The Largest Stone

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. As I crested the hill, several lit candles lined the edge of the window, casting long-moving shadows on the opposite wall.

“It's going towards 'yes',” shouted Pam.

“Shhh!” Scolded Britney, Jason, and Alexa. “Please try not to yell every time,” Jessica explained empathically.

“Sorry,” responded Pam. “It's just so exciting!”

I stopped on the path a few yards from the open door to see what was going on. I noticed the Ouija board in the center of a ring of a dozen teenagers. They were all dressed in black, and a few of them had witches' hats on.

A few in the circle offered heavy eye rolls. “Can we just focus?” demanded Andrea, who seemed to be the one in charge. Her witch hat was considerably more intricate than the others in the room, and she was one of three people with their hands on the paddle of the Ouija board.

The paddle slowly and shakily moved to the 'yes,' and stayed.

“What's your name?” asked Andrea. The paddle didn't move.

“What's your name?” Andrea repeated.

“Let's try a different approach,” offered Matt. “Do you know any of us?”

The paddle briefly moved off of 'yes' and returned to repeat the answer.

“Wait, if the spirit knows one of us, why won't they tell us their name?” asked Andrea.

Adam looked up and suddenly made eye contact with me outside the door. Stunned, he continued to sit silently, afraid of what would happen next. I gently knocked on the door, and 13 heads nervously turned to look at me.

“Hey, mind if I come in and join?” I asked with a calm smile.

Andrea stood up, nearly flinging the board across the circle, and blurted out, “No one was here, and we were just using it to see-”

“It's okay,” I interrupted her, “I was hoping I could join and maybe offer a few tips?”

“Oh, um, sure. Yeah, that would be great, because I'm not sure how to do this, and we have all been friends for a long time, and a few of us are really interested in understanding this much more,” Andrea said. After she calmed down, she offered me a seat next to her in the circle.

I sat down as Andrea retrieved the board and gently placed the paddle on the 'yes.'

“Try asking the letters of their name,” I suggested.

“Oh!” Andrea placed her fingers back on the board, and said out loud, “What is the first letter of your name?”

The paddle moved over to the A and stopped. “A,” I said. I looked Andrea in the eyes and raised my eyebrow.

"Right. Um, 'What is the next letter of your name?'” Andrea asked the board, quickly looking at me for confirmation. I gently nodded and smiled.

“R,” said Britney. She looked at me for confirmation, and I returned a nod. “What is the next letter?” she asked.

“M,” said Jason. “What is the next letter?”

“O,” said Matt. “What's the next letter?”

“N,” said Jenna. “What is the next letter?”

“D,” said Louise. “Wait, is your name-”

“Armond!?” Amanda yelled in a gasp as she covered her mouth with her hands. The paddle slid to the 'yes' and stayed. Amanda began crying into her hands, and Rachel put her arm around Amanda's shoulders. A muffled “It's my Dad,” came from behind Amanda's hands.

The entire circle took a breath and sat stunned. “Well done everyone,” I congratulated. I turned to Amanda and said, “What would you like to say to your dad? What would you like to ask him? It is best to ask questions that can be answered with either a “yes” or a “no.”

Still stunned, Amanda said, “I miss you so much.” After a moment of thought, she asked with a small smile, “Are you moving things in our house?” The paddle moved to 'yes' and stayed. “Dad! You scared the crap out of me,” responded Amanda laughing through her tears.

The circle laughed softly and kept their attention on Amanda. “My pen, the feather, mom's necklace, and her thimble, that was you?!” The paddle once again moved off of 'yes' and quickly returned. “Do you have a message for me?” asked Amanda. Yes again.

Amanda turned to me and asked, “What should we do?” I leaned over, whispered in her ear, and sat back up. With great anticipation, the circle switched back and forth between me and Amanda. Amanda smiled and asked, “Could you spell it out for me?”

The paddle began moving around the board and stopped at 13 letters: T R U S T I N S T I N C T. The paddle stayed on the last 'S.'

“Wait, what did he say?” asked Amanda frantically.

“Trust your instincts,” said Kevin.

Amanda sat for a moment and thought about what just happened. The rest of the circle was staring at her, and I gently placed my hand over her hand which was resting on her knee. “Are you okay?” I asked. Amanda turned her head to look at me with tears in her eyes. “It was really him,” she barely got out before she began sobbing.

“Mhmm,” I affirmed. “They are all around us, all the time. They know everything we are doing, feeling, and thinking.”

“What the hell just happened?” blurted out Nancy, the notoriously funny one. The circle laughed and took a deep exhale.

“It's wild, isn't it?” I stood up to go, and Andrea asked where I was going. “I have to get going. I have to get these stones in the light of the full moon for at least 6 hours.”

“Are... are you... a... witch?” asked Janet.

“So I'm told,” I said with a smile. “Maybe I will see you around?” I said with a wink and turned to walk out the door.

I was a quarter mile down the path when I heard out-of-breath footsteps coming up behind me. “Wait! Witch! Wait up a... minute,” Amanda said panting heavily. “What's your name?”

“Just call me Kit,” I said smiling. “Here, take this stone for safekeeping. I love the energy in stones and collect them everywhere I go, and this one is considerably larger than the rest. Keep it in the light of the full moon tonight, and every full and new moon to charge it. Whenever you need some advice, hold it tight and think about your question. Then all you need to do is listen and trust your instincts. You're ahead of your time, your father was right, you don't trust yourself. He also said he loved what you did with your assignment on elephants. Be good, okay?” I gently touched her shoulder and turned to begin walking again.

“But, am I ever going to see you again?” asked Amanda.

I turned around and walked back over to her, “You are stronger than you know, and we will if it is meant to happen, I promise,” I assured her. “I was meant to be walking this trail tonight because I was meant to pass along spiritual wisdom. Seeing all of you with the Ouija board brought back a lot of great memories, and it has helped me on my journey. I must go now, and tend to a few things, just be sure to keep your stone safe and trust the answers,” and turned to leave.

When I got back to my car, I examined the stones I had picked up and counted 13 tiny pebbles. I sat in awe of how everything happens in pure synchronicity.