It is after midnight
when they take out the game
Amy and Allison are asleep
Bridget and Kathy
want to play
Ouija
I’d never heard of it
so I say sure
I love board games
and I was so happy
to be at
my first sleepover
in my new pajamas with feet
Kathy pulls out the board
it has ornate letters across the
top
and bottom
and a heart shaped game piece
it’s beautiful
she explains the rules
it’s a two player game
you ask questions of spirits
from the other side
I look at her
I think I’ll just watch, I say
no, no says Bridget
you gotta play
so Kathy tells Bridget and me to sit
face to face
the board on our lap
I place my fingers on the pointer
lightly
like Bridget
what do you wanna ask, she says
you gotta ask something from the dead
I don’t know any dead people, I say
how about your grandmother
she just died, right?
Ouija, is MJ’s grandma with us tonight?
are you THERE?
I shut my eyes
I can feel the pointer start to move
across the board
it stops
Kathy screams
It points to YES,
YES.
I take my hands away
she’s here MJ she’s here!
Bridget is excited
put your hands back on, she says
put your hands back on!
Ouija, if you really are MJ’s grandma
tell us your name
I watch Bridget’s hands this time
to see if she’s moving the pointer
as it slides
to
J
then O
I can hear my heart
Bridget breathing
and the gentle scraping of the pointer
as it slides
all by itself
and stops
on the final letter of
JOSEPHINE
my Grandma’s name
