The Fall of the Hatcher house

Others Stories | Oct 25, 2012 | 26 min read
24 Votes, average: 4 out of 5
Others Stories

The Fall of the Hatcher house

June.
They seamed like the perfect family. But then they all do don't they? Those thoughts continued to roam my mind as I stood next to my father's grave. He had died of a heart attack two weeks ago. For six months I had been at boarding school in Wales and the last thing I expected to hear when I got off the plane was that my father had died. I wasn't crying at the funeral. I had cried enough already, so I was doing my best to keep my face as emotionless as possible. The funeral didn't have that many attendants. My uncle's family, the maid Maria (still shell-shocked because she was the one who found him the morning after he died), the gardener Eden and few close neighbors. All who were here more out of duty then anything else. I looked once again at my uncle's family. Uncle Edwin O'Brian had the unmistakable look of an academic. His tall and thin figure was completed by big round glasses and skin as white as snow. He looked like a ghost in the black suit he was warring. Aunt Amy looked very beautiful. Her long blond hair was made into a French braid and was falling down one shoulder. Then there were their children. Otto was ten years of age and a spitting image of his father with the same round glasses. And finally there was Mandy. Fifteen and just as beautiful as her mother. She looked very uncomfortable in the dress she was warring and as if any second she was going to make a run for it. The summer heat had attracted flies and I watched as Mandy tried desperately to make them go away. Not that I blame her. My red hair was escaping from my ponytail and sticking to my neck and face.
When the funeral was finally over the mob of people who had come to mourn my father came rushing to me like a heard of horses; always saying how sorry they were for me for losing my father. And so soon after arriving in the States. When they all left, my uncle's family came and aunt Amy flew her arms around me. ‘Oh my dear I'm so sorry!' she said. ‘But don't worry we'll take good care of you.' She finally let me go. I felt Otto tug on my dress. ‘You'll be my sister now.' he said. ‘You'll like it in Seabury.' Mandy cut in. ‘But . . . I'm not going anywhere. This is my home. I'm staying here.' I said. ‘Oh dear,' aunt Amy said. ‘I'm sorry we . . . were going to tell you later on. You'll be coming to live with us.' She sounded exited and embarrassed at the same time. ‘But my school is in Wales.' ‘Oh we know. But the semester is over.' aunt Amy persisted. Uncle Edwin came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, ‘We'll talk later darling.'
I kept tossing and turning under the covers. How odd; I thought. Even when I was completely alone in the house I still felt some sense of security. Now with these strangers in the house I felt . . . oh I don't know. I got up and looked at the clock. Half past eleven. I went into my bathroom and splashed some water onto my face. I closed my eyes and listened to my aunt and uncle, argue in the study. ‘They have no right to be there.' I said to my reflection. My father was an archeologist, historian, collector and writer. He was a bit of a loony. The study is always a complete mess of books, maps and bits of pottery and scraps of papyrus. But it was still his place! No one was allowed there but me! I quietly slipped out of my room and onto the staircase careful not to be seen by my aunt and uncle who were arguing but were carless enough to close the door. ‘She's only a child Edwin! And she's just lost her father!' aunt Amy said in a voice most determined. ‘She's fourteen Amy, that hardly counts as a child! And besides you saw her face at the funeral! She showed no emotion whatsoever!' uncle Edwin said. ‘She's in shock Edwin! And she hasn't got any family so she needs our support!' ‘Well what about her mother?' A baseball bat couldn't have hit me harder. My mother disappeared in Cairo when I was nine. Declared dead by the authorities. ‘Her mother is dead Edwin!' aunt Amy exclaimed. I had heard enough. But when I crawled back into my bed the only thing I could think of was aunt Amy's words: Her mother is dead! Oh no she's not, I said to my self and feel asleep.
The following morning when I came down to breakfast I found that the rest of the family already up. ‘Oh you're awake!' Mandy said. ‘Yes, good mourning.' I then looked at my aunt and uncle. ‘I have made a decision about living with you.' I said. My aunt's face instantly lost its color. ‘Before you make any rash decisions please. You'd really like it in Seabury.' She was babbling. ‘But . . . I already decided to go with you.' I said. Instantly the atmosphere changed. My aunt kept going on and on about how much fun I was going to have in Seabury. Oh well, I might as well make the most of it. Better then staying in this place all summer.
