Twin Flames

My dad thinks that I'm a witch.

I guess, he does to a point. It's more of the fact that I don't go to church and I believe in the complete opposite stuff that he does. He is a hardcore Catholic and I consider myself somewhat of a Satanist, if you wanted to put a label on it. Now, Satanism isn't purely devil worshipping and selling your soul that people think it is. Actually a lot of Satanists are atheists, but not me. I believe in that higher power but not in the way it's told in the Bible. It's mainly about worshipping yourself, as you are responsible for your own evil and good. To me, that's the real deal.

I started skipping church when I hit high school, when I realized it wasn't something I believed in and had no passion for. I honestly loved to freak people out with how I was. Why was it so frowned upon? Satanism is just another religion, why am I not allowed to be a part of it? Why is it Catholicism or the highway? So when my dad said the church service was going to start in an hour, I would tell him I'd meet him there and he'd leave without me. I never met him there, and he always caused an uproar the next time I saw him.

He made me ride with him to church that Sunday. He and I had never really had the best relationship, especially since my religious beliefs weren't up to par with his. My mom ran away with a woman years ago, leaving me with my dad, who is still bitter about it to this day and proceeds to take his anger out on me. The service was long, boring and completely ass-backwards. The priest just always blamed every doing elsewhere; nothing was ever God's fault. I had to keep from rolling my eyes.

At the end of the service, I was ready to hightail it out of there. My dad, unfortunately, stopped to chat with the priest and made me stand with him so I couldn't run away to do my "mischievous" things he thought I did, like sacrificing a pig. I stood there with my arms crossed, minding my own business, when the town's crazy old psychic lady, Ethel Gallagher, exited the church, wobbling toward the concrete steps with her cane. She suddenly stopped and turned her attention to me. Her facial expression suddenly changed and I could feel her energy go south really fast. She raised her hand and pointed her bony finger at me.

"You've got the devil inside of you," she hissed in a low voice. "He's gonna drag you all the way down to Hell."

My dad and the priest were listening in at this point. I stared at Ethel for a moment and a little smile grew across my face as I leaned into her and whispered, "Boo."

That was when my dad instantly grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back into the church, the priest following. I shoved my dad's grip off me and by the disapproving glare he was giving me, I knew I was about to get preached to.

"You shouldn't talk to Ethel like that," he snapped. "She's just an old soul."

"Me? She's the one who said I was going to Hell," I retorted, placing my hands on my hips. "This kind of stuff wouldn't happen if I wasn't forced to do something I don't want to do."

"Well, this is what you need." He turned to the priest. "Can she go into confession?" He was about to nod and I groaned loudly, my arms flopping back down to my sides.

"Seriously? You're sending me to confess my sins? What sins have I committed that I'm ashamed of? Therefore, this is completely hopeless for you and pointless for me."

What I wasn't prepared for was his hand striking my left cheek. Worst part, the priest just stood there with an unfazed expression. I stood there a little unfazed as well, since this wasn't the first time he'd hit me, let alone in a public setting, and let alone in a church setting. Also, with how this town was, it wasn't a shock, especially with my history with religion and family.

"I will hold you down under holy water if I have to," my dad spat. "Go." I hesitated before I obeyed without another word and followed the priest to the confession booths and I stepped in mine and closed the door.

"Feel free to start at any time, Lacie," he told me, his voice calm and quiet.

"You'll be here for years if that's the case," I said, deadpan. I could feel his eyes on me, even through the patterned gate. "Priest, are you there? Forgive me, Priest, for I have sinned. Will you hear my prayer?" My tone was filled with sarcasm and the priest cleared his throat.

"Lacie, you know how to properly enter a confession."

I exhaled heavily and shifted where I sat. "In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, my last confession was a month ago. I'm here to state my sins. I have gone against my father's word and his wishes. I have been worshipping the wrong God. Again." I paused for anticipation and decided to not go through with this, so I said, "Do you enjoy forcing people into your religion?"

"Finish your confession."

"Amen. Also, confessing your sins and apologizing for them when you don't mean it means nothing. There's no point to it." I had a small grin on my face and the priest fell silent. "So me being in here and acting like I'm sorry and asking for God to forgive me is probably the biggest waste of time ever."

"This is what your father wants--"

"Yeah, exactly, what he wants. What about what I want?" He was quiet again, as if he didn't have a clear answer. "You Catholics have it so ass-backwards. You and my dad try to love me because that's what God wants you to do; love everybody and everything. Have you ever thought about only loving those who deserve your love?" I could tell he was taken aback by that. That's what happens when people don't actually look into Satanism. They all just assume it's purely devil worshipping.

"Is that how you feel with your father? He loves you."

I snorted. "No, he doesn't and I don't feel anything for him. You saw him hit me. That's not love."

"Are you sure you truly understand what love is?"

"Treating me like a kid isn't going to get us anywhere and you know it. In your eyes, God doesn't love me because I'm not a follower to Him. But at the same time, you believe that He loves everyone, no matter what, you just gotta beg for forgiveness from Him." The priest cleared his throat to speak but I kept going. "So don't come at me with my father loving me because he doesn't."

"Well, I understand growing up wasn't easy for you, with everything that had happened with your mother--"

I furrowed my brows and straightened up and looked through the gate at him. "I'm sorry. Are we talking about my daddy's perfect virgin or my mother's wife?" He began to speak again and I pushed the door open and slammed it behind me, the priest chasing me toward the door. "I don't need to be forgiven for anything. I believe in just being responsible for your sins and that's enough." I stomped out of the church with the priest still trying to get me to come back and finish my confession but I kept walking. My dad was waiting in his car and I ditched down a back alley to escape.

