A young girl with an unstable home life tries to summon a demon, believing that it will solve her problems

Kitty smirked at the giant pile of plastic wrappers that had covered the sweets she and Tiffany had been picking away at for the past three hours. She closed her journal bound in pale leather and glanced over to the bed; Tiffany lay there sound asleep. Through the window that hung above the bed, the soft blue glow of twilight streamed into the room. Now is the time, Kitty thought.  

“Tiffany, get up,” she whispered.  

Tiffany blinked blearily at her.  

“Already?” she asked.  

“Yes, now is when the swells of the realms are largest, you can reach down and touch them lapping at the side of our metaphysical boat.”  

Together the girls rolled up the rug that depicted a portrait of Tiffany and her smiling parents, hardwood was beneath, a perfect canvas that would allow Kitty the power to fix the world. Chalk clenched in her fist; she began to draw.  

With a flourish the last symbol was complete, a surge of power entered the air. A static that emanated from the circle, it was the precursor to promises of power and ancient secrets. Kitty smiled. Tiffany flinched. 

“That is annoying,” Tiffany said, she stuck a finger in her ear. “I mean sure it’s cool and all, but does it have to be so, you know.”  

Kitty did not know.  

“This is the means….”  

“To power. You said that already, but you would think great power would be grander, not make your head all frizzy. Mom makes me use conditioner when my head gets like this.”  

Kitty bristled. The static danced in her ears, pounding on the drum, a rhythmic, yet random thrumming, buzzing and it would not stop, insistent that she let it inside. 

“My Mom hurt Dad, hurt me, betrayer! She doesn’t love me. She left but the entities in there will replace her. Right the wrongs.”  

Tiffany face softened, “Sorry Kitty. Did you want to continue?”  

“Yes.”  

Then they heard a call from downstairs. Tiffany looked back to her door, ran over to it, cracked it open.  

“Our parents are leaving; you want to say goodbye?”  

“I suppose, but we don’t have much time.”  

The girls stood, and walked out onto the landing, the sound of static drifting out of the bedroom behind them. Down the flight of stairs Kitty saw the two adults on the front porch, she watched as her dad leaned over and kissed Tiffany’s mom. Beside her, Tiffany squealed and sprinted down the steps, Kitty following hesitantly behind.  

“You two are dating?” Tiffany cried. 

Standing on the last step, Kitty’s voice wavered. “Are you?”  

Her Dad turned with a shy smile. “I supposed our secret would come out soon enough.” 

“What about Mom? Aren’t you angry?” Kitty asked. 

Her dad’s expression turned melancholic; he stepped back inside. “I was, but I let it go., Nnow I am happier, healthier.” Then he hugged her. “Are you okay with me dating?”  

In his embrace, Kitty looked over his shoulder at Tiffany’s and her mom’s beaming faces. At once, the hurt began to heal.  

“I am.”  

Behind the hugging figures, the moon rose, the last moments of twilight vanished. In the bedroom, the static died.  

This article was originally published in print Volume 24, Issue 1 on Thursday, August 29.