The place didn't look that bad. The house itself was very, very big and by the looks of it very, very old. And creepy. Behind the house was a wood and behind the wood a lake. And besides there were only five minutes to the village. ‘What do you think?' Mandy asked. ‘It's nice.' I answered. Thru out the entire ride from Boston I had hardly said a word. As I dragged my suitcases up the stairs I couldn't help but notice that the house matched the family. Lots of books, and maps, flowers on every table, paintings that looked antique. As I went down the hall I looked thru the open doors of Otto and Mandy's rooms. Otto was obviously very fond of fishing. As, for Mandy? P
Pink, pink and more pink. My room was at the far end of the hall. In a word it was plain. Cream colored walls, a single bed, one dresser, one mirror, two bedside tables, a big bookcase; I think you get the picture. I undid the curtains. The view of the mountains and lake, was breath taking. ‘Nice isn't it' a voice at the door said. It was aunt Amy. ‘Yes it is.' I looked out again and noticed a small black speck near the lake. A roof. ‘Does anyone else live there?' I asked. ‘What? Oh, you mean the Hatcher house! No, no one lives there any more. It burned down many years ago.' Was it just me or did her voice crack when she said it? ‘Oh. Is it safe to go there?' I asked. ‘Yes you can look at it if you want.' she said leaving the room. ‘Just don't go inside. And don't go near the lake!' I smiled. ‘I wont.'
It's extraordinary! Or at leased that was my first impression. The house must have looked like something out of a painting in it's, time. Now? Half the house had bean reduced to ashes. The roof had caved in. The other half of the house was pitch black. I went to the window and pecked thru it. The inside walls were covered with graffiti. But I looked at the other things. Only two walls were still standing and were being dominated by plants. The house must have bean at least three stories high since you could tell. The bottom floor was the only one left. I left the house and walked to the lake. The people who lived in Seabury called it Emerald Lake. I could see it lived up to its name. I went to the pier and felt the water with my hands. Cold. But, nice. As I walked back to the house I couldn't help but think why hadn't the people torn down the house and build a new one. And there was another felling that I couldn't shake. I felt like I was being watched. But when I looked around there was no one there. Huh, oh well.
Blood. So . . . much . . . blood. I woke up shaking, goose flesh rising. My pajamas were socked with sweat but I felt so cold I was shivering. I looked at the clock on my bedside table. 5:30 am. ‘I can't go to sleep. Not now.' I said to myself. I climbed out of bed and went into my bathroom. The warm water from the shower calmed me down a little. It's the same dream every night, I thought pulling my hair into a ponytail. Walking down the hall I could hear uncle Edwin's LOUD snoring. But that was the last thing on my mind. I sat in the big velvet armchair in the living room and buried my face into my hands. ‘It's always the same.' I repeated. ‘Why? Why, why, why, why, why?' I let out a sigh. I had been here for almost two weeks and every night I have been tortured by nightmares. I see a girl, maybe a year or two older then me. She is trapped in her room, crying and someone hits her. Then I hear screams. And then there's blood. A lot of it. Soaking into a patch of grass. It might not sound bone chilling but trust me it's worse then it sounds. ‘Hey Emily!' a high-pitched voice said. I looked up and saw Otto fishing pole and bucket in hand. ‘You're up early.' ‘Uh, yeah. I couldn't sleep. You off fishing?' I asked. ‘Yes. You want to come? You look like you need some air.' Now normally I would never hang around fish guts but today I need a dictation. ‘Ok, Otto. Just let me a jacket.'
‘Why do you always release the fish after you caught it?' I asked. So far Otto had caught nine fish and he released all of them. ‘I don't want the fish to die. So I catch them and let them go.' ‘Like a game.' I said. ‘Yes.' While Otto enjoyed his fish game I concentrated on the mist on the lake. Then my attention was drawn to the Hatcher house. ‘Otto. What do you know about that house?' I asked. Otto looked into the direction I was pointing. ‘Oh the Hatcher house? Not much. It's probably been there for a long time. Why are you interested?' he asked, and he was right. Why would a girl be interested in a burned down house? ‘Oh no reason. But why is it called Hatcher house?' I asked not taking my eyes off the demolished structure. ‘I think a family who once lived there was named Hatcher.' He gave me a look that said "Why are you so interested in a burned up house? We spent the rest of the morning on the pier. Upon getting back it was clear from the moment we came thru the garden gate that something was very wrong. And it got worse when we entered the house. To start it off it was ice cold! And when I went into the kitchen I saw aunt Amy holding a blood stained towel to her palm and uncle Edwin putting on a jacket and getting the car keys from the hook. ‘What's going on?' I asked. ‘Oh Emily!' aunt Amy said. ‘I . . . I cut myself with the knife. It just slipped.' ‘I need to take her to the ER. The wound is so deep it needs stitching.' Uncle Edwin grabbed aunt Amy by the arm and led her to the door. ‘Oh Mandy went to Mary-Ann's house. She said she'd be back before three.' said aunt Amy before leaving the house.