That night, I met up with some friends. Fletcher was the only one I could totally tolerate for long periods of time. He was cynical and dark like me but his family didn't shun him the way my dad shunned me. Nikki and Melissa were more his friends than mine. They'd been dating for a few months and they never failed to be gross and gooey with each other. Nikki was tolerable. Melissa on the other hand was annoying and prissy.

We took a walk through the woods as the sun set; Nikki and Melissa were continuously stopping to take pictures together and Fletch and I almost left them behind completely.

"You two are so cute, I could just puke," I called to them in a heavily sarcastic tone.

"Thank you! That's so sweet," Melissa awed.

"Yeah, it wasn't a compliment," I replied but they weren't listening anymore.

"Did you go to church today?" Fletcher asked me.

"Unfortunately. Ethel told me I was going to Hell, I got forced into confession after being hit by my dad and I told the priest what's what." I glanced up at him with a shrug. "It was great."

"Did you find Jesus?" he teased.

I chuckled. "Not even close."

"Hey, what's that?" Nikki asked. We looked back in his direction and he was pointing at a house. It was abandoned and rustic and it being in the middle of the woods by itself made it extra creepy. "I think that's that old witch's house!"

"Maria Lazur?" I said. I folded my arms across my chest. "She wasn't a witch. People just saw her in that light. She was... like me."

Nikki stared at me for a moment. "Don't people think you're a witch too?"

"Well, yeah, but this is the 21st century. Things are different." He arched his eyebrow once and I made a face toward Fletcher.

"She put a curse on the town, didn't she? That's a witch in my book," he continued. Fletcher shoved him and he laughed a little. "Let's go check it out."

Melissa clawed at his arm. "No, can we not, please? You just said this was a witch's house."

"Yeah, but she's been dead for like a hundred years or something." Fletcher and I were already heading to the house, as Nikki had to stay behind to give Melissa a pep talk. It felt damp inside and I could see endless amounts of cobwebs on the furniture and walls.

I'd only heard about Maria Lazur in school. She was a young woman, who, like me, had different beliefs. And back in that day, that was way more frowned upon than it is now. There was a story about how she was only trying to find a cure for her mother, by selling her soul to the devil and using black magic. Others say she wanted to try to make the town her slaves and would cause everyone to do her "evil bidding" before forcing them to commit suicide. People only ever believed the worst of it. They only saw it as pure witchcraft, and accused her, her mother and her two aunts.

The townsfolk eventually showed up at her house and started throwing rocks at the structure to get her to exit her house. No one wanted to enter it. They believed it was cursed and to this day, that was the main reason the house was still standing. Maria came out in hopes to explain what she was actually doing, to clear the air but nobody wanted to hear it. They snatched her up and took her further into the woods. Her mother and aunts had already been burned at the stake and Maria knew her fate. They tied her up to her own stake and threw shrubs and gasoline on her. Before they lit her up, she supposedly left a curse on her house and the town.

Nikki and Melissa came into the house as Fletcher went into the living room and I followed. "Hey, look at this," he said, grabbing something off a shelf. He held up an authentic wooden Ouija board, along with its planchette. "Her name is carved in the back."

"She must've made this," I said, taking it from him. "It's all carved and done really well." When I looked up at him to keep talking, I saw he was lighting a cigarette. "You're smoking in here?"

He nodded. "I have an addiction. Why do you sound so concerned?"

"Because, Fletch, that's really disrespectful."

"Oh please, Maria probably burned sage and other stuff in here."

I made a face. "Get rid of it." He rolled his eyes and put it out on a windowsill and tossed it out a hole in the glass. Looking around, I saw a good amount of rocks all over the floor from when the town stoned the place.

Fletch sniffed the board suddenly. "It smells like mildew."

I snorted. "This whole house smells like mildew. Come on." I carried the Ouija board into the kitchen where Nikki was going through the cupboards and Melissa stood nearby with an uncomfortable look on her face. "We're gonna play this."

Melissa's eyes widened at the sight of the board. "No, I'm not doing that. Those things aren't toys."

"We're not treating it like a toy. We're gonna do it right," I stated, setting the board on the table that looked like it could collapse at any slight movement.

"Lacie, isn't this something that could really piss your dad off?" Nikki asked.

"That's more of a reason to do it. Plus, he won't ever find out. How would he?" I grabbed a few candles from a drawer and one last one from the living room and set them up on the table around the board. "Give me your lighter, Fletch." He dug it out and handed it over to me.

"Are we seriously doing this?" Melissa asked.

I stared at her for a brief second before saying, "Shut up and put your hand on the piece." She hesitated before doing so. Nikki and Fletcher placed their hands on the planchette and we sat there in silence for a moment.

"Who are we communicating with?" Nikki said, shifting in his seat, the chair squeaking violently.

"Anyone," Fletch replied. "We're coming in without knocking."

"Well, I hope nobody's home," Melissa finished.

I exhaled heavily before clearing my throat and led the rest of the group to move the piece in circles to open the session. "If there is anyone here with us, will you please give us a sign?" It was completely quiet except for the crickets chirping outside.

Then, the planchette started to move. "Who's doing that?" Melissa gasped. Nikki started to giggle and she smacked him.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself."

I gave him a look of disapproval and kept going. "Please, anyone, if you are out there, please use this board to communicate with us. We want to talk to you." Silence.

Nikki groaned. "What a crock."

