[This short story is something I had written and published to my facebook for friends and family nearly 2 years ago. After some minor changes I decided to make this my first published story for my blog. The plot is about a young college student who innocently agrees to watch his elderly neighbor’s home while she is away but he quickly realizes nothing is what it seems. From the home looking like it stepped directly out of the 1950’s to the strange voices he decides it’s all in his head that is until a pretty teenage girl from another time appears asking for his help. Photo made with Vanillapen.]

I’ve never been afraid of being alone call me strange but I’ve always enjoyed it, my fear is the exact opposite and that is being around large crowds of people. Living in a college town meant lots of parties to get invited to which is a socially awkward introvert’s nightmare so I avoided it like the plague. I had learned to keep on hand an arsenal of excuses over the past few months and it had worked for the most part but when my neighbor Mrs. Pelt asked me to stay at her house over the weekend while she went out of town to see her daughter, I knew I had the perfect excuse to avoid a party being thrown by one of the biggest fraternities on campus which happened to be the same fraternity my father pledged. Mrs. Pelt was a widowed whose husband passed long before we moved to the neighborhood seemed to be 80 when I was a child which obviously she couldn’t have been but she reminds me of the types of people whose looks never change no matter how much time goes by. While slightly odd and a bit of a loner, Mrs.Pelt was exceptionally kind, made the most amazing chocolate chip cookies, and never seemed annoyed by my six year old self constantly running over to her house to collect my baseball the summer I decided to try out for little league.    

I had decided to live off campus and stay at home which I was extremely grateful for but the only downside was listening to my father drop slight hints every other day about joining the fraternity and having a “lifelong bond” with my brothers he had said in his matter-of-fact tone the other night at dinner the tone that said “I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do but I am insisting you do it my way.” I also must mention the biggest party on campus is also thrown on Halloween weekend but I would be getting a break this year because dad was out of town on a business trip, it would be a peaceful night and I made it a point to make no plans other than to hide in my room zoned out in front of the TV watching cheesy horror movies while consuming toxic amounts of junk food. Those plans changed the minute my mysterious elderly neighbor stopped me Thursday evening to ask a favor of me. I’ll admit it slightly spooked me but I was intrigued, in all the years we had been neighbors I had never known her to go out of town nor noticed any family over in fact I can’t recall any guests visiting the Pelt house-ever. It struck me as odd because our homes were at the end of a dead end street practically facing each other and I could keep an eye on her place from my bedroom window.  “I realize you could watch from your house dear but there have been a string of robberies in the area lately and I have many close family heirlooms I would be so afraid to lose. I would feel better if someone where there.” She explained before I could answer. I wondered if she had read my mind or maybe the quizzical look plastered on my face gave it away. I don’t recall any recent robberies in our area other than a few years ago a homeless man was arrested after breaking into homes while people were on vacation but that was 25 miles from here in another town but this is a pretty big party place with a college campus full of bored, drunk, and rowdy kids so it’s not unreasonable for her to have concern.

I had not been inside Mrs. Pelt’s home in years but loved going there as a child, her home was the oldest in our neighborhood it was the large colonial type white with blue shutters and matching front door the yard full of flowers lined the walkway and two old goth looking garden gnomes sat on each side of the steps leading up the front porch. The inside reminded me of a museum full of ancient artifacts of years past, eerily quiet but mesmerizing I remember getting the feeling someone was watching me while it scared me just enough to be cautious not enough to keep me from staying away completely. It would be an adventure to stay in an old house for the night maybe I’d find some ghosts and we would become friends and play board games all night I thought. Without much thinking I agreed perhaps too hastily but the huge smile on Mrs. Pelt’s face took away any possible loom of regret. “Oh how wonderful thank you dear, I’ll leave the key under the mat and you can just let yourself in.” she had said while pointing to her front porch acting as if I needed directions to get there and before I knew it she had disappeared as quickly as she had shown up.

