After finishing writing the post, my leg bopped up and down impatiently. I waited for what felt like hours for a notification, but there was no vibration or chime to alert me. I checked anyway, opening the device to see that not so much as a minute has passed.
With a sigh, I stood up and began pacing back and forth. I needed to know something, anything about what this thing was. I searched online, went on websites and forums, looking at old stories and tales; hoping to find something that would give me some insight. Nothing.
That’s when I remembered. If anybody would know about this, it has to be people in my family, right? If it was true that that thing haunted from generation to generation, maybe there was someone who experienced it without facing demise. But who?
I ruled out all my living cousins, uncles and aunts and only one option was available; my grandma on mom’s side. She was living in a nursery home not too far from this house. My parents never really let us see her because she was senile, but that didn’t matter anymore. I had to go.
I lied to Ellie that I was going out with friends from work for dinner and headed straight towards the nursery home. As I walked down the street, I could still hear that eerie, dry breathing trailing behind me. I stopped and glanced back over my shoulder to see the misty form of the thing hovering just behind me.
It made eye contact with me, and I immediately looked away. When I looked back, I saw its lips curl into a smile. I could have sworn the thing was laughing to itself. As the building became closer and closer, I couldn’t help but let out a shuddered sigh, dread from meeting my grandma for the first time.
I eventually got to the parking lot. After getting out of the car, I looked behind me to see if it was still there. But the spirit had already left. I shook my head and entered the building. The woman behind the counter welcomed me with a smile. “Hello, what can I do you for?”
“Hi, can I see Mrs. Cross?” I asked, my voice just barely above a whisper, like uttering the name was a sin. The woman’s face fell upon hearing my request.
“You want to… See her?” She asked, the question apparently catching her off guard. I nodded my head, and she replied in a low, hushed tone, “You can see her, but you may not want to. She’s, let’s just say, a very difficult person.”
I took a deep breath before replying, “I understand. Thanks.” With a shrug, she gave me the information about where she was located. I made my way up the stairs and knocked on the door to her room.
The nurse called out, “Just a moment,” and then opened the door. She ushered me inside and closed the door behind me. At the end of the room, being bathed by the sunlight, was a wheelchair. My grandmother lay motionless within, unmoving as her body grew ever frailer.
I approached slowly, not wanting to disturb her slumber. Before I could take a step, I noticed that there was a circle of salt inside the room. As I moved to sit beside her, making sure not to step on the salt, she suddenly roused herself and looked right at me. Her eyes were sharp, coldness and hatred filling them. “And who are you?” She finally asked in a weak voice.
“Your granddaughter. It’s been a while since-“
She cut me off with an angry hiss. “You’re not my granddaughter. She’s probably dead by now. The Guarian got her.”
I tilted my head. “What thing?”
For a moment, her intimidating presence faltered as she stumbled through her words. “Nevermind that. You won’t believe me. No one does. They all think me senile and crazy.”
“N-no, I don’t think you’re crazy. Is this “Guarian” you’re talking about a spirit? Or, like, a ghost?”
Her eyes widened. “It really is you.” She paused, her lips pursed together, and then she seemed to remember herself. “When your father began talking to me about seeing his father, I thought that it would get all of you. I told him what I can, but I knew it wouldn’t help. Your father was never the type to share his problems.”
“I’m sorry, but could you elaborate? What is a Guarian?”
She sighed, her eyes trailing the sky. “Our family is broken. I don’t know if we were cursed or just unlucky, but generations of us have either died or gone insane all because of the same reason; the ghost of our loved ones stalked them. Every other member of our family has met that fate. A man I know called it a Guarian. It started with your great-grandfather, as far as I know. I recall reading through his notebooks. After his sister died, he began seeing her. His writing became more and more erratic as time went on until eventually, he lost it completely. He was found dead. The doctors said it was a suicide; a fall from the top floor. But I always wondered. I think maybe that thing haunted him to take his own life. Or, at the very least, I think it pushed him that far. Then, it was me and your late grandfather. We lasted long, but a couple of years ago it got him. He was found dead on the floor, clutching a bible to his chest. I didn’t believe it at first. I just couldn’t understand why the thing was tormenting us.”
