Haunted House Tales

by Riley Amitrani

  Matt nodded in agreement and went back to his sanding as Darby fled the room to try and broker peace between the kids. The racket continued on as Darby went upstairs taking the steps two at a time where she found Jasper and Melody in full dispute in the bedroom nearer the staircase. In an act that was a first for her, Darby had to physically separate the squabbling siblings as it seemed the argument was just getting worse by the minute.

  “Knock it off, you two!” Darby yelled as she pulled them apart and set the smaller Jasper on the bed and walked Melody across the room. “Just cool it and tell me what this is all about.”

  Jasper just looked out the window as Melody was still breathing hard and fuming in her shoes.

  “Someone want to start?” Darby asked again, but neither said a word.

  “OK…” she went on, “Let me guess. Can’t rationally agree on who should get what room? That it?”

  Jasper and Melody exchanged a quick glance and Melody finally just nodded, realizing how petty it must have appeared.

  “Let’s hear the big problem, guys…”

  “I’m older…” Melody finally said. “I should get the bigger room.”

  But, Mom…” Jasper began before Darby put up her hand, cutting him off.

  “I see. That may be, Melody, but maybe you can lay out a better case for yourself than you happened to have been born first.”

  Melody relaxed and took a breath before indicating she thought she needed the larger space to possibly prepare to study for college entrance exams…that the other room would not accommodate her desk properly. Darby nodded, indicating she had heard her.

  “Does that seem fair to you, Jasper?”

  He looked at the floor, his face full of disappointment but even at his young age looking as if this was a logical argument.

  “All she had to do was say that, mom. Not just, I’m older, this one’s mine…”

  Darby looked to Melody who reddened in shame.

  “Sorry, mom.”

  “OK. If we have settled this, how about you two bury the hatchet and we put this behind us? Shake hands, and we will get both of you settled in your new spaces, alright?”

  They both nodded in agreement and did as she asked, with Melody going the extra step to apologize to Jasper for what she had said. Darby smiled and left them to go report to Matt. He laughed softly as she told the tale.

  “Way to go Kissinger!” Matt retorted as Darby laughed as well.

  “Very funny. You were an only child, Matt. My brother and I went through the same thing. Fortunately, our kids were much more mature about this than Danny and I were at that age.”

  “Maybe take a break and help them get their furniture set up?” Matt offered as he set aside his tools and sandpaper and googles.

  “Thanks. I think that would help ease any tension that might be left over. Maybe talk to Jasper as well? He agreed, but I’m not sure if he was feeling browbeaten into it or not.”

  Matt nodded and headed off. Darby listened from below as the footsteps of the three went back and forth across the floor above. It seemed as if all was well again. The next time she peeked in, both rooms were set up, and Melody was already at her desk working away on some papers while Jasper had found his bicycle in the garage and was already out exploring the neighborhood. She found Matt back at work on the woodwork in the kitchen when she came back down.

  “Détente?” she asked.

  “Seems so,” Matt replied with a shrug.

  “Jasper really OK with this?”

  “Yeah. Once he got a rational explanation for the decision, he was fine. Just did not like being bossed by his older sister, I guess.”

  “Seems about right for him.”

  Matt nodded and went back to work.

  ……….

  Melody sat at her desk, leafing through the various material that would be required if she did, in fact, decide on applying to any colleges. She still had a tinge of shame over how she had gotten the larger bedroom, but when her mom had backed her up, she did not want to admit that it had just been that she wanted this room since she was older. She actually admired Jasper for his conciliation on the whole thing…although she would never admit it to the little squirt. She gazed out the window over her desk as Jasper shot off down the dirt lane toward town with a feeling of envy and jealousy. Jasper had always been the more outgoing and extroverted of them, and she was still feeling conflicted about this move to Bonner Springs. It had taken her longer than most kids to make friends back in Topeka. Not that she was unapproachable, but more that she just often preferred her solitude to a crowd. Even though most of the friends she had back there had already gone off to school, she was feeling out of sorts. She wondered if Bonner Springs had any kids her age? And if so, how would they feel about this new girl who was a foreigner to the life on a farm? Melody was trying hard to stave off this foul mood that was beginning to overtake her, but she was not having much luck…