Actually Mandy came home a little before noon. With her two friends Lisa and Mary-Ann. They went into the backyard spread their towels and started sunbathing. Lisa even brought her dogs Snickers and Knight, German shepherds. Snickers always sat with them but Knight kept looking around. Suddenly both the dogs sprang to their feet and started howling. Eventually I had enough and went outside. ‘Could you calm them down?' I asked. Mandy and her friends were too occupied trying to get them to shut up. As I approached them I saw that the dogs went from howling into the empty sky, to barking, to growling. And that's when things got bad. First the dogs broke free from Lisa's grip and ran . . . straight at me. I didn't think. I ran. But who'd ever heard of someone out running a German shepherd? It didn't take them long to catch me. And when they did they slammed into my back and knocked me down. They didn't stop there. They jumped onto my back and started barking into my ear. Lisa and Mandy finally got the dogs off me but not with out Lisa getting bitten. Inside the house I put my first aid training (courtesy of my mom) to use treating Lisa's bite. ‘I don't get it.' Lisa said. ‘I really don't. They'd never done this before.' ‘Well who knows why dogs do anything.' I said. ‘I guess you've never had a dog huh?' Mary-Ann said from across the kitchen. Actually I did. A Belgian, sheepdog named Lux. And yet I said: ‘No, never.' ‘Well bottom line is they've never done this before. So I guess you wont want to take them in?'
So that's how we ended up taking in both the dogs in for the summer. Of course the family had arranged this weeks ago. ‘I'm really sorry Emily.' ‘No it . . . it's ok.' I said one night after nearly tripping over Snickers. ‘I just wish we'd have warned you.' Uncle Edwin had been apologizing for at leased a week. But I had bigger problems on my hand. Because not only did I still have the nightmares but weird things were happening. In the middle of the night my dresser drawers were wide open and all my clothes were on the floor. Sometimes the rooms where I was turned ice cold. Books sometimes flew off the shelves, someone was rearranging vases and pitchers and one morning I woke up and both the dogs were by my bed staring at me. Just staring at me. And then out of nowhere they just took off and didn't go near my room again. Or me for that matter. To them I was poison. ‘Well good night!' I said and went upstairs. Tonight uncle Edwin and I were alone in the house. Just days after the knife incident aunt Amy fell down the stairs and was hospitalized. Otto was at a sleepover and Mandy was at camp. With no one in the house I felt a little strange. It was odd not hearing aunt Amy's laugh, Otto telling us what kind of species of bugs he had seen and Mandy's shrieks when Otto spilled her nail polish. I climbed into bed and hoped for a nightmare less night.
Man was I wrong! I woke up in the middle of the night. My clothes were drenched with sweat but the room was cold. I didn't have a nightmare but I felt scared to death. ‘What is wrong with me?' I whispered. Then I looked at the wall opposite my bed . . . and screamed. On the wall written in bright red were the words: Help! I'm trapped! Emerald lake pier! Now! Now normally I would hide under the covers and hope that it was all just a sick joke. But this time I got up dressed took a flashlight and a knife and quietly slipped out of the house. No one woke up. In the woods I felt like someone was watching me. Finally I reached the lake. The sight was breath taking. The full moon cast a sparkling glow on the lake and everywhere was just light. Then why did I fell so scared? I went onto the pier and waited. And waited. And waited. I probably waited for an hour when I got frustrated. I jumped and shrieked: ‘Well? I'm here! What do you want with me! Come on, you've got me here! Do what you want!' When nothing happened I vowed to never believe any messages written on the wall in the middle of the night, turned around . . . and jumped out of my skin. Because in front of me was a girl! Or to be more exact the ghost of a girl. A second later a blacked out. But my head was being filled by live images. The girl in front of me crying, a man hitting her and locking her in her room. Then an image of her running. She was scared and screaming "No! Please, no!" When I could see again the girl was still there. A closer look and I realized I was looking at the girl from my dreams. Her dark hair was pined behind her head and she had a very tall slim figure. In a word she was down right beautiful. The only error was that her skin was partly see thru. But then I noticed something else. She was crying.
