To Paul, the house was perfect in every way. It was even bigger than the house they lived in now and had more land. His mind raced with renovation possibilities. He had been laid off eight months earlier, and although he managed to keep afloat with odd jobs his savings had dried up and it was time for some hard decisions. All Paul wanted in this world was to make his family happy. He never realized his world could fall apart, and all it had taken was eight months.
They made their way back downstairs and outside. Walking over to the truck, Ray climbed in. Paul took one last look at his future home. He smiled and nodded—he had found hope. As they began the two-hour drive back to Paul’s house, Ray, not being one to beat around the bush, dove right into business. “Okay, now here’s the deal: you can move in right away—it will save you some money. You can have the house for two years rent free, but everything in the house needs to be painted, floors need to get refinished, ceilings painted, the whole shebang. After two years, we can sell the house and split the profit fifty-fifty, or you can buy me out for, let’s say, one hundred thousand dollars. If you decide to keep it, I’ll even take it in monthly payments of a thousand dollars. What do you say?”
Nodding his head in agreement, a big smile appeared on Paul’s face as he extended his hand. “You got yourself a deal,” said Paul. Feeling like he was on cloud nine, he started to daydream of his happy family excited to see their new house. He hadn’t felt like a hero in a very long time. Their lives were going to be different now. During the past eight months Paul had lost his job, his home, and his faith. He had been beaten down by bills. Now he could tell them with certainty that everything was going to be all right. It was bigger than any gift he could have imagined.
Chapter Three
The Move
A car filled with giggles of excitement and anticipation made its way up the driveway. The day had finally come—the big move! Sam glowed with excitement; she had waited two weeks and worked tirelessly to get the house packed. All the nights up packing ‘til two in the morning were finally paying off. “Look at that girls… it’s beautiful,” said Sam, in awe of the enormous house. Paul smiled proudly, watching his gleaming wife dote over her new palace. “Girls, look—a pond,” said Sam. “We can go swimming and fishing. There’s plenty of room for a garden.”
She peered through the windshield at the house. “Paul—is someone there?” she said.
“There shouldn’t be… where?” replied Paul, looking at every window.
“Upstairs in the window—right there,” said Sam, pointing to the upstairs bedroom.
“Ray had been up there and he opened all the windows to air out the house,” replied Paul. “All I can see is the curtains blowing in the breeze.”
“I thought I saw someone,” said Sam.
“Well, I think the move has finally gotten to you,” laughed Paul as Sam smiled and pushed his shoulder.
“Ha ha, very funny…very funny,” said Sam.
Paul parked in front of the garage. “The pond borders the back yard and connects by a creek down in the woods to the pond across the street,” he said, pointing out the sheer beauty of the property. He wanted to take a moment to appreciate the new house. The girls, however, had something different in mind. Being cooped up in the car for two hours and wondering about their new house had caused excitement that could no longer be contained. Bursting out of the car, they ran to the house, through the unlocked front door, and up the front stairs.
“I want to pick out my room!” said Emily, the oldest daughter, who had just turned eleven.
“Girls wait for me! I…,” Sam tried to get out more than a few words while getting out of the car but gave up.
“It’s all right, they’re excited—let them go,” said Paul.
Sam opened the back door of the car and unbuckled the baby seat. “Hi, sweet boy, did you have a good trip?” she said as she picked up her two-year-old baby boy Jack. Jack giggled with delight. Such a happy baby, it was rare for him to make a fuss about anything. After raising two girls, Sam was amazed at how well Jack handled life.
Sam could hear the excited footsteps of the girls racing upstairs. They had waited weeks to see the new house, and hearing all the wonderful things their dad had told them brought on feelings of adventure. After six years of sharing a room they were both ready for some much needed space.
Sam and Paul started walking towards the front door. Suddenly they heard a scream from the upstairs bedroom. Running into the house and up the stairs, Paul and Sam rushed with worry. “Girls...girls?” they both yelled.
Paul entered the first bedroom. The girls were standing over a dead raccoon, staring at it with amazement and disgust.
“Eww, that’s so gross,” said Emily.
“Daddy, what happened to him?” said Lily.
“I don’t know, girls; maybe he was trapped in here without food or water,” said Paul.
Sam walked over to the window looking out. “But Paul, the window’s open. Why didn’t he just leave?”
“I don’t know,” replied Paul. “Maybe something was wrong with him.”
“Daddy, he stinks,” said Lily, the middle child, who had just turned six years old.
“It’s okay, girls—go downstairs while I clean up this mess,” said Paul.
“I don’t want this room,” announced Emily. “It smells.”
“This is our room, girls,” said Paul. “You’ll each have one of the smaller bedrooms.”
“Come on girls, lots to unpack,” said Sam, seeing the moving truck pulling into the driveway.
