The Ghost Mother

Chapter 15: Shadow of the Past

Clara backed away, her heart racing. She had never seen her mother like this. "Mom, what are you talking about?"

Anna blinked rapidly, as if waking from a trance. Her face twisted in confusion, and she looked around, disoriented. "Clara? What's wrong?"

"You were... talking to someone," Clara stammered, glancing back at the window. "You said someone was watching."

Anna's brow furrowed. "I—I don't remember."

The next morning, neither Robert nor Anna mentioned the strange event. They dismissed it as exhaustion from the move, but Clara couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. That night, the humming returned, louder now, filling the house with its eerie melody. Clara could feel the cold creeping into her bones, the same unnatural chill that had settled over the house since they moved in.

She tried to sleep, but the unease gnawed at her, keeping her awake. She wasn't the only one. Downstairs, Anna found herself drawn back to the window, her eyes fixed on the dark silhouette of the woods. She could feel it—someone, something—watching her from the shadows.

And then, on the fourth night, Clara saw her.

She had just drifted into an uneasy sleep when a faint movement outside her window caught her eye. She blinked, thinking she was imagining things. But there, standing at the edge of the yard, was a figure—a woman in a tattered white dress, her long hair hanging in dark, wet strands over her face. She stood completely still, her glowing eyes fixed on the house.

Clara gasped and stumbled backward, her heart pounding in her chest. She scrambled out of bed and rushed to her parents' room, her hands shaking as she pounded on the door.

"She's here!" Clara cried. "I saw her!"

Robert opened the door, groggy and irritated. "What are you talking about?"

"There's a woman outside! In the yard!" Clara's voice trembled with fear. "She's just standing there, staring at us!"

Robert frowned but followed her to the window. When they looked out, the figure was gone. Only the stillness of the night remained, the trees swaying gently in the wind.