"Shh!" I hissed, keeping my eyes closed. "Is anybody here?" About ten seconds later, the planchette began to move and my eyes shot open. "Nikki, that better not be you again." His facial expression was blank, meaning he wasn't moving it. Neither was Fletcher or Melissa. It was actually working. We watched as the planchette moved to "YES."

Melissa breathed in deeply. "I just got chills. Are you positive nobody is moving this?" We shook our heads and exchanged glances.

"Now what?" Fletcher asked.

"Who are we speaking to?" I called out. The planchette began to slide to the M and stopped.

"Maria?" Fletcher said in a low voice. It didn't move. "This can't be real. There is no way."

"Let me ask something," Nikki chimed in, sitting up.

"Don't be a jerk. You have to be respectful," I told him.

He waved his free hand at me and I snarled. "Is the devil real?" I was taken back by his question and in shock, I watched as the planchette glided toward "YES." Melissa let out a small gasp and pulled her hand away.

"I can't do this anymore. I'm done."

"You can't leave the board like that. You have to keep going until we end the session," I explained quickly. She made an uneasy face and put her hand back on the planchette. "Maria, is this really you?" Nothing happened for a long time, at least thirty seconds. Then, the planchette began to furiously move in a pattern. It was a figure eight and it was getting faster and faster.

"What's it doing?" Melissa yelped, covering her mouth.

Then, it slid to the numbers at the bottom of the board and began to count down from ten. "She's trying to escape the board," I exclaimed. "Move to goodbye." We quickly slid the piece down to "GOODBYE" and everyone ripped their hands away from the board except for me. I sighed in relief. "This session is over. Goodbye. Thank you for your time."

Melissa was already jumping up from her seat and hurrying to the door, Nikki chasing after her. "I can't believe you guys made me do that!" Fletcher and I stood up from the table and he blew out the candles after turning the flashlight on his phone on.

"You weren't doing that, were you?" he asked me.

I shook my head. "No. Why would I fake that?"

"Let's just be thankful we ended it before things got really serious. What would've happened if she escaped the board?"

"I really don't know, Fletch."

When I got home, my dad was asleep in his chair and I snuck upstairs to my bedroom. My mind was racing and wasn't slowing down. I wasn't expecting the board to work. I really don't know what I was expecting. I scrolled through social media and wasn't surprised to see Nikki buttering Melissa up by posting one of their pictures they took earlier before she got so scared. Fletcher and Nikki were scared. I was generally scared. Just the fact that whoever we were talking to tried to immediately escape the board was still giving me goosebumps. I had never heard of that happening so quickly.

Sleep was almost impossible that night. When I did sleep, I had nightmares. Not a lot scared me but they were very unsettling dreams. I shot up in bed, breathing heavily and my shirt was sticking to my chest from sweat. I glanced at my alarm clock and it was three in the morning. That was when I heard footsteps in the hallway. I sat up a little more. "Dad?" I called. No answer. Then, there was three slow knocks on my door. "Dad, is that you?" The doorknob squeaked loudly as it turned and the door creaked open. Nothing and nobody was on the other side of it.

I quickly turned my lamp on and everything went quiet. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and saw I had three texts that were sent within the last hour, all from my friends.

Fletcher: Something's been banging on my front door for an hour. How are you sleeping?

Nikki: My faucet in my bathroom just turned on by itself. Coincidence? I think not.

Melissa: I was nearly yanked out of bed by nothing! Why did you make us play that stupid game?

I didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

The next week felt like a blur. That Saturday and with little sleep, I was in desperate need of a coffee and Fletcher met me for one. I recapped on what had happened the first night and the things throughout the week. Stuff would go missing, there'd be weird noises throughout the house, that somehow my dad didn't notice, and the knocking at my door came every night. He chewed at his thumbnail. "Nikki's right," I said. "It's not a coincidence. We opened the door and let something in."

He sat back in his seat. "Do you think it could actually be Maria Lazur?" I shrugged a shoulder and avoided his eyes. "Each of us experienced different things during the night. I mean, Melissa said she was almost yanked out of bed--"

"I know!" I nearly slammed my hands down on the table, before running them through my hair. Fletcher stared at me.

"How did the curse that Maria left go again?"

"Nobody has ever repeated what the curse said because they think it'll bring bad luck. Plus, do you know who my dad is?" He arched his eyebrow once. "I'm probably one of the last people to know what that curse said. It's not even on the internet anywhere."

"Yeah, because it was a real curse. People probably thought others would try to cast it out." He leaned forward to me. "I think playing that board had something to do with summoning her. It had to."

"Ouija boards contact any kind of spirits though."

"Well, yeah, but we used her own Ouija board that she made, and we played it in her house, lighting her candles. Tell me that's not a coincidence."

I rubbed my head. "Those things were always supposed to be stories, remember? Maria is the reason this town is still so religious; they think it'll keep her away if they praise the right God."

"Newsflash, Lace. You're not at all religious in the way this town wants you to be. It's predictable of you to get curious and do something stupid."

"So you're saying it's my fault? Unlike you, I don't believe she was a witch. She was just misunderstood by everyone, like me. This could just be some spirit that did actually escape the board."

He paused for effect as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Or we summoned Maria Lazur."

"Well, in that case, we have to set things right." He was quiet and he knew what I was gonna say. "We gotta play the board again. All of us."

Convincing Melissa to go back to the house again was hard but if anything, she'd listen to Nikki. Fletcher and I got there beforehand and waited outside. He was pacing up and down the dirt road, getting impatient. When I spotted Nikki's car, I nudged him. "Hey, calm down. They're here."

"I can't calm down. I don't want to play this again. Melissa was right."

"If we play the cards right, this should help. We just have to send this thing back into the board."

