"And?"
"And that's all. I don't know what happened. I've been looking for my sister ever since."
"How long ago was that?"
Boo shrugged. "It's been a while, I guess. We didn't have cars or TV or anything like you do."
"You mean you got to ride horses?" Jackie's eyes shone at the thought. "I wish I had a horse. I'd name it Lightning...or Prince."
Boo giggled at her dreamy face. He glanced behind her to the ceiling and saw Anna glaring at him, motioning with her index finger to come to her.
"Uh...uh, Jackie, I need to go now. Are you done with your ice cream?"
"Yes."
He took the bowls and cleaned up the kitchen, then escorted her to her room.
"Goodnight," he said at the door.
"Night night, Boo." Jackie went in and fell fast asleep.
But...in the attic...Boo floated in and met one very angry Anna.
"What are you doing?" she yelled. "Talking with humans?" Her right foot tapped on the floor and her green eyes blazed.
"I, uh..."
"How long has this been going on?"
"Well..."
"Who else have you been talking to?" Anna didn't give him a chance to answer any questions.
"Nobody. I..."
"I can't believe you did this. We are in so much trouble!" She stormed around the room, little fires starting up where she stepped.
Tomfoolery inched closer to Boo and whispered, "I've never seen her this mad."
"Me, either." Boo's eyes went wide and he kept gulping, afraid of what she'd do next.
"What if she tells her parents!" Anna stopped pacing.
"She won't!" Boo protested.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because she hasn't yet."
"It's one thing to be spooking the house, but to make friends...I mean to talk to her?" Anna closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, like her head hurt.
"You said she was all right. When they first moved in, you said..."
"I know what I said. And she is a sweet girl, but this is serious. She could tell her friends and they'll start poking around, looking for us."
"She doesn't have any friends. Nobody except us." Boo spoke in a soft, sad voice.
"Nobody? At all?" Anna didn't look mad anymore.
"Nobody. They pick on her at school because she's different." Boo glanced at Tomfoolery, then back at Anna. "I think we should invite her up here so she can meet you two."
"What?" Anna stepped back one step, her expression one of concern and surprise.
Before she could argue, Boo added, "She's already been up here, watching us. She's seen us fly out the window and everything."
Anna plopped down in a chair, completely overwhelmed with the news. "You mean the broomstick?"
"Yep." Boo floated next to her and stopped. "She wants to go on a ride sometime."
"No. Absolutely not!" Anna frowned and pointed a finger at him.
"Okay. But I still say she should come up here and meet you and Tomfoolery. She'll keep the secret. I promise."
Anna bit her bottom lip and sighed. "Let me think about it."
* * *
A few nights later, a slippery, silvery voice echoed while Jackie slept.
Jackie awoke with the sweats and wondered who'd called her. No one stood beside her bed and the voice didn't sound like her parents. Instead of yelling for them, she waited to see what would happen next.
“Hello! Anyone there?" Jackie paused and tried again. "Hello. I'm Jackie."
Anna crept into the darkness of Jackie’s bedroom and tripped over two shoes neatly by the bed.
"Ouch," Anna whispered.
"Who's there?" Jackie kindly asked again. "Boo, is that you? Come to play?"
Only wisps of cold air flew in the room and knocked over her glass of juice.
"Boo, quit teasing me. What will it be tonight — checkers or crossword puzzles, or how about your favorite, Tic-Tac-Toe?...Boo?"
Jackie blinked. Her bed transformed magically into the rug of the red parlor down the hall. She felt her soft pillow and warm blanket and Russell tucked under her arm. Jackie didn’t know that Anna was in her room, preparing her for a meeting with the gang from the attic. With a new moon in the sky, the manor would be in total darkness.
"Don't be afraid."
Jackie heard those words in her mind, not in the room and promptly fainted. Anna cast a spell to get out of the room and down the hall, past her parents' bedroom without a sound.
