In retrospect, summoning a demon is much, much easier than Momo thinks it should be.

On one of the rare days she manages to drag herself out of her dingy apartment, she finds herself in one of those rare bookstores. It seemed to be tiny, but 20 minutes later she was deep in the stacks, and Momo couldn’t seem to locate the windows or a salesperson or a clock or even a glimpse of sunlight. Simply put: Momo was lost, tired, and hungry.

“Hello?” she calls out, making her way out of an aisle. Her words hanging in the stale air. There’s no response. “Hell-oo?” She calls again, rounding a corner, and – oof! – straight into a cart of books. The cart pivots forward, leans, and completely falls over, leaving Momo on the ground on top of a stack of multiple books. Of course, this is when the shopkeeper decides to present herself. Five minutes and about 500 stern glances later, Momo is restacking the books onto the cart.

Then she spots it. A simple, small black book. On the cover, in shimmering text, it reads Demon Summoning: The Easy, 5 Step Guide!

No, no, she can’t have read it right. She’s exhausted, she’s reading things wrong– obviously, that’s not the actual title, c’mon, Momo, what are you thinking? She hasn’t walked into a store for the occult– there isn’t an Ouija board, or any goat skulls hanging from the ceiling, and the shopkeeper didn’t have any strange piercings from any weird orifices. She rubs her eyes, pinches her elbow and looks again. It’s the same.

So now, naturally, she’s intrigued, so she picks up the book, and eventually finds her way to the cash register. She half expects Demon Summoning: The Easy, 5 Step Guide! ring up as $6.66, or for the cashier’s eyes to turn read as they tell Momo, “We don’t have this book in our system,” However, none of that happens, and Momo buys Demon Summoning for $2. She leaves with it in her hands, hoping that it won’t eternally curse her or her home.

Being Momo, of course, she chases this intrigue to the ends of the Earth. She’s going to summon a demon. Or try, at least, because she’s 95% this is mostly pagan-satanist hooey.

Step One: Find a large and flat surface and purify it of all natural dirt.

Step one is easy enough to follow. She chooses her living room floor, does a quick run over it with one of those wet mops, and wipes it down furiously with a clorox wipe. Momo regards her now-wet floor with pride. Purified of natural dirt, indeed!

Step Two: Remove all religious artefacts in your Earthly abode. These will interfere with the energies needed to bring the demon to you.

Easy– Momo doesn’t have any.

Step Three: Light incense and the proper candles for the ritual. Refer to the ‘How Do I Know Which Candles to Use?’ section (pg. 27)

Momo doesn’t own any incense, but she does manage to dig out two candles she mysteriously has– possibly gifted to her from her mom, or maybe Dahyun. One is peach-scented, the other, weirdly, is jokbal-scented. Odd.

Step Four: Draw out the sigil of the demon you wish to summon in animal blood.

Momo doesn’t know any demon sigils, and she doesn’t have any desire to learn. So she draws out one of those evil stars. Except, maybe she draws it wrong, with too many points, and now it’s a flower, so she’s just going to go with it. Also, she draws it with ketchup. There’s no way she’s using any kind of blood.

Step Five: Place the candles inside the sigil. Close your eyes, and chant the name of the demon you desire to summon. Happy summoning!

* disclaimer: Demon Summoning: The Easy, 5 Step Guide! is not liable for anything that may happen while you attempt to summon a demon.

Candles placed, Momo sits criss-cross applesauce next to the floor-ketchup. “DEMON!” She yells, and then remembers about her paper-thin walls and next-door neighbours. “Demon!” Momo repeats, softer, “I, uhh, don’t have a specific one in mind… Demon! I’m really tired… I just want to sleep… Demon! Demon, come to me!”

Here is what Momo expects to happen:

1. After sitting on the floor for a few minutes, Momo will begin to feel ridiculous. She will then, reluctantly, stand up, blow out the candles, and wipe up the ketchup.