We got the board set back up and I grabbed the same candles we had used previously. We sat in the same places as before and Melissa sighed "I really don't wanna do this again."

"We have to," Fletcher told her. "Go ahead and start, Lacie." We placed our fingers on the planchette and slowly moved it in a circle.

"If anyone is here with us, please give us a sign," I called out. We sat in silence for a while. I had my eyes closed again as I was concentrating really hard. "Maria, is this you?" I felt the planchette begin to move and I peeked.

"No way," Nikki muttered as it moved to "YES."

"Maria, have you been haunting us this last week?" It circled back to "YES." We all exchanged glances and I cleared my throat. "Maria, we mean no disrespect to you, but you have to leave us alone. You can't come back into this world." Something fell over behind me, causing us to jump.

"Ignore it, Lacie, keep going," Fletcher said.

My throat suddenly became dry and I hesitated before I said in a strict voice, "Maria, you can't be here anymore. You have to go back to where you came from now." Another object crashed in the next room. "It's not working. She's getting mad."

"What do you want?" Fletcher called out. The planchette began to move violently and it spelled out "REVENGE."

"Move to goodbye!" I exclaimed. We moved the planchette over "GOODBYE" multiple times and we flopped back in our seats. Then, the piece flew off the board and hit the wall across from us.

"Well, shit," Nikki said. The candles were blown out and we were in the dark. Fletcher pulled his phone out for a flashlight and gasped lightly.

"Guys, we literally just lost six hours." I looked at my phone and saw it was three in the morning and we didn't start playing until nine. "How is that possible?"

"That's been known to happen if an entity escapes the board," I explained, turning my flashlight on. That's when we noticed that Melissa was gone. "Lissa?"

"Where did she run off to? Did she leave?" Nikki asked, suddenly in a panic.

"I don't think she'd leave by herself in the first place," Fletcher said.

I hurried into the living room. "Lissa!" I stomped up the stairs to try and find her. I checked one bedroom before moving on to another. I looked under the bed before I went to the closet. I pulled the door open, and out spilled Melissa. She fell onto me, causing me to lose my own balance and hit the floor. My first thought was I had just caught Melissa's dead body. I was relieved when I heard her crying, and moved my way out from under her to get her to look at me. "Melissa. Hey, what happened? Talk to me."

"Why'd you leave me in there for so long? It's been hours!" she shrieked. I held her arms down from her head and held in a gasp when I saw three long claw marks on her arm. There was two sets of footsteps running toward the room and the boys appeared in the doorway. Nikki immediately was reaching for Melissa as she continued to cry hysterically.

"We're out of here," he spat, helping her to her feet.

"Wait, we didn't get this fixed!" I yelled after him.

"This can't be fixed, Lacie. You cursed us all. Go rot in Hell. That's what you want, right?"

As taken aback as I was by his statement, I still reached out for his arm when I felt everything freeze and I couldn't move. The room around me disappeared. For a few long seconds, I couldn't even speak.

Then, I was outside the house. I felt so out of it, I was about to run inside where Fletcher was. That's when I realized it was almost sundown. At first, I thought I'd lost a full day like we had the hours. But the house looked brand new. I noticed someone walking toward the house. It was a man with gray hair and a gray mustache and round glasses. He had a blue flannel and jeans on and was carrying a bat.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" I snapped at him. It was like he couldn't hear me. He pointed at the house and looked behind him.

"There it is!" he shouted. Suddenly, what looked like an angry mob emerged in the trees; police officers, priests, and regular townspeople, all carrying rocks and other weapons. They immediately started throwing the rocks at the structure. They were all yelling angrily, all at once, screaming "witch" over and over. I turned my attention to the house. No one ever came out. The crowd began murmuring amongst each other. I went and peeked inside the windows and saw what looked like a ritual setup was in the living space. No one was there and the house was empty.

I saw the crowd heading away from the house and that's when I saw smoke in the distance. They were going toward it so I hurried ahead of them. I could tell which one was Maria right away. She had long, long, white blonde hair and was wearing a white dress with bell sleeves. Her family was wearing similar white gowns. Maria was chanting something in a foreign language before tossing a crucifix into the fire, the others doing the same. I got closer and saw she was also holding a picture of the church that was brand new at the time. She tossed it in as well.

"Flesh go gray and skin go black. Thee shall pay for what thy spat. Bring thine enemy Hell on earth. Whether it be betrayal or death at birth--" Maria was interrupted by the sound of the angry mob approaching. They approached them and continued yelling "witch." When everyone started yelling all at once, I couldn't understand anything. All I saw was Maria and her family not fighting back as they dragged them away.

The town already had the stakes set up and about three people each tied up the four women. Maria was in the front of them for full few of burning since she was feared the most. The man that had first found the house stood with a priest, glaring at her, as the others gathered shrubs around the women's feet and threw gasoline on them. The priest sprinkled them with holy water before holding up a crucifix in one hand and his Bible in the other.

"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I bind and break all witchcraft, curses and spells. I break their powers, including all influences of any black magic. Christ shall redeem us all from this evil and we may receive blessing from Abraham. These flames shall strip these witches, especially Maria Lazur, of their evil power. Thank you, Father. In God's name, we pray, Amen."

"Amen!" the townsfolk repeated.

They lit up the aunts first, then the mom. When it was Maria's time, they all stared at her, looks of terror on their faces.

"You fools!" she boomed. "There will be someone who will be just like me in this town. She will bring me back to help me finish my bidding. You're all making me your martyr, your Joan of Arc. How does sacrificing me make you any better? You will not receive any absolution from your own sins."