When she woke, Jackie held her head up as far as she could without feeling dizzy. She still lay on the rug, but saw branches from the magical trees growing in the middle of the room. Plates, cups and bowls, baskets of food and treats sat by each placemat, with spring flowers adorning the trimmings. She could have sworn she saw Boo hovering beside her, saying, "Anna, now be careful. Don’t drop her. Ok?"
“W-what?” Jackie breathed. Two or three faces swirled above her. "GHOSTS. Boo, are they your friends from the attic?" Jackie muttered, still half in Anna's spell trance. "Are you ghosts?”
Their features were a blur of eyes and mouths grinning in delight. Jackie saw Boo's great big smile.
Jackie expressed, "Oh goodness, this is the moment I've waited for to meet all of you. I’ve woken up from my dream." There was no such a dream in Jackie’s childlike mind... All of it was real!
The eerie voice that earlier came into Jackie's head faded to a soft sweet one by Anna. "Ok, little one."
They all sat on the floor with a placemat in front of each. Anna said, "You met Boo." Anna pointed, "This is Tomfoolery and I am..."
Jackie interrupted, "Anna, yes. The little girl witch in the attic.
"Right," Anna said. "Hope I didn’t kill your appetite with that spell. Boo went through so much trouble planning all of this big surprise for you to meet Tomfoolery and me." She looked at Boo and fussed, "Boo, wait till we all eat together. All right?"
Boo was reaching for the sweets in front of his placemat. "Ok, sorry. My bad, Anna."
Jackie giggled. "Boo, you make me laugh." “O-oh.” She pressed a hand to her forehead, her face a mask of discomfort. “I-I mean I don't know what I am saying or thinking. You know, I can see you like in a wavy fog — two ghosts and a little witch. Anna, your hat and red hair and green eyes do stand out.” Anna smiled sheepishly. "Have you seen my teddy?" Jackie asked.
Tomfoolery handed over Russell to Jackie. "Here you go, little darling."
Anna asked sharply, "What are you doing with that stuffed pet?"
"It ain't a pet," Tomfoolery argued. "It’s a special, sleepy time, stuffed thing-a-ma-jig. I've never seen one before. It's soft and smells good like cupcakes with vanilla icing."
"Thanks, Tomfoolery," Jackie said, holding Russell tightly. "Oh, it’s so nice to meet all of you. And you made this room like..."
"Yes, that’s right. Anna's so proud of her handiwork. A forest for our picnic, of course."
"It’s nice and special."
"Thanks." Anna glowed, smiling at Boo, happy that they all could get together.
Jackie said, "You know magic, all right. Boo said you know how to do tricks…"
"Yes, but first, as Boo is always starving, let's begin our picnic, ok?"
"All right," Jackie said.
Anna poured Jackie milk in a teacup and did the same for her friends.
"Pinkies out, guys," Anna strongly suggested. "That is manners."
"Yes, Anna," Tomfoolery said. They all first had some sips of milk in yellow flowered, painted old teacups and then Anna placed the cupcakes next to Boo. He just had to inhale his and finished first, wiping crumbs off his mouth and looking wistfully at the others.
"Yummy," Jackie said. "I love cupcakes."
"Good," Anna said. "We have cookies and jelly beans, too. Boo didn’t know what you would prefer, and for dessert we have banana splits."
"Oh my," Jackie said happily. "Thank you for inviting me." She
passed Boo the cookie plate. "I hope I can come again and that we can be friends."
Anna swallowed a bite of cupcake and nodded. "We already are friends, Jackie. You're welcome here any time."
CHAPTER 11
Steve and Amanda stared down the old manor road from their kitchen window one morning.
"Willies," Steve said.
"What?"
"This place gives me the willies."
"I truly don't understand your outlook sometimes, dear." She looked down the driveway that led to the old manor cemetery.
"What a lonely, grim view. That on top of the creepy shadows and the howling winds at night." Steve sounded unhappy.
"It's only the hoot of the night owl. I just love it here," Amanda said.
"What about the laughter at night that comes down through the pipes or the many footsteps I hear running up and down the halls? Or what about the ghostly, floating eyes that peek in at us, then close the bedroom door and lock it from the outside?"
