In the light of a candle - The Card

A Story by D.Y.Petkova

Part of the In the light of a candle series

Hello again.Thank you for inviting me in your house.Do you have candles ? Yes ?Good.Is anybody else coming ? No ? Okay.Let's begin...
  Tonight I will tell you the story of Queen of Spades.Do you know about her ? That is what I thought .In my country she is really famous.I guess here she is not.Yet.
  Some people identify her as Bloody Mary.Maybe she is.Maybe she is not.Her legend says that Queen of Spades was a beautiful woman,lived in XIII century.Many admired her beauty until she was condemned to be a witch.Her punishment was awful - disfigurement.When her face was ruined she was banished in the forest.There she lost her sanity and died alone.But with her lost breath she cursed a mirror.Now her defaced soul is trapped in it .It is said that if you call her properly she will appear in the form of beautiful young woman.But do not be fooled - she is cold and merciless.Maybe evil.Others say that if you summon her properly you will see her real face.And this would be the last thing you would see.
  There are thousands of myths about Queen of Spades and the way to summon her.Some say that there must be seven people in a circle - four girls and three boys.Some said that the Queen speaks only with individuals with dark hair and eyes.Some said you need a card, a candle ,a lipstick,a perfume...even a human skull and blood.Another legend defies all of this.It says that all you need is a mirror.Yes,just like that one in your room.The big one,which you pass by every time you enter or exit your room.
  I have read a lot of stories about people,who have called her.Some said nothing happened.Others were terrified.And there is this real story about a little girl in a comma...
  Most of the stories begin in the same way...
  One dark,moonless night a few girls were having a party.They weren't drunk yet,just enough to loosen up.That was their first mistake. They didn't show the spirit respect.Only one of them really believed.And she didn't want to call the Queen.Her friends mocked her and she left.Here the legend divides.Some said that her leaving saved her,others - that her belief and fear did. Nobody really knows.
  Just as nobody knows what really happened on that party.
  When she left her friends decided to try the most popular way to summon the ghost - with a mirror,perfume and a deck of cards.To answer their questions,they said.This was their second mistake.They thought she would serve them.Foolish girls.
  They linked hands and said "Queen of Spades,show yourself" three times.Then they put some perfume on the little mirror and set her card face down on it.And waited .Several seconds later the girl with the deck in her hand begun asking.
- Queen of Spades,are you here  ? - And pulled the first card.The popular myth is that if the card is red,it means yes,and the opposite. But her card was not red.Or black.It was empty.Just a white piece of paper.She was puzzled.And that is when the nightmare begun.One of the other girls screamed.She was pointing to the big mirror on the wall.On it was reflected the room just as it was,except there weren't five people on the reflection.There were six.Behind the girl with the deck was a shadow of a woman with long dark hair that hid her face and long thin fingers,resting on the girl's shoulders.These fingers slipped up until they were around the neck of the summoner.The spirit raised her head.In the shimmering reflection her face was ruined.
  They tried to run but couldn't move.Tried to scream but their throats were frozen.Each one saw on the others faces the expression she was sue she carried - terrified eyes on a calm face.And then the girl with the deck moved.The ghostly fingers forced her head back until she was looking in the cold eyes of the spirit.And in her disfigured face.She couldn't breathe,couldn't blink,couldn't speak.And suddenly she felt her hands move.She was pulling cards from the deck.And couldn't see what was causing the terror in the room.
  She felt like slipping into darkness.Slowly at first but in the end she was fully unconscious.

  On the other morning the girl who left early heard sirens.She was living across the street and when she heard the screams thought the worst.She got out her house in the T-shirt she slept and saw a crowd.The people were trying to see but the policemen weren't letting anyone near the house.There were ambulances and doctors everywhere.
- 'scuse me,sir,but what has happened ? - The officer turned and looked at her.
- A tragedy,miss.Some girls were together last night.One of them tried to kill the others.She didn't succeed but...
- What do you mean,tried to kill ?
- Well,she aimed at their necks.Tried to claw their throats open.Mystery is why they didn't stop her.They are unconscious and she is going to mental hospital.She is still trying to rip her own eyes with her nails.It's awful really...

  Another myth is that if you stand in front of a mirror at midnight and summon the Queen of Spades ,she will appear and ask you three questions.Impossible to answer questions.If you do not give the right answers she will trap you in the mirror.Or she will claw your face.

  So tell me,do you believe in ghosts ? Are you brave enough to call the Queen of Spades ? Think about this when you pass by your mirror at midnight.And do not look at it.You do not know what will stare back...