51

Sue said, "What do you suppose she was trying to say?" in reference to the last speaker.

"I really have no idea. At the very end, she made a valiant effort to maintain communication with me but was unable to do so."

Another moment of stillness followed. At long last, Sue broke her silence and finally said, "Do you think... do you think you could call her?" with a hint of trepidation in her voice.

It was the question that had been on everyone's minds. Dennis stared toward Merit. Merit had previously laughed off the dream, but now that Dennis was looking at her, she took him seriously.

Dennis said hesitantly, "I don't know." She continued to be plagued by recurring images from the nightmare. "One thing is certain: I do not want to enter a trance in which I would open myself up to whatever else could be out there," the person said.

"Is this the only method to get in touch with those who have passed away? What about something like a ouija board, for example?" Sue asked.

Caroline's voice was a touch too loud as she said, "My folks have a Ouija board." The calm, low-key atmosphere was jarred abruptly, and an unexplainable anxiety pervaded the room as a result.
Everyone immediately began to sit up more straight and glanced about at one another with a curious expression. Even Vee, who was clearly terrified, had a curious expression on her face.

"Would that be possible?" That, Merit told Dennis, she said. Should we do it? Sue pondered aloud.
"Do we dare? That should be the primary concern, "Merit added. When Dennis looked around, he saw that everyone was staring at her. She hesitatingly took one more breath before shrugging her shoulders. Her tummy was rumbling with excitement at the prospect.

She responded with a "Why not?"

What do you mean, "What do we have to lose?"

Vee was the one that Caroline went to. "Vee, if you go to the bottom of the stairs, you'll find a closet.
It is expected that the Ouija board will be found within, on the highest shelf, among a number of other games."

She didn't even utter the words, "Please, are you going to fetch it?" Dennis scowled and started to speak, but Vee had already left the room before she could.

The comment made by Dennis to Caroline was, "You could be a bit more courteous." "Is this how you see the wicked stepmother from the fairy tale Cinderella?"

Caroline yelled at Dennis in an agitated tone, "Oh, come on!" "It's a stroke of luck that she ever got an invitation. That is not news to her."

Merit laughed sardonically and remarked, "And here I was thinking she was simply overwhelmed by our collective grandeur."

"And besides—" After she was interrupted, Dennis got the ball rolling. Despite the fact that the noise was feeble and piercing, and that it faded away gradually at the conclusion, there was no misunderstanding what it was. It sounded like a scream. After that, there was complete calm, and then all of a sudden, piercing shrieks started from out of nowhere.

The females in the bedroom stopped moving for a split second, rapt in attention. After then, everyone started fleeing out of the room, down the stairs, and into the corridor.

"Vee!" Merit, with to her long legs, was the first one to reach the bottom. Vee was in the process of protecting her face as she stood in front of the closet with her arms spread. While she continued to wail, she clung to Merit.



"Vee, can you tell me about it?" Caroline demanded, giving off an impression of rage rather than fear. The floor was covered with game boxes, and Monopoly markers and Trivial Pursuit cards were thrown around in every direction. "What in the world are you screaming about?"

"It got a hold of me! Something grabbed me about the waist as I reached up to get something from the highest shelf!"

"Coming from the rear?"

"No! From inside the cloakroom itself."

Dennis, startled, stared into the open closet for a moment. There was an impenetrable layer of winter jackets hanging there, with some of them extending all the way down to the ground. Merit started gently disengaging herself from Vee before picking up an umbrella and starting to poke the jackets with it.

"Oh, don't—" Dennis started moving the umbrella on his own will, but the umbrella met nothing except the resistance of fabric.

It was employed by Merit to get the coats out of the way so that she could see the cedarwood of the closet wall.

"You see? There was no one there, "She said with a soft tone. "However, you are aware that these jacket sleeves contain something. If you got close enough between them and leaned in far enough, you may have the sensation that someone is putting their arms around you."

