This is the seventh part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, and Part VI before continuing.
Once in the kitchen, Aunt Sabrina went straight for the big box of salt she kept in her pantry. She turned to face Stacie and said, “I need you to not move from that spot until I’m done here. Is that clear?”
“What is going on?”
“Just answer the question!”
“OK. Jesus. Yes, I promise not to move from this spot.”
“Do you swear?”
“Scouts’ honor.” Stacie raised her right hand in the air as though she were about to testify in a court of law.
“You were never a Scout.”
“I know, but you were just being so intense, it seemed like the right thing to say.”
“Whatever. Just don’t move.”
“Aye, aye, captain.”
“How is that the right thing to say?”
“I don’t know. I have no idea what’s going on here.”
Aunt Sabrina rolled her eyes and started pouring salt in a big circle on the kitchen floor around Stacie. When she was done, she slammed the box down on the table and said, “OK, Spirits, let’s do this.”
Nothing happened.
“Aunt Sabrina, maybe we should just-”
“I said, GET OUT HERE!”
There was a whoosh of air strong enough to make Stacie take a step back. She had to check to make sure she hadn’t accidentally broken the circle of salt and was surprised to feel relief when she found it intact.
All the lights in the house went out simultaneously and the figure Stacie had seen at the foot of her bed last night appeared in the middle of the kitchen.
Aunt Sabrina held out her hand as though the spirit were a naughty child that had taken something that didn’t belong to it. “Return the hairbrush.”
There was another gust of wind and the form rushed at Aunt Sabrina, causing Stacie to gasp, but not giving her time to do much of anything else. The spirit stopped an inch from Aunt Sabrina’s face and opened its mouth wide as though to scream at her, but no sound came out.
Aunt Sabrina didn’t even flinch. “The brush,” she said, still holding her hand out.
The form made a rush at Stacie, but it was brought up short at the salt perimeter. Stacie leaned back instinctively but retained enough presence of mind to keep both feet together in the center of the circle.
The form backed up and tried a few more times, but the result never changed.
Finally, it turned back to face Aunt Sabrina with what Stacie could only describe as a sulky expression.
“The hairbrush. Now.”
Stacie’s hairbrush came flying into the kitchen from another room and slammed right into Aunt Sabrina’s forehead.
“Aunt Sabrina!”
“Stay where you are!” Aunt Sabrina reminded her, even as she slapped a palm over her forehead.
Aunt Sabrina bent down, grabbed the hairbrush, and stood to face the form again. “Now go.”
The spirit flipped Aunt Sabrina the bird as it faded out of sight.
In the next second, the lights came back on, and Aunt Sabrina turned and handed Stacie her hairbrush. “You can move now. Clean up that salt. And don’t ever – ever – leave your hairbrush lying around. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Good.”
The end.