‘Please. Don't go.' Her voice was soft and caring but shaking. I realized that she wasn't trying to hurt me. She wanted my help. I smiled. ‘I wont. But . . . who are you? And why have you been haunting me?' The girl stopped crying. ‘My name is Mary. Mary Hatcher.' ‘Wait! Did you say Hatcher?' I pointed to the burned house. ‘Did you live in that house?' I asked. ‘Yes. Yes I did.' She looked down. ‘I . . . I need you to help me.' ‘Help you to do to what? Leave?' ‘Yes.' I sat on the edge of the pier and Mary sat down next to me. ‘Why are you here?' I asked. ‘He is keeping me here. Edward.' When she said it I could hear resentment in her voice. Ok we were getting nowhere with this. ‘Start at the beginning.' I said. ‘It is a long story.' she answered. ‘I've got all night.' Mary looked at the house again. ‘Have ever you lost any family . . . I'm sorry I didn't catch you're name.' ‘Emily. Emily Green.' Mary's head dropped into her lap. ‘Anyway. Have you ever lost any family?' ‘My father past away a few weeks ago.' I said. ‘I'm sorry.' She fell silent for a few seconds. ‘My life was perfect at first. My family was happy. My father always made me and my mother laugh. He made most of his money from the coal in the mountains. But he died during a hunting trip.' That was when I first noticed her clothing. A long green dress made of wool with a high collar, black leather boots and a shawl. Pioneer clothes. ‘My mother was a wreck after that. But two years later she remarried to Edward McNeil.' she said. ‘Did you get along with him?' I asked. She gave me a look that would kill. ‘I hated him! I still do.'
‘Edward liked money. I never really found out why mother married him. Most certainly not for love.' Mary continued. ‘What happened to her?' I asked. Tears filled her eyes. ‘She became ill and within half a year she, died. I inherited the fortune but Edward was told to hold it in trust until I turned twenty one.' ‘But?' I asked. ‘But being a spender by nature he spend it all quicker then you can say kick the cat.' ‘So what did he do?' I said. ‘To pay off the debts he promised me to a rich Frenchmen.' ‘And let me guess. You loved another?' She only nodded. ‘He was the son of the local Ferrier. Not much money so he was of no interest whatsoever to Edward. When he found out about us he went haywire. He locked me in my room and hit me everyday when I stayed loyal to Mark.' ‘So what did you do?' I asked. ‘Nothing for a while. I took it like a man. But enough is enough. I escaped from the house but he chased me into the woods.' Silence. ‘Then what?' I asked. ‘I don't know.' Mary said. ‘I don't remember anything after that. The last thing I remember is a massive head ace and then nothing.' ‘So what are saying?' I asked. Mary looked at me in the eyes and said: ‘I think Edward killed me.'
‘Killed you? I don't mean to be rude but don't you think that's a bit far fetched?' I asked. ‘Far fetched!' she shrieked. ‘Do you think I'm making this up? Would you make up a story that someone ended you're life?' she sprang to her feet. ‘No. No that's not what I meant.' I stood up. Mary opened her mouth to say something but her face filled with dread. She disappeared but I could feel someone next to me. Someone who was very, very, very angry! And the next thing I knew I was flying thru the air! I hit one of the remaining walls of the Hatcher house with such force it knocked me out. When I finally came to the sun was already rising. ‘Thank heaven you're all right!' Mary was kneeling over me. ‘I was worried I was going to have to call someone. Anything broken?' she asked. ‘Depends.' I said sitting up slowly. When you fall off a horse in the Mexican jungle as much as I have you know when something is broken. I got to my feet. ‘What happened?' I looked at Mary. ‘Did you shove me into the wall?' I asked. ‘No. That was Edward.' ‘THAT was Edward?' I asked. ‘Well he's strong I'll give him that.' ‘Why do you think I left? I am scared of him.' Mary looked even more vulnerable. ‘OK, you've got my attention. What do you need me to do?' I asked. ‘Bring Edward to justice of course!' She made it sound so easy. ‘Um no offence Mary but how can I do that when both of you are . . . well you know.' ‘Deceased? I know.' This time she didn't fly off the handle. ‘Well I think it's best we start at the beginning. Do you know where you're body is?' Mary just shook her head, no. ‘Ah, all right. Listen. I'm going to do some digging. You just keep you're psycho step dad away from me.' Mary smiled. ‘I'll try.'
