The truth about Margaret

Once we arrived, Margaret went towards the couch to drop her purse and remove her hat and veil.

“Are you feeling alright, Mother?" I inquired. She stayed silent, her back facing me. "Mother?"

She then turned to face me, smiling. "Alright. Now that we're back, we can talk."

"W-what do you want to talk about, Mother?" I asked.

She took a step forward. "Oh, I don't know… Maybe about…" Another step. “Who you are?"

"H-huh?"

Her expression suddenly shifted, becoming way more menacing, sending shivers down my spine. "You don't have to deny it. I know…" She spoke coldly, her sharp gaze seemingly piercing through me.

I stepped back as I heard that, my back against the door… "W-what? What are you talking about?"

T-there's no way she could have found out...

She went close to me, and I was feeling rather nervous suddenly…

"Please, tell me the whole truth." She spoke in a soft, charming tone.

"My name is Ben. I was a student in the same school as Airi, but, three days ago, during the night, I went to the abandoned castle in the forest." I couldn't understand why, but I felt compelled to answer her question. "I noticed that some shady people were occupying it, and snuck in." I couldn't stop talking, no matter how hard I tried... "I left after stealing some chemicals, but I dropped them, and they turned me into a sort of goo after exploding on me."

W-what's happening? W-why can't I stop talking?

"I went to see my best friends and possessed one of them, as I realised that I couldn't survive outside of a body, but I wanted to find a body other than my friends'. The next day, Airi was bullying my friend while I was possessing her, like she always did, and I decided to possess her on a whim… But I'm feeling remorseful, and consider leaving her body to infiltrate the castle again, once I find the courage to do so."

"I see…" Margaret held her chin, pensive. "It doesn't contradict what I saw yesterday..."

"W-what happened?" I asked, blinking multiple times in confusion. I was free from whatever she did to me earlier, and was now terrified...

"Oh, darling…” Margaret started, "people can keep their secrets only should I allow it…" She grinned sadistically, making me yelp of pure terror. Airi never saw an expression like that coming from her mother. "I was scrying on you all day, yesterday. I know everything you did."

"S-scrying?" I was panicking, and could feel my heartbeat increasing and my body quivering.

"Oh, right… I forgot you weren't versed in witchcraft…" Margaret grabbed my chin and stared at me in the eyes. “I spied on you. Through your eyes. Or my daughter's eyes, to be more precise..."

"W-witchcraft?"

"Indeed. To think that you've been possessing my dear daughter for three days…"

I-I'm gonna die... I thought in that moment. I’ve never so terrified in my life before.

"I understand why I couldn't detect any magic when I cast my detection spell. It's a physical form of possession… That's fascinating!" She declared, her smile more amused than threatening now.

"H-huh?"

All the tension in the air vanished in an instant, leaving me confused. It was like she was a completely different person, suddenly…

"Can you tell me more about the method you use?" Margaret took a step back, smiling at me as she put her hand on her chest. "Don't worry, I won't harm you."

"H-hmm... Thanks?" I hesitantly answered. “I... I just... enter people's bodies through their mouth and sort of connect to their brain? I-I think that's how it works, at least."

"I see… But, you know things only Airi would. How?"

"I-I seem to slowly get access to my host's memories and personality over time while I'm possessing them…" I believed it was better to be fully honest, now that she knew.

"Hmm… He wasn't able to do that, though… Is it another kind? Or something else?" I saw her murmuring something, but I couldn't hear what she was saying. "When I spied on you yesterday, I heard you talking about a ‘mind sink’. What is it?"

"Well... After gaining full access to someone's mind, I can sort of ‘become’ that person. I don't even think of myself as ‘myself’ anymore when I'm in that state, and I'm heavily influenced by their personality. They also remember everything I would do in that state as if they were the one who did it." I sighed. “I don't really understand how it works yet, to be honest… I... became like this just three days ago, after all..."

"Right. Wait here, please. I'll be right back." She said. “And don't think of running away…” Her menacing glare was back, indicating that what she was saying was more an order than a request. “I will find you no matter where you go."

Shivering, I quickly bowed. "O-of course. I-I won't run away..."

She giggled. "I know you won't. You can sit on the couch meanwhile."

She left the room and went upstairs, leaving me alone, shivering from this encounter… I fell on my knees…

"H-how scary… I... I thought I was going to die… M-magic... is terrifying… I've been spied on for a whole day without even knowing?"

I stood up again, my legs still feeling weak. "I better cooperate with her… I... I still want to believe that she's not a bad person…" Airi's memories of her might have clouded my judgement, but she didn't seem bad in them.

