Home - A Flash Fiction Trilogy

Welcome Home

The crisp air of fall had yet to seep into Washington, DC, as I packed up my apartment. The humidity of the early September morning clung to me as though it were hands trying to hold me in place. The added effort to load the last few boxes into my beat-up Volvo almost made me stop, but I knew even a slight stutter in my motion would destroy my future from unfolding. Even the simplest pause to reflect on leaving my life for the unknown of a sleeping New England town would feed the doubt I was keeping at bay with distraction. My life had stalled in DC. My culinary career had peaked at line cook, my social circle was transforming from nights out to infant birthday parties, and my love life was non-existent. This was the change I needed. It was the mantra I continued to chant in my head as I taped my last box.

Change had never been something I feared. Being only midway through my twenties, the excitement of leaving home for college, graduating into something that resembled adulthood, and embarking on the possibilities of a career all still simmered within me. But this change felt like a resignation of failure. A passing handed me the opportunity. My cousin's tragic and sudden death had left my aunt unable to cope with the house she left behind. Allison had only lived in the idyllic town of Haven River for a few weeks before she passed. A terrible accident in her newly purchased place meant my Aunt Callie couldn't bear the thought of even setting foot in the home. Still, my aunt was unwilling to part with it, as Allison had been so excited about her foray into real estate. It was an opportunity for me to help and, hopefully, the change to move me forward.

The leather seat stuck to the bare skin of my legs as I settled into my car with all I owned packed into the back. My familiar radio stations lasted halfway to Haven River before dropping to a mix of syllables and fuzz. I attempted to maneuver a podcast, but distracted driving wasn't worth it. I scrolled the stations until I found one playing music from the 1920s. It was the only channel that clearly roared from my speakers, so I resigned my ears to big band music. The songs blended into the scenery as my mind skipped to thoughts of change.

I was only an hour from Connecticut when I realized the station must have changed from music to an old teleplay. A man's frantic voice came across the speakers, jarring me to attention.

"Sarah, what have you done?" His voice was a mix of horror and pain. The minute it struck my ears, my heart pounded.

The scuffling sounds of footfalls on creaky floorboards brought the image of a gothic house with a brown exterior that set off the jewel colors of the front door to my mind. The smell of stale air and rose perfume filled my nose.

"You can never leave us," a vacant sing-song woman's voice came. "This is where you belong." It was soothing, as though she were whispering a lullaby to a child. Still, paired with the man's urgency, it was unsettling, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end.

"Leave you..." his voice dropped out.

"I took care of her. She won't take you from me. Nothing will take you from me. We'll be together forever." Her voice was still serene, but the edge of insanity seeped through the radio. "Dance with me, my love."

It Had to Be You soared through the speakers, but the man's voice rose above it. "Sarah, no!" Then there was the sickening thud of a body falling. But not a single fall; it was more like the constant battering of tumbling downstairs.

I couldn't take it anymore. I flicked off the radio and dialed the most recent number.

"Hey, Kel," Nicole's voice was normal. There were no hints of urgency or panic. "Kel?"

"Hey, sorry. I just heard the creepiest radio show." I unsuccessfully tried to shake the mounting panic from my mind.

"Radio show? Are you driving to Connecticut in the 1940s?" She teased.

"Maybe," I let out a relieving laugh. "It was an oldies station; I must have zoned out when they flipped to horror hour."

"It's a sign; turn around and come home. This whole starting of a new life is ridiculous. You have a great life here!"

"Really, Nic? Is it the crappy job or hopping social life that makes my life so great?" I grumbled as I regretted calling. We had this conversation too many times to count.

"I told you I'd set you up with my brother's cute roommate," she reminded me.

"He's still in college! And thank you for being so supportive."

"Hey, it's not just me. Maybe that radio show was a warning; trouble ahead," Nic teased in a faux horror voice.

"Ugh, you're the worst. I'll call you tomorrow." I hissed before jamming my thumb harder than needed into the red button to disconnect the call.

I flicked the radio back on as It's So Peaceful in the Country filled the car. Something about the music swirling with the radio show in my mind as the car coasted down the neighborhood street of Haven River made my heart race in my chest again. But it propelled me forward, drawn to the house at the end of the road. The grass was slightly overgrown from weeks of neglect. Even so, the home with its steep central gable and arched porch rose like a tombstone. Just as my mind had imagined, the brown of the exterior accented the jewel tones of the stained-glass door beneath the September sun. My mind screamed to run, but the muscles of my body carried me forward to my new home, where I belonged.