"This is the right way and God wants us to rid everyone of your evil," the man in the flannel hissed at her.

Maria laughed before putting her head as far back as it will go.

"There has been an unfairness done to me.

I summon the elements and conjure them to do my bidding.

Thee shall be blinded by the fear,

blinded by the pain,

blinded by me!

Binded by me!

Thee shall be cursed by me for thee who have done me wrong!

This curse shall be laid upon thee who shall ever burn my black candle and summon me.

In my name, I cast out my demons to thee.

Who are you to think you can know the difference between good and evil?

For now, until the everlasting fire,

I am prepared for the devil and his angels!

Light me up.

Set me free."

She spit on the soil and the man in the flannel snarled. "In the name of God Himself, I condemn you to Hell, witch," the priest told her.

She tried her best to lean forward and she stared directly into his eyes. "I'm looking out at the devil now. He is waiting for me."

The man in the flannel lit a match and threw it to the shrubs and leaves around her. I jumped back, my eyes wide, as she lit up in flames instantly. The most disturbing part was that she didn't scream, not once.

"Lacie!"

I felt my body hit the floor with a thud and I could see Fletcher above me. Nikki and Melissa were in the doorway still. Fletcher helped me sit up and I groaned from the pain in my back. "What happened?"

"You were levitating," he breathed.

I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?"

He huffed. "I mean, you were floating five feet off the ground. Something took over your body." I stood up, feeling extremely dizzy.

"We need to leave," Nikki demanded. "Now."

We escaped the house and Fletcher helped me up into his truck. Nikki and Melissa were already long gone before Fletcher started his vehicle. As we drove up the dark dirt road, he kept glancing over at me. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I saw it, Fletch," I mumbled. "I saw the town come after her and her family. What we were told happened was wrong. They were all so scared and angry." I felt his eyes on me for a brief second before we turned back onto the main road.

The next day, I decided to go to church without fighting it. Fletcher made it and after the service, we stood outside, while my dad was once again talking to the priest.

"You know, you could probably talk to the priest, ask him what to do to get this figured out," he suggested.

I snorted. "Last week, I basically told him to shove it. I don't think begging for forgiveness and help is gonna end this."

"It wouldn't hurt." I made a face and noticed Melissa now standing with the priest and my dad, face still puffy from crying.

"What is she doing?"

"Maybe what I just said you should do?"

"Yeah, but in front of my dad?" I hurried over before Fletcher could stop me and was immediately greeted by my dad's hand to my cheek. I stumbled back in pain and annoyance and Fletcher caught my balance.

"You worthless idiot," he spat. "How dare you play with Ouija board. You should be ashamed of yourself. You're embarrassing God and His way. And this is His way of punishing me; by having me deal with all of your sins."

I had to keep from rolling my eyes at him and put my attention on Melissa. "How could you say that in front of him? How could you do this to me?"

She pulled her sleeve up and showed the three claw marks that looked as raw and sore as ever. "Look what you did to me! You've cursed us all by playing the board and now, you don't even know how to stop it!"

"This might come as a shock but I believe you had your hand on the board too, Melissa," I hissed.

"Enough!" my dad shouted. He turned to the priest and whispered something to him and I groaned a little.

"Are you gonna force me to go into confession again?" I asked. "Guess what, I have nothing to confess."

My dad looked back toward me. "No, an exorcism." I had to keep my jaw from hitting the ground. My eyes widened and Fletcher and Melissa were even taken aback.

"You can't do that," I stated. "Do you have any idea how dangerous those actually are? Especially if it's an unnecessary decision?"

"If you were actually my daughter, you would obey me and the Lord's way. No daughter of mine will be some devil-worshipping lowlife." He glanced at the priest again. "Take this child and help her." He was about to reach for me to take me away but I backed up. "Lacie, don't let these demons control you like this."

"There aren't any demons controlling me. I'm choosing to have my own beliefs that aren't yours. Just because I do that, doesn't mean I'm taken over by demons or that I sold my soul to the devil. Why is it such a sin to have a different belief system?"

"Because it's not God's way!" My dad wasn't letting it go easy at all. I realized everything he had ever said to me about things sounded pretty familiar to what the man in the flannel had said to Maria before she laid her curse on the town. She was right. There would be someone who would be like her someday, and that person was me.

"Do you really want me to say that the devil is me, Dad?"

"He's inside of everything you do, Lacie." I snorted and turned to walk away. "Lacie, you get back here this instant. We aren't finished." I ignored him and he kept yelling after me until I couldn't hear him anymore.

I went back to the house where I knew nobody would follow me. I had a plan to break the rules and play the board by myself. But the longer I stared at it, the more I realized it wouldn't be the best idea. I stood up from the table and grabbed the candles to take them back to their designated shelf in the living room. I placed them how they were when I grabbed them and turned to go grab the board. I gasped loudly when I came face to face with someone. It was so surreal and I felt like I could faint. Maybe even puke.

Maria Lazur.

She was in the same white dress and she had heavy black makeup around her blue eyes. She had a small smile on her face and I had a look of shock on mine.

"It's you," she finally said.

"It's me? I should be saying that to you," I breathed. "Are you a ghost?"

"Kind of. But your hand won't go through me if you touch me," she explained. "I'm as real as you are."

"But you were haunting me and my friends this week. How are you suddenly here? You were like a poltergeist."

"My power didn't allow me to come back fully. For one, I needed you to believe it was me and playing my board again helped that. Plus, you and your friends didn't leave immediately. You were about to, which is why I had to give that Melissa girl a scare. Though I didn't mean to scratch her."

