Free Witch Twins and the Ghost of Glenn Bly by Adele Griffin

Claire when the twins went upstairs to bed. “Humdrum Chamber was the pits.”
    But as they settled into bed, thunder rumbled in the distance.
    “Storm number four!” Claire’s eyes widened.
    “I guess the rain helps the strawberries grow,” yawned Luna.
    The goat, who had moved into Elderberry Chamber on account of its tasty armchair cushions, bleated in agreement.
    The next morning, it was time to bid good-bye to Glenn Bly, and everyone was slightly sad, except for Grampy, who had not warmed to old flame Mac, and had not enjoyed being humiliated on the golf course.
    On the other hand, Daphne seemed saddest of all.
    “You’ll come back in the summer, right?” asked Daphne. “In the summer, it never gets dark here. It stays twilight all through the night.” She turned to Claire. “Did you know that, American Claire?”
    “Nope,” said Claire. “But did you know that crepuscular is another word for twilight?”
    “Nope,” said Daphne. “I wonder, which of us has the most interesting fact?”
    They both looked at Luna to be tiebreaker.
    “Daphne,” said Luna, decisively. And though she hoped to visit Daphne Bly again, she was glad she would be able to stop breaking ties for a while.
    With only a few minutes until their plane landed in Philadelphia, the twins shook Luna’s spy globe to see what was happening in other parts of their world. The colors of the globe swirled like a sunlit summer stream as they passed it back and forth.
    “Show us Glenn Bly,” commanded Luna.
    Inside the globe, a picture of the castle focused. Mac and Daphne were both in the stable, feeding the horses.
    “And not a Shrillingbird in sight,” Luna noted contentedly.
    “Show us our family,” said Claire, fogging the glass.
    Now an image of their mom, Steve, Justin, their dad, Fluffy and baby Bert appeared. They were all sitting together in the airport, waiting for the plane to get in. (Well, Justin wasn’t sitting. He was playing Hacky Sack.)
    “Crumbs, our family keeps getting bigger and bigger!” said Luna.
    “And better and better,” added Claire. “Hey, Loon, what were your favorite parts of our visit to Glenn Bly?”
    “Tea in the drawing room, exploring the castle with Daphne, and learning how to make strawberry scones and cake,” Luna answered promptly. “What were yours?”
    “Riding Dooley, chasing out the Shrillingbirds, and sneaking into the Charter Room early this morning to write my name in the Book of All Records,” said Claire.
    The twins grinned at each other. Opposites forever.
    “What about me?” their grandmother called softly across the aisle so that she didn’t wake up Grampy. “Aren’t you going to ask me my favorite part of the trip?”
    “What were your favorite parts?” the twins asked Grandy together.
    “That’s easy.” Grandy smiled. “Playing golf with Fred and listening to those terrific thunderstorms as I fell asleep!”
    Then she tossed a honey-roasted peanut in the air and caught it in her mouth.
    “Crumbs, those thunderstorms kept me awake, Grandy,” said Luna.
    “Yeah, I thought they were totally spooky,” said Claire.
    “Nonsense. Nothing says Scotland to me better than a good loud rain. It really sets the mood.”
    “Wait a minute, Grandy. Were you the one casting spells to make all that stormy weather?” Luna leaned forward, indignant, to catch her grandmother’s eye.
    “Of course I was. To me, a good thunderstorm is like a little lullaby.” Grandy answered, settling back in her seat and adjusting the mini pillow at her neck. “And as the saying goes, ‘Into every life, a noisy storm must thunder.’”
    And although Luna had a feeling this was not quite the right saying, it sounded perfectly true when Grandy said it. Which was always the case.

A Personal History by Adele Griffin
    I was born in 1970 in my mother’s hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was the oldest of three children, and spent my early childhood as a “military brat,” moving