Frustration washed through me as I swung open the door of my cottage and saw it standing there. It stood tall and proud, postcard perfect, somehow giving off an expression of hopefulness on its goosey face. Really, mum? A fucking goose? This has got to stop.

For context, my mother passed away last year, and I have been lost without her. She likely knew this would be the case and so, as the most powerful witch in our coven, she performed a final spell to enchant animals to protect me and deliver me guidance in her absence. Ever since then, they have been sporadically rocking up on my doorstep, sometimes just passing by for the day, sometimes staying for a few weeks, but always demanding to be let in.

The goose was no exception.

'Good morning Ethel. I'm Frank. I must come in. You probably know the drill by now', honked the goose.

'Yes, yes, hello Frank. Come in, come in, I'm sure you're going to tell me all about how I need to heal my inner child or stop being such a hermit, or some other lesson my mother probably deemed it necessary for me to learn.'

Frank hurriedly brushed past me and I closed the door behind him. When I turned around to face him, I noticed that he immediately appeared fearful, which struck me as odd, usually the strange talking animals were nothing but calm.

'Actually Ethel', said Frank, 'I'm here to warn you, urgently. It's about your aunt Ester. She's back.'

Ester. My mother's believed-to-be-dead sister. Panic immediately began to thrum through my heart. If Frank was telling the truth, I was about to have much bigger problems in my life than talking animals.