"Why did you show me what happened to you?"

She sighed. "I know you didn't think I was a witch. You always defended me; thank you, by the way. It all did start off with trying to help my mother but the town assumed otherwise so I became what they feared the most. From that time on, I was the most hated person in the entire town, to the point where I couldn't even buy my own groceries without being shunned. I began to prepare the curse I wanted to leave on them. And, as you saw, I didn't get to finish it."

She was pacing around the room and it was beginning to make me uncomfortable. I was actually here, in Maria Lazur's house, having a conversation that I would've never guessed would happen. "What would the curse had done?"

"Karma in any way possible. A woman goes through a whole healthy pregnancy and her child is stillborn. A man winning an absurd amount of money, only to get hit by a car minutes later." She shrugged her shoulders. "Anything you can think of."

"Why weren't you religious like everyone else?"

"Why aren't you?" I avoided her eyes. I wasn't expecting that. "When people force feed beliefs into your system, that's when that religion becomes a cult. They want to you to follow them and agree with them, until everyone in their community is joined together." She stared at me. "And your father, my dear, needs to be taught a lesson."

I snorted and crossed my arms. "Nothing will ever be done to teach him a lesson."

"You know, you're a lot different in person than from what I've seen." She studied me for a second, cocking her head to the side. "I need more of your instant clap-backs."

"Well, I don't have any at the moment." She turned and picked up her black candle, one of the many that I had burned, and gazed at it, as if she missed it. "I mean, you're supposed to be dead. I don't even know what to do right now."

"It means, my curse I left worked." She held the candle up towards me. "And thanks to you lighting the candle and playing my Ouija board, you brought me back to finish what I started."

I furrowed my brows. "How?"

She smiled and grabbed ahold of my shoulders. "You're gonna help me."

"Why me?"

"I've been watching you for a long time. I kept my eye on many throughout the years but none of them met your qualifications. I saw the way your father was raising you and when your mother left the world, that's when things escalated."

I stood in confusion for a second as she went into the kitchen, me following shortly after to find her running her fingers across her Ouija board. "My mom left me and my dad and married a woman. My dad is still pissed about it."

She chuckled lightly. "You really have no idea who your father is." More confusion came to my face, this time visible. "Sit down." I obeyed and she sat in front of her board. "Your mother didn't leave you. She loved you and wanted what was best for you, and that would've been getting out and away from this town, away from your father. So if she did leave, she would've taken you with her, without a doubt. The night she confronted your dad, you were with your grandmother. He became engulfed with anger and killed her; stabbed her twenty-seven times with a kitchen knife."

I was so taken aback and in shock, it took me a minute to find my words. "That's impossible. He's still walking around, living. Everyone believes she ran away with a woman."

"Your father made the worst case scenario, in which made the rest of the town hate her. No one bothered to look for her or anything. Lacie, believe me. He asked the priest for God's forgiveness and he helped him dispose of her body." I sat there shaking my head in disbelief, repeatedly. "As long as they believe they had God's forgiveness, they don't care. It's the same as the people who had killed me."

I met her eyes. "That's why he's so crazy when it comes to me." She slowly nodded with an expression of pity. "He wants to exorcise me, rid me of my demons."

"He is not a good man. Do you remember the man in that hideous plaid shirt? He's your great grandfather. Sinning and then becoming best friends with the priest has run on your dad's side of the family for a long time. You being the new me is like icing on a cake." She gathered her hair and tossed it all over her shoulders with a sigh. "Well, if he wants to exorcise you, we'll just have to teach him that lesson, won't we?"

As weirded out and nervous I still felt, I couldn't help but smile. It was all beginning to feel so normal and not an "I'm talking to a witch who died one hundred years ago who feels like she could be my sister" kind of vibe. She guided me back into the living room and took my hands and I just then realized she had what looked like black grease paint smeared on the tops of her hands and knuckles, and it wasn't transferring on her white gown. "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing. I'm here to set you free. Ask yourself, 'am I the sinner or the saint?'" she told me. "Which would you prefer to be. Are you Lilith or are you Eve?"

"Lilith." She smiled and closed her eyes. "Wait." She peeked out at me. "Are we actually planning what I think we're planning? This isn't going to far, is it?"

She buzzed her lips before laughing. "This is only part one of revenge. The rest of the town will get theirs soon. Remember how many times your father has hurt you and made you feel worthless." I exhaled heavily and nodded. "The devil is real. And he stands for the most beautiful things."

I walked back to my house after visiting with Maria. She seemed like one of the kindest people ever. The town basically made her the "villain" she was. She took pride in what she became, to show the town she wasn't afraid of them. And now, she was offering me an escape. I was taking full advantage.

My dad was in the kitchen and dining room area, the table was totally clean and he was washing a few dishes. There wasn't even a centerpiece or the unopened mail on the table. He heard my footsteps and spun around to me and he snarled. "Where have you been?" I didn't answer and he huffed with a chuckle. "Don't act like I'm not speaking to you, young lady."

"Okay, I'll talk," I said, deadpan. "Tell me again about what happened to Mom."

This caught him off guard. He continued washing a plate nonetheless. "Why are asking about that witch? You know what happened. She left you, became an embarrassment to us and the town."

"I'm asking because a witch told me you had something to do with her so-called leaving."

"She left," he repeated. "Plain and simple."

"I know what you did, Dad." He fell silent. "I know that you killed her and I know the priest helped you get rid of her body."

He turned back to finally look at me. "Sweetheart, you're worthless. And you don't know right from wrong, therefore, you don't know what you're talking about. The devil has taken over your mind and has become stronger than I had anticipated." I snorted and before I could protest, there was a knock on the door, and my dad didn't hesitate to go answer it.