“And what about you? Did you get rid of it?” She shook her head and faintly pointed at one corner of the room where the salt didn’t touch. I saw nothing, aside from dusty bookshelves.
“My husband is there. Or, the Guarian is. It hasn’t changed forms at all since his death. I suppose it affected me that much.”
I nodded gently. “Then why couldn’t I see the spirit my mom saw after dad died?”
She shrugged haphazardly. “If someone buries their grief hard enough, even it won’t be able to mimic them. But when someone bottles something in, it’s only bound to grow and fester. The thing feeds on sorrow, like a parasite.”
“I wasn’t grieving after dad died. I mean, I was sad, of course, but he was barely there, so I didn’t miss him that much.”
Granny let out a chuckle dry. “Just like your father. Keep lying to yourself like that and you’ll end up like him.” I instinctively gasped as I got up, shocked by her disregard for her son-in-law’s life. “Anyway, I’ve told you all that I can. Get salt and prayer beads. It doesn’t make it go away, but at least it keeps it from growing any worse.” She paused and leaned back. “I’ll give you some advice, though. It’s better ending it now than living a life with it following you around. Thinking back on it, I would’ve much rather done what my husband had than be wherever I am now.”
I winced at her comment before getting up. “Thanks. For the advice, I mean… and also for having me here.”
“What’re you going to do now?”
I turned to look down at the old woman. “I’ll get rid of it. It won’t torture me or anyone else. My family deserves to be free of this curse, and I will be no longer a victim of the thing.”
Granny simply smiled, a faint gleam in her eyes. “You’ll need this if you want to try.” She scribbled something down on a piece of paper and handed it to me.”If anyone knows what to do, it’s him.” I left Granny’s side and made my way home. That’s when I checked the post and saw a handful of replies to my post. All had one thing in common; to tell my sister. Deep down, I think I knew I would eventually have to tell her. The notion filled me with anxiety, but I knew she would need to hear it.
At dinner time, I sat across from my sister. I played around with the green beans, unable to stomach the idea of eating. “Ellie, I need to talk to you about something.” I cleared my throat, figuring out how to start. “Do you remember mom, and how she saw dad after he… you know…” I stopped myself. “After he died?”
My sister looked up at me, her eyes wide in surprise. “You see it too.” The way she said it sounded more like a realization.
“What?”
“You were about to say that you began seeing mom, right?” She sheepishly pointed at the spirit sitting right next to us, which simply tilted its head.
“You’ve seen it all this time?” Instantly, anger built up in me. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” I tried to keep my voice under control, but I couldn’t hide the hurt.
“I-I didn’t want to worry you-“
“Do you know how dangerous this could’ve been for you? This is the same thing that took the lives of mom, dad and everyone in our family!”
Ellie looked down, shame present on her face. “But… you didn’t tell me either.” I opened my mouth to shut down her response, but nothing came to mind. My erratic breaths slowed, and I gingerly sat in my seat, rubbing my temple.
“Look, I’m… I’m sorry. You’re right, I’m just stressed. I didn’t know you saw it too.” I glanced over at the spirit again. It was still there, but it had ceased looking directly at me. Before we even got to finish eating, I grabbed Ellie’s wrist and rushed to my bedroom. Once we were inside, I poured a large circle of salt around the bed before slamming the door. After making sure it couldn’t get near us, I told her everything I had learned from granny, which made Ellie visibly frightened.
“So what do we do? Salt circles all around the house?”
I gently shook my head. “That would just prolong it. Grandma puts salt circles everywhere, but it doesn’t really make it go away. It just makes it easier for her to ignore it.”
