an excerpt from Chapter Five of Silence Falls.
Aimee has come over for a visit, they’re in Kari’s kitchen
Aimee laughs softly, brushing tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m a little emotional.”
“Just a little?” Kari teases.
“I think the general consensus is ‘wildly’ but I've definitely calmed down since I was a girl.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“It remains to be seen.” Aimee takes a deep breath and draws herself up, “Now then, now that I've had a good cry, I have some things for you.”
She retreats to the counter and whips the towel off her basket with a flourish. She draws out two large muffins, “These are for you and Liam, and the rest is for the house.”
Kari peers into the basket. She blinks. “What is it?”
“Sage and lavender bundles,” Says Aimee, pulling out the items, “To clean the house’s energy. Some charms, this is salt,” She shakes a big glass bottle, “I’ll show you what to do with that.”
“Ah,” Says Kari, “I don’t really think I need any of this.”
“Don’t be silly, this house has been sitting empty for a year, it needs a good cleaning.”
“I already vacuumed.”
“An energy cleaning.”
“Aimee…”
“Yes, I know,” Aimee turns on her, “You’re much too practical to believe in this sort of thing. But the fact remains that your house is haunted, dear, and the energy is abysmal. Are you going to stop me?”
Kari thinks. There’s really no harm in it, she supposes, and she’s still a little warm from Aimee calling her ‘dear’. “Go ahead.” She says.
“Oh you’re helping. Here, pour this salt over the floor and then sweep it up.”
Kari looks at the big glass jar that has been thrust into her hand. She looks at the linoleum. She looks at Aimee. “You want me… to pour salt on the floor.”
“And then sweep it up.”
“What for?”
Aimee has one of her bundles of sage and lavender and she lights the tip of it on fire before swiftly blowing it out. “Salt absorbs bad energy.” She explains.
“Right, right.”
“Are you going to do it, or not?”
Kari pours the salt on the floor.
The whole thing feels hokey to Kari. But then, she’s never been good at belief. She can remember vividly being told about Santa Claus and finding the idea highly suspicious. How satisfied she’d been when she’d discovered the truth. The Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, deities, they all crumbled under her scrutiny.
This New Age nonsense is the same, she doesn’t believe any of it for a minute. For the first time, though, she doesn’t feel the need to argue about it. She doesn’t mind Aimee in her house, making everything smell smokey and harping at her to pour salt on the floor. In fact, says a small part of her, tucked up under her ribs, she wouldn’t mind having Aimee here all the time. She could get used to stepping on salt.
“Wait,” She says, “Did you say this house is haunted?”