Keys, Doors and Locks
Two months had passed and the haunting continued. Never was there any harm done to me or my children, but I began to wonder if the ghost had some sort of attachment to me. She has come to find comfort in the bathroom upstairs and likes the door to stay closed, we do not cross her. Many nights my mind struggled with reason, and many nights she watched me. I have grown accustomed to her presence somehow, but have decided to return to the cemetery on lonesome hill to find some clues as to who she might be.
It was just another day when I awoke, but instead of setting at the computer and writing, I had made plans during my restless night. I went down stairs and picked up the phone, my mind was clear and I was fully awake. D’ring-ring, d’ring-ring, the phone rang at the other end. “Yea-hello.”
“Hey Nikell, are you ready?” I asked cheerfully.
“Oh-hey Ty. Yea, I’m on my way to your house rite now.”
“OK…I was just making sure were still up for it. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Yep, I’ll be there in about eight minutes.” She warned respectfully.
“All-right then…talk to you when you get here.”
“K’ bye.” She said playfully.
“Bye.”
Without hesitation I sped from the kitchen to the downstairs bathroom stripping off my clothes as I went. New world records were set as I showered, brushed my teeth and got dressed. Just as I looked out the front door, a tiny red, rag-top convertible pulled into my driveway. I went ahead and opened the door and waved Nikell to come on inside. I returned to the dinning room and retrieved my black leather folder. I decided before I left to double check everything; keys, wallet, camera, pen, paper. Everything was in order; I even had two pens and grid-paper in my folder. “Hey good-looking, kinda snazzy for grave searching…not that I’m complaining.” Nikell playfully teased when she stepped through the open door.
“Not exactly what you would hope for a third date huh.” I said as I pushed my cigarettes into my shirt pocket.
“No, I know its research for your next book; I’m actually glad you invited me along…I think it will be fun.”
“Great…Ok then. Will have to take my truck because of the road.”
“Ummm, sure let me grab some of my things first.” Nikell reasoned. I watched her turn and walk towards the car and was amazed that she was wearing blue jeans. Every time I had seen her before she was wearing business clothes.
“Hey, I thought we would go ahead and drive into town later and get a bite to eat since I need to go to the Library.” I informed her incase she needed to get anything else.
“Sounds great…well, I have everything, let’s go.” She replied. I opened the door for her, “Watch your step.” I warned her of the slick chrome steps. Soon we were off and I was turning onto the barely visible road.
“Wow! This is a creepy road.” Nikell exclaimed at the edge of her breath.
The morning sun was warm and promised of a hot day. The skies were clear and bright as well with a feeling of fun. That all almost changed as I looked over to see Nikell rubbing her arms. “I have a jacket behind the seat if you’re cold.” I offered.
“No…that’s ok, I just got Goosebumps for some reason that’s all.” She answered trying to keep her composure. “The light is kind of…absent from here isn’t it.” She then added as she looked up at all the natural canopy of branches. When we topped the hill her breath caught in her throat. “Oh-my god…”
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want. You can stay in the truck or I can take you back…it is not that big of a deal.” I immediately responded to what I kind of expected to happen.
“NO! No, I mean-this place is awesome. Way out here in the middle of the woods and there is not a single tree growing inside of it. Like somebody takes care of it still.” She said with an excited edge in her tone.
“The care-taker…now that is a good idea. He probably knows a great deal about this place. I’ll have to go to the city court and find out who it is.” Quickly I opened my note book and wrote ’care-taker?’ down.
“That’s a strange tombstone…” I looked up to see where she was looking and understood instantly what she was referring to.
“Yea, that is why I brought the camera. My nephew and I thought it was strange when we came up here a couple of months ago. There are some strange symbols on it that I found interesting. Here.” I offered her the camera, “You take some pictures of the stone and symbols while I make a few sketches of them.”
She took the camera and examined it. “Nice…an eight-five zoom, but not a digital.”
“The batteries in my digital are dead, but that one takes amazing photos.” I explained.
“You know there are only six pictures left.” She stated.
“Damn-it, I knew I was forgetting something. Oh-well, that should be enough. We can just take it by the one-hour photo later.” I said realizing it could be a blessing in disguise.
Without wasting anymore time, we both climbed out of the truck at the same instant. I was amazed at how perceptive she was as we approached the cemetery. “Look at how short the grass is and there are no clippings.” She said with an eerie tone as she pretended like it was a creepy mystery.