“Let’s do that, then. We’ve both been doing it for days already. It won’t change much.”
“That won’t work either. Granny is… she tries to hide it, but I can tell that she’s miserable. You should see her eyes sometimes. They’re practically haunted by the weight of her sorrow. I think what we need to do is hire a priest. Somebody online told me that the best thing I can do is put it away once and for all. Otherwise, the thing will never leave. It’s like poison. It needs to be excreted.”
Ellie nodded slowly. “How?”
That was when I pulled out the number grandma gave me. “Whoever this phone number belongs to is our best chance here.”
I rang the number and waited a good while. Soon enough, the call went through. “Who is this?” His gruff voice caused me to choke up.
“H-hello. Grandma- er, I mean, Mrs. Cross told me to call this number for help. Is this the right line?” I stuttered, not knowing how else to respond.
“Yeah, it’s the right number. Did she say what kind of help you needed?” I took a deep breath and began talking.
“Something is haunting me. Well, to be more specific, everyone in my family. It’s pretending to be my family members. It’s not trying to kill me or anything, but-“
“I’m coming. What is your address?”
I gave him directions and hung up. “I suppose that’s our answer. He’s coming.”
***
When the doorbell rang, I couldn’t help but be curious. The voice on the other side of the phone seemed like an old man, but the sight was younger than I expected. I answered the door and found myself face to face with a middle-aged male who wore black clerical garb. He had a thick, bushy black beard, which matched his hair colour. “Hi, I’m Lola. Thank you for coming under such short notice.”
He didn’t so much as glance at me as he passed by me, leather shoes coming off. “My pleasure. It sounds like you’re being haunted by a Guarian. A particularly tricky demon. Physically weak, they target their victims through their minds. Their powers lie in the ability to drive their targets to death, using their suffering as fuel. However, you said the same one is targeting your entire family, right?”
I nodded, unable to speak.
“That’s not good. If it has power over this many people, then that means it has something in its possession that directly connects to your family. An heirloom or something. As long as it has that in its grasp, then it will forever be able to haunt your loved ones.”
He stood tall over a large picture frame that held several family members from many years ago. “And how are we supposed to find that?” I chimed in, standing behind him.
Instead of answering, the man simply pointed at the painting. “Where was this taken?”
“Oh, uh, it was in my great-grandpa’s house. Where we used to live before mom passed away. It’s been abandoned for years, though. Why do you ask?”
“Because we have our first lead onto where we’ll find this item. If this is a family portrait, then that means it most likely takes residence inside. I’ll need at least one of you two.”
Before Ellie got the chance to speak, I interjected. “It’ll just be me.” The priest, or whatever he was, shrugged and began walking out of the house. I was about to follow him when I felt something pull on my hand. When I turned back, Ellie was staring at me, eyebrows furrowed.
“I’m coming with you.” She protested.
“Not in a million years.” I snapped.
“Why not?”
I rolled my eyes, far too tired to have this back and forth. “No means no. Just stay here. We’ll be back.” She scowled before storming off upstairs.
The old man stopped at the entrance. “Shall we go?”
I nod and enter the car. However, before he could even put the keys into the ignition, Ellie ran out of the house, now dressed in her normal clothes, and jumped into the passenger seat. “Ellie, I told you to stay inside! It’s dangerous!”
She looked over at me, not bothering to reply. I looked over to the man for some help, but he just let out a dry chuckle. “The more the better. There is power in numbers, especially in this case.” Defeated, I buried my face in my hands. “Let’s get going then.”
We arrived at our destination after my not-so-clear directions. Ellie tried to pass the time by asking the man questions about himself. “So what’s your name?”
“Thomas.”
“Oh,” she mumbled, almost disappointed like she expected him to have a cooler name. “What are you? A priest?”