I watched in shock as the priest stepped inside with a suitcase in one hand and a Bible in the other. "This better not be what I think it is."

My dad was already grabbing ahold of me by my biceps and keeping his grip. I was already fighting back and the priest unbuckled his suitcase at the table and pulled out a bottle of holy water. He dripped some on his thumb and ran it on my forehead in the shape of a cross. If he was expecting it to burn, it didn't.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Help rid this child from the evil that consumes her and deliver us from evil. Lord, heed my prayer. Help us fight the devil in this moment, allow us to lay hands on the sick so she shall recover," the priest started, and placed his rosary on my forehead. "May the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit come upon you and remain with you forever."

"Amen," he and my dad said.

I suddenly felt angry, more than normal, and it was flooding over me quickly. "You're such a fool," I snapped. "You're a murderer, priest." He glanced at my dad with a look of concern on his face but tried to ignore it and continued on.

"Lacie, you need to fight," he told me.

"Oh, shove it," I hissed. "Lacie isn't here anymore. You two killed her mother and are the worst people you could ever be."

"What is your name, demon?"

"Well, you know me, Father. The whole town does. I'm the one you call 'witch.' I am Maria Lazur."

They nearly choked and I threw my head back and giggled before literally being thrown on the table. I was being taken over by Maria and I allowed it. My dad stared into the eyes that now belonged to Maria. "You get out of my daughter, you witch," he spat as he and the priest stood over me.

"She's mine forever. And you will be too." The priest splashed more holy water on my body.

"I cast you out, unclean spirit, along with every Satanic power of the enemy and every specter from Hell; in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Begone and stay gone from this creature of God, for it is He who commands you back into the depths of Hell. Tremble in fear, Maria Lazur, you enemy of faith, you foe of the human race, you demon witch. Begone in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, leave the disciple. I command you to vanish back to Hell. I command you to leave this vessel now."

She screamed loudly, almost as ear piercing as a banshee, and caused the two men to jump back and cover their ears. She sat up on the table, and threw her legs off, waving a hand at my father, causing him to be pulled over to me and she held him by the collar. "Yes, I'm a witch, but I don't ride brooms or mix potions in a cauldron. I am a person and I want to watch the world burn. Your family killed me once and I resurrected from the flames with the help of your daughter. Your daughter that you resent, abuse and destroy."

To Maria's surprise and pleasure, he was clearly terrified. "You were resurrected because not even the devil Himself wanted you. Now, you leave my daughter and go back to Hell."

She smiled at him and didn't loosen her grip. "I'll see you there." She threw him back and before I knew it, it was me again, in my own control and my own feelings. I saw my father impaled on the wall, on his taxidermic buck he kept over the fireplace. His body twitched in shock as blood began to seep down the buck's horns and down the wall. Then, he took his last breath and that was it. I felt no remorse for him at all. I spun around to see the priest staring in shock and terror.

Maria appeared from the other room and started to approach the priest but he ran. "Where you going, Father? You got what you wanted, I left the vessel," she called after him but he kept running. She turned to me.

"Shouldn't we go after him?" I asked in concern. "He witnessed the whole thing."

"We haven't got time," she said, holding my shoulders. "Come. It's time."

Maria led me back out into the woods. On the way there, I could hear her chanting something quietly, in a different language and I couldn't understand any of it. She finally stopped us in an opening, flicking her fingers at a pile of shrubs and sticks that I almost didn't notice until it was on fire. She studied me for a moment. "Oh no, you can't wear that." She waved her hand and I was suddenly in a black robe, identical to Maria's white one. I heard footsteps nearby as Maria kneeled before the fire. "Whoever that is, get rid of them."

I hesitated before heading towards the footsteps. I rounded a tree and ran directly into Fletcher. I gasped loudly as he grabbed ahold of my arms. "Jesus, Fletch."

"Sorry, I guess I should've called to you," he said. "What are you wearing?" I could see his eyes traveling up and down and I snapped my fingers at him.

"Excuse me, I'm up here," I spat. "What are you doing out here?"

"I went to check on you after that whole catastrophe that happened at church. The door was unlocked and I walked in and what in the hell happened to your dad?"

"What he deserved." I crossed my arms and he had a look of terror on his face. "You shouldn't be out here. I'm serious, you need to leave." I started to shove him away but he put his breaks on.

"Hey, wait. Please, explain to me what is going on. Did you kill your father?"

"Maria did."

He froze for a moment. "Is she really here? Let me see her." He was already rushing to peek through some trees at the fire. "She looks so much like you, it's creepy. Is she scary?"

"At first, yes, she was very intimidating and still kind of it. She's very powerful and knows what she wants. I'm like her, Fletcher. I'm helping her and I really don't think you should be in town." I pulled him away form the trees.

"Lacie, what are you planning? What is Maria planning?" His tone instantly went to concern.

"What this town deserves. My dad killed my mom, Fletch. She never left us. He killed her and the priest helped him cover it up. I have no idea where they buried her." He was silent and in complete shock. "Please, leave, Fletcher. You're the only person in this town that I care about. I don't want you involved with any of this." He didn't move. "Please, go." He slowly but surely turned and walked away through the dark trees. That was the last time I ever saw him.

When I returned back to the fire, there was tree other women standing around Maria, who was sitting Indian style and still chanting. I knew the other women had to be her family, and they were dressed in identical black robes. Maria stood up and handed me a crucifix and a picture of the church. My dad kept both items in the house above the fireplace and I knew they were his. I didn't hesitate to throw them in the fire and stepped back from the flames and Maria took my hand.