By the time I got out of class Friday evening and arrived to her home, Mrs. Pelt had already left and exactly as she stated the key was under an old brown “Welcome” mat that had seen better days. I let myself in noticing how loudly the front door creaked sounding like it had not been opened for 50 years. Once inside, the house was dark and cold it even felt like it had not been lived in for 50 years I thought. Fumbling around I finally found the light switch which made a sharp snapping sound as it turned on. The lights were dim giving everything a ghostly appearance. Why wouldn’t Mrs. Pelt want this looked at I thought, maybe she preferred it this way or didn’t notice the bad lighting after all I’m certain this house was built in the age of dinosaurs. I started to wander around the old mysterious house curious yet cautiously checking each room, the floors making a painful creaking sound with each step I take. The dining room, living room, kitchen, and what looks like a little study were all downstairs, every room looked like it had just stepped out of an old 1950’s lifestyle magazine with the walls decorated in paintings along with black and white photographs, an old china cabinet filled with carnival glass which I had seen in my own grandmother’s home, antiques galore including those Poodle figurines you always see for sale at flea markets, even her appliances in the kitchen were old all the way down to the plastic vinyl chairs. The living room furniture while clearly several decades older looked almost brand new and it still had that distinct smell that reminds me of old stale books in the library that no one ever checks out. A tall oak bookshelf filled with tattered books and more pictures stood against the far wall and all the the magazines sitting on the end table by the sofa were dated in years 1953 and prior. The television amazed me to even work as it was an old floor model maybe refurnished to match the theme of the house possibly but if she wasn’t keeping up with current events Mrs. Pelt lived in a real life time capsule.

She had told me the bedroom she used for guests was the first door on the right upstairs as with the bathroom across from it. I decide to stop gazing at everything and made my way upstairs to put away my small overnight bag which living right across the street I didn’t bring much but I kept getting this strange feeling someone was watching me. The stairs made the same painful creaking sound as the floorboards below and plastered along the walls were more old black and white photographs and I couldn’t shake the feeling that the people in the photographs were following me with their eyes. One photo in particular stood out to me of two pretty girls who appeared to be in their teens smiling in front of a soda shop both girls had their arms wrapped around each other while kicking one foot up dramatically, the girls were happy and carefree in the photo. I stood admiring the photo almost hypnotized by it when a small voice from downstairs says “Hello.” I stop and spin around quickly thinking Mrs. Pelt must have come back and rush back down the stairs and found no one there. “Mrs. Pelt, is that you?” I call out “I was just heading upstairs to the guestroom and was admiring your photos.” still no response, “Did you change your mind or forget something?” again no answer. I start to mentally kick myself for thinking it was a great idea to pretend this place was haunted when I remember once in elementary school a teacher of mine explaining phantom voices which happens when the mind subconsciously brings voices or images and makes the person think they’ve heard or seen something that was not there. Deciding this was the case I head back upstairs to the guest room once there I open the door to a small plain room with a bed and a dresser I notice small window that was sealed off with boards in front of it and going along with theme of the rest of the house it too looks like it’s from another decade. Not wanting to spend any extra time upstairs but needing to distract myself I decide to finish a report for my World History class along with reading a few chapters for English Lit. I toss my things on the bed and head back downstairs to the small study although I still can’t shake the voice offering friendly greetings while I was looking at the photo of the two girls. My homework took a couple of hours considering I had not even began the paper knowing it was due the first week of November at least this one will show I put effort into it this and my professor doesn’t need to know it’s only because I was trying to avoid thoughts of possible ghosts wanting to have conversations with me. After completing my homework I start to wonder what I can do for the remainder of the night shocked it’s still early after checking my phone for the time and it showing 9:00.  I notice the little mark across my service bars indicating the phone will not work in the house which is interesting because my phone works perfectly at my house I think.

I muster enough courage to go to the living room and walk over to the TV bending down I turn the knob then sit down in the floor in front of it. It slowly zaps on glowing black and white “In the news today General George Catlett Marshall was awarded the 1953 Nobel Peace Prize making him the only professional soldier to receive the honor. Marshall became a General of the Army and was appointed by President Roosevelt Army Chief of Staff in 1939. A true American Hero who has become an inspiration to many for his efforts to improve and grow the US Army.”  The anchorman shouts  in a stern matter-of-fact voice although it’s hard to tell what news station this is because the television is not in color.  Wait…did he just say today and 1953? No way I stare back at the black and white TV in bewilderment is this some kind of joke? I get up and change the channel and a comedy show is on it was one my parents watched late at night sometimes but I can’t recall the name,  I turn the dial again this time it’s another old show I don’t recognize with a man and woman talking intently both are dressed formally the man in a suit and tie and hat and the woman in a floor length dress definitely not anything that would be on in today’s world.  I turn the dial once more and this time it appears to be a game show with a man hosting talking to a woman sitting in a chair answering questions trying to guess the mystery person behind a door. I turn the TV off not sure if what I just saw was real or just some kind of screw up with Mrs. Pelt’s TV or did she somehow have her TV modified to only air shows from 1953?  At this point all I want to do is hurry up and get out of this house while I am not so easily freaked out by things this was beginning to remind me of the old horror movies that come on after midnight on Saturday nights. I check my phone again which now says 10:05 how could only a little over an hour pass and it feel like five minutes I think but I am not questioning anything else and decide to head upstairs and try to sleep the rest of the night away.I walk into the small bedroom and start to pull the covers back on the bed when I notice a small red ball placed in the middle of the bed, I don’t remember seeing this last time but I was in a hurry maybe I missed it I toss it off and lay down. I try to not think of any of the bizarre events of tonight and try to trick myself into thinking I’m at home in my own bed and after a while it works as I start to drift off into a deep sleep.

