Kathy Asuncion’s day began at 5:30 in the morning by preparing breakfast for her three older boys. Getting them ready for school was another matter because each child had their own individual sense of fashion and did not want to dress like the other. That was usually a forty-five-minute ordeal that was surmounted by Kathy’s threats of no swimming lessons after school. Her three boys loved swimming, and having their swim day taken away was a big deal, and so they fell into line. Once the three were dropped off at school, Kathy was left with her youngest son, Chaison.
In the mornings, Chaison was easy to deal with because he would dress. He was also a reticent child and never put up a fuss in regards to anything. Sometimes, Kathy would forget that he was even there. Putting him, the van was effortless as well because he knew how to strap himself into his car chair. It wasn’t easy being a single mother with four boys, but Kathy managed to make it work. On the way back home, she needed to make a stop at Wal-Mart for a few essentials like toothpaste, shampoo, and some groceries. The second the van pulled in to the upstairs parking lot, Chaison began to get anxious, but Kathy didn’t notice it right away. A short time later, Kathy and Chaison are riding the escalator down toward the front entrance of the store, and he begins to slowly twist his body back and forth.
For the next few minutes, Chaison perspired profusely as he sat in the shopping cart. His hands were shaking, and his eyes began to flutter; Kathy didn’t notice it right away as she was trying to match everything on her shopping list. It was only when they were standing in the check out line did Chaison let out a blood-curdling scream. The shopping cart shook violently, and everyone began to stare, but at the same time, they ignored the scene that Chaison was putting on. He wouldn’t stop, and Kathy was more than embarrassed, she was helpless. Nothing she did could calm him down.
Finally, Chaison threw his head back, and a deep animal-like growl came from somewhere deep within his bowels. No one noticed because they were making it a point not to notice. Kathy was horrified when she saw her son’s eyes cross and then pull away in the opposite direction from each other. She called for help, but no one would pay attention to her; other people in the line behind her simply stepped into another line. The cashier impatiently stared at her and snapped,
“Are you checking out or not?”
“Please,” Kathy pleaded. “I need help, I don’t know what’s wrong with my son?”
“Just check out!” The clerk demanded. “You’re making a scene!”
All the while, Chaison growled and drooled, and the shopping cart shook with such force that it began to move by itself. Kathy’s frustration only grew worse when she realized that she couldn’t unhook the strap which held Chaison to his seat. She was about the scream when someone stepped up from behind her and moved her out of the way.
…
Tabby was two lanes over from where Kathy was standing with Chaison in the cart. When the commotion began, Tabby was on the phone with her aunt in regards to steno paid she’d bought for school. It was Chaison’s piercing scream that sent chills down her spine and caught her attention. Tabby reached into her backpack and grabbed a handful of Hawaiian salt. Running over to the woman and her son, she screamed.
“Move out of the way!” Tabby shouted. The woman was still in shock, so Tabby was forced to move the woman by using her own body. Taking the handful of Hawaiian salt, Tabby placed her hand on the top of the boy’s head and held it down with both sides. She immediately prayed in Hawaiian, and Chaison calmed down and fell asleep.
“Get your son out of this store right now,” Tabby said. “There are bones buried here in this store, and the spirits of the bones are trying to possess him!”
Tabby could see by the woman’s expression that she wasn’t getting the message. “Go now!” she screamed. Kathy paid for her purchase and left right away. In the meantime, Tabby turned to everyone who stood there and did nothing,
“You sons of bitches, you’re all worthless human beings! Worthless! You all stood by and did nothing!”
She was so livid that she spat on the floor and stormed off but not without the last few words to the cashier.
“Come out now, you bitch,” she whispered. With the remaining handful of salt in her hand, Tabby shoved it into the woman’s mouth and covered it with her two hands. The cashier’s body slumped to the floor with a dull thud while Tabby stood over her and mumbled to herself,
“This whole damned store is haunted,”
I love the Tabby stories! ♡
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