An Innocent Haunting

Chapter 1

I closed the car door and breathed in the fresh forest air. The taxi had dropped me off in the middle of a back road surrounded by the thick forests of Oregon. After a quick look, I saw a gravel trail leading through the trees. We were about a mile away from a small town where I was picked up and brought here. I paid the driver and we exchanged thank you's while he opened the trunk so I could grab my suitcase. I pulled my bag to my hip and began trudging up the narrow gravel path. As I climbed the hill I took in the scenery. The forest was pretty dark with the exception of dappled sunlight that barely reached the ground. This was so much better than New York. Originally I was just another denizen of the big city, working as a secretary in some big business building until one day I said "screw it", cut my hair and quit. I was tired of it. The job was safe and I had already gained more than enough money to move and start over. It may seem strange but I was happy to be free of the noise and friends. I needed quiet so I could write. Stupid I know but, why not?

I nursed the last few sips of my root beer from my bottle as I stood in front of the new house I'd purchased. Two floors and an attic. It was a bit big for just one person such as myself to live in alone but this was what I needed. The gray concrete walls had vines gracefully climbing up them and the blue roof had new shingles plastered in place of those that fell off long ago. My realtor said she'd arrange for everything to be fixed before I arrived and she did. The bushes were trimmed and the grass was cut. The only thing that was strange was that butterflies seemed to be attracted to the place because they cluttered the clearing with their colorful wings. It was a pretty sight and a vibrant blue one landed on my nose for a moment before fluttering away. That's nice, I already got a warm welcome from the locals. The gravel became a driveway off to the side of the house which reminded me that I needed a car but that was something for another day. The moving trucks would be here tomorrow and I needed to clean up the inside.

I entered the house and was immediately hit with some kind of...presence. I ignored it, however. I always got these feelings and they were never anything to worry about. I convinced myself it must just be my nerves and started working. I set my luggage on the island counter in the kitchen and began sweeping. There was a lot of dust and dirt coating the dark hardwood floors so that was my main priority. Once that was clean I went upstairs to work on the bathroom. There was a dirty old mirror above the sink that I was going to replace but I grabbed a rag and scraped the muck off the glass and looked at my reflection anyway. I had vitiligo, meaning my pale skin had dark black spots all over. Not only that but because of my heterochromia I had a blue and green eye. That's one of the reasons I hated my old job. I was comfortable in my skin and I didn't care what other people thought about it, but it's different when people would refuse to touch your hand in fear it was contagious and act like you were a freak. Not everyone was that way but it just made my job a lot more frustrating when they refused to use the same pen as me. On my face, I had a large dark splotch covering the left half of my face, were the spots met my black hair and eyebrows it turned white. I also had a small spot on the right corner of my mouth. I used to get into so much trouble in school. Bullies would insult me and taunt me with all the names that I've heard a thousand times before.

It never bothered me, I just got so annoyed with people SCREAMING at me. So one day, I grabbed a girl by the collar and punched her right in the jaw. Almost broke it too. HA! I was a riot back in middle school! Every single kid was terrified of me after that, and I loved it! I'm FULLY aware that sounds psychotic but it was better than before. I had kids under my protection. I also got suspended in the first few weeks of high school because of the same thing. People may have spread rumors that I was on steroids or crack or something but I chose to take that as a compliment. It's funny how one action can determine your reputation for years. College wasn't bad, though. There were so many different people in the giant melting pot that no one cared what you did so I was able to focus on my psychology degree. Just because I had my degree didn't mean I was going to use it. I mean I started working in a stupid New York office and now here I am in Oregon, trying to be an author! I have to admit, my parents weren't very thrilled, but hey, whatcha gonna do?

I slid down the railing of the stairs and spun into the kitchen. I was ecstatic that my new house was already fixed up. All I needed was my furniture to get here. It was really crazy how cheap this place was, almost like they were trying to get rid of it as soon as they could. I got the foreclosed house at less than half my budget and having it be that cheap, I used the money I had left to fix it up before I even got here. I stretched out on the cold, pale marble island. Everything in this house was either really dark or really pale...or green. I showed my roommate the pictures my realtor sent me of the progress and when she asked why I simply said "aesthetic". We weren't that close so I didn't really miss her. We always missed each other at home. Now it was just me alone with my thoughts and skulls however, and I could focus on more important matters, such as getting a job in this small town a mile or so away. I had already set up a meeting with the owner of a cafe so that I could get started on my new life. I unzipped my duffel bag and pulled out the extra clothes I had packed and set them on the counter. At the bottom of my bag, all the little things I had stuffed in had settled. Hair brush, toiletries, salt....the usual. I pulled the big container out and set in in the empty cabinet. I pulled out what was originally my rosary beads but they were tangled in a pitiful lump. I untangled them carefully and then placed them on the thick bible I had also packed. I set those aside and grabbed the bag of lemon tea cookies that I'd already ate half of and jumped up on the counter. I took one out and put it out in the air, sharing a toast with the new house in honor of a new life.

Author's Note

Hey, guys! I'm aware that this first chapter is kind of everywhere but it's mainly just so you can get a feel for the character and that's just how she is. Sorry again babs! See you soon!