I went to the couch, waiting for Margaret to come back. I sat down, trying to slowly calm down. After a few minutes, she came back, wearing a pair of yoga pants and a tanktop revealing a good amount of her generous cleavage. She also came with a large and ancient-looking book in her hands.

"Now, could you tell me more about yourself, Ben?" She sat on the couch, the book on her lap.

"H-huh... M-my name is Ben Ivanov, I'm eighteen, and until that accident, I was a student at St-Raphael Highschool. My mother died two years ago in a car accident, and I've been living with my aunt ever since." Margaret seemed interested in my story, so I continued. “But... she's a bad woman. A drunkard who doesn't care about me. I spent most of my time with my childhood friends, Jane and Sophie, or hiking in the forests and hills around town, to avoid being with her."

"I see..."

"If your aunt is so terrible, why don't you just possess her?" She asked in a surprisingly casual tone.

The nonchalent way she said it took me by surprise. "W-what? S-she's my aunt!" Just the idea of being... her... made me feel uncomfortable...

"And a terrible human being, if I believe what you said. If you have to steal someone's life, she seems like a good choice." She then chuckled. “Besides, being an adult allows for more freedom, and you could maybe even learn why she became like that."

I looked away, trying not to imagine it. "I... I don't know… P-possessing her… It sounds wrong..."

"I understand." Margaret observed me for a minute, before speaking again. "Is there a reason why you're sitting like that?"

"What do you m-" I looked down, and got surprised when I saw that I was so naturally crossing my legs in a feminine manner, like Airi would. "I... I didn't even want to sit like that..."

"Your mannerisms, they are like hers. The way you stand, the way you sit, even the intonation of your voice." Margaret pointed out.

"R-really?"

Margaret nodded, as I got even more scared of my abilities. I was already confident I could imitate my hosts, given that I had access to their memories. Learning that their mannerisms also came to me naturally meant I'd never be found out, so long as I was careful. Well, except by witches, apparently.

"Anyway, I wanted to test something. Here, open this book."

She handed me the book, and I opened it. Inside were only things I couldn't understand. No matter the page I was looking at, it just looked like scribbles…

"H-hmm... W-why did you give me this?"

"You can't read it?"

I didn’t understand. "N-no? I-is there something to read?"

"Interesting… Could you do your 'mind sink' now?"

"W-what?"

"Just do it."

“O-okay..."

I focused on it, and quickly merged with Airi again… We didn’t see her the same way anymore after what I just learnt.

"It's done, Mother. Why did you want him to do that?"

"Oh, fascinating… I did glimpse at how it worked yesterday, but to see it directly, it's pretty different. Try to read the book again." She asked, handing it back to us.

We shrugged. "If you want, but we don't think it'll make an-" We stopped mid-sentence as we saw the book suddenly being written in plain English... "W-what? H-how?"

Mother had a satisfied grin. "That's what I thought..."

"W-what does it mean?"

"It means that this ‘mind sink’ ability of yours works differently than what you thought, if my theory is correct."

"Huh?"

Mother pointed a finger at us. "This ability doesn't allow Ben to be in control while being influenced by the host's personality."

"W-what is it, then?" We were completely lost.

"It's the opposite. This ability allows the hosts to be in control, but influenced by Ben. That's why the hosts remember everything as if they did it themselves." She laughed. "Because they did."

"H-how did you deduce that, Mother?"

She gestured at the book. "Because this book can only be read by members of my bloodline. Ben isn't able to read it by himself, but Airi can."

"S-so..."

"So, it means that, right now, you are really Airi, and Ben is in the 'passenger's seat', so to speak."

"B-but... H-he is still here... Controlling me."

"Heavily influencing you would be more accurate. The two of you are linked, in that state. And, if you need more proof, I saw the soul in control switching when you activated your ability."

"T-the soul?"

"Yes, that's a neat spell I know. It allows me to see someone's soul and learn about their true intentions. It helped me quite a lot during my acting career. To see which people I should avoid and which ones I could use to my advantage. So many bastards to deal with…" The way she whispered this last part made us believe that it had been a really common occurence.

We suddenly realised something. "W-wait... Does it mean... I am a witch, as well?"

"Yep!" She answered with a bright smile. "Although, that's something I'd like to explain to Airi alone."

"Huh?"

Her menacing face made a return. "You think I'd allow you to stay in my daughter's body forever, Ben?"

It made us both shiver. "H-he doesn't want to! I-if you spied on us, you know he is feeling guilty enough already!"

Mother nodded. "Yes, and that's why we're going to pay a visit to that castle you mentioned, this weekend."