  Meanwhile, Jasper was well down the lane they lived on and was shooting into the town to see what might be up. He had been OK living in Topeka, but while Melody saw the move as negative, Jasper was bubbling with excitement. He knew she loved routine and avoided change whenever possible, but all he could think of was all the new opportunities and possibilities that a new home in Bonner Springs might offer. As he had grown older, Jasper was finding the confines and limitations of living in a city stifling his growing love of the outdoors. Bonner Springs seemed to him to be the answer to this interest, and he could not wait to connect with some other kids his age to explore all around the county. It still bugged him a bit that he had given up on the bedroom he had really wanted, but when his father had come to talk to him, he felt much better. He had explained to Jasper that it was likely that Melody would be going off to college in the next year or so, and then he would have the run of the house. He even threw out the idea of he and Jasper building a clubhouse out back…maybe a Royals theme or even one featuring the Kansas City Chiefs, Jasper’s favorite NFL team.

  As time went on, the Crawford family began to fall back into more of a routine akin to what they had been observing back in Topeka, and the previous clash between Jasper and Melody seemed long forgotten. Jasper seemed to be thriving in the rural setting, making new friends every day and coming in each afternoon to regale them with some new place he had discovered. Melody, on the other hand, was still in a funk. She tried to cover up her moods, but Matt and Darby could see through her façade and began to worry a bit about her.

  “I think she’s just having a hard time adjusting, Matt.” Darby said as they talked over coffee one morning.

  “Seems so…” he replied. “I know she was not too keen on the move in the first place, but maybe once she makes some friends that will help.”

  “Hard to do that when you just stay cooped up in your room.”

  “She’s always been introverted, Darby. We can’t make her Jasper, you know?”

  “I know…I know. It’s just hard to watch. Just her and that obnoxious parrot.”

  The parrot. Bertie. It had been Melody’s best friend since she had been just four or five. She loved the thing immensely, but both Matt and Darby had to admit the damn thing was just annoying. It never seemed to shut up during the day, and the move to Bonner Springs had not alleviated that, much to Matt’s chagrin. Even though the move to rural Kansas had been calming for everyone, Bertie seemed to have not figured it out yet. Melody still doted on the bird, even as they had given him a special place in the family room downstairs under the kitchen. But even with all her attention, Bertie found it necessary to announce his presence all day long.

  “You have any recipes for filet of parrot, Darby?” Matt asked one evening after Jasper and Melody had gone to their rooms.

  “Not funny, Matt. You know how she loves that bird.”

  “Sorry. I know…I know. Bad joke…”

  Bye Bye Bertie

  Bonner Springs, Kansas

  July 2, 2018

  After an eveni
ng of studying to get herself re-familiarized with some basics from high school, due to her hiatus from school work, Melody took one final look at the college applications arrayed on her desk. She was still not sure about it all, but as Bonner Springs seemed to have little to offer in the way of kids her own age, she thought this might at least be a way to generate some new pals. Also, after the break, she was definitely sure she did not want to work at some menial job bagging groceries, or slinging burgers, or working in of the generic retail outlets available. She had no idea what she might even study, but perhaps, she thought to herself, at least getting going at some school might give her some ideas and direction.

  With all these thoughts buzzing in her head, she turned out the light on her desk and called it a night. However, as hard as she tried, she simply could not shut off her brain and sleep was just not coming to her. The thought of having to take aptitude tests, which she had never done well on, plus a series of essays to go along with the applications seemed a significant hurdle. She tossed and turned, and just as she was about to get up and read something mindless to calm her emotions, she stopped with her hand on the light switch of the lamp next to her bed. Something about this house in Bonner Springs had been making her feel uneasy, but now in the dark of the night, she was sure that she was hearing odd noises.

