The Choice

“Arrgg Alice, you tread on my toe again! And have you drank all the whiskey?!” 

“Oy, stop moving around so much or you’ll wake her up!”

“I want to wake her up, we only have so much time let’s talk to her”

“Are you mad? She will think she’s lost her mind! We can’t just start talking to her” 

The ancestors shifted around the bed in the small room where Anna slept. 

“Just look at her would ya? She gets that beautiful hair from my side”

“As if! She gets it from mine!” 

They began to argue louder and louder until suddenly they saw Anna shoot up straight in bed. 

Anna could’ve sworn she just heard someone yell. She peered through the darkness, panic and fear gripping her heart. Her dog, Duke, loyal companion and protector was standing on the edge of her bed completely still staring into the darkness. “It’s okay, boy” she says gently, though they both don’t believe it. Anna laid back against her pillows, she was probably just dreaming. Her dreams had been strange and fast moving. Her friend had warned her not to sleep next to her altar but she couldn’t really help it, her little studio was so small there wasn’t really anywhere else it could go. She glanced at the All Hallows' Eve altar she had created. She had meant to please her ancestors by giving them little treats - whiskey, honey, fruits, stones and colorful flowers and a photo of her great grandmother, Alice. She hadn’t really taken her friend's advice seriously, especially when the altar seemed warm and welcoming. Perhaps a wayward ghost had wandered in? Anna almost laughed at herself. She was getting carried away, tonight was All Hallows' Eve, the Day of the Dead, Samhain, Halloween; whatever you wanted to call it, it didn’t help the spooky factor. She was letting her imagination run wild and getting carried away. She called Duke and cuddled next to him and tried to get back to sleep. 

The ancestors stood as still as trees. Except their eyes which darted from side to side each assessing the other, each angry at each other for waking Anna. Suddenly, Alice lost her balance from concentrating so hard on staying still (the whiskey should also be mentioned), toppled into June who toppled into Josephine, who sent Viola toppling into the bookcase rattling it and sending books flying. 

Anna bolted up in her bed again, this time engulfed in fear, she wasn’t dreaming and it wasn’t her imagination. Her books had just flown off the bookcase. Duke was barking and staring at that same place in the darkness, almost as if he could see something - or someone - she couldn’t. And the thing that scared her even more was that she could feel someone was there; more than someone, it felt like her room was crowded. “Who’s there?”, she called out. She wanted her voice to sound brave and strong but it came out sounding like a mix between a small child and a trembling mouse. She prayed for dawn to come and for the daylight to come streaming in and make this all seem silly. She didn’t know what to do, it seemed too frightening to even get off her bed and turn on the light. 

“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Josephine complained, “now she’s frightened, Alice, is that what you wanted? To be a common poltergeist?” 

Alice looked guilty, “No...” she replied, although if she was being honest she knew a few poltergeists and they always seemed to be having loads of fun, but it didn’t seem an appropriate time to bring this up. 

Viola cleared her throat, “she’s already scared, what if we just reveal ourselves to her? She’s the one who called us after all and we only have this one night where she can truly see us, is that not why we are here?” 

The ancestors murmured amongst themselves and shifted in their places, no one wanted to be the first to cause Anna even more fear, but they did all agree that at this point it might be best to just reveal themselves and get it over with. 

Minerva, the eldest ancestor present, finally rose from her sitting place. She had been silent and watchful this whole time. Ancestors don’t actually need to sit, least of all to sit in a chair or on anything, but Minerva was very regal and old so no one said anything about it. “I am the eldest so I shall be the first to reveal ourselves. We have a great deal to discuss and the dawn grows closer, we should use every hour we have”, she spoke slowly and purposefully and the rest were happy to have someone take more leadership of the group. She held up her fingers and snapped once, to the ancestors she did not look any different but they knew she was now visible to Anna. 

“Anna, my dear, I am your great, great, great grandmother and I have come to you on the sacred All Hallows' Eve, I have come with others that have much to discuss with you. We have watched over you your entire life and have now finally decided the time is right to reveal ourselves to you.”

Anna screamed. An old woman had just appeared in her room and started talking to her. She could hear her and see her. In her room. Duke started to bark like crazy and they both ran from the room, she ran to the bathroom and locked the door.

“What is happening?!”, Anna said out loud to herself as she began to shake, “Duke, we are LOSING it!” It wasn’t lost on her that she was now talking to her dog, but this seemed perfectly normal seeing how she had just been talking to a ghost. She looked in the mirror and tried to get ahold of herself. Behind her she saw another woman float through the door. 

