MUMA

by M. K. ROZE

  “Bye,” Adelyn said with sorrow in her voice.

  After Marissa ended the call, Adelyn went downstairs to

  eat breakfast with her parents. She tried to act as normal as

  she could, not wanting them to ask her if she needed a shrink

  like they did the night before.

  Mom handed her a plate with scrambled eggs, home

  fries, and white toast. “Try to eat, honey. You need energy.”

  Dad smiled at her as she sat across from him. “Just so

  you’re aware, the reporters found out about Able.”

  “I know. Marissa told me.” Adelyn took a bite of her

  toast, not wanting to eat, but she forced it down anyway.

  “While your dad goes to the station to write up his

  report from last night, do you want to go with me to the

  grocery store?”

  “What about the doctor’s visit?”

  “That’s not until 2:30.”

  Adelyn knew that was the perfect time to leave for

  Florida, instead of them hearing her take off in the middle of

  the night, and Dad chasing her down. “No, I’m tired. I’ll stay

  here.”

  After they ate, Adelyn hugged them longer than usual.

  “Thanks for breakfast. I’m going to go lay back down for a

  while.”

  “Okay,” Dad said. “Get some rest. We’ll tell you when

  we’re leaving.”

  Adelyn went back upstairs, got in bed, and mentally

  mapped out her trip. As she was thinking about which way

  was the fastest route to Florida, her eyes became heavy. She

  turned the TV on and watched a comedy for a while, but she

  couldn’t laugh like she normally would. She felt dead inside,

  like Muma was always controlling her emotions, so she

  turned it off.

  Someone knocked on the door, causing her to flinch.

  “Come in.”

  Dad peeked his head in. “We’re leaving. Do you want

  anything?”

  “No, thanks. How long are you guys going to be gone?”

  “A few hours. Are you sure you don’t want to come with

  one of us?”

  “No, I look like a freak.”

  Dad frowned. “No, you don’t. You’re beautiful.”

  Adelyn knew he was lying through his teeth. She forced

  a smile. “Thank you.”

  “See you soon.”

  “Love you, Dad.”

  “I love you, too.” He winked and shut the door.

  Adelyn sat up, knowing her time was limited. She

  walked over to her window and stalked their trucks like a

  predator, waiting for them to leave.

  After they left, Adelyn grabbed some clothes and

  jammed them into the bag with the mirror.

  “I’m leaving to take your evil mirror back,” she

  mumbled.”

  As Adelyn went to change out of her pajamas, her body

  jerked, and she became paralyzed. She fell backward onto the

  bed and stared blankly at the ceiling, smiling with tears

  running down her face.

  A couple of hours later, the sound of a door opened,

  followed by footsteps running upstairs. “Adelyn,” Marissa

  called out.

  Adelyn was unable to warn her as she was forced to stare

  into the handheld mirror.

  Marissa walked into her room and sat on the edge of the

  desk. “Hey, I texted you and called you, but you didn’t

  answer like you usually do, so I came over because I thought

  you killed yourself.”

  Adelyn glared her way. “You wish,” she snapped in

  Muma’s voice. “Now leave me be. You’re not wanted here.”

  Marissa stormed over to the door and looked over her

  shoulder. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you

  better stop while you’re ahead before you lose me forever.”

  “Does it look like I give a shit if I lose a traitor like you?”

  “Fuck you, Adelyn.” Marissa ran out of the room and a

  rumbling sound echoed through the walls.

  “Help me,” Marissa yelled and grunted.

  Adelyn walked out of the room and stood at the top of

  the stairs, looking down at Marissa, who was curled up on

  the foot of the steps, holding her bloody head. “Wow, that

  was some fall,” Adelyn taunted without a care in the world.

  Marissa looked up at Adelyn, and she crawled toward

  the front door, grunting.

  As Adelyn walked downstairs slowly, the doorknob

  turned, and she stopped in the middle of the steps.

  Dad walked in, and his eyes widened as he found

  Marissa crawling toward him. “Oh, my God. What

  happened?” He ran over to Marissa and slipped in the pool

  of blood. He got up and knelt beside Marissa.

  Marissa went to say something then blacked out.

  Dad looked up at Adelyn like he was trying to find an

  answer. “Adelyn, what the hell happened?”

  She flicked her empty stare to Marissa and said nothing.

  Dad took his phone out of his pocket then ran into the

  bathroom, where Adelyn heard him call for help and just

  stood there unable to do anything but watch her best friend

  bleed out.

  Dad came from around the corner and knelt, where he

  checked Marissa’s pulse. “Adelyn, answer me, dammit!” He

  cradled Marissa in his arms and held the towel over the large

  gash on the back of her head. “Help will be here soon,

  honey.”

  Adelyn walked back upstairs, took the mirror off her

  end table, and lay in bed, smiling like nothing happened as

  she stared into it.

  Moments later, sirens echoed through the mountain and

  people’s footsteps with their concerned voices filled the

  cabin.

