The Burning Side

Chapter 1

Sunlight filtered through the giant oaks and maples lining the overgrown driveway, dappling the path before the truck as Bree and Jason Wilson rambled toward the house that would soon be theirs. The moment the house came into view, Bree was instantly enchanted by the air of nobility it exuded. She felt like a peasant approaching a castle. When she and Jason climbed out of the truck, they hurried excitedly to the real estate agent. She would have sprinted if she hadn't been wearing her heeled boots that disguised her short stature. As she brushed wind-blown wisps of long auburn hair from her almond-shaped, coffee-brown eyes, she looked up at the house again. This house wasn't the typical modern abode fallen victim to foreclosure, like so many of the others they considered purchasing, but rather a 19th-century masterpiece built with bricks, mortar, and muscle. It loomed over them, a massive structure of reddish-brown weathered bricks with intricate wooden accents around the windows and eaves. Bree's eye was drawn to a small widow's watch perched atop the black shingled roof, and her instant admiration for the house was intensified. The front porch was no less impressive. It was expansive with six huge columns supporting the roof above it. The porch became Bree's favorite feature of the house, and she was already imagining rocking chairs and patio furniture with which to adorn it. The backyard was quite expansive as well, though poorly maintained.

Upon entering the house, Bree was pleased to see that the interior of the home was better cared for than the yard. Though it was quite tidy and seemed structurally sound, the interior did reveal the historic nature of the home. The ceilings were unnecessarily high, and the plaster was cracking. The arches connecting the living room, kitchen, and hallways were tall and wide with bulky yet beautiful solid oak trim. The windows bore the same woodwork. The wooden baseboards on the wall along the hardwood floors were almost a foot high. The bathroom and kitchen fixtures looked antique, but still maintained a lustrous shine. There was even a massive brick chimney and evidence that a woodstove once stood in the living room. A staircase opened from the living room to the upstairs. The house had five bedrooms, two of which were upstairs, and an office. The door to the master bedroom was right at the top of the long staircase leading to the second floor, with a guest bedroom and a large bathroom off to the left. A small office was at the end of the hall across from the master bedroom. In the basement, they found an old coal shoot and an enormous fuel oil tank, evidence that this house had seen every kind of heating fuel used in the past hundred years. Instead of being deterred by the age of the home, Bree and Jason found it charming.

The house was being sold by a pudgy, grumpy accountant, Mr. Stewart, who had inherited it when his grandfather died. According to the accountant, his grandfather hadn't lived in the home, and it hadn't been inhabited for several decades. Luckily for the Wilsons, however, his grandfather had kept the home well maintained while he was alive, as he planned to someday make it his retirement getaway. Mr. Stewart didn't share the same enthusiasm for the house as his grandfather, and was eager to be rid of the burden of property taxes and maintenance. He was practically giving it away, and Jason and Bree couldn't ignore such a steal.

Though the house had already seen over one hundred fifty years of history, Bree and Jason were determined to make it a loving home for generations to come. They purchased the house and renovations began shortly thereafter. Bree and Jason spent most of their weekends there, supervising contractors and slowly moving in their belongings. Bree was in love with the place, pressing Jason constantly to make the move permanently. She loved her husband dearly, with his broad smile, big brown eyes, and handsome features, but despite his masculinity and easy-going nature she found he had an overwhelming apprehension to change. Finally, however, on a sunny spring Saturday during one of their weekend trips, he acquiesced. His company had a division in White Dove near their new home, and he was given approval to transfer. Bree was ecstatic when he gave her the exciting news. She kissed him happily and hurried off to further prepare the house for the move. She wasn't aware of how one small occurrence that same sunny Saturday would mark the beginning of the strangest time in her life.