Wished Away

The Empty House

There was once thought to be an abandoned house, shrouded in the darkness at the end of the winding street. In all it's glory, the house was thought to be haunted and those who explored the mansion never got to tell their tale. But the reason was simple- the house was not abandoned. In fact, it was actually a rather different story entirely. The house was guarded by two ghostly pale sisters and their mother. A woman happily living with her beloved daughters.

But more to the point- I am supposed to be telling a story, I will tell you a little tale of the empty house...

It began not too long ago when a woman was shamed and accused of adultery. The village shamed her and claimed that she would be cursed. But amongst all that terror two young girls came to her door, not caring of the accusations against her name. Being as lonely as she was and the girls being homeless, she took them in. Much to the village's dismay- she stepped outside the house with a happy aura, which made them angry.

How could such a terrible person be allowed happiness? They had thought.

So they planned to end her happiness and drive her away. But on that fateful day, the two innocent girls followed their mother outside. The villagers, seeing the joy surrounding the family, decided to kill the girls. They were small weak orphans with only the woman to support them. What more could the village ask for in the means of easiness! And so, on that fatal night, the cursed woman lost all hope. The villagers left the woman to drown in her sorrows and watch as her daughters were slaughtered and left hanging in her house. The woman refused to move from her spot, an empty shell sat in her place once more, never leaving the spot.

That night, however, all seemed to change for the whole village. To begin with, small incidents occurred. Gossip flew fast around the village and their truths were revealed, adultery and hatred spread like a plague turning families against each other.  The villagers, who had lived in false happiness, began to notice their produce dying. Crops and market stalls declining by the day. Merchants would avoid the area, naming it unholy. People began to grow horrified as they woke up to slaughtered animals. Some shredded, some peacefully sleeping and others hanging; that was when they realised a connection. Angry, they gathered like a hive of bees, marching with lit torches towards the house at the end of the street. But, a chill spread through them and slowly their torches dimmed and grew cold as well. Whispering filled the air, some terrified and some angered. They were hushed by a faint giggling and only then did even the men turn in fright with their tails between their legs.

Life resumed in the village as best as it could. The street was left abandoned and untouched, for the people of the village were too afraid to hear the music and laughter that filled the air there. But their luck was only going to fail again. A true plague crept its way through the village to the families. Crying echoed through the village as they began to litter the streets with the dead. Some even tried to leave but they couldn't get very far without falling down to the ground hopelessly. Soon the streets died in sound, like a broken music box, someone had shut the lid and locked it shut.

Eventually, the girls felt satisfied. Only their loving mother remained. They had tried their best to comfort her and could find no other option to help her now but to stay with her permanently. The girls set forth then to clear the streets for her and rid it of all forms of dirt. They had already destroyed all the life there, it was only a matter of cleaning the village.

Finally, the girls arrived at their home grinning from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat. Excitedly, they walked to their mother with childish glee as they had before. There, their mother sat, gazing lifelessly into the distance. Calling to her, they held out their hands for her to take and smiled gently.

"Wake from your dream, mother. We're here now, so let's be a happy family again!" They cheered gleefully.

And so- an empty house sits on an empty street, in an empty town, full of empty homes. A town famed for it's cursed villagers and a happy family, against what many may believe.