Her eyes were unfocused, and bloodshot, as she tumbled toward me. "I'll get you back, joey! you killed my father! and now," she paused and breathed in deeply,"you will see my father yourself, and beg apology, before you get carried off to hell." a tingle went down my back. was she in a slur? who knows? i mean, she just walked in to my house! she pulled back, as if she were being forced back, and being yelled at to stop. she shoved her elbows back, and screamed,"git! shut your damn mouths, and let me do as will. you get near me, and you, you, you'll be the main buffet at the rattlesnakes saloon!' i backed up, as she pulled out an imaginary knife, and slashed the air. i breathed in softly, and muttered prayers under my breath. she limped towards me, her hair blowing in the wind.
So this is what happens when you invite the new girl on the block over for a movie, i thought, my heart jumping a bit, as she rumbled growls from her breath. i slowly shuffled into the dining room, and she followed me.
"Where ya goin?" she hollered.
I froze up, as i turned around, and saw her grabbing the silverware. "can't run away so soon, eh? Joey Van Erickson, who do you think y'are? You're the new guy in town, and you ain't a single clue how to be a man! Ya think y'are the main steak o' the town, now, don't ya? Well, back on back a bit,'cause y'are gonna regret laying a FINGER on mah father."
Whoa... my great grandfather, after he moved here from Europe, he went to the west, and his name was... Joey Van Erickson! Did my ancestor do something bad to her family? OK... that isn't exactly what i should worry about... a teenage girl, who's a psycho, was in my house, and she has the silverware, and the chances of pain are just too high! should i answer her back? should i go hide? what the hell do i do?
I shuffled towards the front door, slowly turning the golden handle of the gingerbread colored door. I knew she would follow me out, and i f i got her towards the door, i might be safe. I'd call my mom later, but as log as she was out of the house, and nothing could hurt me, i was fine. Sure enough, she followed me, staggering, as forks, spoons and knives clattered to the floor; she could barely keep up. She heaved, and sighed, mumbling weird cowboy curses. i shivered, as the cold, fall air filled my lungs, as i stepped onto the crunchy leaves on the concrete. she dropped all the silverware all of a sudden, and fell down. she shook her head, and mumbled, "where's mommy?" she threw the dinnerware to the ground, and said, "i thought my house was blue? or orange? mommmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, stomping her feet.

i watched observantly, as she cried, and had a tantrum. i didn't know what to do, except call her mom, and mine. "hello? Mrs.Stein? um, you're daughter just started chasing me, and acting like she was from the past, and now she just fell, and started having a tantrum..." i said, my voice flat."oh.. she's ill? I'm so sorry, but oh, i mean... OK, she really wants to go home, can you guys come now? yeah? OK...." I looked down at her, as she sobbed. " don't worry, you're mom is on her way, OK? now, let's go inside, and pick up this mess, yeah?" i said reassuringly, as she nodded, picking up all the mess, and walked inside. "wanna watch a movie?" i said softly. i didn't know how to deal with a girl my age who was split personality, and one of her personalities was temporarily defined, as some sort of schizophrenia, but the scary thing is, she's living the horrible past of my family, or whatever. Is that even... possible? Who knows? whatever, ms. stein says each personality lasts about half an hour, except for the schizophrenic one, that just takes like 10 minutes or so, thankfully. I turned on the TV, and put in a tape, it was really old, from when i was 7, or something. Nobody uses a tape anymore, but i have one of those VCR/DVR/DVD or something players. It was a story of a french girl, who lived with a bunch of other orphan girls, and a nun, and she had a dog, and they lived in paris, and they all wore yellow, (except the nun) and, they go on trips and stuff, and when they eat their bread and butter, they're all thankful, like"we love our bread, with our butter, but most of all, we love each other!" yes, great seven year old quality, perfect for this girl. she clapped as it turned on.
"Madeline!!!" she squealed, staring at the screen, as the song started. i just couldn't believe it! I've actually never seen a girl my age, or anyone, really with a disorder, or disability. There was Amanda Locks, but she had anorexia, not a mental disorder. It was kinda scary, and i didn't know how i should react. and... any minute now she could change back into scary western guy. Speaking of which, how the hell did she now my family's past? was one of her personalities possessed by the soul of my family? okay... i have a plan! but as long as she isn't watching, and isn't nearby. I watched the clock,it was only like a 10 minutes since I called the moms. I decided to sort this out a bit first with my dad. i walked over to the laptop on the dining table, and launched Skype, checking if my dad was online. YES!!! he was on!

