Hidden Mysteries of the Town of Padere

Chapter 1

THE HIDDEN MYSTERIES OF THE TOWN OF PADERE

Book 1

What Hides in the Dark

R A C H E L R. F I LLM O R E

Copyright © 2022 by Rachel R. Fillmore

Paperback: 978-1-63767-738-4 eBook: 978-1-63767-739-1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022902987

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This is a work of fiction.

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C h a p t e r 1

He flew right by the town sign that says, 'Welcome to the Town of Padere.' Not even looking at it because he already knew everything about it. It was the place that held his past,

a place that held dark secrets. A place that might even tell him the answers he has sought for all over the world. Answers about why was his mother taken from him? Why did she look for her own answers from a witch only to have her life taken away?

He pulled into the parking lot of Broken Café. Now, this was a place anyone could come to and it would never change on you. The sign had a missing 'r' and it wasn't lit up anymore. The only change was that and the building needed a lot of work done on the outside of it. No pretty flowers anymore, just cigarette butt's littered the once manicured flower beds. Gone were the parking lot stripes and in came the cracks with weeds. How did they let this place get so out of hand? He hasn't been here since he was a kid, and this was a sore sight to see when first coming into a nice town. He sure did hope the rest of it wasn't like this.

He hoped no one would recognize him. It had been 20 plus years since he'd been here. He walked in through the red door of a 1950s setting and headed straight for the counter to sit on a stool that he had once sat at when he was a kid. He grabbed a menu and searched for his favorite, hamburger with cheese and bacon, and a side of sweet potato fries. He couldn't believe they still had it. There in front and center. The name was changed. It was now called 'The Special'.

Everyone had their eyes on him while he was looking over the menu. Who wouldn't look? He was a stranger at this point. He even looked the part of an outsider, well biker outsider anyway. It didn't matter he just continued to ignore them. They would all know soon enough who he was and why he was back.

"Can I help you, hun?" The waitress was waiting with her pen to the pad and a blank face. She then smiled, probably thinking he was slow or something. "What would you like darlin'? I don't have all day, there are other customers here too."