The question seemed to incite an actual reaction out of him. For a moment, he looked thoughtful. “Something like that. I don’t attend church very often anymore. I’m a spirit hunter. That’s why I dress like this.” He said, pointing to his clerical outfit. “I follow the practices of exorcists, as well as shamans and witch doctors. I don’t believe in any one thing.”
Luckily, her questions helped to let the time pass by. Though, after taking one glimpse at the dilapidated house we were approaching, I wish it took longer. Just so that the memories don’t come rushing back. This was the place where we spent most of our childhood. Where I learned to ride a bike, where we played in the woods, where my family ate dinner together, all these things, and more, are now reduced to ashes in the wind.
I didn’t even notice Thomas yelling at me until he got right in front of me. “Hey, kid!”
“Huh?” I looked up and realized he must have caught me staring at the ruins of my home. “Oh — sorry.”
“I can’t have you getting cold feet about this. Especially now. Can I trust you to not screw this up when we get in?”
I nodded, trying to look strong when inside I was shaking like a leaf. Ellie was behind him, more concerned for me than for herself. It’s funny how I thought she needed my protection when, in reality, it was the other way around.
“All right, let’s go.” He pushed the door open and led us inside. I held onto her hand tight, more for my sake than hers. “The reason I needed you was that the closer you get to this object, the more the creature gets aggressive. Essentially, we’re playing hot and cold.”
“Aggressive? Are you saying it might attack Ellie? And me?”
“It will attack whoever makes a move for the object, yes. Also, unlike the visions you’ve been seeing, the Guardian is in its physical form here. It’s immortal but fairly weak, so we shouldn’t have too much trouble running from it.” I held back the urge to yell at him as if that would alert the creature.
“Don’t you think you could’ve told me that sooner?” I mumbled through gritted teeth. That’s when something moved. In my peripherals and barely visible, a figure shuffled. I jolted my head towards where it ran off to, trying to track it down. But all that was there was the splintering family table.
It was gone.
“What? What is it? Did you see it?” Thomas urged.
My mouth felt dry. I tried not to panic. “No. Just a shadow, probably just my imagination.”
“You sure it wasn’t the spirit?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“Hm. Alright. Keep an eye out.”
That was when I noticed it again. A shadow zipped by, travelling up the stairway. I frantically pointed at it. “Th-there! Up there!”
Thomas’ eyes grew wide as he saw it. He grabbed the cross before dashing up the stairs, Ellie following close behind. I wanted to do the same, but my legs didn’t seem to want to move. Upon closer inspection, I noticed they were convulsing.
Ellie turned around once she made it to the top. “Something wrong?”
I took a deep breath. With a nod, I forced myself to go up. My fingers traced the linings of the wall, the feeling distant but nostalgic. As if the paint wasn’t chipped off. I almost tripped over the last step, my mind wandering off. Ellie and Thomas were already investigating the other two rooms, leaving me with the final room; the one we used for our family to gather.
A sudden wave of nausea hit me. The whole idea of being here, and seeing it again, made unwanted memories resurface. I entered the dark room, the air smelling of dust, making it hard to breathe. The room was dark because the windows were boarded shut. When I got to the closet, I braced for impact, expecting something to pop out. However, as I pulled the rusted doors open, all I was met with was more dust.
That was when I looked up and saw that, at the highest level, was an unopened box. It looked new like it had come in just yesterday. Curious, I got on my toes and brought it down. It was surprisingly heavy, and I was lucky to have braced quickly enough before the weight fell on me.
Once down, I placed the box in the middle of the room and went to open it. That’s when a faint whisper alerted me. It sounded like mom, and when I spun to look behind me, it looked like her as well.
I jumped to my feet, backing up against the wall in an instant. I wanted to yell at Ellie and Thomas, but my voice didn’t come out.
“Honey,” the spirit began, talking directly to me for the first time. “Join us. Join us where you belong.” This didn’t seem at all like how the Guarian imitated her. She looked and sounded just like her, like she was actually alive.