"dad!" i squealed, after he answered my call.
"Ginny!!! How's my little girl?" he said, his voice high from excitement(in a man way), but gruff and tired, from war.
"good daddy, how are you? i really wish you could be home! when are you coming? on TV yesterday, they shouted out a happy thanksgiving to the military serving our country. Oh, and did you get the candy i sent you??? My teacher told me about a program where we send candy to our heroes serving our country in war."
he chuckled, "yes honey, but hey, i hope you didn't tell mom about the caramel clusters... she'd kill me!"
i laughed,"yeah.. that's weird, because she's the one that told me to pack 'em, to let you go for all the times she stopped you,, just because you'd get them stuck in your teeth and you could get 'cavities!' yeah, okay da... i found out a bloody secret of our past..."

"let me guess, you're mom finally confessed that we're a family of murderers...?"
"daaad! and.. actually, yes! we are a family of murderers! great grandad Joey was one, he killed a man's father... i think he killed somebody else too..."


"oh..my god! i actually was kidding... how do you know about that, i mean that didn't even dawn on me 'til now!"

"new neighbor... she has split personality, one of her personalities are all schizophrenic, and i actually think she's possessed by great granddad's ghost," i said softly.
"well, you know what this calls for, a seance, like that book you like... Gloria, Glen, something, the psychic girl, with a type writer who you always read, and we always borrowed it from the library before i went to go serve in the military." his eyes glazed up a bit. i reached towards the camera, and pretended to tap him in the back. he laughed.

"yeah.. i was thinking of that, but as soon as she leaves... but dad, i don't know... I'm kinda scared, and i wish you were here, i mean life sucks without anyone to play football with, or have tailgate parties, and go fishing on Saturdays. i wish you could help me, i mean if my friends are here, it might not work, 'cause they aren't in our family. It would be weird with mom, 'cause she's gonna get scared. And, you're his son!"


"is it mom who's scared, or you? I'm just messing with ya! don't worry, okay? my military days are almost over, okay? before you know it, we'll be tailgating and having chili eating contests after fishing on Saturdays! And you don't have to hide and call in sick on the father student field day!" he smiled, and then rubbed his hands together,"'Kay kiddo, gotta go ,okay sweetie? be nice to your family and friends and be thankful for everything you have. Happy Thanksgiving!"
"happy thanksgiving...." my voice trailed away, as he signed off.
i peeked into the living room, where the girl sat. "what's you're name?" i asked carefully.
" Annie!" she exclaimed, slapping her hands down on her lap. " i want caaaandy!"she whined.
i ran into the kitchen, and opened the cabinet, my mouth watering at the box of Belgian chocolate.i reached into the box and pulled out two.

"ya like chocolate?"i asked, handing her one, and plopping down on the couch.
"ugh, who are you, why am i here, and YES, i like chocolate, god, I'm not a freaking baby!" she snarled, grabbing the chocolate.
oh, now she's acting her age. i groaned. oh god... mean girl? it hasn't been 30 minutes! there's like 10 minutes left.. maybe it turns up a bit early sometimes.
"um...wake up call, we are not 7!" she snatched the remote, and changed the channel to The Kardashians, and pursed her lips, watching intently. and staring at the screen.
then she turned to me.
"hello! pass the popcorn, fatty!"
i gave her a look, and thrusted the bowl into her hand, popcorn flying.she muttered a curse, and i rolled my eyes.















