Darkness Calls [SHELVED]

Darkness Calls [Chapter 2]

Chapter 2

From the moment I got out of the car, I knew I wouldn’t be spending my first night at Willowbrooke in solitude. Uncle Mason’s house was nothing grandiose. It was a small, two-bedroom bungalow (I was never sure what a bungalow was. I just felt comfortable calling it that). There was nothing remarkable about it - no shiny fountain, no wandering peacocks, not even a Santa Claus Christmas light that uncle was too lazy to take down. But even so, there’d always been something warm about it. Home-y.

I hadn’t been to this house in years. Heck, I hadn’t seen uncle Mason in years. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. The air was filled with the heavy odor of damp soil cut through by the aromatic scent of a freshly baked pie. Blueberry.  I’d never eaten one fresh but in pie form, it was absolute ambrosia. Coupled with a scoop of ice cream on the side, it was nirvana. Uncle was never good at cooking. He once burned a hard-boiled egg. I don’t know how he did it even after following mo- expert directions but he somehow succeeded in setting the water-filled pot on fire.  Which meant we weren’t alone.

Sure enough, “Is that Lil’ Dinah I hear out there!?” Amma’s voice echoed in the open air. An impressive feat for someone her age.

I took in another shaky breath and went in. Uncle Mason greeted me at the door, flashing a brilliant smile that blinded me more than his interior lighting did, eyes crinkling and revealing smile lines around his eyes. His wrinkled smile and his salt-and-pepper hair revealed pale shadow to how handsome he must have been in his youth. It was a wonder he hadn’t settled down.

“Dinah!” He pulled me into a tight hug, which I returned to a less bone-crushing extent. After all these years, he still smelled of clove. It was nice that some things stayed the same. He held me at arm’s length, examining me. Vibrant green eyes looking me over. I looked down before they reminded me of anything. His grip slackened, as if sensing the change. “It’s so good to see you again,” he managed.

“It’s good to see you again, too, uncle,” I said, smiling back, trying to focus at the spot between his brows. “Your hair’s a lot saltier now, though.”

He laughed, brushing a hand through his hair. “Ten years is takes its toll on you.”

“Bad habits take its toll on you.” Amma stepped into view, flashing me a grin of her own. “Not so little any more, are you, child?” Despite her small stature, she had a very imposing presence. Everybody around town knew who Amma was and respected her. She and uncle Mason had been friends since before I was born and had taken on a matronly role to me whenever I’d come to visit. It was how I met her granddaughter, my best friend here in town.

“Dinah!”  Piper screeched, shoving Amma and uncle aside as she tackled me. If they hadn’t caught us at the right moment, we would’ve toppled right out of the door and down the veranda. Piper’s energy was infectious. I could feel the corners of my mouth curling into a wide smile. I hugged back, tightly. We jumped up and down in excitement.

“Piper! How are you!?”

“I’m good! I love what you’ve done with your hair!”

“What is that you’re wearing? It smells so good.”

The exchange went on for several moments before Amma decided to herd us all into the dining room. The dinner was still hot despite the fact that I was late for over an hour.

“I knew the rain would keep you, so I made sure to keep everything warm,” Amma explained. “There’s just nothing like coming home to a hot meal, is there?”

I looked at the spread Amma prepared. Unofficially declared master of uncle Mason’s kitchen,  she had the tendency get away from herself whenever she was cooking for me. She was apparently under the impression that I was either an entire softball team or a bear.  There was fried chicken, biscuits, mounds of mashed potato, mixed veggies, and a blueberry pie that was still in the oven. To my surprise, it turned out I was hungry enough to put most of it away. I guess the drive drained me more than I’d thought.