The Bell House

Ms. Avery Bell

Avery POV

  As the sun rose above the calm waters, I feel the crisp air bite at my cheeks and I slowly take in a stiff breath. A few leaves fall from the tree above me landing on the waters surface, spinning slowly.

  The notebook on my lap stays empty as I hit my pen against the paper. Nothing is coming through and even if it did, I wouldn't know how to put it into words. Not anymore at least.

   I'm a writer. Well... at least I used to be when things were easier. Before I moved back to my childhood home. Let's rephrase that, next door to my childhood home. I still haven't stepped foot inside the house since the tradegy that struck my household 15 years ago now. I moved into the cottage near by when I was 20. It took two years before that to build, once I repossessed the property.

  It was the hardest thing I have ever done - Deciding whether or not I should tear the house to the ground, watch it burn, or even let it sit boarded up to rot away beneath the trees. But something inside of me couldn't let it go. I couldn't let go of the memories. That's all I had left of her. My mother.

  My mother had long beautiful auburn hair like mine, only hers fell into soft curls down her frame. She was always so cheery, lively, kind. Her wardrobe only consisted of dresses that fell to her feet and I remember how we would dance beneath the old oak out by the lake - Her twirling and spinning around making her dress flow perfectly in the wind. We would sit out on the wooden bench for hours just talking, giggling, and singing silently out into the space around us. We would watch the small waves hit the bank acouple of feet in front of us and just get lost within ourselves. I felt so safe with her. Calm. Until she started to change...

  My thoughts got cut off as I felt my mother's necklace fall beneath the space in my bra. I took it out slowly and clutched the key firmly with my hand.

  In the distance I begin to hear steady footsteps hitting the stone path I had laid out just last summer. As they got closer I dropped the key, letting it drop back to its original place underneath my black long sleeve. I raise my head to greet my uninvited visitor but come to find it's just my caretaker Declan. He stands beside the bench I still sit on and meets my gaze with his sage colored eyes.

"Ms. Bell." Declan nodded at me slightly. The usual.

"Is something wrong?" I asked with no emotion.

"Well the guests that we will be having to check out the school, arrive today and I wanted to see if anything inparticular needed to get done before they showed up."

"Their interested in the school?" I furrowed my brow.

"Yes ma'am. I'm still working on the second floor but I think it should be fine for now." He placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and I could tell there was more to it than what he was letting on.

"Hmm." I could tell he was getting nervous. What was he up to? I decided to let it slide. I continued,

"I trust that you have everything under control. All I ask is that no one is to step foot inside that gate, do you understand me?" I said sternly while pointing at the gated driveway to the house near by.

"Yes ma'am." He stood there for awhile, expecting me to say something more but I could feel the disappointment radiate off of him. He was about to turn away when I spoke,