"W-we?"

"Oh, I meant me and Ben. I won't bring my daughter to such a dangerous place." She chuckled.

"But how will he come with you?" We asked.

"Leave it to me." She made a pretty scary smile as she said that… "Now, I think you should stop this mind sink, since it seems to tire you out."

We did as she asked, and I was back to normal, as the usual feeling of dizziness came back. But I tried to hide it, as I took a deep breath.

"I deeply apologise for having possessed Airi!" I bowed my head, both scared and ashamed. "I know I acted irrationally, blinded by my anger! I... I'm sorry for everything..."

Margaret smiled at me. "No need to apologize, I understand that you had your reasons, and you did seem to try to make her happy despite your circumstances...”

“Yes, I need to apologise…" I said, looking her in the eyes. “Even if I was scared of dying, I was selfish… I was jealous of Airi, for having a caring mother… Even if you hadn't found out, I would probably have tried to infiltrate the castle by myself, at some point… To try to find a way to have my body again... And to talk to Airi and apologize to her..."

"Alright!" Margaret said, getting back up. “Can I count on you to stay in this house for a moment? I have to leave to make the preparations for our trip."

I beamed at her, glad that she forgave me. "Don't worry. I trust you. I won't run away."

My declaration surprised her, she clearly didn’t expect me to say this. But she then let out a weak chuckle. "You really are a naive kid, aren't you? You shouldn't trust people so easily… Especially someone like me…" She had a dejected expression on her face…

Why did she say that?

I stood up and went to hug her. "You're right, I am a naive kid… Airi's memories are probably influencing me a bit, but I choose to trust you."

"Ah, being young and innocent…" She smiled and patted my head. "You're a good kid. See you later." As she reached the door, she turned to face me, looking serious again. "Oh, right, I almost forgot. Could you avoid mentioning anything to your friends? I don't want people to know about what me and Airi truly are."

I nodded. I understood that this kind of things shouldn't be shared lightly. "I won't tell them."

"Thank you." She said, grabbing a light jacket. "I'll be back in a few hours, I think."

She left, leaving me alone to understand everything that happened...

"Hmm, what does she mean by preparation?"

I breathed a sigh of relief. "In any case, I'm glad that it went well… She can be pretty scary, but I think it's because she's just being overprotective of Airi. She's not a bad woman. Well, since I'm skipping school today, I suppose I should eat and study a little, for now."

I left the living room, grabbed something to eat in the fridge, and went to Airi's room. Sophie texted me to know why I wasn't at school today, but I reassured her that I was fine and that I would be there tomorrow. I didn't have much to do, so I just studied and read until the evening. I wasn't stupid, but I noticed how smarter I was as Airi, as I breezed through her homework. She always had the best grades at school, and I understood why now. Something else I just noticed was how, unconsciously, I was writing the same way Airi wrote. I experimented with that, trying to imitate my own handwritting, but it was hard, as I had to focus for that.

Afterwards, I read some manga on Airi's laptop. Shortly after, I heard the main door open, and walked downstairs. It was Margaret, who just came back, and I smiled to greet her.

"Welcome back!"

She seemed shocked for a brief instant, before making a weak smile. "How I wish for Airi to greet me like that again, one day..."

"Oh, right. She's not really close to you… I don't understand her. How was your day?"

"I went to the forest and observed the castle from afar." She admitted.

"Y-you did?" I was surprised that she just went there like that.

“They are indeed pretty suspicious. We'll go pay them a visit this Sunday night. I... need a bit of time to mourn properly."

Margaret looked depressed, the **** of Yamiko apparently impacting her a lot. "You were really close to Yamiko, right?"

"I wasn't, unfortunately…" She answered, her tone wavering.

"Huh?"

"I wasn't there when she needed me… I tried to reconnect with her, but she always refused to see me… That's the main reason why I decided to move here…" She clenched her fists again, as her voice was full of regrets and sadness. "And now, she's gone..."

I came closer and hugged her again. "You can't keep blaming yourself for things that happened in the past…"

"I know..."

She hugged me back, and caressed my hair in a similar way my mother used to do it when I was a kid. "Even if you're not Airi... It feels nice..."

"I'm just trying to help you feel better. It's the least I can do after having possessed your daughter…"

"Thank you, Ben…" Margaret let go of me, sighing. "I'm going to rest in my room now. See you tomorrow." She left, still crying.

I wonder what is her relationship with Yamiko? She has so much guilt...

I ate dinner alone, as Margaret stayed in her room, and went back to Airi's room. After that eventful day, I went to sleep early, and quickly drifted off.