The Burning of Betty

I could never see Betty growing up-still can’t. My little sister was convinced she was real-still is. She talks non-stop about the games they played together. Everyone thought it was cute, “Oh would you look at Seven playing with her imaginary friend”

It’s different now. She turned ten last month. I don’t know many ten year olds with imaginary friends.

“Marley? Help with the sheets!” Mom owns an old hotel. We live there. It’s been passed down through our family.

“Seven’s been looking for you”.

“I’ve been on the phone all morning”, she paused, “You ever hear Nana talk of a sister?”

Weird she’d ask me that. My Nana and I were always pretty close, but I’d never heard her speak of a sister. 

“No. Why? Have you?”

Mom looked over at me, then stood. “Not until this morning,” she picked up the basket of laundry and made her way upstairs. Does she expect me to just leave it at that? 

⋯

After three days I haven’t stopped digging for information on Nana's mysterious sister. Mom’s been busy running the hotel herself but it’s never too busy. We live in the middle of nowhere. She’s trying to sell the place. The hotel is worth quite a bit. Maybe that’s why Seven made up that imaginary friend of hers - a lack of attention from mom and I.

I’ve heard more talk of Betty recently. It’s annoying. I haven’t given Seven any attention these past few days. This has upset Betty according to Seven. I guess they want me to play with them. I just don’t have time. 

Mom and I had a chat that day about an inheritance Nana was supposed to receive from the mysterious Elizabeth-Nana’s secret sister-who actually passed away three years ago. Nana was in an accident as I've mentioned before, so the inheritance is for us. We have to go pick up the instructions Elizabeth left. Whatever that means. We’re going tomorrow to get them. I don’t know what they'll be, but I’ve been doing my research. 

It’s July. School’s out and there isn’t much to do. I've always been interested in solving mysteries. Nana has a secret sister no one has ever heard of-sounds like a mystery to me. At first it was difficult to find any evidence of Nana ever having a sister. Yesterday, I came close to quitting but I recalled seeing something a couple of months back that could help.

Nana’s in a nursing home now. When mom and I packed up her things. I found an old box in the back of Nana's closet and put it in the attic. So I decided that maybe it’d be a good idea to take a look in there. It was a brilliant idea.

There were some old photos of Nana’s: a collection of journals and albums.

I took a look and learned that Nana and Elizabeth grew up together in the hotel. Their parents died back in 1961 when Elizabeth was old enough to take care of Nana who was eight years younger. There wasn't much I could find on what happened during the next ten years. Many pictures are missing. After 1975 there is nothing.

Why did she leave? Why didn’t Nana mention her? From the photos, it appears  the two were close. There’s got to be a reason Elizabeth suddenly disappered. This hotel is big. There are probably rooms I haven't even come across and I've lived here almost eighteen years. I’ll keep digging.

⋯

We’re going to pick up the instructions Elizabeth left today. I wonder what she did after leaving hotel. Why did she leave the money to us? How much is it? And what’s with the instructions? It’s not adding up.

“Marley? Go find your sister and tell her it’s time. I’ll meet you both in the car.”

I nodded. God this place is huge. I can't wait to get out of here. Seven could be anywhere. I’m better off looking for Betty. 

“Hey Seven! We’re leaving now! Come on it’s time to go!” I hear a faint giggle in the distance. I gently remind her “Hey, we don’t have time to mess around today, okay?”

“Five more minutes? Betty and I just need to finish up our game.” 

I consider giving her another five minutes, but I know mom doesn’t have time.

“Betty can come too, come on”.

She looked over at her imaginary friend, then back at me. “Betty can’t leave the hotel, we’ll finish our game when we’re back”.

Betty never tags along when we leave this place. Oh and now I'm talking about an imaginary person like they’re real. I know I’ll regret asking, but hey I'm a curious person. Heading out, I ask Seven, “why does Betty never leave?”

“She tells me she’s trapped. She doesn't want us to leave? You know? Sell the place. She’s glad to have me as a friend. I'm her only friend”.

“What about the other kids that come here?” Why do I keep asking questions?

“She doesn’t like them. They’re not family”.

I open the door for Seven. Then I hop in. “Well maybe it’s time she welcomes more people in her family. She's not gonna have you forever”.

“That’s not what she says”.

“You girls buckled up?” Mom jumps into the driver's seat. We nod and mom passes me her phone, “let Rob know we're on our way”.

Don’t ask me who Rob is. I honestly don’t know myself. I think he was a friend of Elizabeth’s. I look back at Seven. She seems upset over selling the hotel and leaving her imaginary friend behind. I can deal with Seven and her imaginary problems another day.

⋯

Mom and Rob didn't chat long. She got back into the car with an envelope in her hand. 

“What’s that?”

“I guess this is what Elizabeth left for Nana”, she held up the stained envelope and laughed, “she disappears for fifty years and all she has for her sister is an old piss yellow envelope and this locket”. She puts an antique gold and red locket out in my hands.