  Adelyn stopped smiling and her tears trickled down her

  face, unable to let go of the mirror.

  Her door flew open, smashing into the wall.

  Adelyn slowly lowered the mirror and looked into Dad’s

  furious eyes. “You look ill.”

  “Why are you acting like you don’t care that Marissa fell

  down the stairs? And why the hell are you speaking to me in

  that Romanian voice again? Did you stop taking your

  antibiotics?”

  Adelyn stood and watched the red flashing lights

  disappear from the window. “What makes you think that I

  don’t care, Jeff?”

  “Why are you calling me by my name?”

  She turned to him in a haze. “Because you’re not my

  father. You’re a fucking pig.”

  Dad smacked her on the face and pushed her onto the

  bed.

  Adelyn’s body jerked, and she scurried to the other side

  of the bed. “Dad, help m—” Her body jolted.

  Dad looked behind him and approached her with a

  shocked look. “Honey, it wasn’t—”

  “Get away from me, pig!” Adelyn bellowed with rage.

  Mom ran into the room. “What happened?”

  Dad glanced at his hands. “It felt like something took

  over me and made me hit her, then push her,” his voice

  trembled.

  Mom scowled at him. “Jeff, do you really expect me to

  believe that shit?”

  Adelyn pointed at the door. “Get out!” she thundered.

  “Get out of this fucking room before I kill you worthless

  pigs!”

 
; Mom’s eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at her in

  disbelief.

  “Get out!” Adelyn shouted.

  “Why are you speaking to us that way, honey?” Mom

  asked.

  Adelyn grimaced. “Don’t call me honey, you pathetic

  bitch of a mother. Now, get the fuck out. Both of you! Go!”

  Mom grabbed her face with her shaky hands and looked

  at Dad. “That’s not our daughter.”

  Dad snatched Mom’s hand and rushed her out of the

  room.

  As Adelyn watched them hurry down the hall, the door

  slammed shut—the wood splitting down the center. She

  snapped out of the trance and let out a guttural scream.

  delyn leaped off the bed and fell to her knees,

  crying hysterically, remembering hearing Marissa

  fall down the stairs. She had wanted to help her

  friend, but the witch wouldn’t allow her to. All she could do

  was watch Marissa suffer in pain. And worse, Marissa

  looking into her eyes for help, but Adelyn wasn’t able to go

  to her. She was imprisoned in her own body, and she knew

  trying to fight an evil witch was impossible.

  Adelyn ran over to her dresser and pushed everything

  onto the floor. “Why would you hurt my friend?” she

  shouted and punched her mirror. “You could’ve killed her!”

  When Muma didn’t respond, Adelyn grunted from the

  pain on her hand and looked at the blood on her knuckles.

  She grabbed a shirt and wrapped it around her hand, trying

  to slow down the bleeding. “I’m taking your fucking mirror

  back. If you dare stop me, I will destroy it. You hear me,

  Muma?”

  Adelyn ran over to the handheld mirror and looked into

  it. “Did you hear me?”

  The doorknob shook. “Adelyn,” Dad said, “who are

  you yelling at?”

  Adelyn ignored him, thinking of what to do.

  The doorknob shook again. “Unlock the door, honey,”

  Mom asked.

  “I-I didn’t lock it.” Adelyn walked toward the door and

  her body jerked, stopping her. She looked at the window in

  a trance and ran toward it, jumping through it—glass cutting

  her face and arms. She landed on the ground, shook the glass

  out of her hair, and picked up the handheld mirror that was

  still intact.

  Someone kicked in the door—each kick growing louder

  and louder above her.

  Adelyn scowled up at the window with tears running

  down her face.

  Dad leaned out the window. “Oh, my God. Adelyn!”

  Mom gasped. “Jeff, call for help.”

  Adelyn took off limping down the mountain until she

  reached the raging river. She looked around the darkness and

  dove into the freezing water, where she swam across to the

  other side. She looked in the rippled water at her charred

  skin, grimaced, and grabbed a branch that hung from a tree.

  She pulled her body up the muddy bank, jumped to her feet,

  and ran up the hill.

  At the top, she sat under a tree and looked at the village

  of Witchery Cove—her teeth chattering out of control. She

  lifted the mirror, and Muma was looking back at her.

  “No!” Adelyn bellowed in the Southern voice.

  Her body jerked forward, and she let out a raspy scream,

  unable to lower the mirror.

  Muma reached her arms through the mirror and

  grabbed Adelyn’s hair, yanking her forward. Stop playing

  around with me, thief.

  Adelyn tried to get out of her grip, but Muma was too

  strong. “It wasn’t me who said it. It’s someone else with a

  burnt face and yellow eyes. I-I saw her reflection in the

  water.”

  Muma’s hands caught on fire, and she yanked them back

  into the mirror. I hate territorial spells. Now, take my mirror back

  and then go kill yourself.

  “How do you expect me to take it back when you keep

  preventing me from doing it?”

