The Requiem of Misery [Standalone]

Chapter 2

Once she had finished cleaning the classroom, Maisie headed home for the day.

The rest of the school day had been pretty uneventful. By lunchtime, it had begun pouring rain outside, which had delighted her. She loved how cozy the rain made her feel, and with the approaching summer, the town of Calvorn had been too hot lately. It was the perfect type of weather to read. She had finished her novel during the last class period, but the sequel was sitting on her bookshelf at home.

As she parked in the driveway, Maisie reached for her umbrella before getting out of the car. As she shut the green door behind her, her gaze moved toward the clouds, and she sighed. They had grown much darker since she was at the school, which meant that the storm might turn severe. A tornado was the last thing her sad little town needed.

"I'm home!" She called out, shutting the backdoor behind her before setting her umbrella in the small rack in the corner. "And the weather looks bad."

"Really?" Her mother asked as she walked into the kitchen. "The weather channel reported that it's supposed to clear up soon." The middle-aged woman threw her brunette hair up into a messy bun and threw on a rain jacket.

All her life, Maisie had been told that she was the spitting image of her mother, and she couldn't deny it either. From the shade of their golden-brown hair to the shape of their nose, Maisie was nearly a carbon copy of the woman. The only difference was their eye color. While her mother's eyes were warm and brown, Maisie had inherited her dad's cold grey ones.

"Regardless, your dad and I will be taking that box to the river when he gets home." Plucking her phone off the counter, she began typing. "I'll order a pizza for you and Kara to eat for dinner. Conner is staying at a friend's house. So, if you could keep an eye on your sister and leave your bedroom door open, then I'd be grateful."

"Will do," Maisie replied, grabbing a cup from the cabinet.

A car horn blared outside, and they both jumped before turning their head towards the door.

"That's my cue," her mom said before grabbing her purse. "Oh, Maisie! Can you hand me the box? It's sitting on top of the cabinet above your head."

"Sure thing," the teen said, setting her glass of water down. Climbing up on the kitchen counter, she carefully put her hand on the box and nearly gasped.

Did the box just move? Surely not. That would be crazy and impossible. She was probably jumpy after being scared by the car horn.

But still... she would be glad when the thing was out of their house.

Taking a deep breath, she picked the box up and climbed back down to hand it off to her mom. Once it was out of her hands, she exhaled and wiped her hands on her pants.

Even touching the thing had felt... wrong.

"Thank you, dear," her mom said before reaching for the doorknob. "We'll be back in a few hours. The pizza is scheduled to arrive at six-thirty, and it's already paid for." She opened the door, and the sound of rain rushed to their ears. "Remember to keep an eye on your sister for me. Don't let her leave the house."

"Don't worry," Maisie assured her and eyed the box. "And be safe."

Her mom's grip tightened around the object. "We will be."

...

Maisie looked down at her grandfather's still, pale face.

It wasn't her first funeral. Years ago, one of her dad's cousins had died in an accident, and they had attended her memorial service. Except, due to the condition of her body, it wasn't an open-casket funeral.