Stepping out of the cab onto the stone covered path. Glancing back and forth between the address on the piece of paper and to the the yellow painted mailbox: 11 Stent Street.
"Got a problem?" An older voice muttered from the front of the cab.
"No, I don't think I do," looking at the old cab driver; questioning my own answer.
"Then get your stuff and get out, and oh, by the way, no free rides. That will be $91.10." He turned towards me, smiling showing his yellow teeth. There's an uneasy feeling but I don't know if it is from his beady eyes or from this place.
"Oh, right." Reaching into my bag I pulled out my leather wallet. The man's eyes were locked on the bills as a count out $95.00.
"Keep the change." I reached my hand in through the window. He wrinkled hand snached the bills out of my hand.
I was barely up the driveway before the cab was out of sight.
"What an ass."
The only thing standing between me and the thing I fear the most was a gate. The world slowed down as I place my hand on the latch. Appearing behind the swinging gate was a small, rundown, grey house, surrounded with a thick forest.
The path to the house was lined with flat rocks. I realized the rocks where there is names engraved, I approached the first three: Radia 1989- 1995, Toby 1985-1997, Claire 1990-1993. Counting the stones as I walk, it hit me that these were not just rocks; they are graves. It didn't come to me as a complete surprise; my mother loved animals and probably had a few after I left.
I questioned every step I took; What am I doing here? Why does she want to see me after all these year? I finally reached the porch steps; with the first couple of steps rotting away and the railing blowing in the wind, I took a deep breath, then started to walk up the steps. Something stopped me on the third step, I could hear something: a faint child's laughter coming from the wall of pine trees; I turned to follow the laughter. Then a sound sent a bone-chilling shiver down my spine; The clicking of heels. Turning back around I saw my mother standing in the doorway. I could hardly recognize her; all dolled up in a little blue dress with her blonde, faded hair fixed up in a perm. She never dresses up but when she does you knew something is going on.
"Well, I'm glad you got my letter, Josie. I thought it might have gotten lost in the mail."
With a fake smile, I continued climbing the stairs; she stood there waiting.
"Now, we'll get you settled in. Dinner's at 6:00, and I suppose you remember where your old room is?"
"Yes,"
"And do you remember the rules of the house?"
"The majority of them." She stopped me from entering.
"No going into the forest, stay out of my room, and keep the cat inside."
The house was cold and dark. The colours were faint and it looks as if the happiness left when I did. It all looked just as I remembered; to the right a small dining room and a kitchen with white cupboards and a light blue backsplash. Strength across from the door, a staircase lined with wooden paneling. To the left a french doors leading into a sitting room with grand windows and a wooden peano my father use to only play on christmas eve. The feeling of welcome that one's flooded this house, had growing into an unfamiliar, it was as if I've never stepped foot in this house before.
The picture she had so proudly hung in the entrance of father, her and I, was now nowhere to be found; all the walls were bare with the hooks still stuck where pictures would have been hung. There's an an odd smell, one that burns a little when you inhaled too much of it, but I couldn't make out what it was or where it might be coming from.
Walking up the narrow stairs, I felt as if someone or something was following me. Stopping on the small landing, I glanced behind me. My mothers black and white cat was sitting on the bottom step looking at me.
The upstairs was dark. I glided my hand along the wall, finally I found the switch. Flicking on the lights the sound of footsteps made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Cruise on what that might have been, I followed it. The sound lead me to my mother's door, my heart was racing. Just then two hands fell upon my shoulders, their nails digging into me.
"Stay out of there!" I turned around my mother was standing there, her eyes glaring sharply as if they were trying to look inside me.
"Your room is that way," she said, pointing her long, red fingernails down the hallway. Trying not to make eye contact, I picked up my suitcase and walked down the hall.
My mother must have thrown out most of my stuff after I left. The only things that remained in my room is my old, single bed, an empty bookshelf, and some old dolls I play with when I was a child. The striped wall paper was starting to peel off and the bookshelf had an inch of dust encasing it. The window was boarded shut. Why she had them bored up was a question I couldn't think of an answer for. She use to love having the natural light shining into our house.
Putting my suitcase away, I could see a small shadow under my door as if someone was waiting for me to come out. As I approached the door the shadow disappeared.
"Josie, dinner is ready." Her voice rang up from the kitchen.
I sat at the dining table: it was long with scratch marks on the surface, and it looked as if it there was a large deal of distress. My mother had set her place at the head of the table and mine beside hers. My mother poured me a bowl of warm chicken noodle soup as I sat in silence.
