I finished hanging the laundry quickly and went inside where Aunt Mabel was already sitting in the living room. She asked why we had called for her and I recounted what I knew about the Pastor's girls. She nodded thoughtfully, and after I finished she took a moment to contemplate what I told her.
"I'm not sure what to do here. They're just children, but they're going to cause a lot more problems than they're worth." She said.
"You can't mean to kill them," Mother replied, disbelief evident in her voice.
"No, but to maybe make their false ailment a reality. We could use it to our advantage, and they don't seem that they're going to stop anytime soon. They'll accuse more and more innocents, and who knows? They might accuse one of us."
"We have to discuss with the other members of the council. I do not agree with your view, but I can not think of another way. I say we wait to see what happens next before doing anything prematurely." Father told her. He looked at me, and to my surprise said, "What do you think we should do? You're becoming stronger and I feel that you would eventually be a profound asset to the council."
No one has asked my opinion on council matters. I was shocked, but I had to say, I did not want to go through with Aunt Mabel's plan. "I feel that doing what Aunt Mabel suggested would not be the best course of action," I started. "It feels wrong to subject children to something like that, but I do know that if we talk to them we would only make matters worse for us, for they might try to accuse us next. I think we should write to different places in search of an exorcist and see if any of them would come and try to exorcise the girls, and if they aren't able to change after that I think we should try Aunt Mabel's plan or we should accuse the girls themselves of being a witch. They hold all of the power right now, and I don't think they see exactly what they're doing and how awful their actions are."
My father nodded, approving of what I had said. "Talk to the other council members," he said to my aunt, "Tell them of Soline's plan, and if everyone is in agreement we can start sending out anonymous letters tomorrow."