When I got back to the house I went strait to bed and didn't come out until noon. When I finally came down uncle Edwin's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. ‘Wow! What happened to you? You look like you've been run over by a cargo train!' I picked up a piece of toast ‘Uncle Edwin after the night I've been thru that sounds like a day at the beach!' and went into the library hoping to find something that might help Mary move on. And get her stepfather off my back.
July
Nothing. Days and days of going thru books, records and countless web pages and what did I come up with? Nothing! Well nothing useful anyway. I hadn't seen Mary in a while so any use going to her for help was useless. ‘This is hopeless!' I shut the computer and went into the kitchen. I made my self some tea to calm my nerves. I took a spoon out of the drawer and shut it with a satisfying bang. ‘Wow! Rough day?' Mandy was standing in the doorway. ‘Yeah, kinnda. I'm trying to find out the history of a certain . . . property in Seabury. And so far I got nothing!' Mandy only smiled. ‘You know I have a friend in the village who might be able to help. He's in my class at school. His dad is the village's historian. If you want I can give him a call and see if he has time.' Ok so normally I would never accept an offer to meet with a total stranger. But I was really getting desperate. The nightmares kept on coming, not to mention the hunting's (the bugs in the apple juice were the last straw). ‘Ok. Ask him.'
I have never been in Seabury before. It's small, but not that small. And also pretty. Gardens, statues and the occasional policeman on a horse. The historical society looked as old as history itself. At the front desk I was greeted by a tall blonde who was talking on the phone. ‘Excuse me! I'm looking for a Mr. Cavalla.' ‘He's in his office. It's across the hall to the left.' she answered briefly and turned back to the phone. The hall was dark and filled with glass cabinets stocked to the roof with chunks of stone, pieces pottery, pendants, old bullets and letters. It was hot and stuffy in there so when I finally reached the door where it said ‘Mr. Cavalla, Head' I was sweating like a pig. After I knocked the voice that said, "come in" wasn't that of a man. But a boy. And sure enough in the room was a boy about my age. So this was Philip. Mandy's friend. ‘Oh hi!' he said. ‘You must be Emily.' He stepped from the ladder and stretched out a hand. ‘And you must be Philip.' We shook. ‘So Mandy mentioned you wanted information on a property.' ‘Yes. The Hatcher property.' He gave me a very odd look. ‘The Hatcher house? The one by Emerald Lake?' he asked. ‘Um yes. I want to know what happened there.' The smile returned to his face. ‘We'll have to go into the archives. Come with me.'
The archives were big! So big it took us nine days to find the right files. We passed the time by talking and joking around. I was surprised to find he was nice after I got passed the silly jokes. ‘Find anything?' I asked. ‘Not really.' he said. I sneezed. ‘When were these archives cleaned? All I can find is dust.' ‘Found it!' he yelled. I ran across the big room to where Philip was standing. He had lied down three boxes all of them filled to the brim with newspapers, files and photos. ‘Well you were right about one thing!' he said taking a photo out of the box. ‘The Hatcher family was a very high profile family in their time.' I took the picture. It was rather old and the color had faded but you could still who was in it. A woman, a man . . . and a girl. ‘Magdala Hatcher, William Hatcher and Mary Hatcher.' ‘They look like the perfect family.' I said. And in the photo they did. ‘They were. But they were far from it.' he took a file out of another box. ‘William made his money from coal in the mountains. Unfortunately he died during a hunting trip.' ‘How?' I asked. ‘Well according to the pathologist's report he died from a sharp blow to the head by falling off his horse.' I stared at the photo. William looked nice but firm. ‘What happened to the mother and Mary?' I asked. As if I didn't know! ‘Well the mother lost it completely. But then she remarried two years later.' He pulled out another photograph. ‘Edward McNeil.' The tight, pale face complete with hair as black as ink sent shivers down my spine. ‘He doesn't look like a good man.' I said. ‘He wasn't. He was the town playboy. He liked money and liked spending it.' this time he pulled out a file containing bills. ‘Records show that he could go spending 100$ to 300$ per night. But he also had serious anger management issues. In fact he was responsible for most of the bar fights.' he closed the file. ‘It didn't last. Magdala died six months after marrying him. She was sick or something.' I thru the photo back into the box and pulled out a photo of Mary. ‘What happened to her?' I asked. Like I didn't already know! ‘She lived with him until she was sixteen. Then she just up and disappeared!' ‘Oh, did she?' He nodded. ‘The police suspected that she had done a runner with some guy from the village. But here's the real mystery. On the night she disappeared so did Edward.' My eyebrows went up. ‘What? Did they ever find them?' He shook his head. ‘Nope. Never. They just vanished.' He reached into another box and pulled out a newspaper. ‘Soon after a bunch of rebels set fire to the building.'