2. She’ll then lay in bed, arms wrapped around her pillow, trying desperately to fall asleep.

Here’s what actually happens:

1. A wall of flame erupts in front of Momo, causing her to jump up, and for her white sneaker to go straight into the ketchup.

2. A tall black-haired appears in the flower of ketchup. She looks appropriately disgusted and then seems to remember her job.

“Speak, mortal!” The black-haired spreads her arms wide. She’s in some skimpy, uncomfortable looking outfit, with small blue wings and matching horns sprouting out of the crown of her head; two little points. “What hast thou summoned me for? What is thine request?”

Momo blinks once, twice. She glances behind her. “Uh.” She desperately tries to think of something that she wants – of course! It’s easy! “Wanna cuddle?”

The demon drops her arms. Her expression falls. “What?”

“Cuddle, you know? It’s hard for me to fall asleep, and well– Hi, by the way! I’m Momo, what’s your name?”

“Most call me Mina– though I have several other titles I could list if thou desire.”

“Hey, you don’t have to talk like that, y’know? All the thou’s and thine’s and thee’s,” Momo waves her hands around, “It gets a little crazy.”

“Ah, thank you.” Mina’s shoulders drop, and she seems a bit more… real to Momo. She doesn’t seem like an other worldly being anymore, just… she’s just a girl. “Most who summon me want the whole act, the high-and-mighty demon thing. But you just want to… cuddle? You know what I am, right? I mean, the reason you summoned me…”

Momo steps forward, toeing the edge of the circle. She grasps Mina’s arms. “No, what are you? You’re certainly, well, pretty– is that a demon thing or are you just, well, I mean, you have such pretty hair, and eyes, and…”

Mina shakes her head and pushes Momo off. “I’m a succubus. Now, as a whole, we’re typically regarded to feed off ual love– that’s mostly why I’m summoned. However, some of us: me, for example, can also feed off of a love of a more… romantic nature.” The succubus looks down at her fingertips pressing together. She seems nervous, and greatly uncomfortable.

“Hey, hey.” Momo puts one hand on Mina’s, and uses the other to tip up Mina’s chin. “Don’t worry! Hey, let’s get you into something more comfortable– you can leave this circle, right?” Mina nods a confirmation, and follows Momo into her bedroom. It’s dark outside, the wide windows, and everything in the room is pink. Pictures are everywhere. Most include a orange-haired girl smiling brightly next to Momo.

Momo pulls two things out of a drawer: a black sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants. Mina looks like she’s going to cry.

“Clothes can cover this much skin?” A frown flashes over Momo’s face, but she just nods and smiles in response, then pushes Mina into the bathroom to change.

When she comes out, Momo’s grin spreads from ear to ear. “Wow, Mina! You’re so cute!” She exclaims, whisking the other girl into a hug. “Now, logistics: Big spoon? Little spoon? Face-to-face?” Mina blushes madly. Momo smiles once more. She can’t stop smiling. She summoned a demon, and she can’t stop smiling.

They lay down in the bed separately, and Momo guides their bodies together. Her arms wrap around Mina, resting on the other girl’s stomach. Mina’s tiny wings have sprung free of the sweatshirt, and press against Momo’s chest. Mina is warm, for the first time in years, Momo drifts off to sleep easily.

She wakes up to the sound of crying. They’ve shifted while Momo slept, and they now lay face to face, noses almost touching.

“No no no, Mina, it’s okay, it’s okay, what’s wrong?”

Mina gasps and hiccups, “I– you– No one’s ever t-t-t-treated me like this. I c-can’t– I don’t want to g-go. I don’t want you to ban– banish me. I–” Her words dissolve into fits of tears.

Momo brushes a strand of Mina’s hair back, and held her tight. “Mina.” She pulls back, and reaches up, up, up, to plant a soft kiss on Mina’s forehead. “Don’t worry.” A kiss on her nose. “I’m here.” One on each cheek. “I’m here.” Mina’s neck. “I’ll always be here.” Finally, Mina’s lips. She tastes both salty and smoky, an odd combination, but under that, she’s completely Mina.

“I promise you, Mina. You won’t ever have to go.”