Mom stays silent for a while, and just walks over to me, patting the folded cloak in the box, and staring at it with a blank expression. 

“It’s supposed to be for you.” She says, gathering up the cloak in her arms and squeezing it tenderly. “That was your Halloween surprise.” My jaw drops open very audibly.

“Am I a witch?” I ask, questioning everything I ever knew about myself. 

“Yeah. Just like me.” She says, tucking the cloak back in the box. 

“Is Tessa one too?” I ask, closing the flaps on the box. 

“No. She takes after your dad in that respect.” Mom sighs and puts the box back on the shelf. “Kelsie and Emie too. You’re my only witch kid.” She smiles at me. “Don’t tell anyone. The second anyone finds out you’re a witch, they’ll ruin your life.” Mom turns off her closet light.

“How do you know I’m a witch?” I ask. 

“You can see ghosts.” Mom says. “As soon as Isaiah told me you were seeing ghosts, I knew you were one.” 

“But Tessa can see ghosts too! She met Jack, when he was dead.”

“I’ve asked the coven leaders, and they say that might just be because you’re twins. She’s not an actual witch.” I nod sadly. 

“Why Halloween? Why didn’t you tell me as soon as you found out?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.

“At midnight the day after Halloween, there’s a coven meeting and I was hoping to get you initiated, then.” She says with a smile. “I mean, if you’d like that. You don’t have to join. You don’t have to be a witch.”

“I think I want to be.” I say, absolutely stunned that these words are coming out of my mouth. “I gotta admit, the cloak is so stylish.” I say in the voice Tessa uses when she talks about the latest fashions. Mom laughs and mimics my voice. 

“And it complements your eyes so well!” She says. I giggle and lean against her shoulder. “I love you, Larabee.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

“How about this?” Tessa asks, climbing on the bathroom stool we’re using as a pedestal. She poses so we can see her costume idea. 

“What is it?” Kelsie asks, tipping her head to the side so her oversized pirate hat falls off and into the pile of sequins and feathers. 

“Good question.” Tessa says. She’s wearing baggy blue jeans held up by blue-and-orange striped suspenders, over an ugly Christmas sweater from Grandma Jeannie, Dad’s mother, who still cares about our family, unlike Dad. Tessa’s blonde hair is adorned with ribbons on an enormous yellow bonnet from my costume last year. “I have no idea either.” 

Tessa steps down from the pedestal, making way for Emie, who steps onstage in a large pink ball gown, covered in gold braiding, sequins. She fans herself with an old paper fan covered in painted green hummingbirds.

“Princess Emie!” Kelsie yells, giggling. “But where’s the crown?”

“We broke the crown last year, remember?” Tessa says, matter-of-factly. “At the battle of Bedroomia?”

“Then she can be a pirate princess!” Kelsie shouts, throwing the old tricorn hat at Emie, who puts it on, and trades her fan for a wooden sword. 

“I like this.” Emie says. I nod and write down all the components of the costume she chose, so we can remember it for Halloween night. “Lara, are you ready to show your costume idea?” Emie asks, setting the sword inside her huge paper bag Mom brought out. I nod and pull on the wire-frame butterfly wings Dad helped me make one year for Mom, and now I’m big enough to wear them. I step onto the platform, and twirl in my sparkly purple dress.

“You’re a princess moth!” Kelsie says, nibbling on my pencil. 

“A moth who fell in glue, then in a bucket of sequins.” Tessa answers.

“She’s a butterfly, you weirdos!” Emie squeals. “Lara the butterfly!” I nod, and go back to sitting. 

“I still can’t decide on a costume.” Tessa says, after trying on several outfits. “Even Kelsie’s got one, and she’s usually the last to choose.”

“Well, I guess Kelsie was feeling particularly decisive tonight.” I say, the secret Mom told me hanging over my head. I can’t even tell my own twin. “You’ll find something, Tessa.” Kelsie shoves her vampire costume in a paper bag. I look through a bag of accessories like jewelry and hats, and pull out a pair of sunglasses with white frames, and put them on. “How about being a movie star?” Tessa smiles at the idea, and smiles, taking the sunglasses from me. With a little help, she finds a black dress with white accents in our closet, and a matching hat that isn’t in that bad a shape.

“Mr. Norman gave us ketchup packets.” Tessa says, looking in her Halloween bucket.

“It’s because he used to run an old diner.” I explain. 

“Mr. Norman is nice.” Kelsie says, squirting her ketchup into her mouth. Emie wrinkles her nose as we walk to the next house. 

“Teresa!” Someone yells, waving. Henry walks up to us, dressed as a spy. Tessa blushes, and kisses his cheek. “What are you?”

“A movie star, of course.” She says, putting her sunglasses on and striking a pose. Henry grins. 

“Then consider me your personal bodyguard.” He says. I grab Tessa’s arm. 

“Unfortunately, the job title is claimed by her older sister already.” I say to Henry, and we walk onto our street with our little sisters. 

“Well, for someone as famous as Teresa Austin, she’d need two bodyguards.” Henry argues, still smiling. I glare at him. “And let’s face it. A butterfly’s not going to do much good.” He laughs, gesturing to my outfit. I look down at my brightly-colored dress, and pink shoes. Tessa walks ahead with Emie and Kelsie, to our neighbor’s house.

“I hate you.” I whisper.

“Why?” He asks, sighing. “What have I done to deserve this?”

“You’re always a jerk to me, and you’re stealing my sister.”

“Stealing?” He asks with a smirk. “She doesn’t belong to you, you know.” 

“She doesn’t belong to you either.” I fold my arms. 

“We’ll see about that.” He says, and we walk up to where my sisters are leaving the house. Henry holds Tessa’s hand, and kisses her, full on the lips. She blushes, and presses herself up against him, making a mess of her red lipstick. Emie and Kelsie are too distracted with their candy to notice, but I watch them, seeing my sister slipping away with every second that passes.

“What was that about?” Tessa asks with a smile, as she and Henry walk ahead, towards our house. 

“You just looked so beautiful, and I couldn’t resist.” He says with a boyish grin. Tessa flushes redder than the ketchup that covers Kelsie’s face. It looks like blood, at least, and she’s a vampire this year. We knock on our door, and Mom opens it with a smile. 

“Hello, what are your names?” Mom asks, jokingly. She puts little caramels into our buckets. 

“Momma!” Emie yells, giggling. 

“I’m just kidding, Em. I know who you are.” Mom says, kissing Emie’s blonde head. “The Mortimers are handing out candy this year, for once.” She says, with a smile. 

“Ooh, let’s go there!” Kelsie yells. “We can see Grandma!” I smile and walk down the driveway with my sisters, making a point of ignoring Henry.