The Not-So-Hidden Truth

I knew from the moment we left the house that something wasn’t right. Jared had been acting strange all morning, and the car ride to his mother’s pumpkin patch was no different. Does he know what I’ve done? Does he know what is waiting for us at the patch?

I couldn’t help it. She was becoming a nightmare in the middle of the day. Haunting me. Tearing at my eyes and my skin whenever she got the chance. If Jared didn’t know already what I’d done, he would find out soon.

As we pulled into the driveway of the old farmhouse my breath clung to my throat, refusing to leave my lips. This was it. Our lives as we knew them were about to come to an end. As I pictured the handcuffs being clamped around my wrists, I heard Jared say “Well, are you just gonna sit in the car, or are we going to find some pumpkins? My mom said she’d be waiting for us.”

I unlatched my seatbelt, reached for the door handle, and took a deep breath. I knew his mother wasn’t waiting for us. I knew where she was and I knew she wasn’t coming back anytime soon.

As I exited the car, the sight of the pumpkin patch stopped me in my tracks. There, standing next to the biggest pumpkin, was Jared’s mother.

‘How could this be?’ I wondered as we walked up to the old woman carrying a smirk on her face and a carved pumpkin in her hands.

“Hello, mother,” said Jared. “You’re looking unwell. Have you been getting enough rest?”

She said nothing. She made no movements. Her pale skin was the only thing I could pay attention to.

“Angelica? Are you okay?” I mustered up the courage to say.

Once again, she said nothing. She made no movement. And the drool that was now falling out of her mouth was the only thing I could pay attention to. Jared, on the other hand, was beginning to notice everything.

“Mom, why are you so pale? Why aren’t you answering me? And why are you in your pajamas still?”

Jared was getting antsy. I wasn’t expecting the spell to work out quite this way. Unfortunately, it seems that I must have turned her into an UNdead corpse, rather than just a dead one. How could I have messed up Aunt Lucia’s spell like this? Either way, we must work with what we have and I have my work cut out for me now.

“Jared, honey, it seems that your mother is playing into the Halloween spirit. Why don’t we go pick out our pumpkins and leave her to her own devices? After all, her pumpkin patch is about to be consumed by crowds and I don’t want to miss out on the good pumpkins.”

Jared reluctantly agreed but asked me to bring his mother inside to get her out of her pajamas and into something more appropriate. ‘Perfect,’ I thought. ‘Now I can fix my mistake.”

“Come with me, Angelica. Let’s find something else to wear,” I urged Jared’s mother. She looked at me with mistrust. Luckily, she couldn’t speak because there was no doubt in my mind that she knew what I attempted to do. Now, I must finish what I started.

As I walked into Jared’s childhood home I began to feel a bit of regret for what I had to do next. Not enough regret to abandon my plan, but enough to feel a little sorry for my future husband.

When I got Angelica safely to the top of the stairs I began to speak softly to her. “You could have just left it alone. You could’ve just let it be our secret, and you could have allowed us to be in love. This is your fault and I’m not sorry.”

Angelica had found out my truth by accident and she had threatened to expose me to Jared for months. That just wouldn’t do any longer. I began to say the spell when I could hear Jared calling for me from outside.

I laid Angelica down on her bed and quietly whispered “For the transgressions against me, a witch of the highest order, you must feel the ache in your heart that you attempted to inflict on mine. One can not have a heart like yours and know about my true being. With these words, I condemn you to a quick death. A death that will kill your heart and atone for your hate. Angelica, the mother of my one true love, may you take your last breath knowing that the jealousy you felt towards me caused this.”

With a flick of my fingers and a quick spell, Angelica was soon dead from a major heart attack.
“Rest in peace, you evil hag,” I said before yelling for Jared. He wouldn’t miss her. She was the one who controlled him, after all. She was the true witch, the one who would destroy her son for a bit of attention.

Jared ran up the stairs and into his mother’s room.

“It’s done then?” he asked when he saw his mother lying on the bed.

“You…you know?” I stuttered.


“Yes. I needed her out of the way.”

“And now, it’s time for you to be rewarded for your good deed,” Jared said as he plunged a dagger into my chest.

The last thing I heard before drifting off was a simple explanation from Jared: “It was never about love. It was about power. And now, your powers and my mother’s powers are mine. Rest in peace, I knew what you were the whole time. Consider yourself used and abused”


W/C
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