Page 81 of Shadows in Bloom

My gaze drops at the same time her voice cuts out.

Eyes widening, I watch as the planchette rattles ever so faintly, my eyes darting between Ophelia’s and my fingers, ensuring it’s not one of us doing that.

But it’s not.

Suddenly, the thing darts across the board, stopping on the word Hello.

We both flinch back, hands spread, hovering over the board. Our eyes lock, our mouths parted. Ophelia gives her head a little shake, wonder slowly replacing some of her shock.

And despite the nerves squeezing my lungs…

I can’t deny I’m not fascinated too.

Is this really happening?

“Um, hi,” Ophelia says, not taking her eyes off me. “I’m Ophelia. This is Winifred.”

We look down when we hear a quiet thump. The planchette twitches on HELLO, like it’s telling us it heard us.

“What’s your name?” Ophelia asks.

We wait a few seconds.

“Maybe stick to yes and no questions,” I whisper.

“Right.” A beat, then, “Are you…a man?”

A second passes, before the planchette darts over to settle over the word NO.

There’s a smile in Ophelia's voice when she says, “So a woman?”

The thing darts over to YES—no hesitation.

“This is crazy,” I whisper.

“Are you from Hollow Hill?”

NO.

“Where are you—sorry, never mind. Um…” Ophelia looks to me for help.

Wetting my lips, I look down at the board and ask, “Is Heaven real?”

Ophelia says nothing as we both wait.

YES.

My heart skips a beat. Is God then? Because he probably wouldn’t like this too much. “Is—” I start to say, but Ophelia beats me to it with a question of her own.

“Is Hell real?”

Eyes wide, I dart them up to her, with a little shake of my head. She just shrugs.

Like earlier when it said hello, the thing wobbles a bit, but stays where it’s at. YES.

“Well, shit.”

“Ophelia!”

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