“Hello…hello…can you wake up?” I awake startled thinking I had a nightmare when I look over and see a young woman standing beside the bed tugging my arm. I jump up yanking my arm away in complete shock and amazement. “Oh I’m sorry.” she says backing away towards the door which is now open and light is now on which I know I turned off. “I didn’t mean to scare you it’s just that I thought you were here to save us.”she says while giving a slight smile. I stare at the woman unable to speak and I still cannot decide whether this is a dream or real life or some twisted hidden camera reality show but I’m not up to finding out. The woman still standing on the other side of the bed blocking doorway stares at me curiously, she looks younger maybe a teenager even and she matches the house as her outfit doesn’t match anything a person of this time period would wear she is dressed in a white blouse and black skirt her brown hair is shoulder length with a polka dot headband and that’s when I realize she looks exactly like one of the girls in the photo I saw earlier on the wall outside.

“What do you want?” I finally manage to get out “T-t-this is Mrs. Pelt’s house.” She stares at me for a long moment almost as if she’s just as confused by me as I am her. Finally she speaks again with a friendly smile on her face. “Marjorie Pelt?” “I don’t know her first name.” I stammer as it just now occurs to me I’ve lived next door to this woman my whole life and have only known her as Mrs. Pelt. “I am sure you mean Marjorie.” she says still standing in the doorway with her hands folded in front of her. “What do you want?” I ask again. She smiles again and says “I thought you were here to save us. We’ve been waiting an awful long time to get out of here. Didn’t Marjorie tell you all this? She’s watched us for as long as she could but she had to go. We needed a new watcher to help us get out of here.” I am completely sure now that this has to be a dream a crazy bizarre nightmare that I will wake up from soon. It will be morning and I will be in my own room and this will be something I laugh about later and since I am not waking up as badly as I would love to I know dreams can’t hurt you so I’ll play along and later I’ll look this one up for sure on the dream dictionary website. “I am not sure what I am saving you from. Mrs. Pelt went to visit her daughter.” I say slowly leaning off the wall. “Marjorie does not have any children silly. She had to have a reason to go and for a new watcher to come.” says the woman who has now moved a little closer to the bed. “How do you know all of this?” I ask “What is your name?” she watches me cautiously and sits down on the bed and turns to face me still smiling friendly. “My name is Peggy Tilt and I knew Marjorie from high school. I would have graduated with her too had I not walked into this house and met the man that lived here.” she says but this time her smile fades. “What do you mean?” I ask. I see tears are forming in her eyes and she looks down at the bed. “I would rather show you.” she says and holds out her hand.

I am no where near comfortable enough to do this but still believing I am in some twisted dream I let her grab my hand. Instantly Peggy and I are standing out on the road with Mrs. Pelt’s home standing in front of us. My house is not here but instead there are many houses lined on the street. The cars are old and the men are dressed in suits smiling friendly to one another while the women are all in dresses. “What year is this?” I ask staring around in amazement. “1953” she replies. In the distance I see two young girls walking down a sidewalk both dressed in the same fifties fashion as everyone else,  one girls is wearing a checkered dress and her hair tied back by a white ribbon she is a pretty blonde girl and the girl beside her is wearing a light pink dress, her dark hair is half pinned back on the side and the curls bounce as she walks instantly I know these are the two girls in the picture and the girl in the pink dress is Peggy but I’m not sure who the other girl is. “That’s Marjorie and I.” Peggy says while pointing at them I notice her smile fade and her hand seems almost shaky.

