A Crumpled Page
- Imagine the reactions of a town of people who keep losing their children to a deadly disease, and are now seeing their children back from the dead. Instead of reacting to the ghosts in horror or disgust, the townspeople begin reaching and crying for their dead children.
- The ghost children begin telling their parents and all who are listening about Boggy Mun, the draining of the swamp, and how it all caused their death.
- In the middle of this creepily touching moment, the scream of a woman catches Briony's attention.
- Enter Stepmother—not as a ghost, but as a rotting, flesh dripping, maggot filled corpse headed for Briony. Didn't she die months ago? What type of human survives being buried all this time?
- She calls for Briony to come closer and thanks her for calling her from her grave. When Briony responds with confusion, she says she is not an Unquiet Spirit and that she has been waiting all this time. She also mentions some other confusing bits about Briony's burnt hand, Rose, and their father.
- Finally the other shoe drops. Stepmother says she has been murdered, that "'Even we Old Ones—yes, even we are unable to depart this world without business unfinished'"(29.39). She accuses Briony of her murder then crumbles into dust.
- The crowd begins calling Briony a murderess and a witch, closing in on her and demanding she be hung. Cecil is the first to come to her defense, then Eldric, who threatens to shoot anyone who moves toward her, and finally her father joins in with a feeble shout of "'No!'" when someone accuses her of being a witch.
- Eldric shoots the gun as the constable goes after Briony and threatens to shoot again, but someone from the crowd points out that he only has five bullets.
- Eldric tells Briony to run, so she turns and runs away from the crowd into the night.