"It's just an old, creaky house. The foundation shifts." Amanda shrugged and drank her coffee.
"You don't have to be mad to live here, but it helps," Steve said, only halfway joking.
He took a sip of his coffee and choked. It was hotter than normal.
"Ouch! Every time I speak ill of this place it attacks me."
"Oh dear. Come on now. It's not that bad."
"It's bad, especially for me." Steve wiped his mouth with a tea towel. "There's been nothing but problems since we moved in. The T.V. shorts out, the radio comes on by itself, and the tap in the sinks turns on and off. Remember last Sunday when you cooked that huge pot roast? We were getting ready to sit down at the dinner table and the roast floated up in the air and headed upstairs, followed by the gravy. What was that all about, huh?"
Steve choked on his next sip of coffee, but it felt more like someone slapped him on the back causing him to choke again.
"Sorry," he said. "It must have gone down the wrong pipe!" He stood by the counter and saw a shadow hover by his eyes. Steve said coldly, "I hate it here!"
"What was that...what, dear?"
"That noise. I hear children speaking, and it sounds like it's coming though the walls. It's driving me crazy."
"Is it always at night?"
"Yeah," Steve said. "I can't get any sleep."
"Well, when I reach over, you're asleep. I don't hear it."
"You never hear it; you refuse to. I feel, for Jackie's sake, you dismiss it completely."
"That noise might just be our daughter playing with her dolls upstairs. You know she has trouble sleeping the whole night."
"Do you think all that racket is just Jackie? I beg to differ, dear!"
Amanda laughed. "Aww, honey. I've enjoyed my time here so far, and I know Jackie has too. We love this old place so much and you will too. It just needs to grow on you and then you will feel what we feel."
"And that is?"
"Well, the peace and quiet. It's a simple way of life. I've been exploring all the rooms. Did you know that the last seven families who owned this wonderful old place left each and every room furnished? There are so many different types of historical furnishings to look at, and some of them date over a hundred years. I saw some from the First World War. So many pretty antiques." She paused for a moment. "Besides, look how happy Jackie is. She has tons of imaginary friends here to fill her day. Going to that new school has been tough on her. There's only one class for special education children. The teacher is having a hard time getting her to pay attention. She rambles on about this witch named Anna and a short, fat ghost named Boo. And then there's another one. Let see if I can remember — oh, yes. Tomfoolery. Isn't that cute, dear?"
"Does she have any real friends?" Steve asked. "Real people, I mean."
"Jackie has come a long way according to all the doctors we've seen, even though she is slow in some of her behavioral skills."
"But does she act like the rest of the kids in her class?"
"Yes, she does."
"Oh really? Then why do we have so many teachers meetings?" Steve asked. He didn't wait for Amanda's answer. "I'll tell you why. They don't know what's wrong. Doctors give her test after test and are just guessing."
His wife waved a hand to calm him down. "She kept to herself and was too sheltered when we lived in the city. But I explained to the doctors and her teacher that she's been happy since the move to this old place. I want to continue to see that in our daughter. Before, she would never talk or interact with anyone other than you and me."
Amanda took another sip of coffee, then continued. "But I told them, dear, if you'd been listening, now there's a secret world she lives and survives in. It's bringing her out of her shell. Getting her help at this young age is the key to successful treatment, from what her teacher told me at our last meeting."
"Oh, really?" Steve said. "Successful treatment of what, exactly? I feel our daughter is fine, just acting like all of the rest of the kids her age. If that's enough for me, then why would they emphasize her shyness? Why the labeling if she's only seven?"
"The class has four special needs kids amongst the other children, and the teacher said she gets along with both groups. She needs to pass some test to be allowed in a normal class one day. That will be an advancement for her. However, stress could affect her, or another move, or us fighting — anything that's not normal daily life to her could make her react differently than we would."
"So..." Steve crossed his arms. "If she passes the entire test and went to that normal class, she could be wigged out by what another student might do to her or say to her, not to mention how overloaded she could get with all the homework."
"Yes, a new class and a new teacher might prove hard to handle."