"It's been a while since you've been here; 10 or so years?"
"About that, yes."
"How is living in the city?" she sat in her chair.
"Busy, but I'm used to it."
"What is it you do, again?"
"As if she were actually interested in my life." I thought to myself
"I'm an accountant. Nothing big but, I do enjoy it." I said looking into my bowl of soup, questioning the meat.
"So, in the letter you said you had something to ask me? Can you elaborate on that?"
"I knew this would come up eventually, so we might as well not beat around the bush. I'm going away for a bit, and I was wondering if you could watch the house for me?" she said as she stirred her soup.
"Where are you going?"
"Nowhere, my dear; it's not important."
"You're just going to leave and not tell me anything?"
"It's none of your business, Josie! You don't know what I'm going through," she said walking over to the corner cupboard.
"Can you please just watch the house for me? That is all I'm asking from you."
"Alright, fine. When do you leave?"
"Early tomorrow morning," she said, sitting back in her chair with a satisfying look on her face with a smoke delicately pinched between her ruby, red lips.
We ate in silence. By the time dinner was done, I was tired and went up to my room, my mother following closely behind me. She went into her room as I went into mine. I could hear her talking, as if she were having a conversation with someone. But the conversation went quieter as the night went on.
The house fell silent around midnight. Finally, I was able to fall asleep.
There was a little, blonde haired girl, no older than seven standing on the orouch to the house. She was wearing a black dress and a fancy hat that was too big for her. She was whispering something, but I couldn't make it out. I moved closer towards her to. When I finally got closer to her she removed the hat. Quickly I realized she didn't have a face, just scars of where there once was. She grabbed my hand and dragged me inside the house.
I woke up in a small panic. The sun shining ever so slightly through a gap in between the boards. My mother was sitting on the end of my bed watching me.
"Bad dream?" she asked
"Yes. but what time is it?
She squinned down at her fated gold watch.
"Quarter after 9. My cab should be here any minute now."
"Why aren't you driving?"
"Your dad took the car when he left. And I haven't had the money to replace it. Plus there really is no need for it; if I need to go anywhere the cab company is always very happy to pick me up."
*Beep Beep*
"Speaking of them," she peered out between the boards. leaned over and kissed me on my forehead.
"When do you think you'll be back?"
"I'll be back later tonight or early tomorrow morning; So don't wait up for me. There is leftover soup in the fridge if you get hungry. She lead over and lightly kissed me on the forehead.
"Goodbye, Josie. I love you." She said walking out of my room, closing the door tightly behind her. My mother was never very affectionate towards me or towards my father but I always believed when she said I love you, she did mean.
An hour later, I finally got up to have a shower. Walking out of my room, I had that uneasy feeling. The house creaked as I walked on the old wooden floorboards. Opening the bathroom door, I felt a cold brush my left leg. I quickly peered over hoping to see a illogical explanation for the cold breeze but nothing was there. Trying to ignore the uneasy feeling I had I began unbuttoning my flannel shirt.
As I started the shower, I heard the voice of a child outside the bathroom door. The voice had the same tone as the laughter I heard outside when I arrived. I opened the door ever so slowly and stepped back out into the hallway and peered over the railing. Realizing it was my mother's cat profusely meowing at the door. After shutting the door I remembered my mother's rules about keeping the cat inside. Rolling my eyes, I walked back into the bathroom.Standing in the shower only one thing running through my mind is where was she going? Then after 20 minutes I went to turn the water off but something stopped me. Something inside is telling me to just stay under the water. I wasn't thinking about my mother anymore, or really anything; I couldn't even feel the water hitting my body; then everything went dark. I finally broke out of the trance when I stopped breathing. Quickly gasping for air, I turned the water off. Sitting in the shower, trying to catch my breath, well I wiped the water out of my eyes.
I finally got the strength to stand up, getting out of the shower my legs are a little shaky. Wrapping my towel around me turned to face the mirror. The mirror had a crack running straight down the center and is hanging by a thread. After drying myself off, I could feel drops running down my back. Ignoring it a continued fidgeting with my hair. Another drop fall on my shoulder; but something caught my eye in the mirror. The drop is bright red. Another one graced my cheek. Glaring at the ceiling; there are streaks of blood. Following the streaks out into the hallway. The lines stopped at the sky light. A girl lays face down on the glass. It's not just any girl, it's the little girl from my dream holding the cat's head. My mind was spinning, I couldn't focus, my eyes went blurry, and I fell to my knees. Then everything went dark.