“Perhaps you should have been a detective instead of an accountant.” I joked. “Let’s go over here first. I want to get some names and dates off of these stones for references.” I could not help but notice the uncomfortable feeling in the air. If I was correct, it was the same feeling I had the first time I was here, but there was plenty of daylight so I shook it off.
“Ok the first marker in the third row.” Carefully I made a quick sketch of a top view of the cemetery so I could keep track of where everything I looked at was. Then I tried to make out the writing on the stone. Gabriel McKay, born March, 3-1889; died March, 3-1890. I wrote it down then went to the next stone. Makinna McKay, born May, 15-1884; died May, 15-1890. “Strange, both of these children died on their Birthdays and they are related.” I replied as I looked up at Nikell.
“No… not really, many children were still born or did not survive because of poor medical provisions back then.” Nikell answered.
“I understand that, but at age one, and age six and two months apart.” I reasoned. Nikell shuttered in her skin. “I apologize; I didn’t mean to unnerve you.” I said remorsefully.
“No it’s just…it must be horrible to loose both children that close.” Nikell related her concern. I understood her shudder as I imagined the horror of the realism, but shook it off quickly and continued writing. Erik Mckay, born June 12-1878; died June 12-1891. Alison McVay, loving mother, age 31; died July, 02-1891. “Ok, let’s go down a row.” I said feeling the need to find something different, but it was the same family name so we went to the next row down.
Macarthur. The first stone here was Joshua Macarthur; died age 36, December 28 1890. I was relieved to find another adult, but that subsided quickly with the examination of the next stone. Timothy, Macarthur, born January, 11-1890; died January, 11-1890. My heart grew heavy with the thought of lost innocents stripped of its rite to grow and experience life. The next stone was a girl, Sarra; she died the day before her birthday of October 29th, 1890 at age three. Next to her stone was another girl Jenny. She died November 3rd, at age four one month to the day before her birthday.
I decided to go down a few rows and find a different family name. One more row down I found it, Davey. The first of these stones was a boy named Daniel; He was born on July 2nd, 1890 and he died the same day. Next to him was a boy of 12 years who died July 15th, 1890 the day before his birthday. A sense of sadness filled me as I found myself trying to imagine what had happened to all these innocent children.
Emily Davey, born February 11-1883; died February 11-1891. Elizabeth Davey, born April 04-1891; died July03-1891.
Sadness began to overwhelm me, and I noticed Nikell was getting nervous. “Ok, let’s go take some pictures and get out of here.” I offered, but she did not seem to be in any big hurry. We walked down a couple of more rows and I wrote down a different family name.
“How do you want these pictures?” Nikell asked curiously.
“Take a couple of the entire stone from two different angles then take the rest as close ups to capture the symbols. I am going to do a few quick sketches.” I answered. She gave me a silent nod and walked around for a few moments trying to get a clear shot. As I sketched the intricate designs in my folder, I noticed Nikell kept looking over her shoulder as if she was expecting something to be behind her. Curious of her behavior, I inconspicuously watched her over the top of my folder.
“Ok, that was the last picture. Are you done?” She said in a serious tone that was missing her usual playfulness.
“Yes, I just finished the last one, it should be good enough.” I replied as she came near me and looked over my shoulder.
“Sketches…those are drawings. You didn’t tell me you could draw. Wow, these are very good and hardly a sketch at all.” She complimented in her usual tone.
“Come on…Let’s go.” I said with a nod of my head towards the truck.
As we drove towards town, our conversation revolved around art and each others interests in the different mediums. At first it was out of common interest, but as silence found us I realized it was to keep our minds off of the dreary scene of the cemetery on top of the lonesome hill. As we slowed at the stoplight, a new topic found my thoughts to keep things alive between us.
“Let’s drop the film off real quick then we will get something to eat. It will be my treat what do you say?”
“Sounds great. It is almost lunch time anyway.” Nikell replied in a tone that was more cheerful.
“What sounds good to you, what kinds of foods do you like?” I asked playfully.
“I don’t care…anything really. I’m not picky.” She responded. I rolled my eyes at the typical answer that most people give when they are just trying to be nice and easy to get a long with.
“Now come on, don’t give me that stereo typical bull…You know as well as I that you probably don’t appreciate it either. I’ll go first. I like Oriental and Mexican.” I said in a playful manner with a smile.