“Wha-“
“We’ve missed you so much, your dad and I. Please, join us. We need you.”
My legs could not hold my weight anymore. I slid down against the wall, splinters digging into my back. I didn’t feel it over the urge to vomit.
“Come,” the spirit whispered, beckoning me with both arms. “Please. You’re home.”
With trembling hands, I reached out to the spirit, my mind in a state of euphoria. Though I knew it wasn’t my mother, I still yearned to believe it was. Just as I was about to touch its fingertips, Thomas barged into the room. He held up a pistol and fired several rounds into the Guarian, causing it to double over and hiss. The holes look hollow and, in no time at all, were patched up by what looked like smoke. The Guarian, now losing the form of my mother, aimed its focus at Thomas.
While he distracted it, Ellie ran into the room and swooped the box from the ground. The spirit redirected its attention toward the box, but as another chant left Thomas’ lips, it grew weaker, barely able to hold the form of mom. “Damn it, Lola! Get the hell up! I can’t have you freezing up on me now!”
That was all the encouragement the spirit needed to take on its true form.
“Darling, please join us!” A horrendous echo of a thousand voices rang out from its mouth. Even looking at it gave me a headache. It resembled a human, only that it had more bones than skin or flesh. Its face seemed to comprise countless faces as if it could not decide which image to use.
Finally, I snapped back to reality and get up. It cornered me, the spirit’s many features shifting with the motion of its face. It lunged at me and, just before it got too close, I wove beneath it and dash out the exit, Thomas following close behind. The frantic scampering of the Guarian got ever so closer.
My eyes went blurry, relying solely on muscle memory of going down the stairs as a kid to guide me. Luckily, that seemed to work out for me because before I could process the days of sun hitting my face, I was outside.
As soon as I escaped, I wanted nothing more than to collapse on the hard stone, but Thomas’ commands to enter the car prevented me from giving in to my desires. Just as I reached the passenger seat, my legs gave out. My vision became hazy, and I thought I heard my mother’s voice calling me to come back.
Gingerly, I strapped the seatbelt across my body. Despite the rushing of the wind and the hum of the car’s engine in our way home, it couldn’t be more silent. I couldn’t run away from the memories any longer. Years of trying to forget about mom and dad suddenly blew up in my face, leaving me no place to hide. For now, I shut my eyes tight, willing myself to disappear and hoping I would.
“What the hell was that about? You could have gotten us killed!” Thomas roared in my ear.
I opened my eyes and met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “It was nothing,” I mumbled.
“Nothing, my ass! That thing could’ve killed you!”
I bit my lip to keep the tears from coming forth. To distract myself, I turned back to face Ellie. “Did you find what we needed to find?” She looked worried for a moment, momentarily exchanging glances with Thomas before nodding, pulling the box out from underneath the seat and opening it, revealing it to contain several objects.
“Here,” Ellie said, shoving one object into my hand. A scrapbook, small but thick. I already knew what was inside of it and dreaded the idea of opening it. Yet, I still flipped the page open inside. The first picture was not of my parents but my grandparents, taken when they were much younger. I recognized them instantly. The second was a photograph of my father, holding a rifle. The third, my mother and so on. It went on like this for a couple more pages. I was curious as to if they took a photo of me or Ellie as kids, but before I could get to that point, Thomas began talking. “Scrapbooks. Ideal for those fuckers to latch onto. High emotional value and they’ll know exactly how family members look, dead or alive. And judging by its reaction to the box being stolen, this is definitely it.”
I looked back at the road, fearful that it was still chasing us. “And what do we do with it now that we have it?”
“Well,” Thomas began. “It’s complicated. I’ll explain it when we get back.” I was going to continue reading it to pass the time, but Thomas snatched it out of my hand. “Not yet.” We both returned our attention to the road. “I don’t want you looking at it in the meantime. Just hang on, alright?”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I also wasn’t planning on finding out. We got back to my house soon enough. Thomas wasted no time once he was inside, preparing several candles that surrounded the dinner chair he pulled into the middle of the house. “We’ll need someone strongly affected by the Guarian. Preferably someone who can handle it.”