The girls stop when they get to Mrs. Pelt’s or Marjorie’s house and neither seem scared or nervous as they walk in laughing shutting the door blocking them from our view. Seeing the look of confusion on my face she replies “This has always been Marjorie’s house. Come.” She holds out her hand and we are flashed to the living room and it looks the exact same only brighter and newer. The two girls are laughing and sitting in front of the TV then I realize they are watching the same TV I was earlier except it’s some music show with a boy in sunglasses singing with teenagers dancing all around it goes off and it’s the same news cast I heard coming on. Peggy and Marjorie get up and run up the stairs at this point Peggy grabs my arm and we flash up the stairs to a bedroom filled with posters of famous singers and actors from the 1950’s all over the wall, in the corner a record player is playing some song I don’t recall and the girls are sitting on Marjorie’s bed flipping through magazines.

Suddenly the room turns red along everything in it and I notice Peggy’s grip on my arm gets tighter but doesn’t say a world. The two girls on the bed continue to laugh and talk and flip through their magazines as they don’t notice the red. A man appears at the door watching them, he is tall and heavyset with balding hair and dark eyes that show almost no whites, his lips are turned into snarl-like grin with sweat popping up in beads around his forehead his white undershirt appears sweat stained as does his brown slacks.  I notice a liquor bottle slip from his hand and hit the floor with a loud clank and this gets the girls attention almost robotically Marjorie stands up and rushes towards the man I could tell she had done this a few times before. “Daddy, we will leave. I’m sorry we bothered you.” she says. The man’s snarl grows wider and his big hands clench into a sweaty fist as he starts tapping his foot against the door frame looking over Marjorie at Peggy who starts to back towards the window. “Daddy-” Marjorie starts and before she can finish the man she calls her father grabs her by her hair so tightly I see clumps ripping at the roots he drags her out of the room and down the hallway and throws her in the room I was sleeping in. I hear her crash to the floor but I can’t move I notice the Peggy beside me is completely white even her clothes and gripping my arm tightly. The man comes back into the room with 1953 Peggy frantically trying to open the window but it has been nailed shut. Marjorie’s father begins to laugh at her and walks towards her as he walks past us I catch a glimpse of his face up close and the look in his eyes shows pure evil. Suddenly entire room stops and appears frozen as both Peggy and the man are in mid-movement almost reminding me of when you put a dvd on pause. It’s silent even Marjorie’s screaming has stopped and I begin to think the dream is over then the man starts laughing low at first then picks up hysterically everything still paused other than the laughing then the man begins to slowly turn around and stops as he is facing us still laughing but he is glaring at us. As I am about to ask if he can see us the Peggy beside me screams so loudly I think my eardrums are going to explode and we are on instantly in the hallway staring a the locked door. I see Marjorie fly out of the small room and beat on the door screaming and crying “Not again Daddy..Not again..” I can hear Peggy screaming inside the room and then again silence. I hear nothing I can see Marjorie beating on the door frantically. I look at the Peggy beside me and she is staring intensely at Marjorie then grabs my arm and screams “LET’S GO” and we are flashed back to the room and in it’s present state.

I look around but it’s just me, what a bizarre freaking nightmare I say out loud realizing I am standing facing the bed when I hear “Did you see?” from a startled voice behind me I jump and turn around to see Peggy again. “What happened to you?” I ask facing her she just smiles and walks off completely ignoring the fact I must now admit I am not having a wild dream. I come out of the room and watch her fade down the stairs, I rush down and follow her and she is now sitting on the couch in the living room. “I can’t watch it even now after all these years.” she says looking up at me with tears rolling down her face. “I think out of all of it I feel the worst for Marjorie.” she says folding and unfolding her hands in her lap. “He did this to others and she had to cover it up. He made her lure girls here so he could do what he did. She didn’t have a choice and I don’t blame her for what happened. Not anymore. That’s why I set her free but only under one condition.” she stops and looks up at me. “I told her she had to bring me a new watcher. Someone strong who can help me defeat him.” I look at her but no words come out I feel dazed and a wave of nausea come over me I think I could pass out. “He’s still here” she says looking at me. “I don’t understand, what do you want me to do?” I say finally. “I am a college student. I have no special powers I just came here to watch Mrs. Pelt’s home and make some easy money I am afraid of real people and you want me to fight some ghost demon dad thing?!” I say heatedly. Peggy stands up and faces the window. “I can’t leave until he does.” she says calmly, “I know how to defeat him but I can’t as I am the same as him.” she walks over and hands me a box. The old wooden box is long shaped with several strange markings all over it. “Open it please.” she says smiling again. I do as I am told and inside is a small gold knife it looks as though dried blood is on it. “This was his weapon of choice.” she says. “You have to stab him with the same knife he used on us.” she points behind me and I turn to see about 15 girls all lined up against the wall. I am amazed they are of all ages and one I believe looks to be as young as 12.