  She sat unmoving for a few seconds, and sure enough, she was picking up on what sounded like the creaking of floorboards, as if someone was taking slow and measured steps around the house. Assuming it was just one of her parents, Melody eased herself from her bed and moved silently down the hall. Her parents’ room was dark, and the forms of their bodies were clearly visible in the night light. Plus, her father’s gentle and regular snores were drifting out of the room. As she turned to retreat, the subtle but distinctive sounds of a child’s laughter were filtering up from below. Jasper, she figured. But when she made her way down to his room, he was just as fast asleep as her parents had been.

  Wondering if her unease of the house was making her imagine things now, Melody just shook her head and began the few paces back to her room. But just as she reached the door, the laughter started up again. It was definitely not her imagination. And it was giving her the creeps. She moved closer to the staircase that led downward, and the laughter grew just a tad. It was only when the loud and nonstop squawking of Bertie chimed in that she threw off her trepidation and hurried to the family room. She knew her Dad was none too fond of the talkative parrot, and she did not want to give him any more reason to complain. The other odd thing was that Bertie never spoke up during the night since she had gotten him. She even made sure his cage was covered during the night to keep this from happening as she had been instructed by the pet shop owner where they had bought him.

  The closer she got to the family room, the louder and more upset Bertie sounded before uttering one final very loud cry before falling silent again. Melody flipped on the overhead light in the room and stepped to the cage to remove the light flannel cover she used to cover Bertie’s cage. She stared in utter horror as the cover fell away, seeing Bertie lying dead in the bottom of his cage in a pile of his brightly colored feathers. Melody was sure she must be seeing things and slammed her eyes shut only to see that nothing had changed when she reopened them. With tears pouring from her eyes, she let out a blood-curdling scream as she rushed to the cage and lifted the poor bird’s lifeless body to her chest. Soon both her parents as well as Jasper appeared behind her, all rudely aroused from sleep by her outburst. They looked on in disbelief as Melody cradled the limp form to her and cried like she had not since she had been a little girl. Errant feathers fluttered around her, sticking in her hair and on her T-shirt as she kneeled and mourned the death of her best friend.

  Though he had not been especially attached to the parrot, Jasper grew immediately distraught at the site, and Darby interceded and led him away from the grisly scene. She was sure this was Jasper’s first encounter with death of any kind and wanted to limit his exposure to what had just happened. Matt went to Melody’s side and kneeled next to her.

  “Can I have a look, honey?” he asked.

  With puffy red eyes, and still blubbering uncontrollably, Melody offered up the body to Matt and then knelt back into herself and shook with great sorrow and loss. Matt looked over the parrot, and though it seemed impossible, it was immediately evident that the poor thing had been squeezed to death after many of its feathers had been roughly plucked from its body. It was as upsetting a site as he had ever seen in regard to a household pet and he was baffled. For sure Bertie had not been done in at the hands of either Melody nor Jasper, which left…what? The only logical possibility was that someone else must be responsible. Had some stranger broken in and murdered the beloved bird?

  He laid the parrot down gently on the cover for his cage, laying folds of the cloth over the corpse to offer as much dignity to the situation as he could. Just then Darby returned to the family room and went to console and comfort Melody. Matt looked at her with a flash of anger in his eyes.

  “Jasper?” he asked.

  “Back in bed. He’s a bit freaked but OK for the moment.”

  “Stay with her. I’m going to have a look around the house.”

  “Someone break in?”

  Matt shrugged.

  “No other answer. Someone killed my little girl’s pet. Time to take a look.”

  “Be careful, Matt. No hero stuff, OK?”

  He nodded, but in his heart, he had no idea what he might do when he found whoever it was that had done this. Darby cradled the still sobbing Melody to her as Matt conducted a thorough search of the entire house. He found no one anywhere inside and as far as he could tell nothing else had been disturbed nor were there any signs of a window or door having been vandalized to gain entry. Matt then retrieved a flashlight and a length of pipe from some unfinished plumbing work in the kitchen and did an extensive tour around the outside of the house, including the storage shed out back. But just as he had found inside, all seemed normal. He exhaled partly in relief and partly in unresolved anger as the adrenaline drained from his system, and he returned to the family room where Melody was better, but still highly agitated.

