"Who are you?" Sarah demanded.
The planchette stalled. I'd hoped this was a sign someone in the circle was fooling us. But no sooner did I think this, did the carved piece of wood swerve its way across the board, eventually coming to a stop.
"M-U-M. Mum?" Sarah repeated.
My hands started shaking. Camilla looked up at me with wide eyes, matching my own. This had to be some kind of sick joke.
"Whose terrible idea was this?" Camilla hissed, her eyes flashing accusingly around the circle. "Do you think this is funny?"
"Why would we think it's funny?" Ashley asked.
"Come on." Camilla placed a manicured hand on her hip. "Besides the fact Halloween is the same day Serena's mother died? And that she's buried in this cemetery? We've all grown up in Milton, you all know this."
A whole new silence descended on the group. Their quiet was emphasised by the creaking of the trees, which made me feel incredibly awkward and uncomfortable. While I was grateful to Camilla for trying to defend me, I didn't enjoy the extra attention it brought.
Then, everyone started murmuring, "I didn't do it" and "it wasn't me".
I took a deep breath. "I can't do this, this is ridiculous."
"No!" Sarah exclaimed, grabbing my hand. "You can't leave! I'm so sorry to hear about your mum, Serena, but if you leave now, you'll let the spirit out into our world."
"How do I not know someone here is just playing a sick joke?"
"Ask the spirit something personal, something only your mother would know."
It wasn't an easy task. Seven years had passed since my mother's death day, so digging through a memory pile while my classmates watched me was like pulling at water – the memories kept slipping through my fingers. Finally, my mind settled on the framed photograph in my father's bedroom. I had my question.
"What did I wear on my first birthday?" I asked.
The planchette began its dance across the board. Sarah, as the medium, read aloud the complete message.
"Mickey mouse costume?" Sarah looked up at me with a question in her eyes.
It felt like a cold hand had wrapped itself around my neck, threatening to squeeze.
"Yes," I whispered; my voice hoarse. My chest tightened. Could it really be her? My mother who was buried a few feet away? I had no doubt the feeling of being watched I'd experienced at the party had come from her. But this?
I'd told myself the séance would only be for fun and games; I hadn't actually believed there was a possibility of amateur teenage mediums summoning a spirit.
But I'd asked a question only my parents knew the answer to – so I had to act on the assumption that this actually was my mother. And that she intended on sending me a message. "It's her."
"Ask her a question," Sarah coaxed.
Everyone's eyes focused on me once again. I felt like the opening of a circus act.
Maybe I should sell tickets, I thought humourlessly, tucking my hair nervously behind my ear.
Cutting down the potential pool of questions was much harder than I'd imagined. For seven years my father and I had been left in the dark, unbelieving of the circumstances that led to my mother's death. Dad had found her motionless on the kitchen floor, her hair spilled around her and her eyes closed in sign of peace. She must've been in the middle of preparing lunch, since the stove catered for overflowing pots of boiling water and slices of fresh bread sat atop the toaster.
I can still remember my father's wailing screams from my upstairs bedroom. The doctors had told us the cause was a heart attack, but this was impossible to believe when the mother you'd known was perfectly healthy and had no family history of heart complications. I took a deep breath and brought my attention back to the present.
"Where are you?"
The planchette was motionless for a few moments, then started its dance across the board.
D-E-A-T-H.
I don't know what I'd expected her to respond. I didn't necessarily believe heaven or hell existed, but I'd hoped for some kind of enlightenment other than the answer she'd provided.
"Do you miss me?" I asked, ignoring the pity stares of those around me.
Y-E-S.
If this truly was my mother, then it was the one opportunity I'd have to ask the one question that lingered on my mind, as well as my father's, since her death.
"How did you die?"
The planchette shook and started to crawl across the board.
H –
It shook more violently and threw itself off its course, as if something was preventing the spirit from communicating with us.
A –
A cold chill ran down my neck and spine. My eyes were glued to the board, to the question I'd spent so much time pondering.
D –
A howl of wind moved through the graveyard, whipping my hair forwards. I briefly heard the mumbled concerns of the others, but I was stuck in the trance, unable to move my gaze from the planchette.
"Uh, guys?" Dani interjected, her voice quivering. "Do you feel that?"
"The cold? Yeah, I feel it too," said Tom, shivers racking his body.
I wasn't concentrating on the cold – I was too focused on the board, waiting for the answer I so desperately needed. But something seemed to have become too much for the spirit: the planchette wasn't moving anywhere. Instead, it vibrated unsteadily on its spot.
"What do we do?" Dani asked.
"Keep your finger on the board!" Sarah instructed.
"I don't want to play anymore..."
"Don't move!"