Nikell smiled widely at me with her lips and her eyes. “Ok, you got me. I like Oriental and Mexican as well. Italian and French are favorites; like calamari. I don’t really like fast foods much except maybe Pizza.” She replied enthusiastically.
“So what would you like?” I asked again as I drove across the intersection.
“Something light…Mexican perhaps.” She answered with a smile.
“Great, I know a fantastic restaurant with the best appetizers known to man other than my own.”
“YOU cook…” She said surprised. To me it was not a big deal, but more of a responsibility.
“I have two kids at home. They should at the least eat good food…so I take pride in what I make and I’m not bad at it.” I replied modestly. Things between us were going along ok and I started to think there was an unseen spark shared between us.
We dropped the film off and went to have lunch which went rather well. We ate light and talked about common interests; basically trying to get to know each other a little more. Afterwards we picked up the pictures which I did not look at rite away but instead lay them on top of my folder in the seat between us. “If you don’t have plans, would you like to help me out at the Library, or I can take you back to your car.” I offered nicely giving her the opportunity to escape.
“No, the library sounds fun, I am curious to know what you find and see how you work.” She answered with a smile which pleased me.
The library proved a battle. Most of the records were stuffed away in boxes and not put on micro-film. Nikell proved to be a resourceful person and we were having fun, even bonding a little as we made discoveries. The librarian even allowed me to make photo copies of the things I found instead of taking notes which sped things up tremendously. We didn’t waste much time reading any of the materials only pieces here and there. “What about the pictures, do you want to see if we can find some of the symbols?” Nikell asked curiously as I began to clean up and put my research in my folder.
“I will probably go down to the college and see if I can get a professor to give some idea of what they are or from what culture, then I can get some books on them and research at home.” I answered her. “I’ll do that another day.” I quickly added, ready to call it a day. “Besides, I probably need to get you to your car and go pick up my kids before it gets too late.”
“I’m not in any hurry. Let’s go get your kids.” Again I found myself persuaded by Nikell, this time with her lack of hesitance to meet kids. After careful consideration, I found there would be no harm in it.
“Ok, but you will have to go along with me on this. My kids are not use to me dating especially my daughter. She is old enough to understand what is going on.” I agreed to her idea with minimal skepticism. We stayed at my mother’s long enough to get my children and a proper introduction of Nikell to my mother, which I was not yet prepared to do. So I was eager to not hang around and avoid unwanted questions from my mom.
The ride home erupted with a badgering of questions from my daughter about Nikell, whom I introduced as a friend that was helping me do some research on one of my books. It was a delicate subject in which I did not wish to lie about and her nine year old mind was determined to discover. Nikell on the other hand found it very delightful and entertaining while she busied herself with looking through some of the research. “Wow, look at this.” She suddenly exclaimed
“What is it?” I asked as she removed one of copies from the folder.
“I want to see. What is it?” My daughter chipped in anxiously.
“It is a cave that seems to be somewhere around here. One of the bod…I mean people was recorded to be found near the mouth of it.” Nikell replied as she skimmed through the material.
“Are you sure it is around here? I don’t recall anyone mentioning a cave in this valley.” I asked puzzled as I tried to recall something I might have come across about a cave.
“I don’t know that is all there is so far.” Nikell answered in a baffled tone.
When we arrived at home, I unlocked the front door and opened it while my daughter went to feed the goats. Nikell purposely took her time placing her belongings in her car. I got the distinct impression that she was not ready to go yet.
“Would you like to stay for dinner and maybe a couple of movies?” I finally asked her.
“Yes, yes…” The voice of my daughter came from behind me. “We can watch scary movies.” She added with excitement.
“What’ for dinner?” Nikell asked playfully.
“I think maybe some chicken parmesan, calamari and an Italian salad.” I persuaded with the enticing menu. From her expression she was impressed.
“Oh yes, my dad makes the best chicken and squid.” My daughter bragged.
“Ok, ok. I’ll stay. It sounds delicious.” Nikell replied to my daughter’s begging which I found odd.
“Go ahead and make yourself at home. I’ll be rite behind you as soon as I get my son and my stuff from the truck.” As soon as I said it I could not help but to cast a glance inside the doorway at the stairs just inside. Suddenly, Nikell blocked my view as her and my daughter walked up the sidewalk. An odd feeling stirred in me momentarily; something like dread, but not.
I turned around and called my son to me. He was ready to get out of his seat. Once I had him I retrieved the photos and my folder and headed for the house.