‘Ok spill why do you want to know all this?' Philip walked me to my bike and as I was about to mount it he asked the question I had been dreading. ‘I just think there's more to what happened.' ‘Ok Sherlock.' I mounted my bike. ‘Thanks for all you're help Watson!' I said and rode away.
I woke up screaming. I thought the nightmares with the blood were bad but what I had just dreamed made them look like a fairy tale! When I lied down again I screamed but it stuck in my throat. Because above me was floating a glowing figure of a man. To be precise it was Edward McNeil! He looked exactly like I had seen in the photo; except for his eyes. They were filled with pure demonic rage! ‘Now you listen to me grille!' his voice was like knives and his breath smelled like a carcass. I tried to get up but it was like I was pinned to the bed. ‘You stop messing with my business and you're family will still have their limbs in the morning!' The bed started to shake and I was catapulted across the room. I was awoken by a peculiar sound. Running water! I jumped to my feet. Water was coming out of my bathroom in the form of a river and it was filling up the room. Fast! I sprang to the door. Locked! I picked up a chair and hailed it at the window. It bounced off like a ball! The water was already up to half the room. Then it reached the top. I took a deep breath and made one final attempt to make uncle Edwin hear me. My lungs burned and I knew that sooner or later I was going to have to take a breath of air. And then everything went black.
‘Emily? Emily! Oh thank havens you're alright!' aunt Amy was knelling over me. A paramedic was standing next to her. ‘Wh . . . where am I?' I asked. ‘By Emerald lake. Why the hell did you go swimming at this hour?' Wait a minute! Emerald lake? Swimming? The last thing I remember is Edward trying to drown me in my own bedroom! ‘When Edwin came to cheek on you, you were gone! He looked for you and found you floating in the middle of the lake.' I looked at my uncle. He was wet from head to toe so I assumed he had jumped into the lake to save me. But the question still remains. How in heaven or hell did I end up here? And why was aunt Amy looking at me like she had seen a ghost?
My room was of course perfectly fine when I got back. The paramedics concluded that I was all right and that I had just swallowed a lot of water. But despite the fact that it was astronomically late I wasn't going to sleep until I got some answers! I stood on my bed and yelled ‘Mary! I don't care where you are or what you are doing but I need to talk to you! As in NOW!' I waited. Finally she appeared at the far end of the room. ‘Why have you summand me?' she asked in a deep voice. ‘Well for starters,' I said jumping off the bed and walking up to her. ‘You're psycho step dad tried to drown me in my own room! Oh and not only that but he transported me to the lake to make it look I had gone swimming in the middle of the night!' I was always good at keeping control of my anger. But this time anger was pouring out of my mouth and somehow I couldn't shut it. When I finally stopped Mary looked sad but there was a certain glimpse of excitement in her eyes. ‘I'm so sorry.' She said. ‘But I remember.' ‘Remember what?' I asked. ‘I remember where I am! I'm in the lake!' she said. I stared at her for a long time. Finally I said: ‘You just made my job a hundred times harder.'