“I’ll do it,” I spoke up instantly. Thomas raised a brow.
“Did you miss the part about “Someone who can handle it”? It’s clear that you can’t. The last time you saw it, you nearly died.”
“I-I know, but if it’s not me, then it’ll be Ellie, and I can’t willingly put her in that type of danger.”
He stood silently, contemplating what he should do before letting out a sigh of defeat. “Alright. But I have to urge you, this is extremely dangerous. And if anything happens to you, there will be hell to pay, understand?” I nodded, and he motioned for me to sit on the chair. Once I did, he began lighting the surrounding candles. After igniting the last wick, he took the scrapbook. “Are you ready? Once you hold and open this, the Guarian will track you down, and when it does, both you and the Guarian will enter your mind. I’m not sure what happens after then, but just know that everything it offers is a trap. You must make haste in leaving it behind.”
“I understand.” I nodded and gripped the scrapbook tighter.
Thomas sat back in his own chair, watching the flames dance in the candlelight. I began turning through the pages, each picture sending a rush of memories back to me. I wanted to close my eyes, but I persisted, flipping the pages one by one until I finally reached the end.
That was when I began paying attention to the outside world. I looked up, realizing that I was no longer surrounded by the familiar monotone walls of my house, but by an endless pitch-black horizon. However, as I turned around, a distant light beckoned me. I narrowed my eyes, stumbling towards it. From the light emerged Ellie. But she was different. Happier. The eye bags under her eyes were missing and, for what I assume was the first time, I saw her smiling. “Ellie? What… what are you doing here?”
“Well,” she began, “we don’t have to miss mom and dad anymore. If you follow me, you can see them.” I wouldn’t have trusted anyone that said this. Anyone other than Ellie.
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.
She pointed to the light. “Right there. Follow it, and that’ll take you right to them.” Swallowing any reservations, I followed the path from Ellie’s finger. I walked closer to the light, getting closer. Family members that had taken their lives appeared, cheering me on. They were all standing, waiting with open arms. A sense of warmth filled me, and a smile spread across my lips.
When I thought there would be no more room for me to go through, the light opened wider like gates and standing in front of it were my parents. I stopped, staring at my mother’s beautiful face. She smiled. “Lola,” my father spoke up. “It’s time to slow down.”
My smile faltered for a moment, and he continued. “You don’t need to save the family or whatever you think you’re doing. You’re barely an adult. “ My mother took over for him.
“I’m sorry that we made you feel you had some sort of responsibility. It’s not what you signed up for. You can rest now. With all of us. What do you say?” She let out a hand, reaching for me.
“Don’t!” A hiss rang out behind me. I spun around, only to be greeted by the Guarian, holding its arms out in front of me. “Don’t listen to it. It lies!” I flinched, backing away from it and closer to mom. I turned back towards her, reaching out my hand to grab hers. But just before I made contact, I realized something. The way she was beckoning me, the way her hand was stretched out in front of her — it was the same position the Guarian held when it was trying to trick me back to the house.
I immediately took my hand back, which caused dad to have an uncharacteristic amount of anger seeping into his voice. “Lola, what do you think you’re doing? Come here.” Though he still looked like dad, whoever was in front of me was not him. The guise was slipping, and my mind realized that this was, in fact, the trap Thomas was talking about. With a spin, I dashed away from the light and towards what looked like the Gurian, whose arms spread wider in response to my running to it.
As soon as I jumped into its arms, I felt it. Actual warmth, not whatever the Guarian was offering. I looked up and saw my mom, my actual mom, looking down at me, tears trickling down her eyes. My dad emerged from the shadows. They were pensive and dirty, with not much colour on their faces.