“Hey!” I heard my daughter exclaim. I was confused as to why her and Nikell where standing outside facing a closed door and not going inside.
“What are you girls doing?” I asked with a chuckle. As I approached I could tell that Nikell was struggling with the door knob trying to get it opened.
“Oh my god dad. We just came up to the door and it slammed shut.” My daughter revealed with wide eyes.
“Oh, it was probably the wind.” I said with a smile trying to dismiss any speculation. “Just go on in.” Nikell turned and looked at me with her hand still on the door.
“I’m trying but it is stuck or locked or something.”
“Here,” I held out the pictures and my folder to my daughter. “Let me try.” I offered as I stepped up to the door. When I turned the knob I instantly thought it was strange that it felt locked. I was certain I unlocked the door, but quickly passed it off as an error when I removed the key. I reached into my pocket for the keys, “I must have relocked it when I removed the key.” I offered the logical explanation. Nikell laughed, but my daughter looked at me with a different theory clearly written on her face.
“Do you have internet access?” Nikell asked as I fumbled with my keys.
“Yes, Why?”
“If you don’t mind, I could try to find some information on the cave near here while you are getting things situated.” She offered as I started to put the key in the keyhole.
As soon as she mentioned the cave, the deadbolt on my front door turned and clanked with a heavy thud. I froze in my actions and glanced up at the window, but nothing was there. Slowly I turned the key in the knob and tried to turn it, but something was holding it firmly. Aware of what was going on I was not humored by being locked at of my own house. “This is my house and I will not be locked out of it.” I said angrily through clenched teeth under my breath while Nikell listened to my daughter go on about my cooking abilities.
Suddenly the Knob turned and I quickly removed the key and inserted it into the deadbolt and turned it with a click. Cautiously I entered the house and asked my daughter to show our guest around. When they were out of sight I examined the door and the locks. I was not surprised to find that the deadbolt had to be turned completely around to lock the door and it was quite stiff. I should have known then that ill-fortune was about to take place.
While I finished cooking, I entertained Nikell but allowing my daughter to show her my personal art. They seemed to be hitting it off nicely so I encouraged it. Nikell briefly came into the kitchen to comment on my talent and ask for a drink. She stood and watched me for a bit while she sipped her ice tea.
“Kids it’s time to eat.” I yelled out the kitchen entrance. They came running and screaming with joy and found their seats at the table.
“Dad-da, my seat. My seat.” My son yelled at me.
“Oh, he needs his booster seat from the closet.” I realized as I glanced over to see what he was meaning.
“I’ll get it…you finish setting the table.” Nikell offered kindly. She disappeared around the corner and as I finished the table settings, she returned with his seat.
About half-way through the meal Nikell realized she had left her tea on the table near the closet when she went to get the booster seat. I thought it was strange that after she retrieved her drink, that she only touched it once during the meal. When we were done eating I made sure my children were clean and dismissed them to watch television. Nikell kindly offered to help with the mess as she went on and on about how delicious the food was.
Once we were in the kitchen she approached me and asked me to smell her tea. I thought this was a strange request, but decided to humor her. To my shock it smelt like acetone, and when I went to taste it the glass was mysteriously knocked from my hand. “Ooops.” I exclaimed as I jumped back. “The side was wet and it slipped just as I tilted it.” I reasoned seeing the surprised look on her face.
“Look I don’t want to cause problems, but I think your daughter may have put something in my drink. Did you notice how it was full at the table? I drank half of it while I was in the kitchen with you.” She was serious and I could tell that her tone indicated that she was not angry and was trying to be understanding.
“I don’t know why she would do something like that. Besides it smelled like acetone to me and what I have of it is in my shop outside, but I will ask her about it.” I said puzzled.
“I thought it smelled like paint cleaner.” Nikell gave her opinion calmly.
“Acetone that is what paint cleaner is.” I added to clear things up and insure we were on the same track. Without any warning she suddenly and swiftly leaned in and pressed her mouth to mine. Put on the spot I returned the kiss then broke it suddenly glancing around to insure my children were not present.
Later we began to watch a movie and I called my daughter into the bathroom while I was getting my son in his pajamas. I questioned her nicely about the tea. Her initial reaction was confused and she had no idea what I was talking about. After a few questions without telling her exactly what happened I concluded she was innocent and sent her to her room to get her own pajamas on.