Vee moved nearer, reached out, and stroked a sleeve that was hanging before looking up at the shelf. She covered her face with her hands, allowing her long, silky hair to fall in front of her face to shield it. Dennis was horrified for a split second when he believed that she was sobbing, but then he heard her laughing.

"Oh, God!

I honestly believed—oh, I must be so dim-witted! I'll take care of the cleanup "Vee said. "Later," answered Merit with a resolute tone. "Let's go into the living room," the host said.
As they were leaving, Dennis cast one more glance back at the closet.

Dennis laid her fingers gently on the little plastic planchette when everyone was gathered around the coffee table and numerous lights had been turned out for effect.
Although she had never really used a Ouija board, she was familiar with its operation. If the spirits were willing to communicate with us, the planchette would move to point at the appropriate letters and spell out a message.

She then waited to see whether the others would comply with her instruction after declaring, "We all have to be touching it." The fingers of Merit were long and thin, but the fingers of Sue were sleek and tapered, and their nails were oval. Burnished copper was the color that Caroline gave her nails. Vee's were bitten.

Dennis spoke his instruction gently, "Now we shut our eyes and focus." As the females complied, there were sporadic hisses of anticipation coming from each of them; the environment was having an effect on all of them.

"Imagine Elizabeth in your mind. Think about her. If she is somewhere else, we would want for her to come here."

The large room was devoid of conversation. Dennis saw light gold hair and eyes the color of lapis lazuli while she had her eyes closed and he was in the dark.

She hushed Elizabeth and said, "Come on, Elizabeth." "Talk to me." The planchette started moving in its slot.


Because of the dispersed nature of their pressure applications, none of them could possibly be in control of it. Despite this, the plastic piece in the shape of a triangle was moving with ease and assurance. Dennis kept her eyes closed until the sound had ceased, and only then did she look. The planchette was positioned such that it was pointing to the word "Yes."

Vee released something like a faint sob.

Dennis cast his gaze across the other people. Caroline was clenching her emerald eyes and quickening her respiration. Sue was the only one of all of them who maintained a firm resolve to keep her eyes closed. Merit looked pallid.

Everyone counted on her to have the answer to their question.

Dennis advised them to "Keep your concentration up at all times." She was unprepared and a bit embarrassed as she spoke straight to the void in the room. But because she was the knowledgeable one, it was her responsibility to carry it out.

She spoke forward and said, "Elizabeth, is that you?"

The planchette went around in a little circle before landing back on Yes.

The sudden acceleration in the rate of Dennis' heartbeat caused her to worry that it might cause her fingers to tremble. The plastic that was just under her fingers had a peculiar sensation—almost as if it were electrified—as if some otherworldly power was moving through it. She no longer felt foolish.
Her eyes began to well up with moisture, and she saw that Merit's eyes were doing the same thing at the same time. Merit nodded at her.

"How can we know for certain?" Caroline was speaking out loud while maintaining a suspicious tone. Dennis came to the realization that Caroline was oblivious to the situation; she was unable to see anything that I was doing. She's a bust as far as my psychic abilities are concerned.

Once again, the planchette moved, this time coming into contact with letters; the rate at which it did so was so rapid that Merit had little enough time to spell out the message. It was understandable even when there was no punctuation.

It told Caroline not to act like such a jerk. youre fortunate am talking to you at all

Merit replied in a sarcastic tone, "That's Elizabeth, all right." "It really does sound like her, but..."
Oh, Dennis told Caroline to be quiet at that moment. "Elizabeth, I'm just so glad…" Her throat became constricted, and she gave it another go.

Dennis There is no more time for whining; one must immediately get down to work.

It was also Elizabeth who said that. Dennis took a quick whiff before continuing. "You were in my dreams last night," I told her.

TEA

"Yes." The thumping sound that Dennis's heart made was louder than it had ever been. I wanted to chat to you, but things started going strange, and then we kept losing communication with each other—"

Dennis dont trance no trance no trance

"You're good to go."

That provided the response she was looking for, and she expressed relief at hearing it.