Alicia And The Letter

The Lady in black

      "Wake up." There was a whisper so faint, Alicia wasn't sure if it was just her mind. 
      "C'mon, wake up." This time she was certain of the tiny voice and pressure on her arms. She breathed a heavy sigh, trying to use her strength to open her heavy and very tired eyelids. Much more awake and aware now, Alicia waited for the faint colors to shape up  and show image. 
      There, at the edge of the bed, sat Mary; bright-eyed in a night gown of Laurel green.
      "What time is it? Why are we up so late?" Though more awake, Alicia still slightly slurred her words, and moved like a zombie.
      "Tonight is a special night. We are going to play a game. Mara and Molly are already on the roof. Follow me." She took Alicia by the hand, and walked quietly to the door. " We have to be careful. The floors are old, and squeak alot." Once they got out the door, Mary immediately crouched low, followed by Alicia doing the same. 
      Once out of the hall, they made it into the dining hall, were Alicia could hear Mr. Steige in another hall arguing with someone. "No, not yet. I need just a little bit more time. What would I tell them?"
      "That's not my problem, Mr. Steige. I've gave you plenty of time to figure it out. Debts need to be paid, and I've already been much more gracious to you, then most perceive me to be..." Her voice was calm and slow, collected yet raspy.
      As they went into that hall, curiosity got the best of Alicia.
      "Who's your dad arguing with?"
      "That's the lady in black. Our family has been in debt to her for a long time, but dad won't budge. To be honest, I think he should give what doesn't belong to him anymore." To say the least, Alicia was freaked out, but curious.
    As they snuck around, Alicia noticed the cobwebs and dim lighting in all the rooms.
There was a cold draft in the halls and an almost haunting feeling. The place seemed so lively and awake before; so homely, but now? It was a perfect set for a horror movie.
      "Here we are." Mary whispered loudly. They were standing on the roof of the tallest tower. It was so old, pieces were falling off simply by Alicia's footsteps, and the floor felt more like gravel.
      "What are we doing up here?" Alicia raised her eyebrows in concern.
      "We're going to play a game." Molly said slyly. "Mary came up with it."
      "There's quite a bit of wind tonight, so it's the perfect night to play." Mara spoke factually. "Here's what you have to do: walk all along the edge of the roof until you end up back where you started. Last one to chicken out wins. I'll go first and show you how it's done."
      As Mara stepped up onto the edge of the tower, Alicia felt herself shiver; from both cold and fear. Every moment seemed to drag on for an eternity, and every minute Alicia swore the child would be shook off, simply by the pounding of Alicia's heart.
      When Mara stepped off of the edge, Alicia felt she could finally breathe again. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to breathe for very long. "Molly goes next."
      As she stepped up, Molly shivered. There was fear and anger coming off of her. She obviously didn't want to do this, but in an effort to not look weak in front of her siblings, she walked. Every step she'd look down, close her eyes, and take a moment to herself.
      It seemed her caution was in vain, though. As she walked, the darkness caught her off guard and she slipped.
      As she nearly plummeted to her death, she felt a hand desperately grab for hers. It was Mara.  "Don't let go, Molly!"
      As Mara felt herself slipping off of the unstable gravel that was the rubble from the old tower, the world seemed to go 1,000,000 miles a minute. She had no time to think clearly and she was so scared.
      Both were crying, and there was no rain to hide it; though neither cared. They had a right to do so in what seemed to be their last moments on Earth.
      So why weren't they falling? Mara, in all her fear, couldn't think straight. She hadn't ever been more terrified, or surprised than that one moment when a sweaty, yet strong hand grabbed her's.
      "You gotta help me, if we're gonna pull her up." Mara turned around to see Alicia, clearly pissed, but trying not to cry from fear.
      One step by step, they slowly pulled, and were able to difficulty pull Molly up. Once they did, all the twins did was sit on the ground, and cry.
      "Mary! What is wrong with you?! You just stood there while we fell! We could've died, and you're still just standing there!" Molly was pissed. It seemed almost as if that was what Mary wanted.
      "I-I froze... I couldn't move....I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Still frozen from shock, it seemed a miracle that any words came out of Mary's mouth at all.
      "It doesn't matter. You guys are safe. Some pages were turned, but there were lessons learned here." Alicia sat there holding them for hours before they returned to their rooms.
       Everyone was shook, and it was an unspoken rule that no one would tell Mr. Steige.
      Perhaps after a good sleep, and some breakfast in the morning, everyone could ease up, just a little bit.