Whispers swept under the door and song whistled through the glass. Outside, white stained the world as ice and snow took over. Wisteria watched the distant march of chanters through the whipping flakes. How far her home town had fallen, more a cult then it already had been. There was no longer a place for her among believers.
"Go to bed, sweetheart."
Wisteria glanced up, meeting her mother's eyes. You started this, she wanted to accuse, but smartly kept her mouth shut. "Yes mum." She scrambled from her perch by the window and scurried passed Sheala.
As she Wisteria swept up the stairs, she could have sworn her mother had whispered one last thing.
"Let it begin…."
The ominous words sent shivers down Wisteria's spine. A part of her ached to rage, to throw things, to smash glass. But she knew better. Do not wake the beast. She chanted. Do not wake the beast.
The yelling came much later, the crashing, the screaming echoing throughout the house. The arguing was muffled by the walls. Curiosity and fear burned in her gut. Wisteria burrowed herself deeper into her sheets; she knew not of who her mother argued with, and she didn't dare ask. It was all in her head after all. Her mother was a calm person, well liked, who didn't talk to things that weren't really there. Not like Wisteria.
"You can't keep doing this!" her mother yelled. "Leave my precious baby alone. You don't deserve her company."
Again, the reply was muffled, though oddly familiar. Unique.
"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Sheala screeched.
Wisteria gasped, though the fights had been increasingly worse as of late, this one seemed by far the worst.
"I didn't know what I was agreeing to, I was young, he tricked me." Her mother sobbed; Wisteria's heart cracked with each of Sheala's heavy breaths.
The reply was quick, laughter and something teasing in the tone.
"It's not fair." Sheala's voice was calming now. Eerily so, and Wisteria knew what was to come next. "You can't have her." The calm voice was such a contrast to what had previously come out of Sheala's mouth. "I made her. I suffered for her; I changed my life for her. I left my home for her. She's special, she's -."
This time Wisteria heard the voice; recognizing it, she knew, as her mother always said, that this wasn't real. It was all in her head.
"Then pay your dept, Sheala. We demand it so; thus, it shall be so." The words were clear, slowly pronounced, firm, lulling Wisteria to sleep, she always felt safe when he came out.
The police came at midnight. They banged at the front door and swarmed in through the back, shouting their arrival and warning of the consequences of resistance.
Wisteria jarred awake, jumped from her bed, and stumbled down the stairs. Forgetting her glassed behind; blearily she rushed right into an officer -who quickly grasped her arms, spinning her around and shoving her off towards another, closer to the door.
A yelp tore from her lips as she tripped over the doorstep and was yanked into the dark night. The farther she was pulled from the house, the faster the world seemed to get. Her fingers clenched, chilled by the snowy breeze. Wisteria inhaled a lung full of frosty air, the icy current slowing the world around her. She blinked, realizing they had stopped before a car. She glanced over her shoulder towards the house, towards her mother. Fear trailed up her spine.
Sheala went quietly, eyes barely leaving her daughter. "Go home," she whispered as she was passed to a different car, "go home."
Wisteria wanted to rush past the officer between them. The officer, twice her size -for Wisteria had always been small for her age- stood intimidatingly.
"Come now, we'll explain everything. You'll be alright. We'll take you both down to the station and figure everything out."
Wisteria glanced up at the officer. She recognized the woman as Officer Lackey, who often traveled in from the neighboring city to check up on things. The familiarity sank into her and a sense of calm swallowed Wisteria. She let Lackey gently wrangle her into the car. She gave one last glance at her mother, before the door of the opposite care was closed with a slam.
Griping her pajama pants tightly, Wisteria leaned forward, eyes straining to see over the driver's shoulder and into the night. She wanted to ask -several times her mouth opened, only to close again. She had been taught silence, with rough hands and loud words. She let the night soak up her chaotic thoughts and rolling emotions, calm sliding over her, before dissipating. Over and over, the cycle repeated, as they made the forty-five-minute journey to the city.
A burning curiosity awoke within her. Was it the cult? Was it the nightly trips to the river where the people chanted and sacrificed various things -Sheala didn't know Wisteria new about that- or perhaps it was the noises that came from the basement; popping, crackling and clanking. Wisteria wondered if the charms she bore around her neck were the product of illegal activity and perhaps, she should toss them away. But no, she had vowed to her mother that she would not remove the protective charms, no matter how cult-y they seemed.
Wisteria swallowed. Would her mother go to jail? Would she be charged? Could they afford it? Would they have to sell their home, their car? She had often wondered if she was a bad person for not reporting the suspicious activity in her village, but the potential pain of loss of her mother had prevented her form ever speaking up when Lackey had made trips to Smile Falls. Besides, who would believe a troubled teenager, when she was known to hallucinate, was rumored to have violent tendencies and who's mother was widely respected- a mother who would speak against her.
The car rolled over a bump, driving Wisteria from her thoughts.
"We've arrived, Wisteria." Officer One said. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at her. "We'll get you all sorted out, just follow us."
Wisteria nodded mutely, and slid from the car when Officer Two opened the door for her; wondering momentarily if Officer Lackey had told them her name. She trailed after the two officers, who lead her into a beige waiting room with peeling paint and a lone couch. There was one window, still darkened by the one o'clock night.
Officer Two left and Officer One sat beside her on the couch, a healthy space between them.
"So, Wisteria, you just turned fifteen?"