I woke up laying on the cold, wooden floor; my head was pounding. With a small amount of moonlight shining through a boarded up window I could make out that I was no longer in the hallway but in a room. There is something in the far corner of the room.
"Who's there" I sat up. No one answered just a small shuffling sound.
"Hello?"
A loud sound of chains moving as a face popped out of the corner. The face had no eyes, just a mouth. Then something caressed the right side of my cheek. Jumping to my feet; trying not to make a sound because the human beast had gone back into its corner. Realizing it is just a swing rope. I grabbed the rope to stop it from swinging. It was warm then it went cold as if life had left it. As I was looking at the rope I could see something; it was hard to make out at first, but it was the outline of a door. Approaching the door a cold wind brushed my hand. To my surprise the door is unlocked and with a slight push it opened without a sound. Realizing as soon as the door opened that I am standing in my mother's room. Then I heard something that sent my heart into my throat the door opening down stairs and the sound of heel clicking following.
"I told you to stay out of there Josie, how many times does a loving mother have to tell her daughter not to go in there, before she finds out why the hard way."
"I didn't mean to go in there."
"How did I get in there?" I thought to myself.
"Well, now what Josie? I can't let you leave now, knowing that you know what I have I this house. I will be thrown in jail, and my loving babies will be killed."
Walking down the stairs I pulled my towel back around me. She stood at the bottom with her arms crossed with an angry look on her face.
"Your loving babies? What do you mean by your loving babies? Those things are monsters."
"They are my children as much as you are. When you and your father left me, and I lost all my friends. I needed something to fill the void, so I adopted." She lit a smoke.
"But I couldn't just let them leave like you did so, I made them into something humanity just couldn't take. But I couldn't just have one, I love being a mother." She sat on the dusty, old couch; with her face in her hands.
"Are those what the stones are for outside?"
"Those are graves for the ones that got sick or injured. And of course no doctor would help them, they didn't want to come anywhere close to them. They are also for the ones who tried to get away."
"How could you afford to clothe and to feed all those children? When you barely have enough for yourself."
"You are right my deer, I couldn't barely afford enough food to feed them. But then I thought of a way to. Let's just say the children buried under those graves were buried missing something."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you see I was running low on money so, I would skin the dead bodies of the children and cook it in to my homemade soup." My mind went back to the soup we had the night I arrived. My legs became weak and I fell to the ground. I felt like a I was going to be sick.
"You gone absolutely mad. What made you turn to this as a way to fill the void, I tried to be there for you when dad left. But you pushed me away and told me that I reminded you too much of my father and to never speak to you again."
"You were talking about putting me in a hospital."
"I only brought that up because you became suicidal. It became too much for 18 year old me to handle." a tear rolled down my face.
"I was very surprised to have reached that letter from you. But the only thought that came to mind when that mail boy handed it to me was, is this a letter telling me my mother was no longer with us. That thought hunted me everyday because you were living completely alone and no one would be there to help you if something ever happened."
"Then why did you come out here, Joise. And check on me?"
"I tired to, I bought a ticket for the train every month. All I could think was getting here and you turn me away. But seeing what you've done here I'm happy I didn't come out."
She sat there quietly. She peered at me as she stepped on her smoke with her red heels to put it out.
"Now what should I do with you?" Her eyes caught something that made her face a little lighter. I turning around the little blonde girl is standing right behind me. The next thing I know she hit me over the head with a wooden bat.
I am back on my mother's bedroom on the cold wooden floor. Standing in front of me the faceless little blonde girl. I tried to stand up, but I was chained to the floor by my feet and wrist. Pain shot vigorously to me face.
"Welcome home Josie, the other children and I are so happy you decided to stay here." I could see small figures emerging from the dark shadowed walls. The faceless little blonde girl sat on the floor holding a mirror. My mouth had been sewn shut. Blood was oozing from where the sewing needle had torn through my lip.
"Don't worry honey, when we can trust you, you will be allowed to come out." she said, patting the little blonde girl's head.
"But for now you will be staying here," She locked the door. Screaming for help I could feel the stitches ripping my lip as I tried to scream for help.
"There is no point of screaming my deer. Remember you are in the middle of nowhere. No one will be able to hear you. You are now mine and mine forever."