  Muma glowered. Stop playing games with me, thief. Or I will

  find the spell that will allow me to enter Witchery Cove. And when I

  do, I will tear you into pieces and feed you to your parents.

  Adelyn wanted to look away but she was forced to look

  at Muma. “I want to take the damn thing back, but someone

  won’t let me! If it’s not you who is trying to stop me, then

  it’s someone else inside of me you can’t see. And that person

  doesn’t want me to leave.”

  Muma raised her finger and shook her head slowly. Sula

  would be the only one who could possess you as I do. And all of us

  witches know she was burned alive, therefore, she doesn’t exist anymore.

  You’re not only a thief, but you’re a bad liar too.

  Adelyn shook her head. “Maybe Sula is alive, and

  she’s—” She paused. “And she’s using a spell to hide from

  you so she can kill me and take the mirror.”

  Even if Sula somehow escaped death, which I would smell her

  burnt flesh if she did, I would know if there were a spell. And my mirror

  wouldn’t be any use to her if she killed you.

  “Why not?”

  Because it was you who stole my mirror. Therefore, it is you who

  is bound to it. And Sula would have to possess you to be able to see her

  beauty as she once did, and I would know if she were in here with us.

  Now, stop playing games with me, thief.

  “What happens if I don’t take it back?”

  Muma’s eyes turned red. If my mirror isn’t returned, you will

  eventually become me, like you are now, and I will be stuck in your shit-

  hole of a town forever. And that’s not going to happen.

  “Why?”

  Because that is my punishment for losing it.

  “Why would you place a spell on yourself for losing your

  own mirror?”

  Muma grunted . Enough with the questions. Now, take it back.

  “I tried, but you won’t allow me to.

  Liar! Muma scolded and hissed.

  Adelyn’s tears merged with the blood running down her

  face, where it trickled into her mouth. “I would never jump

  out a window or drive my truck off a cliff. It was you who

  forced me to, or it was her.”

  Muma’s eyes turned black as coal. It is you, thief, who is

  undoubtedly in denial of your mental illness. And it is you, liar, who

  doesn’t want to return my mirror because you can’t accept the scar on

  your chin. And lastly, it is you, Adelyn Lauren Mae, who wants to

  kill yourself because you are nothing but an insecure peasant. Now, go

  get into that backfiring truck of yours and take my mirror back before

  I kill all of you, she thundered and vanished.

  Adelyn’s blood-covered face came into focus. She was

  certain Muma was playing tricks on her, and she wanted to

  torment her for stealing the mirror.

  Adelyn stopped thinking about it and looked around,

  but it didn’t last long. The unanswered questions raced

  through her head a mile a minute. She wondered if Muma

  might have been a figment of her imagination, and she was

  mentally ill like she said. But the more she thought about it,

  the more Muma felt too real for her to believe she didn’t

&nb
sp; exist. Not after all that happened to her and Marissa’s fall

  down the stairs. Not after feeling her familiar ice-cold hands

  grab her head. And not after Muma’s wicked eyes

  penetrating her soul. Muma had to be real.

  Adelyn pushed herself to her bloody feet, lifted her foot,

  and grunted as she yanked a small twig out of a deep cut in

  her heel. She looked around to see which way to go back

  home without having to swim across the river again. She

  limped down the hill and headed toward the road that led to

  her house.

  As she staggered up the hill, she rubbed her arms

  vigorously, trying to keep warm.

  When bright lights blinded her, she raised her bloody

  hand and covered her eyes. “Hello,” her voice called out in a

  raspy tone.

  “Adelyn!” Mom’s voice trembled. “Jeff, she’s over

  here!”

  Adelyn took a few more steps and her feet became

  numb. She fell to the ground and looked up at Mom’s

  worried face, watching it slowly fade in and out of focus.

  “Help me. Please help me,” Adelyn begged in a weak tone.

  “Honey, we’re here,” Dad said in a shaky voice and

  picked Adelyn’s limp body up.

  “Dad, I’m sorry,” Adelyn moaned.

  “Jeff,” Mom yelled in a frantic tone,” she’s hypothermic.

  Her pulse is weak. Hurry up and bring her in the house.”

  Adelyn watched the moon fly past—Dad panting

  heavily as he ran inside with her.

  “Honey,” Mom’s voice said. “I have to take your wet

  clothes off so I can warm you up.”

  Adelyn shook violently on the couch, staring at the

  ceiling while her parents took her leggings and shirt off.

  “Jeff, go to my jeep and get the thermal blanket and the

  first aid kit out. I will render aide until you get back.” Mom

  stripped down to her bra and underwear and lay next to

  Adelyn on the couch, rubbing Adelyn’s body, trying to warm

  her up with her body temperature.

  A door flew open. “I found it,” Dad yelled out and

  placed the aluminum blanket over them.

  “Jeff, call 911,” Mom urged, rubbing Adelyn’s body

  under the blanket. “Stay with me, baby. Please stay with me,”

  she sobbed.

  “I called them when I was outside,” he replied. He