‘Emily? You have another visitor.' Mandy peered from behind my bedroom door. Aunt Amy had bed written me because ‘I need to recover from the shock'. And the news of my unfortunate accident had spread thru the village like wild fire. I've already had nine visitors in the morning alone. ‘Oh do I?' I asked. ‘Yeah. It's Philip.' ‘Let him in.' maybe he found something. A few minutes later Philip entered the room. ‘Hi. You felling ok?' he asked. ‘Yeah. News travels fast huh?' ‘Like lightning. My father mentioned it at breakfast this morning. You're father was an archeologist wasn't he?' I felt my stomach tighten. ‘Yes.' ‘Oh I'm sorry.' He came closer and sat on the edge of the bed. ‘No. No it's ok. He thought me a lot. He was a good dad.' I said. ‘Well, what about you're mom?' he asked. ‘She's declared dead.' I said. ‘You don't seam very upset.' ‘Well, this is going to sound stupid and maybe a little crazy but . . . I just fell that she's still alive.'
‘Oh I almost forgot!' Philip turned in the doorway. ‘I found some more records of the Hatcher house. That is if you're still interested.' I smiled. ‘Yes. Yes I am.' He handed me two fat folders. ‘Get well soon!' he said. ‘See you around!' He reached for the door but . . .it slammed right in his face! He jiggled the knob. Locked! Oh please for the love of God not now! ‘Is this some kind of joke?' he asked. Oh man! ‘The house is old. Sometimes the doors get stuck.' And the water starts to flow like crazy! And that's when things went from bad to a hundred times worse! First my books flew off the shelves; a few pitchers were turned upside-down; and one of my nail polish bottles were opened and the brush was writing on the floor. It wrote: ‘Just tell him already!' Not before I kick you're but. ‘Tell me what?' he asked. So I told him. Yes I told him everything and no he did not believe me! In fact he called me crazy. That is until Mary appeared and somehow glued him to the ceiling! Only then after hearing her out, and being stuck up there for half an hour did he believe us. Eventually she let him down. ‘You do realize that getting people to search the lake isn't going to be easy right? The bottom is covered in thick mud and agile!' he said standing in the doorway. ‘I know. I'll think of something.' ‘And I'll do a little more digging.' He walked out. I turned my head to Mary who was happily sitting on the window seat. ‘Was that really necessary?' I asked. ‘Of course! His father is the historian! He might find an excuse to search the lake!' I rolled my eyes and climbed out of bed. ‘Where are you going? You are supposed to be resting!' I opened the door and turned to look at her. ‘You're not the only one who wants answers you know.' I pointed to the floor. ‘That had better be gone when I get back!' And left.
I found aunt Amy in the garden having tea. The dogs of course ran to the other end of the garden the second they saw me. I sat down in the chair opposite Amy. ‘What are you doing out of bed?' aunt Amy said looking up from her book. ‘Aunt Amy what's troubling you?' I asked. ‘My dear child what are you talking about?' ‘What happened at the lake?' The second the words were out of my mouth all the color from my aunt's face was gone. ‘I really don't know what you mean!' she said. ‘Aunt Amy I'm not blind! On the first day I came here you got weird when I asked you about that place! And then last night well . . . I could see that you wanted to get the heck out of there!' I stood up. ‘So either you tell me what's going on or I'll find out myself!' Aunt Amy was silent. I started to walk away but she grabbed my arm. ‘Can you keep a secret Emily?' she asked. ‘Yes.' I said sitting back down. ‘The reason why I stay clear of that place is because . . . Melissa drowned there.' I gave her a puzzled look. ‘Who is Melissa?' I asked. My aunt was quiet for a while. When she looked up I could see tears in her eyes. ‘Melissa was my daughter.'
‘She was born long before Mandy and Otto. She loved going to the lake. I told her that it was dangerous but she didn't listen she kept going there and playing in the lake.' She picked up a napkin and dried her eyes. ‘Then one day she . . . she didn't come home. When night fell she was still gone. They found her the next day. She had drowned in the lake.' She started sobbing. I put a hand on her shoulder. ‘Did you ever talk about it with uncle Edwin?' ‘No. No, never. Whenever tried to bring it up he dismissed it. We never told the kids either.' ‘Did you give her a burial?' I asked. ‘Yes. In the village. But really all my life I had wanted to put a memorial for her in the garden. She loved it here.' I stood up. ‘Don't worry. I won't breathe a word of what you just told me. But I really think you should talk to uncle Edwin about Melissa.' Aunt Amy smiled. ‘Thank you. Thank so much.' She said.