Moments after she left the distinct smell of acetone filled the bathroom to the point that I had to open the window. Nikell was searching the internet and as soon as she found something, the power went out leaving us all in the dark. By the time I found candles the lights came back on. Once again Nikell started the search on the net and the power went out again. I found this strange since there was no storm activity, but as soon as the power came on I restarted my computer. As soon as I got to the internet and reloaded the page, the power went out again. After a few minutes of sitting at my desk, it was clear the electricity was not coming back on. “I’d better light some candles.” I said getting up.
Six… Six candles flickered against the dark. “Well I guess something doesn’t want us on the computer kids, so what do you want to do?” I joked with a chuckle as I lit the last candle. No sooner than I sat it down the lights came back on.
“Yea…” my daughter exclaimed let’s watch movies now.
“We can try, but the power might go out again.” I warned. Searching through our movie selection I asked what was of interest. My daughter wanted to watch a vampire movie which was typical. Nikell happily agreed as she reached for the photos we had developed earlier.
“What else is in these pictures? You don’t mind if I look do you?” She asked politely.
“No… not at all, help yourself. I think most of the pictures are from our trip to Louisiana last month.”
“Wow, I’ve never been there. In fact I’ve never really left Missouri.” She said excitedly as she opened the pictures. She started to look at them then fanned them out in her hand. “Um Ty, you might want to look at these.” She said strangely.
“I want to see.” My daughter announced cheerfully as she got up from the couch and rushed over in front of me. When I took the pictures from Nikell, I was surprised to see that they were all blank.
“That is strange. Usually the developers tell you the pictures are blank and don’t charge. Hmm.” I handed the pictures to my daughter and retrieved the negatives from the packet. They seemed to be fine as I held them to the light and examined them. “Well put them back and I’ll take them back tomorrow with these negatives.”
Nikell turned and went to the front door, “I’ve got to get something from my car. I’ll be right back.” She said casually.
“Ok. We’ll start the movie.” I replied going to the entertainment center. After a few minutes there was a knock at the door. “Come in.” I said intrigued that Nikell would knock after being previously welcomed.
“I can’t the door is locked.” I heard her faint voice reply from out side. Just as I neared the door, the porch lights went out and I instantly looked to the switch on my right. It was in the off position and I could feel a cold angry stare on my back. I chose to ignore it and opened the door. In the back of my mind I started to wonder about the strange occurrences of the evening and found it best not to mention anything to Nikell.
The kids fell asleep by the end of the movie and Nikell patiently waited for me while I carried them up the stairs to bed one by one. Just as I closed my daughters bedroom door it got dark suddenly as all the lights went out in the house. Suddenly I heard Nikell scream out and I raced down the stairs slamming into her on the last step. We fell to the ground and I could feel her shaking beneath me. Quickly I helped her up and led her to the kitchen away from the stairs and turned on the light. Amazingly it came on. Her eyes were wet from tears as she tried to hide her face and it was obvious she was stricken with fear.
“Are you ok, I didn’t know you were on the stairs? It was an accident that I knocked you down.” I apologized thinking that was why she was crying. “Let’s get some fresh air.” I suggested as I opened the patio door out back. “You’ll enjoy the relaxing environment of my Japanese garden and the air will do wonders for you.” I coaxed her out with my arm around her. I was kind of suspicious if it was not a ploy to get me closer to her.
After a few minutes in the night air beneath the umbrella of soft star light she finally regained her nerve. “I was going to follow you up stairs with intentions of convincing you to show me your room, but…um…” She started but paused as her voice began to tremble. She took a few deep breaths and looked at me with pleading eyes. “Something is in there…” She said finally. I was genuinely concerned and at the same time curious to hear what had happened so I did not admit to her what I have grown to believe.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Everything is fine, you can tell me.” I assured her.
“When I stepped up on the steps I felt this cold air rush down around me. A first it bothered me, but then I thought maybe you had turned on the air so ignored it. As soon as I took another step the lights all went out and something grabbed my hair and started pulling me up.” Her voice trembled with fear and the tears found her green eyes again.
I could feel her emotions thick in the air and they tugged at my heart. I knelt down beside her and put my arms around her to comfort her. She accepted the embrace and soon I found her kissing me again. The air warmed between us and it was clear she was filled with desire, but my morals held me in check- keeping me from taking advantage of her. I pulled away and as if she understood my hesitation she smiled at me. “It’s alright I want to.” She said.