Something from within the board was calling me, beckoning me to maintain eye contact. It sounded like a siren's call, ringing loud and clear. Beautiful. I leaned closer.
The siren's call echoed louder. I could see its sound waves pulsating through the vibrations of the planchette. No one else was stuck in the entranced state I was. It was clear; the spirit's calls were for me.
Someone was sobbing uncontrollably.
"That's it, I'm out!"
"Don't–"
Chaos broke out. The wind picked up with such a ferocity the others' cries were muffled. The surrounding trees billowed from side to side, their branches breaking off and flying aloof. I vaguely wondered how the board hadn't blown away. The light from the candles snuffed out, immersing us half in darkness. The only light remaining emanated from the lanterns. But they, too, dipped in and out. Something within them fizzed, giving out a steady stream of smoke. Their light globes exploded, showering us in glass from all directions.
Many of the girls squealed. The glass grazing my skin cut me out of my trance, bringing me back to reality. It felt like I'd broken the surface of the ocean and now that I had, I could see everyone's panic with clarity. My head was clear – there was no siren, no beckoning.
In the darkness I heard others scramble to stand up.
"Ow!"
"Sorry!"
Following their lead, I stood up and fumbled for the phone in my dress pocket, turning on the camera's torch. At the same time mine turned on, so did Camilla's.
"Holy shit," she breathed, looking at me wide-eyed. "Let's get out of here."
I didn't need to be told twice. The others were already racing blindly back up the hill, in the vague direction of the party. I could see Camilla's dark ponytail bobbing ahead. Adrenaline pumped my legs and arms faster. I didn't dare look behind me, but the sound of someone's constant footfalls as they followed spurred me on faster.
The light from the party appeared up ahead, but I didn't dare slow down until I was all but on top of the dance floor. We all came to a stop, knocking into each other roughly. The music ebbed and died down. The other partygoers looked over us curiously, wondering what had made us so freaked out.
"Ghost! Run!" Dani yelled.
One of the football players at the party burst out in laughter, causing a few other chuckles. "Oooooh, I'm so scared!" he mocked.
My jaw dropped.
"I'm being serious," Dani growled. "We just did a séance, and all of our lanterns exploded."
"And there was crazy wind!" someone added.
"It felt like a cold hand was grabbing me!"
The jock continued to laugh. "Nice prank guys, you almost had me scared for a second." Then, turning to his mates at the speakers, he shouted, "Hey, turn up the music, will you?"
Their friend complied and increased the sound, muting all our complaints. Everyone resumed their dancing, laughter and drinking, blissfully unaware of what had happened.
It took me a moment to understand, but from a scan of the party it was clear nothing we'd experienced during the seance had moved uphill. All the Halloween decorations were perfectly in place, the lighting and atmosphere were the same as when we'd left. I wondered whether they'd sensed anything.
"They won't believe us," I mumbled, feeling the onset of a headache.
Camilla followed my gaze and shook her head, eyes wide. "I don't blame them either. It doesn't look like anything happened here."
Had it all been my imagination?
At my silence, she placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Serena, are you okay?"
No. Not at all. I was shivering uncontrollably and tried to calm myself by wrapping my arms around my torso, but to no avail. My thoughts raced at the speed of lightning, making it impossible to string together a couple of words.
"I–"
"Let's just get out of here now. We can debrief when we get to yours. Alright?"
Then, without saying goodbye to anyone else, Camilla grabbed my hand and tugged me towards the car. She was in damage-control mode. I was grateful for her taking the lead, I was too zoned out to even realise when we arrived at her car. Camilla opened the passenger door and shooed me in, then raced to her side of the car. After reversing out of her park, Camilla slammed the accelerator and drove us back through the valley, towards the town centre. The second we were out of the car park, the tension in Camilla's shoulders relaxed.
"Serena? Are you with me?"
I nodded numbly.
"I think you're in shock." She exhaled heavily. "I could kill Sarah. Pulling a prank like that? That was so, so sick. You don't deserve that."
Her words snapped me out of my silence. "You think it was a prank?" I asked weakly.
Her eyes darted to mine. "Of course. You don't think that was actually your mum, do you?"
I opened my mouth. Then closed it. "I don't know. I don't know anything."
"Well, try not to let it get to your head. Sarah would have planned it. She talked about doing a séance for hours. I wouldn't put it past her to have organised a prank like that."
I gazed out the side of the car, watching the forest as we sped through it. The trees became a blur, each one melding into another. I tried to focus long enough to see if I could see anything unusual, to see any sign that what had happened back at the séance had been real. But even if there were black masses slinking between the undergrowth, the night was too dark, and we were driving too fast to see.
"Yeah..."
She sighed. "Let's just both get home and back to reality, then you'll see what is and isn't real."