I cringe slightly that she called it a journal. I mean, yes, I guess that’s basically what it is, but the thought of Willow reading my entries is still so painful. “Okay if I get it from you later? I don’t want Emma to see.”

“Definitely,” she says, elbowing me lightly.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?” I ask. She’s taking about three steps for every one of mine, and I slow down.

She hesitates, and there’s the blush again. I could literally spend all day watching her skin flush that pink color. “Is later okay?”

“Definitely,” I repeat, and I can’t help the smile overtaking my face. I love the sound of “later.” It means there’s a future to this.

“Chop, chop, my little onions,” Emma calls, her black hair swishing behind her. “There will be no pleasing you until we find a ghost.”

“She’s funny,” Willow says.

Emma actually is funny. And I’m getting the uncomfortable feeling that if I’d met her in the wild, I probably would have liked her a lot. If I’m completely honest, I can see her and my mom being best friends. Emma was probably the grounding force of the relationship, keeping my mom’s wild energy in check, while my mom probably kept her from getting too serious. For a moment my throat tightens, but I push the feeling away. Tonight I want to focus on Willow.

We are all herded along until we reach a small enclosure. Twenty stone benches jut out from a low wall bordering a cemetery in a horseshoe shape, each bench engraved with a name and covered in chaotic offerings of tea lights, coins, and handwritten notes.

“Take a moment,” Emma says. “This spot is important.”

“Salem witch trial victims?” Willow asks, sliding her eyes up at me.

“I think so. Come on, let’s look.” We trail around with the rest of the tour while Emma waits. The place doesn’t feel unwelcoming, exactly, but it does feel heavy, and as I read through the names, the reality of Salem’s past solidifies in me in a way it hadn’t yet. These were real people. Bridget Bishop. Sarah Good. Elizabeth Howe.

Eventually we all meet back up with Emma. “Welcome to the Salem Witch Trials Memorial and Old Burying Point Cemetery. As I am sure you are all aware, Salem has an extremely tragic history. In 1692, twenty innocent people convicted of witchcraft were killed. Nineteen were hanged, one pressed to death, and most of the names connected with these crimes are behind the memorial on these tombstones.”