Partners

After the fair, Maple and I returned to our daily lives, this time as a couple. Being candid, I didn’t know what to expect going forward in the future. My feelings were a conflicted mess between nervousness and happiness. Not because of any doubts about confessing, but rather fear about our relationship not working out, not to mention how my parents or Maple’s aunt would react.

Relationship aside, the investigation was back on track. We were already outside the house discussing our plan for the day.

“How should we break the news to Miss Emily?” Maple asked.

“Do we have to tell her? I mean, it’s not like she has to know.”

“Of course we have to! Don’t worry, it’s not like she’s going to hate us or anything. I don’t think she’s that sorta person.”

It then clicked that we were missing something important.

“By the way, what exactly did Miss Emily tell you before we left?”

She seemed taken aback, almost as if she completely forgot about it… which just so happened to be the case, as evident by her awkward laughter.

“Mhmmhmmmph…” let out an unknown source. I looked everywhere, only to discover a familiar sight. Peering through the first-floor window was Miss Emily, her speech muffled by the glass. She was waving her arms frantically to catch our attention.

“Miss Emily, we can’t hear you! What are you saying?” Maple shouted.

“Mhmmph! Mhmmmph!”

“Mhm, mhm, I understand! Paige and I will be there in just a second!”

It was charming to see Maple being herself. Funny, to think how just a week ago, I would have lost my mind, chalking her up to nothing more than someone with childish antics. But Miss Emily? She was still as scary as ever. However, seeing how much I changed regarding Maple, it wasn’t far-fetched to believe that I, too, could come to terms with Miss Emily.

We opened the door to greet her, only to encounter a surprise. In a similar fashion to Miss Emily, a new possessed toy had made itself known, this time a toy dinosaur. Wasn’t there a children’s movie like this about toys coming to life? Never mind that, just who was this?

“Rawr! Rawwrrrr!” it roared.

“Uh, roar? Do you understand us?” I asked, completely bewildered.

As if to say yes, the toy’s head bobbed up and down. Miss Emily then jumped in and started explaining everything.

“I was trying to let you guys know that we have a new guest. It’s your second-favorite ghost, Tater tots!”

“Rawr, rawr!”

“He can’t speak English as a T-rex, but fear not, I can interpret for him!”

“Aww, he’s adorable! Those tiny arms are so cute!” Maple said vivaciously.

“Indeed, they are! Of course, not as cute as me, but I digress. What Tater tots has been saying is that he needs help in finding his family. Maple, do you remember what I said last time?”

The three of them went on for several minutes as I stood idly by. In short, Miss Emily took a few days to create a vessel for Tater tots to reside in by using a toy from the bedroom. And the family that he described was indeed the one in the group photo. Everything was clicking into place, except for one thing. If we were able to make contact with Tater tots, then how come we couldn’t with the others? There were other names listed during our spirit box session, but in hindsight, they were most likely a joke by Tater tots.

All we had to do was draw the other members out from hiding and learn their identities, but just how? Searching through the cavities of my brain, I thought back to everything we had discovered. Then…

Ding!

We could have the pictures analyzed by the police! Or wait, no, we couldn’t. If we did, they would interrogate us on where we found it. From there, they would confiscate it and possibly even lock the house down. There was no way in heck I would let some grubby old outsiders interfere with my, no, our investigation, so into the trash bin this idea went. Digging deeper, I came up with the thought of searching online for records on the house. Alas, there was nothing, not even a street view image of the home.

Out of options, I consulted Maple. She was my partner in more ways than one. I was delighted to let her have as much of a say in the investigation as I did.

“Hmm, what if we invited more people to stir up the energy inside? You know, like a party!”

“A party?”

“Yeah! They’ll show up because who would want to turn down an invitation?”

“We can try, but who would join us?”

Without hesitation, she fired off some names. “Oh, you know: Kevin, Nick, Samantha, and Daniel.”

“Are you sure we can trust them?”

“I do, but if you’d rather not, then it’s alright. We can always find something else to try.” Hearing her voice concern for me was touching. I really appreciated it to the point where I felt like crying.

“No, we can go with that. I trust you, Maple.”

“T—Thanks, Paige.” She was red in the face.

“Hey, are you two lovebirds now or something? Miss Emily was now between us.

“Ah, I was about to tell you!” Maple said. “Paige and I are now dating!”

Miss Emily stared at Maple with a blank expression before laughing like a maniac.

“Bwahahaha! I knew it! If you don’t mind, I’ll take credit for pushing you two together! Hehe!”

“Wait, Miss Emily, do you like me a bit more now?” I asked, curious to hear her new opinion.

“Hmph, maybe. Only because Maple sees something in you. Now, if you don’t mind, Tater tots and I are going to prepare for the party. Come by tomorrow, and we’ll have some presents.”

And with that, they left their toys, collapsing on the floor.

“Well, I guess we should go contact the others,” I said.

“Mhm! Let’s go!”

Before we left, Maple hugged me, resting her head on my chest.

“I love you, Paige.”

“I love you too.”

“Heh, you’re so sweet…”