but just ended up flapping up and down like a goldfish.

She should stop now. This might already be too far.

"You think I can't cope," Said Sara, "You know what they call you around here? Mad Maggie. The crazy lady who never leaves her house. Who went insane after her boyfriend..."

"Stop it!" Screamed Aunt Maggie, "Just Stop it, Sara. You don't know what you're talking about. None of them know what they're talking about."

"You know why I punched that Girl," Said Sara, "It's because She realised that we're related. As soon as she realised that she knew she could say whatever she wanted. Because now that I live with you, I'm going to turn into another Mad Sanchez."

"You'd rather you weren't here?" Asked Aunt Maggie, "Really You think you'd be better off someplace else."

Sara didn't think It mattered. It wasn't the point. Why did she have to deal with one crappy option over all the others? Why couldn't there just be something good?

"Yeah," She said, "You know what I think I would be better off anywhere else."

Whatever conflicting emotions Aunt Maggie had swirling within her they had now coagulated into an all too familiar anger. Like a spring trap, she launched out of her seat and stormed towards Sara.

"Sara, do you know how hard it was for me to get custody of you two," She said, "all of the lawyers and evaluations. People coming into my home, looking into everything, asking me question after question assuming right from the start that I wouldn't be able to take care of you."

"You shouldn't have bothered," said Sara.

"Well, I did," said Aunt Maggie, "I did because like it or not Sara we are related. I am your family, and I thought you would be better off with me than no one."

"If we were better off with you," Said Sara, "then why didn't Dad make you our guardian?"

Sara actually smiled. The question had stopped Aunt Maggie firmly in her tracks. The smile didn't last long though. There was something too pitiful about the sudden sadness that crossed Aunt Maggie's face.

"I don't know," was all she could say.

"I do," Said Sara, "It's because Dad hated you. All he would ever say is how pathetic you were. How you forced everyone else to deal with your stupid problems."

"That's not true," Aunt Maggie said weakly.

"You know you're the reason he never came back here," Said Sara, "Because you messed him up. And now you're trying to mess us up. Because that's all you can do. You just ruin everything around you."