A Mystery At Ravenscroft

A Body

Madilyn

September 22nd, 2021

They found a body.

I was in the neighboring town of Nighbury Falls because they have this amazing diner with the world's best breakfast – you cannot convince me otherwise. The walk from the diner was only a short distance from school, so I decided to walk. As I was heading towards Ravenscroft at first, it was subtle; it looked like the normal hustle and bustle of a crowd. But I was bombarded with people running past me, bumping into me to get to something – somewhere. The crowd grew and kept growing. I took out my right AirPod, which was blaring Still Woozy, and began to check my surroundings to see what was causing this mass movement in front of me. It was mainly people my age; it seemed like they just wanted to be nosy, and a few adults. They all huddled around a van at the edge of the woods further ahead of me. I started to pick up the pace, being a little nosy myself, and went to see what was going on. As I got closer, I could see someone familiar in the crowd. Was that Yasmina? I accidentally bumped into a girl about my age with long black hair and a grunge look that caught my eye, but I kept going. I'm finally up close enough to see what's going on. There was a crowd of students engulfing around a woman – seemingly a news anchor – reporting on something. The police were trying to keep the students and bystanders from entering a crime scene. There was yellow and black crime scene tape circling the area, and there were detectives collecting witness statements and accounts for whatever happened. What had happened? I got as much into the crowd as I could and strained to listen to what the newswoman was saying.

"...was found in these woods right where I'm standing. We do not have a definite cause of death just yet, but we are certain that there was foul play involved. We have not yet positively identified the body, but as soon as we alert the family, the information will be released to the public. If you have any information at all, please call local law enforcement. Mark back to you."

I was frozen in terror. I had never really heard of a murder in Nighbury Falls, let alone be standing right next to a crime scene. My mind starts roaming to places where it shouldn't. What if it's a classmate of mine, a family member, a friend, a teacher? I shake away these thoughts because it's not healthy when I get like this, obsessing over the "what ifs." I allow myself a moment to calm down, and I try to look above the people towering over the "do not cross" tape. I could see them wheeling a body out of the woods, quickly zipping up the black body bag. I think that for a brief moment, I am about to hurl. I turn away and push through the crowd for a way out. I run a ways down the block. I hunch over, hands on my knees, and start to wretch. My throat gets tight, I begin to feel weak, my vision becoming distorted. I'm almost sure my sausage, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich is making its way up my throat when I feel something. A hand rubbing my back up and down in slow motions. The world comes back into focus, and I'm out of my episode. I open my eyes and glance up, and it's Yasmina. She's looking at me with worry in her eyes. She was helping me, I thought. I start to regret thinking she was a bad person when my thoughts are interrupted.

"Are you okay, Madilyn?" Yasmina asks.

I'm able to form a small smile and ease my way back up slowly.

"Yeah," I reply. "It's just I've never heard...never seen anything like that before. The smell, oh god, the smell." I turn my head over my shoulder and close my eyes, trying to shut out the memory.

We stand in silence until I'm able to collect myself.

"I know, I heard a bunch of yelling, and I went to go see what was going on, and that was the last thing I was expecting. Do you have any idea who it could've been?" she asks.

"None. A local maybe?" They didn't give us a lot of information to go on. I think to myself whether that was on purpose or not. "You got anything?" I ask.

"No, but I did hear from someone in the crowd that they think she wasn't from here, like from Nighbury Falls. They think she was from Ravenscroft," Yasmina says with her eyes growing wide.

"How, how would someone know that? Did they even show the body?"

"I don't know. I only got there about 10 minutes ago, but I didn't see it, thankfully. I don't think I would've been able to cope," she says.

I start to wonder why Yasmina was in Nighbury Falls to begin with. But I brush it off; it was really none of my business. She could be thinking the same thing about me.

"Hey," I say. "I was on the way to school, and I really don't want to be alone right now. I know we don't know each other, and it might be weird, but—"

"Yes, I'll walk with you to school, Madilyn," she interrupted, smiling. "Only if I can call you Mads though, I've always wanted to call you that."

"Of course, you can," I reply, smiling back at her. Yasmina was alright. She seemed like good people.