“Hey can I see?” Seven pokes her head between the two front seats, “I have the same one!”

Mom and I spin our heads around, puzzled. Seven reaches her hand down her shirt and pulls out an identical locket.

“What the hell?” I look over at mom. The expression on her face matches mine.

“Hey sweetie,” mom gives me a look, I can’t quite tell what she intends; she continues talking to Seven, “do you mind taking that off so I can have a better look at it please?”

“Sure,” she begins removing the locket, “but be careful, I promised Betty I wouldn’t lose it”

“Betty?” This catches my attention, “your imaginary friend Betty?”

“She’s not imaginary!” Seven snaps back, “stop saying that”.

As Seven and I argue over Betty, mom gets both lockets open. There's a picture of two little girls inside. One looks to be maybe ten or eleven. The other, four at most.

“What is it?” I ask. 

“I think that’s me,” pointing at the younger one.

We sit in silence for a moment. 

“Mom do you know who that is?”

Mom's eyes widen. She looks stunned. She glances at Seven, then brings her attention to me. “why don’t we talk about this when we get home”.

⋯

The drive home felt long. Seven kept trying to bring up Betty. Mom shot it down everytime. My mind races as I try to figure it all out. It turns my stomach. I need answers.

The common room is on the main floor. Mom likes to do her paperwork there. It has a few forest green couches. They’re placed around an old fireplace. Around 9:30, I make my way down to the room and there mom is sitting on the love bed with the envelope and locket on her lap. 

“Mom?” 

She spins her head around to face me. “Hey sweetie”. 

I walk over to the love bed and take a seat next to her. 

“Who was that girl?”

She looks at me with that same concerned expression. Her eyes fall on the locket. “You don’t waste time solving your mysteries do you?”

“Please, what’s going on?”

She handed me the open locket. “I came across a bunch of old photos of this girl once when I was maybe your age. There were pictures by maybe a span of ten years or so. Some with your nana and I, some with another older lady.” she trailed off.

“Elizabeth?” I assumed.

Mom's expression changed. I took the envelope from her lap and opened it. “‘it’s time. You know what to do’. “I thought we were getting some sort of inheritance?” 

“What does that word mean?” Seven swings her body around the entrance to join us, “Betty keeps using it. She says if you get that she can’t play with me anymore”.

“Your Nana used to talk to me about leaving the hotel. She said burn it down. I never understood why. I always thought she was kidding.” She took another moment to collect her thoughts. “But another part of me didn’t. She’d speak of this friend of hers, Lizzie”.

“Lizzie?” i interrupted, “as in Elizabeth?”

“I don't know why it never clued into me until now. She told me one day we’d get money from Lizzie to set us free from the hotel for good,” she paused again, “your Nana didn’t like it here, at the hotel. It almost seemed she was scared of something. Of someone”.

“What the hell are you talking about mom?”

“You're not talking about Betty are you?” Seven chimes, “she won't do anything bad. I promise! She just doesn’t want us to leave”.

“Betty is imaginary! She’s not real!”

The lights flicker. Everyone freezes. I look at mom, her eyes out of focus. What’s she thinking? My entire body chills. Does she know what’s going on here? The lights go out.

“Betty stop!” Seven shouts, “we didn’t mean to upset you!”

“Seven,” mom reaches for my hand and we both rise, “come here sweetie”. We all huddle now. Everything around us begins to shake. The room lights up again for a moment. Then darkness. Something shatters on the ground near me. “I’ll explain in the car. We have to go”.

We quickly head towards the main entrance. I can barely see a thing. 

“She doesn’t want us to leave!” Seven shouts, “we can’t leave!”

We turn the corner. The moonlight shines through the main doors. 

“Mom please say something,” I plead.

“In the car,” she assures me.

I see the lobby about a hundred meters ahead at the end of the hallway. We pick up pace. We just need to exit the main doors and we’ll be out. 

We get closer. Just twenty meters until we reach the doors. Suddenly they slam shut, stopping us in our tracks. 

“Come on!” mom tugs us the other direction,  “to the basement”.

⋯

Mom leads us through a metal door. A candle reveals a room filled with old dusty boxes that haven’t been touched in years. Seven coughs. I can feel the dust seeping into my skin. Mom sits us down. 

“There was this girl who’d play with me as a kid.” She pauses, “the girl in the locket. I had forgotten about it until today. Until I looked at that picture of us”. 

Mom's phone rings.

“Hey Jackie, it’s Rob”.

“Yes I know. This really isn’t a good time”.

“I did some digging on your aunt. She had many journals. I’ve been reading them all day. Jackie, she had a daughter.”

Betty. Oh my god it’s Betty. Seven is now in my lap. Mom’s phone shakes in her hand. We listen to what Rob has uncovered.