She catches my eye and while the others have blanks stares on their faces she smiles at me. “My name is Maggie.” she says and bends down and rolls a red ball towards me that stops at my feet I smile at her and roll the ball back which she happily takes. “The pretty girl who lives here gave this to me so I followed her here.” Maggie says and  walks back to the wall and stands with the other girls. I am numb and I can feel the room spinning. “This is a nightmare.” I say finally. “This can’t be real. I can’t kill a ghost with a knife. None of this is real” I start to panic. Peggy stares are me and calmly walks over to me and places her hands on my shoulders I notice her eyes are kind and warm and I feel safe with her near me. “If you don’t want to do it I won’t make you but I assure you this is not a dream, a nightmare yes, but in a different stance.” she takes her hands off my shoulders and walks over to the other girls and stands beside them. I stare at them and I realize they were all normal teenage kids, they had dreams and goals, they were someone’s daughter, and they deserved justice. Maggie looks back to me again and smiles tossing the red ball up in the air this almost brings me to tears staring at the innocent little girl whose life was cut so short. I turn to face Peggy and take the gold knife out and hand the box back to her. “I’ll do it.” I say. Peggy’s eyes light up and she hugs me. “Where do I find him?” I ask. “I’ll take you.” she says and holds out her hand as I take it I notice the other girls have disappeared.

We are flashed back to 1953 again but this time we are inside the house and in the upstairs hallway. “This is as far as I can go.” says Peggy. “This is not my time and I can’t stay here. I’m already gone at this point but this is when he got away with his actions.” she says and points to the room at the end. “In there he’s about to put a gun to his head creating his own fate that allows him to still haunt us and chain us to this house.” “Stop him before he finishes.” I nod and start to walk towards the room but Peggy grabs my arm and I turn back to look at her. “Thank you.” she says and hugs me but disappears mid hug. As I turn back around the hallway turns dark and the only light I can see is underneath the door Marjorie’s father is in. Clutching the knife in my hand I walk to the room and stop right in front of the door thinking deep down this is still some sort of nightmare but nightmare or not I am those girls’ hero and only chance for them to have peace I open and walk in.

The room smells awful almost like rotting flesh, it’s dark except for one light sitting on an old desk  empty beer and liquor bottles are everywhere.   The same man  that I saw before is standing in the middle of the room his white undershirt is covered in blood. The guns is pointed at his head but he turns when he hears me walk in the room. His face is twisted into some sort of evil grin worse than the snarl from before and it sends chills down my spine his eyes are dark blood red with yellow pupils. He turns to face me and let’s out a screeching earsplitting howl that is deafening. He charges at me full speed and I manage to jump out of the way in mere seconds as he crashes into the wall. The gun flies from his hand and I make a mad dash for it. In seconds he is up and snatches my feet the claws on his hands cut deep into my leg and I let out a painful scream. I turn to look at him and see his teeth are all sharp at the edges as he tries to get closer I use my other leg and kick him in the face as hard as I can he roars and lets go. I manage to stagger to my feet but again he’s on me before I can fully gain my composure. His razor sharp claws slash across my chest ripping my shirt and I scream out in pain again nearly dropping the gun. He is on top of me about to attack again,  I shoot it at him as he raises his hand the gun blows off part of his clawed hand. The man or thing screams and howls and jumps back to the corner of the room. I stay on the floor breathing heavily covered in blood feeling an intense burning pain in my leg and chest. I try to roll over and see where the thing is as I do I hear him coming back speaking some sort of language I’ve never heard. I manage pull myself up using the desk and grab the chair I sling it hard at his face and he roars again as splinters of wood dig deep into his eyes and face. He stumbles back holding his one good hand to his face clawing at it. I know this is my chance,  I grab the knife from my pocket and as I turn around to use it he slams me from behind and bites into my shoulder. I scream and fall to the ground I see the ceiling in front of me fading in and out from clear to blurry to black. I hear him looking for the gun he tries to fire it but no sound it apparently was damaged during the fight. He screams enraged throws the gun across the room then turns back around to me sitting on top of me putting as much of his weight as he can into my chest putting his one good hand around my neck cutting off my airway and I try to fight him off but I am too weak and begin to stop fighting for air I feel myself starting to lose consciousness. This nightmare is about to be over I think and I’ll either wake up in my room or all of this was real and I won’t wake up in the real world at all. Everything begins to fade to black but one by one girls faces flash across my mind each of their scenes in which they were attacked by this monster play out before me. The last one is Maggie’s who was so innocent and naive I see her following Marjorie into the house while throwing a red ball  up in the air and catching it as it comes back down. I feel my hand fall to the floor but landing on something sharp realizing it’s the knife and with one last little bit of strength that feels like the girls pushing me I plunge it into his side instantly he screams loudly and lets go of my neck. The thing jumps up and tries to run but staggers then falls back down to the floor,  I raise up and stab him in the heart he howls and rips at his shirt as black holes start to appear all over his body the man or thing starts to shake violently and bursts into flames fading down ashes in a matter of seconds I try to walk but slump over and fall against the wall and everything fades back to black.

