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| Drawn by Jeremy Vanderberg |
Lola preferred to sit in the dark. It helped her relax, fewer things for her eyes to see - to study. Her mother never being one to believe in modern medicine, Lola was never diagnosed but suspected she might have ADHD and tried to use it to her advantage. As it stood, she was already second in her class and enrolled in every Honors course offered next year, but that was still two months away.
Warm air brushed her bare feet as she looked up from her phone illuminating her face. Rowan had returned through the window and sat on the floor. “Hello, friend,” she greeted as she rolled onto her back and kept her gaze towards the screen of her phone. Rowan jumped from the floor to her bed without weighing it down and dropped himself on her chest to block her view with his jet black body. “Very cute, but let me enjoy my doom scrolling.” He placed his right front paw on her chin. “Fine! I’ll switch to the one with pictures.”
Rowan meowed with glee. He couldn’t read, after all. Repositioning next to Lola’s head, he prepared to offer comfort as she checked in on her friends.
“Let’s see. Yup, see this is why I didn’t want to log on today. Wilford’s at the beach with his family, looking pale as ever. Minnie’s taking her camping trip with her dad in the Forensic Forest, lucky bitch. At least three different kids with throwback pictures of them in oversized clothes attempting to grill. And… is that Roslyn on the moon? I knew her dad had mastery of the skies, but really? The moon.” Before her contempt transformed into full disdain, her phone slipped out of her hands and slapped her face. She turned her head toward Rowan. “You said you could catch it before it hit me.” He buried his head under his body.
As the phone slid off her, it landed screen-up between them. An ad displayed that caught Lola’s eye. She sat up on her knees and grabbed her phone, clicking immediately. Rowan cocked his head in wonder as she typed and laughed to herself. When her fingers stopped moving, her phone went dark and a loud thud sounded across the room that startled her familiar.
Lola clapped her hands thrice and leapt off her bed as her room was illuminated by candles - from tall traditional white candles to colored, scented, stout candles. She always appreciated the variety of life. The decorations in her room ranged from Moroccan rugs to Russian dolls to South African paintings to Japanese manga to a two-day old half eaten tamale she was saving. But in the center of it all was her work station, and atop it sat a new mysterious box reading “HelloGhoul” Rowan was wary of.
“Relax; it’s just my new class kit,” she said as she strained to lift her ten gallon cauldron from under her desk. Rowan helped her lift by nudging the bottom with his head. Once three feet off the ground, the cauldron’s stand appeared. “You know how… unchallenged I get. Besides, this will probably help me get an edge up against Quincy Dinglewritch. Ugh, Dingle. So, you know, two birds, one stone.” Rowan’s concern grew again. He ran and sat next to the door in case of an emergency as he usually did when she tried a new spell. Lola prided herself on never needing this service.
Sleeves rolled up, she opened the box and speedread the instructional booklet. She scanned her room for one of the two “not included” items required. After being distracted by her bookcase, she noticed a plushie of a dog from her favorite childhood cartoon. She sat it on her desk and began adding ingredients from the box into the cauldron in the correct order. Once the last drop of snake oil was added, she reached into her pocket and kissed a locket before dropping it in. As it hissed, she uttered, “Come forth, congregate. Life blood, bring forth my great.” A puff of smoke gushed from the cauldron. A syringe levitated in place once it dissipated.
Lola’s hand shook as she reached out for the syringe. She turned to the stuffed canine and lifted its arm to stab the armpit, injecting the serum. As she slid the needle out, the dog flung into the air and landed a backflip, coming to life.
“D-dad? Is that really you?” Lola could feel the tears welling in her eyes and dropped the syringe back into the cauldron.
The dog clawed at its stitched mouth but quickly gave up. Instead it shook its head no, and its eyes turned a swirl of black and crimson. At this sight, Rowan immediately abandoned his post and ran downstairs.
Lola screamed as the dog doll launched towards her. She attempted to backhand it away, but it clung on to her. Thinking quickly she slammed her wrist against the cauldron until it released her. Betraying her Afro-Latino roots, she looked uncoordinated as she tried to stomp the doll out. It danced around her, anxious for a way to successfully attack her. Before it found success, Rowan snatched it with his mouth from behind. It wiggled as he trotted and dropped it in front of a white woman dressed in olive green standing in the doorway.
“What is this?” she asked as she picked it up.
Lola hesitated to come up with a lie but thought better of it. “I ordered a spell to bring dad back from the dead.”
“
Oh,” the woman replied dryly, avoiding eye contact with Lola. “You shouldn’t have done that. Well here,” she grabbed the plushie by its head and snapped its neck. “They actually start to grow cartilage after you inject them, but they’re still fragile.”
Lola whispered to herself, “So… I did it right. I knew it. But then….” She looked up, stepping towards the door. “Did you lie to me?”
“I… I’ve only ever meant to protect you. How was I supposed to tell you that he didn’t want to stay?”
“Yeah, well if that spell was any stronger, I could have died. So how ‘bout that?” Lola began to brush past her mother. “Oh, please say a few words for whatever poor soul I actually summoned. Come on, Rowan.” The familiar followed its master as she left in search of a place to feel safe.
Her mother walked to the cauldron and reached inside. Hand still dry, she pulled out the locket and opened it. “I hope you’re ready, you fool. I held her back for as long as I could.”
Word
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