Tell me something you don’t know

“Wait, I have an idea!” Maisie exclaims. “Yesterday in my bedroom, you told me to tell you everything I knew about the curse.” You’re curious where she’s going with this. “And I told you everything, even including all the little details Grandma told us about when I was only half listening. So maybe, you could tell me to tell you everything I don’t know!”

That seems like a good idea to you, but Holly interjects. “Everything you don’t know sounds kind of scary. We could sit here for hours, even days. But it’s a good idea to try, maybe ask about something we don’t know? Or you could be more specific, ask about why it didn’t work with my boss. Maybe even more direct, ask why my hair didn’t change colour.” In a quieter tone, she adds, “I hope it’s not that it worked and he made me forget…”

Happy to accept Holly’s amendment, you ask, “Are you okay with that, Maisie?”

“Yes, that sounds good. Ask me to tell you why Holly couldn’t be claimed.”

“Okay then, here goes. Maisie, tell us why Holly’s hair didn’t change colour when she was commanded to.”

Maisie breathes in deeper than what her lung capacity seems to allow, then rises from the couch, arms straight at her sides. Her eyes begin to glow with an otherworldly purple light, and she takes a step forward… into the coffee table. The glass surface of the table seems to ripple where her legs are intersecting it.

“The curse affecting Holly Elaine Petersen has been interfered with… by a living relative of the witch Rosalind, the originator of the curse.” Maisie takes a step back, then appears to phase back into reality, collapsing into the couch.

“Sis! Are you okay?”

Maisie stirs, not opening her eyes yet. “I’m fine, just… maybe don’t do this again anytime soon”, she says weakly.

You gently reposition her on the couch so she’s fully lying down on it instead of in a slump against the backrest, then start massaging her temples. “Don’t worry, we can get to the bottom of this now that we have a lead.”

Some cursory online research later, you know that the local library has a genealogy section, and it’s still open for another two hours. After some assurances by Maisie that she will be fine for now, you decide together to have Holly and you go check it out while Maisie is still recovering on the couch.

Under the guise of doing a group project for a college history course, it’s easy enough to get shown around by a local librarian and even granted access to an online database of historical records. It takes a while to find what you assume must be the right Rosalind after Holly calls her grandmother to make sure she was from Lincoln in northern England, and then follow the trail of her offspring (suspiciously, there is also at least one daughter in every generation) until a certain Betty Franklin arrives in your home state of Virginia in 1896. Sadly, that’s all you manage before the library is closing for the day, and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get access to the database again from here.

When you get back to the Petersen household, Maisie is back on her feet and burning to know what you found out.

“So apparently, there was a Betty Franklin who came here across the ocean in 1896. We didn’t have time for any more research before the library closed for the day, but it should be easy enough to follow that up tomorrow.” Your phone buzzes, and you give it a quick glance. “Also apparently my Mom wants me home for dinner. I guess that’s fair, I haven’t been home since yesterday morning.”

“Can I come with you?” Maisie is making puppy dog eyes at you.

After a quick exchange of text messages to confirm that it’s in fact okay to invite Maisie over to dinner, the two of you say goodbyes to Holly and Mary and drive over to your home.

“Hi Simon, welcome back Maisie! How have you been? It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!” Your mother hugs both of you as you arrive. “Come in, we’ve waited for you to serve dinner.”

“Hello Mrs. Jones! I’m fine, thank you! In fact, I’ve been more than fine after spending a whole day together with Simon”, she smiles and gives you a peck on the cheek.

Blushing, you follow her in and you get set up at the dinner table. Your father congratulates you on finally getting together with such a beautiful girl (“Dad, please”), and your mother comments on Maisie’s unusual hairstyle.

“I just had it done recently.” Maisie shoots you a secret smile. “Do you like it?”

“Oh it’s absolutely gorgeous, darling! Makes me wish I’d been as daring in my younger days.”

“So what have you two been up to recently?”, your father inquires.

You give him an exasperated look. What a classic Dad question to ask of someone bringing home a new girlfriend.

Maisie comes to your rescue. “Oh, you know, there’s a school history project. We’re doing some genealogy research.”

“Really? Who about?” Your mother is curious.

“Do you by chance know anything about a Betty Franklin?”

“Oh, do I!” Your mother chuckles. “She was my great-grandmother!”