"Sadly it's all part of today's life lessons," Steve said, fearful for his baby girl.
"Jackie's safe here, but if the world pushes too fast, that could be a hardship for her. She's been doing well so far."
"Even if it is with pretend friends. Can we take her out of school and homeschool her then?"
"No, she will not be prepared for the world and what it brings with it. Jackie would be too sheltered then."
"I see. Well, time will tell, right?" Steve said.
Amanda giggled, remembering something Jackie told to her the day before.
"You know I love this kitchen's huge old cast-iron stove. Well, I asked Jackie if she wanted some cookies and she agreed, of course. Jackie loves homemade cookies when they come out of the oven fresh and warm. She likes to have the first one as soon as they're ready. But then she said she needed a plate afterwards so she could take some up to the attic ghost. I laughed and thought she was joking. But once the cookies were finished, she told me I needed to hurry so they would still be warm for her friend."
"So what did you do?" Steve asked.
"I gave her the plate of cookies and she trotted off up the stairs and came back down later with the plate empty. She must have been full eating all those cookies in her room, but the funny thing was, she still had a huge appetite for dinner that night."
Amanda looked at Steve. "I think about it this way. So maybe this old place is a little haunted and we're here for your work. Jackie is our main concern and her happiness is our main goal. If she is well cared for and kept happy, that's all that counts. That's what we agreed on when we left the city."
"Yeah, I know." He put his empty mug in the sink. "I need to get to work soon."
"I'll make your lunch. You go get dressed."
When Steve went upstairs, he walked by his daughter's room. The door was open and he heard Jackie chatting away to someone.
Steve poked his head into the room. "Is everything all right, honey? You get ready for school, okay? Mommy has your breakfast waiting for you."
"Yes, Daddy," Jackie answered. She stopped talking toward the ceiling to look at him.
"Playing with your dolls, dear?"
"No, just sitting here."
&nb
sp; She sat on the edge of her bed, and returned her stare to the ceiling. He walked away and heard his daughter giggle. Then he swore he heard someone asking her questions.
"Yes, that was my father," Jackie answered the voice. "I have to go and eat now. See you on the way out."
"Ok!"
Odd, he thought. Steve disliked his new situation. Why did his house have to be so darn creepy? But then Amanda's words came to his mind again: look how happy Jackie is!
***
Later that afternoon Anna was thinking of ways to entertain Tomfoolery and Boo. She decided a broom ride that night would do the trick.
Boo said, "The old man of the bleu cheese moon will be at his fullest tonight."
"Yes," Anna agreed, seeing Boo very excited. He always wanted Anna to fly high enough to carve out a slice of bleu cheese from the moon.
Tomfoolery and Boo hovered about in their side of the attic. It would be a relief for them to get out into the cold night air one more time before the snow set in.
Anna said, "We will wait for darkness to come and the man on the moon to rise high up into the night sky." Anna walked up to Boo and said, "What is that all over your vest?"
He looked down. "What? Oh nothing," he lied. He knew it was melted ice cream dripped onto his clothes from eating with Jackie earlier.
***
Across the backyard that night, Anna flew with the two ghosts behind her, screaming their chilling cries for everyone to hear. Tomfoolery rattled his chains and Boo blew his horn. They had a great time flying high up into the cold night sky on the back of Anna’s broomstick.
Screams and chilling howls woke the good townsfolk of Manchester Falls, with much wicked laughter from Anna as they streamed across the rooftops.
"Whoopee," Anna yelled, happy to be free.
Below, a town resident yelled out his top floor window, "Hey, knock it off. People are trying to sleep!"
The man returned back to his bed and his wife asked, "What is it, honey?"
"Oh nothing," he said. "Just a witch and two ghosts riding around on a broomstick."
He froze in his tracks, realizing what he had just seen and went to the window to take another look. At the same time, Jackie ran to the open attic door. Seeing it unlocked, she hurried across the wooden floor up to the open window and half hung her body out the window to watch as the broom with a witch and two ghosts went zooming back and forth among the night's twinkling stars.