hat branched off the main highway and disappeared into the woods. The directions Mom had gotten were vague, written on a crumpled napk

the house. It was a small, dilapidated saltbox house that looked like it was slowly being swallowed by the overgrown woods around it. The pa

ver. "Are you sure

. She was beyond doubt now,

e only sound was the buzzing of insects. We walked up the cracked stone

that were a startlingly pale blue. Her gray hair was a wild mess, and she wore a fade

parents and landing on me. I was leaning heavily on my dad, my b

rasp. She turned and walked back into the ho

es of dried herbs, oddly shaped rocks, jars filled with murky liquids, and stacks of yellowed books.

om. Mrs. Albright ignored us, busying her

ommanded, not

d me to a threadbare armchair. I

y wife was told... we were told you might

eyes seemed to look right through me, seeing something deep inside. She took a slow sip fro

she

k," she said, her voice flat.

xchanged a c

you mean?"

. "You moved. You brought the old woman, but you

om g

pale. "How could

ng to a near whisper. "You let it get lost. You left it e

randma' s altar. The crushed box from the garage. We hadn' t told her a single word, but she knew. She knew everything. In that moment, in that dusty, strange-smelling house, the world I knew, the world