Suddenly, the bathroom light upstairs came on spilling a yellow glow down on the patio along with an eerie feeling of resentment and suffering. I noticed that Nikell was aware of it as well. I gave her a reassuring smile that everything was fine and stood up. “I need to see if one of my kids needs something upstairs. You wait here, I’ll be back quickly. She leaned up and kissed me again with lips full of hunger.
“Ok, but hurry.”
I raced up the stairs with leaps and bounds and went to the bathroom door. A cold chill came from behind it. Worried for my kids, I went to their bedroom and flicked on the light. To my relief they were both snuggled in the blankets breathing heavily with heads full of sweet dreams. I cast a glance over my shoulder at the thin light shinning beneath the bathroom door. What I didn’t know was at that moment Nikell was looking up at the bathroom window from outside when a shadowy figure stepped behind the curtains and vanished with the light going out.
As soon as the light went out I began to head down the stairs looking back only once. The patio door slammed violently and I heard Nikell scream in a shrill voice of terror. I ran down the rest of the stairs and to the patio. The kitchen light was still on as well as the patio light and Nikell was frantically fighting at the door trying to get in. When I got there the dead-bolt was locked as well as the lock on the doorknob.
While I unlocked the door I tried to comfort her with a calming voice, but as soon as I got the door open she ran past me and snatched her purse from the table and headed to the door. I chased after to make sure she was fine. She ran out the front door crying hysterically to her car where I caught up with her. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” I asked as I turned her around to face me. Her cheeks streamed with tears from wild eyes filled with fear. Her flesh was cold and pale and her entire body trembled.
“I’m leaving.” She mumbled in a shaky voice.
“Look you need to calm down first. You can leave if you want, but you really need to calm down so you don’t end up having a wreck.” I reasoned with her. She took a few deep breaths and started to pull herself together.
“There is something in there, and it doesn’t want me hear.” She stammered.
“Ok, ok. You go home and get some rest. We will analyze this tomorrow.” I agreed with her. I believed her without a doubt and was mentally kicking my self in the a*s for foolishly letting her stay after the first time the door locked.
“There is something here…I saw it in the window. Then it told me to leave in a threatening voice that was filled with a tone I have never heard before.” She stammered again as her tears stopped.
I helped her in her car because I suddenly felt an urgent need to get in the house with my kids. I bid her bye and told her to be safe. I watched as she pulled out of the driveway to make sure she was ok. When her car disappeared around the curve I turned around to see the light spilling out of my open front door. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. I didn’t know exactly what to think of the events that happened. “Well so much for that. I guess I’ll try the internet again and see what I can uncover about that cave.” I said aloud not realizing it. Instantly my front door slammed shut with a violent bang that knocked the blind off of it. I ran to the door and just as I turned the doorknob and started to push the deadbolt fell into place with a heavy thud.
I looked through the glass just in time to see the backdoor slam shut as well. Panic filled my heart and fear for the safety of my children began to reap havoc on my mind. “I am done with this. If you bother my kids….” I started, but could not think of past getting in. Suddenly my door came open and all the lights in the house came on. I rushed up the stairs to my kids and was relieved that they remained undisturbed.
I stayed in their room with them for a long while until I was sure there was no danger. It was strange but the air in their room was peaceful and light. As I left their room I paused in front of the bathroom door. Cold air surrounded it and images filled my mind of the woman behind it staring at me with dark empty eyes through the door. I narrowed my eyes with anger. “If you are here to do wrong, you are not welcome here. My kids are off limits.” I said in a low threatening tone.
As I turned to go down stairs, the cold air retreated. I turned all the lights out, locked the doors and checked on my kids one last time. The cool sheets of my bed were welcoming as I snuggled in. Lazily I reached over and turned off the lamp on my night stand. It was only a few minutes and I felt the cold lifeless stare on my back. I could feel it come closer and closer. My instincts shouted out at me that she was next to my bed inches from me. My heart raced with fear. My blood curdled with prophecy of doom as I anticipated an attack which forced my eyes squeeze tightly together.
I could bare the negative pressure no longer. The bleak chill of the dead was sucking the life from me and I knew for my kids’ sake that I must fight it. I would not let it take me. Then as quickly as it was there, it was gone. Only this time a feeling of sorrow and guilt was left lingering in the air. I came to understand that it did not mean to harm me or my children, but instead had a message to deliver. What it was I was not sure, but it was clear there was some kind of warning.
The ghostly woman still haunts me and it seems there is a connection with some of the names in my notes. One day it will all be clear, but for now I will have to do most of my in depth search away from home where it is safe….
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