I jolt up in my bed the sun is so bright it’s hard to see I start gasping for air and covered in sweat and my heart feels it’s about to jump out of my chest.I look around and notice I am in my room I claw down at my chest and notice no blood I tear the covers off and notice the same for my leg, I laugh thinking it really was a nightmare but am ripped from my moment of happiness from screaming sirens outside. I rush downstairs and out the front door I see my mom and a few other neighbors standing at the end of our side walk staring at Mrs. Pelt’s house or what was left of it. The house is completely engulfed in flames and the street is chaotic with firefighters rushing to put it out along with the police keeping sightseers back and more neighbors rushing out to see all the action.  I walk up and stand beside my mom who turns to me and kisses the top of my head while giving me a hug that feels more like a death grip but I don’t protest. “It caught on fire this morning.” she says letting me go and  pointing towards the flaming house, “Which if you ask me they should have demolished it a long time ago.” I turn to look at her in shock seeing the look on my face she takes my hand “What’s wrong?” she asks “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” “What about Mrs. Pelt?” I ask removing my hand and start to look around. “Who are you talking about honey?” she says clearly confused by my actions, “That’s Mrs. Pelt’s house! Mom, we’ve known her the whole time we’ve lived here!” I say beginning to get annoyed that she would seem so clueless right now.

My mom stares at me a moment almost panicked but the look fades and she begins to smile taking my hand again. “Honey, no one has lived in that house in over fifty years.” “Don’t you remember?” she asks and telling by the look on my face that I’m not following she continues, “Supposedly all these murders took place there a man killed a bunch of local girls making his daughter lure them to the house until one night the daughter went mad killed him then herself so the house went up for sale after that but no one wanted it.” “The whole neighborhood has tried for years to have the thing torn down due to such a nasty history but the city council refused calling it a historical sight if you can believe that.” she says and starts to walk off but stops ” I do remember you talking about a Mrs. Pelt when you were little and I caught you several times going into the yard but I always assumed it was an imaginary friend you made up after hearing the stories.” she brushes her hand through my hair. “The fire must have triggered that in you.” “Anyways I’m glad it’s gone such a sad story there’s nothing good about it, now come inside and I’ll make you some pancakes and I need to call your father he’s going to be upset he missed all of this because of a business trip.” she laughs then kisses my cheek and squeezes my hand again before walking back into our  house.

I stand staring at the blaze in shock by now the entire neighborhood has come to watch. Was it all a dream? Did I really see Mrs. Pelt and Peggy and the rest of the girls? Did I really help trapped spirits move on to be at peace? I start to walk back to our house but I am stopped by a pretty young girl dressed a light pink dress she smiles warmly then kisses me on the cheek and says “Thank you.” Before I can ask who she is a fire truck goes flying by sirens roaring and she disappeared as mysteriously as she came .

To this day no one believes my story or the real history of the Pelts or what really happened to Marjorie’s father, over time I stopped telling it altogether now it’s all just an urban legend you hear about from a friend of a friend who knew someone that lived in our small town. The town tore down what was left of the house and placed a flower garden in it’s place no human remains were ever found and there are no archives of missing girls if you check the town’s history the town covered it all up quietly I think. I chose to transfer to a college out of state after that deciding that it was time to act like a real adult and join the world. Occasionally I’ll go visit the garden when I’m home for visits and while I’ve never seen the pretty girl in the light pink dress again I do  however always find a red ball on the ground.