***
Yes! they left! Mom's inside, and when i told her about my situation, she gave me a lecture about how it isn't safe to do this stuff, and that if i get scared, to holler, and that she was up in her room.
i slowly walked up the stairs to the attic, my heart thumping madly. i slowly stepped over to the box of old things we used to do as a family. Like, monopoly, sorry, scrabble, trouble, apples to apples, and chutes and ladders. at the bottom of the box, was a sealed box of Ouija. My fingers trembled, as i reached into the dusty cardboard box, and pulled it out. i wiped off the dust, and opened the thin plastic wrapping over it off, and took a deep breath. i laid out the candles, and put out Granddad's old hat.
i followed the instructions carefully, and all of a sudden, the ground rumbled, and the piano at the back of the attic began to play, i whipped around,"Great granddad?" i stuttered, a chill went up my spine, a wind blew in, the dusty white curtains blew around madly. i started to hyperventilate, and looked around me. the tiles on the board shook, and tarted to move.
"IT IS ME! JOEY! WHAT DO YOU SEEK OF ME, CHILD?!"
"great grandad, did you possess anyone lately?" i asked, my voice quavering.
"WHY, YES! AND I AM SHOWING YOU HOW HARD MY LIFE WAS BEFORE YOU, I SENT SPIRITS, AND MOMENTS OF MY PAST TO HER, FOR YOUR MOTHER HAS NEVER BELIEVED IN MY HARD WORK!"
"but, great granddad! why would you do that? we know what happened! Dad told me... and he's in the military, because you always told him to be the tough son you always wanted!"
"I DEMAND YOU BRING YOUR MOTHER IN NOW, OR THE ENTIRE GENERATION OF THE VAN ERICKSON'S WILL JOIN ME AS I HAUNT THE GROUNDS OF THIS EARTH!"
i scrambled down the stairs, and whimpering, i dragged my mother to the attic, and showed her the board. Her eyes widened, and she turned pale.
"joey? I'm really, really sorry!I understand now! You worked hard to let us live, but all i said was that you didn't have to kill anyone!"
"I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW, IF I HADN'T KILLED THOSE PEOPLE, OR KIDNAPPED YOUR FATHER IN LAW, YOU WOULDN'T BE MARRIED TO JOHN! HE WOULDN'T BE BORN! YOUR FATHER IN LAW WAS A POOR BEGGAR BOY WHO WAS BEATEN EVERY DAY TO BRING BEERS TO THE BARS, UNTIL I STOLE HIM, AND RAN OFF TO THE EAST! IF I HADN'T KILLED THE GUY'S FATHER, YOU'D ALL BE FORCED TO BE SLAVES! I BROUGHT Y'ALL TO SAFETY ESCAPING BACK TO THE EAST AFTER I WAS DRAGGED BACK WEST! YA REALIZE THAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH CONSEQUENCES? I DIDN'T JUST GO, SHOOT SOMEONE ONCE A DAY AND DRINK! IT'S MORE TO THAT, THAN JUST DEATH AND ALCOHOL! I LIVED IN FEAR! BUT HOW COULD YOU UNDERSTAND?YOU LIVED A SWEET MERRY LIFE, EATING OFF MY REWARD, AND DISRESPECTING ME, AND NOW I HAUNT THE WORLD!
i looked up in fear, and shock. My family had hidden all this from me? I didn't know if i should feel hurt, or pity. i shook my head, and watched, as tears rolled down mom's cheeks.
"joey, i-i-i didn't know! i'm really sorry, i mean if i knew things were like this, i wouldn't disrespect you! please forgive me!!!" my mom sobbed into her hands."
"FINE... FOR NOW, BUT ONLY BECAUSE MY GRANDSON IS A VERY SMART YOUNG MAN, BUT WAIT, AND SEE! I'LL BE BACK!"
my mom nodded,"yes joey, have a safe journey." and the room went calm and quiet, and the pieces were still. my mom grabbed me, and hugged me, letting out all her tears on my shoulder."no more witchcraft! okay? no more!" she cried. i pulled away, and picked up all the pieces.
As we walked back downstairs neither of us said a word. "mom..." i i started.
"no.. honey, it's okay, things are,"she sighed,"things are back to normal." she quickly wiped her tears,"hey, gin, go to bed, okay? it's kinda late..."
i was gonna tell her that it was only 9:00, but i didn't dare object. i walked to my room, and flipped my hair, as if nothing had just happened.

the end.