My Short Stories

Darkstone Woods

     A man, Joseph Darkstone, lived with his young bride, Rebecca, in the cabin in the woods of Wilmington over 50 years ago. Rebecca was young, kind, and beautiful. She was the girl that any guy would kill for, but her husband treated her horribly. He would hit her and swear at her. Rebecca loved her husband though; she knew there was good in him. Every night when they went to bed she would tell him "I love you Joseph." When young Rebecca found out she was pregnant she was thrilled, she was excited she would become a mother. But Joseph was furious, he didn’t want a child. So that night when Rebecca was asleep he began to hit her. She begged for him to stop, but the only response she got was a crazed look in his eyes and many more painful blows. When he finally stopped hitting her, Rebecca was covered with blood. The last breath she had she used to say "I love you Joseph." Joseph was shocked at what he had done, but he pushed it aside and buried his wife in a makeshift coffin under the young Oak that stood next to their cabin. Months passed and the guilt was consuming him. Unable to deal with the guilt and pain, he hung himself on the young Oak, above Rebecca’s grave. To this day the old cabin stands empty; no one has dared to go in for the last 50 years. People say you can still hear Rebecca’s cries for mercy. Others say that in the middle of some nights, you can see a beautiful young girl cradling something small in a blanket, her unborn child. So if you ever find yourself in those woods, take a trip to the Darkstones cabin, and you just might see Rebecca.