In the middle of the night I was awoken by the unmistakable sound of my cell phone. Who the hell is calling me at two o'clock in the morning? I reached out to it and flipped it open. The caller ID said Philip. ‘There had better be a good reason for you to be calling me at this hour!' ‘Sorry for calling so late but I think I found a way to make them search the lake!' At that point sleep was the last thing on my mind. ‘How?' I asked now fully awake. ‘I remembered how years ago my mother told me about a small clay amphora she found on the bank of the lake. She said that if there was a search they would find more!' he said. ‘You think that you can convince them to fund a search?' I asked. ‘Well my mother never told anyone but me about the amphora. If I am to find it and tell my father I'm positive that he will make a few calls.' That made me smile. ‘Edward hasn't tried to hurt you again has he?' he asked. ‘Thank God no.' I heard him sigh with relief. ‘You worried about me?' I asked. ‘Yes a little. Look I have to go but I promise that by August that lake is going to be crawling with divers.' ‘Ok thanks a million!' ‘Good night! ‘Good night!'
August
Philip was right. The minute he showed the amphora to his father he was on the phone calling a diving team. They had been diving for days and had found a lot of artifacts but no Mary. ‘Don't worry.' I was allowed to watch the divers. But after days of diving and nothing I was starting to get a little worried. ‘They are the best diving team for miles! If Mary is down there they will find her.' Philip said trying to keep the umbrella steady. It had started raining witch ment the water was a bit more murkier then usual. ‘Oh come on Philip!' I said pulling up my hood. ‘The water is probably impossible to see thru! And besides . . .' I was cut off by one of the divers scrams. ‘Boss! I think we have a skeleton here!' Mary! I closed my eyes and smiled. Finally after all this time it's over.
I waited by the pier unable to contain my excitement. Philip's dad had given him the news about the skeleton the divers found and apparently the news was big enough he had to see me in person. Finally he arrived. ‘Well?' I asked. ‘What is so important?' ‘Ok well you were right. The skeleton was Mary.' I jumped ‘I knew it!' ‘Hold the parade!' he said. ‘There's something else. About three feet away from her they found another skeleton.' Now that caught my attention. ‘Who was it?' I asked. ‘It was Edward McNeil!'
They were buried. Both Mary and Edward have been given their place in the Seabury cemetery. Philip and me had both gone to the burials. Mary was given a place in her family tomb while Edward was given a shabby grave at the far end. But one thing still bothered me. Why was Edward so close to her? As if reading my mind Philip got the answer for me. ‘She told me before she left.' He said after everyone had gone. ‘Why you?' I asked. ‘I don't know. Any way the head ace she felt? Edward hit her with something and knocked her out. Convinced she was dead he got a boat and rowed to the middle of the lake where he planed to sink her.' ‘I think I can tell her the rest.' That voice! I spun around and saw Mary leaning agenized a tree. ‘You're still here!' I said. ‘I couldn't leave without saying good by. And to thank you.' She smiled. She looked so much more relaxed and happy. All the fear was gone. ‘Well go on!' I said. ‘He tried to tie rocks to my feet hoping I would sink faster. But I came too just as he was putting me in the water. I grabbed him and when I went down so did he.' I smiled. ‘Edward was punished for his actions long ago Mary.' I said. ‘I just wish there was some way I could thank you.' She said. ‘No need.' I said. And then just like that . . . she was gone. Forever.
One year later
‘Emily hurry! We'll be late!' I could hear my aunt scream from down stairs. ‘I'm coming, I'm coming! Gezz it's not easy getting into this dress you know!' I yelled tugging at my skirt. The annual Summer Harvest dance was tonight and I still couldn't believe Mandy talked me into wearing a dress! After flying in from Wales a week ago I was actually happy to be back. The first thing I did of course was to go to the Hatcher tomb and put a bundle of white orchids on it. And when I came to the house I saw a small memorial at the far end of the garden. Aunt Amy took my advice. I picked up my bag and ran downstairs. Everyone was already in the car. The dance was being held at a barn further out in the country. I had never been good at dancing but with Philip as my partner I wasn't that bad. When we finally got home I went to bed knowing that tonight no nightmares would be accruing. Or so I thought. I wasn't asleep for an hour when I felt a sharp poke on my arm. I sat up but saw nothing.
The End?

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Meenu Oct 26, 2012

Good story that keeps alive our interest till the end.

Amit Oct 25, 2012

Amazing Story. I really like it

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