“Her name was Betty,” Shit, “she got hit by a car on your fifth birthday. She was only twelve. Your mother and Elizabeth were devastated. Things were quiet at first. You’d claim that you and Betty still played together everyday. Your mother and Elizabeth thought you were just using your imagination to cope. It wasn’t until the disturbances that they began to worry”. 

“Disturbances?” 

“But you and your girls, you’re not safe in that hotel. Betty knows too much now. She's going to try to kill Seven like she tried to kill you when you were little”.

Mom's face turns white. “She tried to kill me”. She whispers almost too low for anyone to hear. She takes Seven’s hands in hers. Her voice trembles. “No one is going to hurt my girls. Nothings going to happen to you girls,” she pauses, then looks down at the phone, “Rob? What do we need to do?” 

“Your mom and Elizabeth said they were done with the hotel. After Betty’s accident they wanted to move on and sell the place. That’s when Betty began with her disturbances-anyone who tried to help with selling the place, the real estate agent, the broker- Betty killed them all. Your mother and Elizabeth didn’t feel safe anymore. But they couldn’t escape”.

How is it that my little sister has been playing with an actual ghost for the last three years? My mind races. My heart is going to explode out of my chest. I almost vomit. 

“Elizabeth studied ways to keep Betty under control. She contacted many people who believed in all of that paranormal stuff. Her and your mother both had those lockets. The lockets kept Betty from harming anyone else as long as Elizabeth did the rituals. Your mother kept one just in case. Elizabeth took the other and left. She didn't want to put you or your mother in danger.” He paused.  “I know it doesn’t make much sense. But she invested some money into the bank for you and your family. In order for you to collect it you need to burn down the hotel and run. Never look back. It's the only way to stop Betty and to keep your family safe”.

Mom's eyes dart around the room. They locked onto something in the corner of the room. 

“Jackie? Are you still there?”

“Yes. Rob, i'm getting me and my girls out of here”. She picks up an old metal fireplace shovel. 

“I’m on my way over. Keep safe”.

“Marley, help me with this”.

Mom grabs an old wooden chair from across the room. I lift Seven out of my lap and a tear rolls down her cheek. Once the first tear broke free, the rest followed. “I didn’t know!” she sobs, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know!”

I hug and reassure her.

Mom rushes towards us. She bends over to match Seven’s eye level. She gently shakes Seven then pulls her in for a hug. “It's okay sweetie, we’re going to get out of here”. She places a hand on my shoulder, “help me reach that window over there”.

She points at the back wall where I see a small window just big enough for us to squeeze through.

I help Mom climb up.

“Hand me that shovel.” 

I pass her the rusty fireplace tool. She swings at the window shattering it. My ears ring. Seven’s eyes still flood with tears. Mom removes her sweater and places it on the window sill to protect us from the broken glass. 

“Marley go first.” 

My heart skips a beat. I put my foot on the chair and reach for the window sill. “Shit!” I glance at my hand. I pull a piece of glass out of my palm. A thick red fluid follows. I watch it make its way down my arm. My hand against my side to try and stop the blood.  My t-shirt turns to a dark red. I find myself lying face up in the damp grass. 

“Come on Seven, reach for Marley's hand.”

 My hand shakes as I reach for Seven. My body-now drenched in blood-trembles. I fear I won't be able to pull her up.  I keep losing my breath.

How are we supposed to burn this whole place down and get out of here safely? What's mom's plan? The hotel won't just catch fire.

I manage to get Seven out without a scratch. 

“Mom?’ my voice is shaky, “what’s the plan?”

She begins to make her way out through the broken window. “Get Seven to the car! Meet me in the shed!”

We quickly make our way to the car. 

“You’re bleeding!” Seven cries.

“Don’t worry,” I tug at the locked car door.

“What's wrong?” she sobs.

“Um, nothing. Nothings wrong,” 

I see headlights turn down the long driveway to the lot. Okay perfect. That's Rob! Just in time too,

“Follow me”.

We both run towards the old truck. The driver’s door swings open and Rob leaps out. For an old guy Rob’s in pretty good condition. 

“Where's your mother?”

“She told me to meet her in the shed once I get Seven into the car.  It's locked”.

“Here,” he opens the truck, “hop in. I'll take care of your mother”. 

Rob runs towards the shed. Mom and him emerge with some jugs in their hands. Is that gasoline? They make their way to the back of the hotel and split up.

They reappear after a couple of minutes. They quickly make their way towards the truck. Eager to know what's going on, I swing open the door. 

“Do you have a lighter” Mom asks.

“I have a couple of matches in the glove compartment”.

She grabs them. “Marley is your hand okay?”

“Yeah it's fine mom. Just hurry up”.

⋯

We watch as the hotel begins to catch. We drive off. We don’t look back.

⋯

The money and is enough to put a downpayment on a house far from where we grew up. We hear news of the hotel. We stay quiet. It's in the past. We got the money. We burned down the only place we knew as home. We are safe. Safe from Betty.