  “Anything?” Darby asked.

  Matt just shook his head no.

  “What can you tell me, sweetheart?” Matt asked gently as he feathered back the damp hair from Melody’s face.

  She struggled to contain her tears and finally took a deep breath and spoke.

  “I heard him squawking. The way you hate, you know?”

  Matt grimaced now feeling really guilty at his comments to Darby earlier.

  “So I came down here to see what was up. To calm him down. But all I found was…”

  She fell into a new round of tears and pressed hard into Darby’s arms.

  “His cover was on? Cage locked as usual?” Matt asked.

  Melody nodded vigorously, still crying.

  “Who would do such a thing, Dad?”

  “I don’t know, honey…”

  ……….

  Darby got Melody back to her room and in bed, though she knew the impact of this event had just begun. She sat with her for a bit after telling her they would have a service for Bertie in the morning. She knew it would be painful for Melody, recalling how bad it had been for her as a child when she had lost a pet. She stroked Melody’s brow and finally doused the light when her breathing came back to normal, and it appeared as if she was falling asleep. She tiptoed down the hall and let Jasper know what would happen the next day as well.

  “How, Mom? How could this happen? Bertie wouldn’t hurt a fly…”

  “I don’t know, Jasper. We just have to make the best of it and go on, OK?”

  He nodded, but the pain in his chest sure did not feel like “making the best of it.”

  Melody listened as her mother spoke in Jasper’s room and as argumentative as she and Jasper were at times, even in the midst of her own grief and suffering, Melody was truly touched by how hard
Jasper was taking this as well. She closed her eyes as a stray tear dribbled down her cheek before nodding off from fatigue and exhaustion. Melody slept for a while—how long she was not sure—before bolting awake again as the harsh memory of the night hit her once more. But she was all cried out. However, she listened again and just as before she was sure she was hearing some odd creaks and squeaks all through the house. She tried as hard as she could to tell herself that it was just an old house settling. And that worked until the footsteps began again. She knew everyone else was asleep. And she also knew that her Dad had searched everywhere. Was she going crazy? With that in her head, Melody finally nodded off sleeping until daybreak.

  In Jasper’s Eyes

  Bonner Springs, Kansas

  August - October 2018

  Never having had pets as a kid, Matt let Darby take the lead on Bertie’s service and burial. He watched with fascination as she wrapped the parrot’s body in a rich velvet cloth and then laid him delicately in a shoebox. He was impressed that she did not make either Melody nor Jasper have to go through that procedure, but did have them be the ones to complete the actual burial and say what they needed to say during the service. He filled in Bertie’s grave and secured the small cross Melody had made as Darby, and the kids went back inside.

  “I’m very impressed, Darby. This was all new to me too,” he said later when they were alone.

  “Thanks. It goes back to my days at that age. I lost my best friend at the time, a cat we had for many years. It was heart-wrenching for me, but actually having a hand in its burial and all sure helped me through it. I hate that expression ‘closure,’ but I guess that is what it is.”

  Matt said nothing.

  “They need to see that life is a circle. That nothing lasts forever. Good life lesson, even as hard as it was. Especially on Melody.”

  Matt kissed her on top of the head and headed off to work on a new book he had begun just before all of the furor over Bertie had hit the fan. Another month or so went by, and little by little, the kids fell back into a routine. Jasper had been enrolled in school and was focused on what the new classes and his new friends would be like now that he would be seeing them on a daily basis. Melody was still hurting from the inexplicable demise of Bertie…Matt had never been able to figure out just what had happened. Both he and Darby were concerned for her, anxious that this might send her into a real tailspin on top of her already bleak mood. But as kids often do, Melody surprised them one day announcing she was enrolling at Pratt Community College near Topeka.