“Terribly loud creature, isn’t he?” June remarked as she looked down at Duke, still barking ferociously. Josephine floated in behind June, “personally, I prefer quieter familiars like an owl or a toad but alas they say we can’t all have winners!” Josephine smiled. Anna stared at her, mouth hanging open. She tried another smile and joked, “Oh dear Anna, close your mouth before something flies in!” Anna slowly closed it and watched in horror as five women in total floated through the wall and gathered around her in the bathroom. 

Minerva, Viola, Alice, June, and Josephine all stood around Anna with what they hoped were welcoming, friendly looks on their faces. Minerva gave a quick stern look directly to Duke and he immediately stopped barking, curled up on the floor and blinked up at her, “that’s much better”, she told him. 

“Now, Anna,” Minerva began, “as I said we are your ancestors, women from your past, we have always been here, but tonight on All Hallows' Eve we have the ability to let you easily see us. While the idea can take some getting used to, the complete shock and terror seem a bit dramatic, you did summon us after all.”

“S-s-summoned you?” Anna faltered. 

“Yes,” replied Minerva, a little annoyed, “you summoned us with your altar welcoming us which let us know you were finally ready to meet us?”

“Oh,” Anna said quietly, “I didn’t think it would work.” 

“Didn’t think it would work?” Minerva said testily, “Anna, one must not foolishly practice magic! It takes severity, it takes practice, it takes concentration, and it takes seriousness!”

“Says the woman who was best known in life for her love potions”, Alice giggled. 

Minerva started to sputter but Alice cut her off, “oh I’m only joking, Minerva!” she winked at Anna and mouthed “it’s true though”. “Give Anna a bit of a break would you? In this time she lives in, people have forgotten magic, they’ve forgotten all the old ways, of course she wouldn’t know, that’s kind of why we are here.”

June smiled at Anna, “the main thing to know Anna, is that we are here to help you not harm you.”

Anna looked at the women. They all stood smiling at her, trying to comfort her. They seemed...nice, they seemed real. And she had heard of a few of their names, Alice’s picture was out on the altar for heaven's sake! She smiled at them, although she was still a bit frightened she knew that she was not in any danger. She may be dreaming, but she wasn’t in any danger. 

“Let’s get out of this bathroom, dears” June said. Anna opened the door and they all filed back into her little apartment. Her heart was racing as she sat down in her armchair and faced them all. 

“We are here to tell you who you really are, Anna”, Minerva began. “You come from a line of destruction and danger, of secrets and terror. You come from a line of magic makers, secret keepers, and sacred text guardians”. 

Alice sighed, “in other words you come from a line of witches.”

“Yes, if you’d like to think simply I suppose you could put it in those words.” Minerva stated. 

“Not all of the family members were able to realize their gifts, Anna,” Josephine piped in, “some were murdered long before they even got the inkling something was different, some were in their first stages of the great Realization, some knew but were much too afraid to begin,” Josephine had tears in her eyes, “the five us here were the only ones who were able to come into and use our power.”

“Five.” June stated, “out of the thousands of women in your family line, only five of us were able to wield our inherited right and even then we lived in secret, we had to be on guard at all times as you will now have to”. 

“But we have hope for you, Anna,” Minerva continued, “the world is different now and we think it may be ready for The Power. We think it may be ready to heal and receive the gifts that we possess. That you now possess. But you will need training and you will need help.”

Viola finally spoke, “we will be here to guide you and give you that help, Anna. The help that we desperately needed ourselves.`` She spoke quietly and Anna noticed that she was missing two fingers on her right hand. 

Anna felt strangely excited and scared. She knew deep in her heart that what these women were saying was true, she couldn’t explain it but the feeling grew inside her. 

“Though the power of All Hallows' Eve allows us to be seen easily, you have the power to see us whenever you want if you choose to go down The Path. We have been sent here to be your guides and advisors. You will be the one to carry our legacy forward.”

Anna looked at Minerva, “I have a choice?”

“Of course you have a choice!” Alice chimed in, “you can choose to ignore your power, pretend this was a dream and wake up and never acknowledge what happened ever again. Plenty of people do it everyday.”

“It’s true,” said Minerva, “you can wake up and pretend this was a dream. You could go on in your life and protect yourself with a lack of knowledge. What’s the saying? Ignorance is bliss? This will be your night to decide.”

Anna looked at the women. Alice smiled at her with a mischievous grin that went ear to ear, Minerva looked down on her with the look of someone who is prepared for the worst at all times, Josephine had intelligent eyes and graceful smile, June possessed a strong motherly warmth and kind nature, and the mysterious Viola who apparently even in her afterlife could perfectly mask her emotions. They waited for Anna’s response. 

Anna felt the longing in her heart, she felt a curiosity and a drive to know, she knew she could never pretend this night never happened. 

“I have made my choice,” she said firmly, “I will never go back.”