"Lacie, we are embracing the grace of our God and all His glory," she told me. "You know the ritual now. Go ahead. You know how to set yourself free." She smiled at me, the kind of smile that was filled with love from a family member. This misunderstood goddess stood before me, reminding me that I am, in fact, loved by somebody. I was Maria reincarnated for this century. And I loved it.

"Flesh go gray and skin go black.

Thee shall pay for what thy spat.

Bring thine enemy Hell on earth.

Whether it be betrayed or death at birth.

Smitten, battered, beaten, torn,

I shall prick at thee as if a thorn.

I smite this town with damnation from these flames,

With no one but themselves to blame.

Revenge shall have its day, dear Lucifer, your time is now.

I am a witch and for you, my dear God, I shall bow."

We joined hands all around the fire and raised them above our heads. I felt a wash of power flood over me and I could tell, in that feeling, that the curse was working. Then, Maria let out a roar, tossing her head back as she was doing so. It wasn't a regular scream. It sounded like what you'd expect a demon to sound like. That's when I noticed that the townspeople were in the trees, some of them hunched over and covering their ears. She eventually stopped and the priest stepped forward, Bible to chest and cross held up like a shield.

"Hello, darling," Maria said to him. "How nice of you to join us. Unfortunately, you arrived too late."

"What have you done, witch?" he asked. "What have you done to this poor child?"

"Nothing that she didn't agreed to," she retorted. "Don't worry, Father. You'll soon receive yours. Consider it a blessing." The five of us began cackling intensely and it felt so normal to say the least. I could tell and knew the curse went through and will begin any day, at any time, to anyone. I saw the uncomfortable expressions on peoples' faces from the orange glow of the fire. I also saw Ethel come up to stand beside the priest.

"Be careful, Ethel. The priest himself has made some sins," I warned. "Sins he will never be forgiven for. No one can be forgiven for committing a murder."

"Lies," the priest almost interrupted.

"You helped cover up my mother's murder. That's a monster in my book, Father."

"He was afraid she was consorting with the devil."

I furrowed my brows. "So superstition and fear drove a man to kill his wife?"

The priest cleared his throat and said, his voice shaking, "I'm standing before five witches, four who have already been killed previously, that are gathered around a huge bonfire and repeating chants. I condemn you poor creatures to the flame."

None of us fought back when the townspeople began to swarm to grab us. We were dragged through the trees toward a large clearing, one that Maria recognized all too well. They pulled my arms behind my back and tied them to the stake with Maria right beside me. I could tell a lot of them were very put off by her since she is still technically already dead. But she accepted it, and got to do what she had planned all those years ago, and I was going down with her. I saw Nikki and Melissa watching in absolute shock, relieved that I saw Fletcher nowhere in the crowd.

The priest held his Bible above his head and Ethel gripped her rosary to her chest, as he began his prayer. Just as I was ready to yell that they wouldn't get away with burning someone alive in the 21st century, I saw the sheriff of the country, along with probably every other police officer in town. I glanced at Maria, who was completely calm. As much as I wanted to be scared, I was okay.

"Amen," the townspeople repeated.

"But thee that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of an eternal damnation," the priest finished off, and sprinkled us with holy water.

I couldn't help but giggle. "I think it's funny when you preach damnation, Father."

"That is where you shall reside, my dear, for now until forever." He tucked his bottle of holy water away and stared at me. "Lacie, with the potential that you had in this world, it pains me to see you up there in this condition."

I snorted. "You're not shocked. You hate me just as much as anyone else did because of my beliefs. I consider myself a Satanist, but a Satanist that still believes in the devil, perhaps more than God. You think you can do this kind of stuff to people because God will forgive you. A lot of Satanists don't believe in the afterlife, so by killing someone else, you're taking away their only life and they see that as wrong. You don't."

The look in his eyes was surprise, exactly what I expected. Nobody ever bothered to look into Satanism since their own beliefs are "Satan is your enemy. God is your friend." The truth always would make anyone think.

A man walked by each of us and poured gasoline into the shrubs and down our legs and robes, the smell immediately giving me a headache. I watched as they lit Maria's aunts up, and then her mother. They cried out in agony as the flames grew higher and higher. The townspeople shouted, "Burn, witch! Burn, witch, burn!" I looked back at Maria one last time and she sent me a small smile.

"I shall share your pain. You crawled into these flames with me," she told me. "I'll see you soon, darling." She turned to the townspeople and made a tsking sound to the man with the matches and he paused and looked up at her, as the whole town had their undivided attention on her, no one was chanting, no one was whispering. It was quiet. "Watch as I burn for you one last time."

The match was thrown, and the only thing to be heard was the crackling of the growing flames. I heard the priest clear his throat and I snarled.

"So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

I laughed. "Father, I'm sorry to tell you this but you have more sins on your back than I do."

He touched Ethel's back and she stepped forward and I saw she was holding her own book of matches. Ethel was the most innocent in this town; she followed God's way in her heart and soul. She was, without a doubt, the person in this town that is without sin of any kind. Then, she said, "Anything to say?"

I was hesitant and in shock that my fate was lying in the hands of an ancient woman. I was sweating from the heat of the fires behind me, and the smell of burning hair was nauseating, but I held my head up high.

"Maria and I are two flames bursting into one. We watched the whole world burn away. I was born in the flames." I met eyes with the priest and grinned, as Ethel lit her match. "Don't bless me, Father, for I have sinned."

#dezyshae #scarystory #witchcraft #salem #ouijaboard #satanism #religion