But that was how they were. No matter how much I wanted the reality the Guarian was sewing to be real, I knew it wasn’t. This wasn’t pretty, not one bit, but it was who they were, and I had to accept that.
“No!” What started as my mother’s voice distorted into many until it was unrecognizable. The light behind me had dimmed, giving me an ominous feeling.
Behind me, the “perfect” family was falling apart. They were distorting, their forms blurring in and out of existence. With one final screech, every member of the fake family began morphing together until all that was left was a hulking mass of flesh.
It stood about 8 meters tall, the head of my mother atop it. With a deep breath, I stood my ground, staring it dead in the eyes. And then it spoke, its voice booming in the silence between us.
“I will save you, Lola. I will make it all right. Just give in to me. Let me be your family again.” But I didn’t let its false promises get to me. Angered, the Guarian tried, again and again, and each time I reject it, the Guarian would grow weaker. Finally, it was reduced to nothing but a small ball of darkness. It writhed on the floor, screaming, “Please, Lola. I can make it better. Please stop hurting me. Do it, Lola. Please …”
I watched as the darkness dissipated, leaving nothing in its wake except an empty space in front of me where it had once been. Mom and dad walked in front of me, sharing a look before giving me a sad smile. I wanted to talk to them about so much, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to.
Then I blinked, and I was back in my house. My eyes were wide, not used to the sudden change in scenery. As I looked down at the scrapbook, I know something’s changed. It was gone. The dread I felt from holding it was gone like several pounds were lifted off of it. Then, as if it was finally given permission, the first tear rolled by my cheek, followed by the rest. Wails burst forth, and I buried my face in my hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
Another batch of sobs joined me and judging by the pair of hands wrapped around my shaking body, I knew it belonged to Ellie. After so many years, we could finally mourn the death of our parents. We’d finally cried tears of sorrow.
After a long while, I regained control of myself, and as I looked up, Thomas stood in front of us, a stoic expression on his face. “When I was studying demons, I always thought the Guarian was one of the weak ones. It was frail, slow and couldn’t effectively kill its prey and had to rely on magic tricks. Now, I’m not so sure. It’s no wonder this is the first time I’ve seen a Guarian properly disposed of.” He picked up the candles surrounding me, which had long since been distinguished. “Many people can’t face the past, such as your grandma. She attempted to perform this ritual long ago, but she ended up failing. Only you succeeded, Lola. You did it.”
“S-so are my other family members freed?”
“Not exactly. What you have just done isn’t exorcising the Guarian, but taking its source of power. I suppose everyone is haunted by the Guarian. How much depends on the person. But no longer will that abomination be able to hurt you… As long as you do one thing.” He pointed to the scrapbook. “Burn it.” Instinctively, I held on close to it.
“Wh-what, why?”
“Because remnants of its power remain inside the book. Through it, can refuel your sorrow. Think of this as moving on from the past.” I looked at the book, still clutching tight to it. “Lola, burn it, please. For the sake of your own sanity, it’s the only way.”
My gaze turned toward the fireplace door and I nodded. I hobbled over to it, my legs still shaking from the experience, and held the book up to my face. Thomas handed me his lighter, giving me a nod that I returned. Ellie took up a position at my side, supporting me with her arm as I walked to the fire. She looked up at me and gave a sad smile.
I lit the corner of the scrapbook and tossed it into the fire pit. Sparks flew up, and soon flames were licking their way across the wood. Then, when all the pages had burned away, the fire continued, reducing the book of memories to nothing. I let out a sigh, though I didn’t know why. Relief, sadness, exhaustion? Some of all three? I turned to Thomas, who was observing. He came over, his hand resting on my shoulder.
“Good job, kid.” He said, smiling warmly. “You’re free now.” Then he left, leaving the house feeling empty.
I don’t really know how to end this. Thank you to everyone who commented on the original post, I guess. I don’t think I would’ve lived to write this if it weren’t for the help.