The Creeps! || Book of Spooky Stories (COMPLETED ✔️)

63 ~ A Birthday Surprise

I pulled up to the little house on Birchwood Lane feeling very pleased that I had found it so easily. A gigantic bouquet of flowers sat beside me. I took it into my hands and, with a bouncy pep in my step, made my way to the front door. After only a couple of knocks, the door opened to reveal a stunning brunette with dark eyes and a button nose. She shivered slightly in the fall air and said, "Can I help you?"

"Yes," I said, cheerily. "I have a delivery for Miss Caroline Lupinski. Is she home?"

The woman narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side. "I'm Caroline. Delivery?”

"Yes, ma'am," I said. "Your grandma's sent you some flowers for your birthday. Happy birthday, by the way."

Her eyes widened before welling up with tears. "Is this some kind of a joke?" she asked softly.

I frowned. "No, ma'am," I said. "A woman came into my shop and said she was your grandma. Adele, I think she said her name was." I held up the bouquet. "She chose all the flowers herself, told me exactly what to put in here, and asked me to hand deliver them to you on this date exactly."

The woman turned her eyes skyward, as if she were in prayer. A single tear broke loose and rand down her cheek. "I don't believe this," she said. "You have to be joking."

"I can promise you I'm not, Miss," I said. "I'm sorry if I've upset you. I can go, if you'd---"

"No, no, it's all right," she said. "Um.... Would you come in for a moment?"

I hesitated, but finally agreed with a "Sure."

She brought me into a charming, sunlit living room where a large fireplace adorned one wall. My eyes were drawn to the mantle where some pictures had been arranged with the greatest of care. "There she is," I said, pointing to one of the photos. "Your grandma. This is the lady that came into my shop."

"Oh, God!" Caroline spouted. She brought her hands together in front of her face. "Please, sit down... um...."

"Derek," I said. "Thank you." I took a seat on the sofa, holding the bouquet in front of me.

"You can put the flowers on the table. I'll grab a vase in a second," Caroline said, lowering herself into a nearby armchair. "But first," she continued, "I need you to tell me everything."

"What do you mean?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"When that woman... my grandmother... came into your shop...." She paused for a moment. I could tell by the quiver of her lips that she was fighting a burst of emotion. At last, she regained her voice. "I need to you tell me exactly what happened."

I pursed my lips and rubbed my knees as the image of that day came to mind. "Well," I said, "I guess it was pretty straight forward. It was a slow day and this little old lady came in and said her granddaughter was turning twenty-four in a week and could she please pick out some flowers so I could make her a bouquet. And so I followed her around the store, she picked her flowers, told me to hand deliver them a week later, and then she paid and left."

Caroline leaned forward. "And it was definitely the woman from that picture over there?"

"As God is my witness," I said. "Why?"

Caroline was silent. She slowly rose from her seat and began to wander toward the picture. "I don't know how to tell you this," she said. She inhaled sharply and turned to face me. "My grandmother... the woman you saw... is dead."

I straightened up. "Oh, my God," I said. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea. It must have happened so recently...."

"Yes," she said. "But you said she came in a week ago?"