The Great War

IX

"Okay, I definitely know you have a pocketknife on you." Lilium says with a shiver staring at the old Cabin that had some sort of vintage beauty to it, yet it had a deathly cold aura to it. I breathe a laugh and nod, confirming I do in fact have a pocketknife.

"Stab a fucker if somethings in there." She mumbles and I snort as I step up to the door pressing my ear to it first before testing the doorknob, it clearly hadn't been lived in since the book came out, which was 2008. Right before she died.

I slowly open the door, the inside smelt like rotting damp wood, and it was immensely dark inside. Which felt odd, because it was still light outside, you'd think it would light up the small living space.

I stepped in first, clutching my hands together, hurting myself on accident. "Okay... okay." I whisper breathlessly as I look around jumping when a light suddenly flashes behind me.

"Sorry! Sorry. I got my phone out..." Lilium immediately reassures me and comes to stay beside me flashing her phone's flashlight around. I keep a straight face no matter how embarrassed I felt over getting that scared.

I look at her when we spot the living room area and we walk into it, and I brush my hand over the table, something moving on it. I retract my hand faster than I thought I ever could.

"Light! On the table," I quickly say, directing Lilium to the table instead of the kitchen. She listens and I release a breath when I see its just papers. I squat down and move the papers around.

Some of them dated all the way back to 1989, it had a yellowish aged look to it which just added to the fact these have been here for decades. I pick the oldest dated one which was from 1953. It was handwritten clearly; the handwriting was better than mine but looked somewhat shaky.

I stood up and took a few steps back to stand next to Lilium, she flashes her light on it as I took my own phone out and snapped two clear pictures of it. I spent a few minutes taking photos of the other papers with Ophelia's signature on it, and some others that didn't. Lilium was exploring the house on her own, which at first, I disliked because I didn't wanna be alone. But clearly nothing was gonna happen.

𖤐

I push open my apartment's door, Lilium walking in with me. "Alright, so I have photos of the papers I'll send 'em to you." I mumble and take a seat on my sofa, Lilium sitting across from me leaning her elbows on her knees as she looks at her phone nodding.

"You should head home, look over the stuff I sent you and come up with your own theory on it. I'll do the same." I stood up pocketing my phone.

"Sounds like a plan, I'll get back to you tomorrow, tell you what I saw in the rooms." She says, standing up as well.

I nodded with a smile. We were so gonna get in trouble for this. I start my research not long after she left. I sit on my bed, my laptop out as I backed up all the photos from earlier to that, so it'd be easier for me.

Once that was done, I sat cross-legged and clicked my files, opening the one I named Ophelia. All the photos and files I snapped loading in. I clicked on the first one, which was the note I had found from 1953. I zoomed in a little so I could properly see the words and I began to read it.

I stared at my screen for a few minutes, a sadness filling me. The fact that I now know who she was referring to as 'her love', it was the man she spoke of, the man I saw at the school. The man she loved that she married.

Who took him from her? Is he dead? How far is this gonna go? I now understand the meaning behind 'Curiosity killed the cat'. I'm the cat who's gonna be killed by curiosity if I don't stop now. But the need for answers, no matter how small.

I wanted to know what happened, who did this to them. Why would they even do this to innocent people? I wanted to know why she was so important to the town, why they all were. Why her death was such a loss and why the life in town just faded with her.

I wanted to know it all, but I know I can't have my cake and eat it too. I might get answers, but at the cost of something, maybe my life or something else. I might be like those authors who strived their work on her, and her story.

The story that she never told, and I myself know the story I just don't know how much I actually know. I don't even know why this is happening now out of all the years it could've happened.

Is this supposed to be a life lesson or some shit? Or am I some desperate girl searching for a distraction from reality. Cause this feels like I'm breaking from the line between fantasy and reality.

I close my laptop and pull out my phone, I pull up Liliums contact and start typing out a message. Within minutes of sending it, she responded, and she agreed with me.

The second I fully commit to this I'm not gonna be able to back out of it. I'm not even an expert on this shit. Sure, I'm into paranormal and horror, but I'm not gonna know how to really do this. There's a first for everything sure but do I actually wanna do this? I take a deep breath and look at my laptop once before typing out my response.

I was gonna do this.

I needed to know what happened in this town.