"Almost sixteen," Wisteria couldn't help but add.
"Yes." Officer One grinned. "Can you tell me about any of your immediate or extended relatives other then your mother?"
Wisteria's heart sank. She could only think of one reason they would ask such a question. "No, it's just my mother and me -I mean, I have a biological father out there, but mum never speaks much of him. She says they split before I was born." Telling a stranger such personal family information felt wrong, but ignoring an officer felt even more wrong, they had so much power.
"Do you know of anyway to contact him?"
Wisteria nodded slowly. "Mum gave me his number, just in case of an emergency -if she wasn't available to take care of it." Wisteria tucked a strand of thick frizzy hair behind her ear, giving the officer her best pitiful wide-eyed look. "Sir, is this an emergency? Will my mother be okay?"
His smile faltered. He looked Wisteria in the eye and firmly nodded. "That's what we are figuring out right now. Your mother is speaking to our detectives and hopefully within the hour, we'll know the answers to all your questions."
There was a creak as the door opened and Officer Two came back in, this time with a bottle of water and a muffin. "Are you hungry, thirsty?"
Wisteria shook her head, barely looking at Officer Two.
Officer One continued, "for now we think it best you call your next immediate family, it might be a while until your mother can take custody of you again and there are forms that need to be filled out."
Wisteria slowly pulled out her cell. She found the number quickly, but starred at it, hesitant to press the call button. What if no one picked up; an unknown number? What if they didn't believe her? She looked up at Officer One. "I think you should call him, it will seem more legit coming from an officer."
The officers exchanged looks before nodding. "That will work, just list the number for us."
Wisteria swallowed a lump; she was really doing this. The numbers came out thick and sloppy, she stumbled and had to repeat it a second time.
The phone seemed to ring forever, and when the officers began to speak, she couldn't make out the replies.
"Hello, Wilton Police Speaking, we're calling on behalf of a case concerning one Wisteria Dreight, daughter of Sheala Fallow-Dreight. This number was given to her as an emergency contact. Please state your identity."
Wisteria licked her lips, she was sure this wasn't the proper way to go about things, but they were small town police, so maybe they didn't follow the rules as they should.
"We'll need you to come in person, to fill out some forms and verify your identity. Sheala is currently in custody."
Wisteria fidgeted quietly, in custody and unlikely to be released, if they were going this far.
"We will have to speak to Sheala, get the official files, to find out who the next of kin is. In the mean time. you might have to stick around the city. We could have it all figured out within the night, if Sheala cooperates."
Wisteria closed her eyes. She really didn't like this. The concept of her father was foreign. He had always been a distant fact, covered by a minimal amount of curiosity and longing. But her mother had always been firmly against it -only in the case of an emergency. Because of that alone, Wisteria already knew he was her legal guardian, after her mother. Despite everything, her mother had an innate trust in her father when it came to Wisteria. Why then, had they been kept apart? Wisteria couldn't understand and had never dared ask.
Officer One bid his farewell. The call was quickly followed by a whispered conversation with Officer Two. They both turned towards Wisteria.
"Wisteria." Officer Two said. "We'll leave you here for now. You're in for a long wait. Your father said he couldn't get here until the morning-."
Wisteria blinked. Officer Two stood still, mouth open slightly. Officer One stood behind them, eyes closed as if mid blink. They were still. Not even the rise and fall of their chests.
Wisteria knew how this went. She could count how many times it had happened, and she recalled each one with such clarity that it was impossible to mistake them for hallucinations. No matter what everyone else said.
Eyes glazed forward Officer Two started again. "Forgive my mistake. He said he would email us a digital copy of the plane ticket and all we have to do is send you off. Everything has been taken care of."
Wisteria shivered at the oh-so-familiar ghostly voice that took over people when they became what she had long referred to as "puppets."
They shooed her out the door but she soon came to an abrupt stop. In the front office stood her mother.
Sheala smiled sadly. "Shush, darling. I don't have much time. They'll be here any moment now that your father has been notified of the situation."
"They?" Wisteria croaked.
"Yes, the police who monitor people like me and your father, and soon enough you. These human police are nothing compared to them." Sheala's large eyes blinked. "I will go willingly of course. I have committed a grave wrong. You'll be safe with your father." Sheala reached out and gently put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I've always known this day would come. Promise you won't hate me."
Wisteria shook her head. "I don't- what- I mean, what is going on mum?"
"It's a long story Wisteria. Too long. I made a mistake in my youth, and to pay the debt, I had to do something horrible. You have to understand, I was given two choices and between you and those children? I would choose you any day."
Wisteria choked, her hearts swelling despite the situation.
"Go, Wisteria. I've sent you the ticket, your father will be expecting you, I've sent him one last message. You know where the closest bus is -from there you can use your phone to get directions to the plane terminal."
Wisteria nodded and turned, the urgency in her mother's voice discouraging any questions -mostly. "Mum?" She whispered over her shoulder. "What did you do?"
Her mother's sad smile fell. "I killed them. The debt called for it and I provided. Go now, Wisteria. They'll be here any moment and I don't want them knowing you were anywhere near me when I did it. I've spun quite the story in these human officer's minds and all you have to say -if you're asked- is that you had no idea; the truth dear. Remember, always the truth concerning this."
Wisteria closed her eyes, then jerked forward, sprinting out the front door and down the road. The glow of street lamps led her away from the building and into the distant night. Destination in mind, she didn't stop.