Sam went downstairs and outside to the car. She pulled a cat carrier out of the rear of the car and handed it to Lily. “Lily, here’s Buttercream. Take him upstairs for now and don’t let him out ‘til we’re finished unpacking.”
Emily walked up to Lily and grabbed the cat carrier. It was obvious Lily needed help carrying the heavy box upstairs. Sam then opened the larger crate that held the dog. “Hello, Kingston! Did you have a good trip?” she said, running her hands over his head and kissing his snout. A very lazy Rottweiler, tired from his long journey, stretched and yawned as he exited the crate. Sam took him over to a tree and tied his long rope to a branch. “You’ll be better off here while we unload,” she said as she scratched his ears.
Paul walked over and looked into Sam’s beautiful hazel eyes. “This is going to be the start of something big,” he said.
Sam smiled as Paul pulled her in. “We already have something big—this is just icing on the cake,” she said as Paul gave her a long kiss.
“Ewww!” the girls both yelled from the upstairs window in protest.
Their new house was going to be a fresh start and every member of the family felt hopeful.
Chapter Four
Meet Edgar
Early next morning, the house was busy with breakfast preparation. With so much that needed to be done, Sam had barely slept. The only sleep she had found was interrupted by a vivid nightmare that had kept her up the rest of the night. But being tired today wasn’t an option—there was too much to do. She went over the day’s plan with Paul. “I need to start unpacking the kitchen, then the bedrooms,” she said, rubbing her face and letting out a yawn.
“Ok,” replied Paul. “I’m going to fix the upstairs railing before someone gets hurt. It’s not going to be pretty—I’m going to do a quick fix for safety so I can get started on the pantry. We can re-make the whole railing when I put in the new stairs.”
After they had finished breakfast, Emily cleared the table. “Emily, can you watch Jack for me today so I can focus on the house?” said Sam.
“Sure,” replied Emily. “Lily and I can take him outside for a while.” Sam knew Emily would much rather watch Jack then unpack.
“Thank you sweetie, and let the unpacking begin!” said Sam, pouring another cup of coffee. Everyone went their separate ways.
It was a beautiful day. The girls were outside with Jack, and they were walking Kingston around the yard. “Lily, l
et’s see where that path leads,” said Emily. There was a dirt path that started a few steps into the woods. The woods were thick on each side of the house and the girls had plenty of room for exploration.
“Maybe we should ask Mom,” said Lily.
“It’s fine,” replied her sister. “Mom just wants us out of the house for a while and we won’t go far.”
Emily picked up Jack and headed into the woods with Lily and Kingston in tow. They walked for about ten minutes before reaching the creek. It was pretty, about fifteen feet wide, and it ran through the woods and connected the two ponds. Over the creek there was an old bridge made of three logs that had been tied together. Emily put Jack down. “Hold his hand,” she said to Lily in her big-sister voice.
“What are you going to do?” asked Lily, knowing her adventurous sibling.
Without responding, Emily jumped onto the bridge and started walking across.
“Emily, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” protested Lily. “Mom and dad would be mad if they saw you playing on the bridge.”
“Mom and dad aren’t going to find out, are they?” Emily said in a strict tone as she looked back at Lily. Kingston put his front paws on the end of the bridge and whined.
Emily suddenly jumped, startled by the creaking snap of branches behind her. She looked into the woods on the other side of the bridge. Kingston let out a few barks of disapproval. She thought she saw someone passing behind the trees. Frightened, she turned and ran back across the bridge, and then, picking up Jack, she started to run back to the house.
“Emily, wait up—I’m coming!” shouted Lily.
Sam was in the kitchen on her stepstool stocking the cupboards, while Paul was in the garage cutting up boards to fix the railing and make new shelves for the pantry. Life seemed in full swing again. Sam got down and walked around the dining room looking at her new home. Trying to take it all in,she still couldn’t believe they had been so lucky. On the table in the dining room therewas an old checkerboard. The checkerswere all set up waiting for the next game. She picked up the old board, carefully sliding the checkers off. It was covered in dust and she blew it off, checking it over carefully, curious as to its story. Next to the board were a shot glass and an empty bottle of whisky. Must have been an interesting game, she thought, walking over to the drawers that were built into the wall. She pulled and pulled at the bottom drawer but it was stuck. “Paul’s going to have his work cut out for him,” she said, tugging a few more times trying to loosen it. Letting out a sigh, she stood up, pulled at the top drawer—which opened easily—and put the board inside. Picking up all the game pieces,she dropped them into the drawer on top of the board.
Her mind filled with ideas for the bottle and shot glass. She loved to reuse old things for decorating and her crafts. She carried the glass and bottle into the kitchen and placed them in the sink. Time to start opening more boxes, she thought. There were a couple of boxes without labels, which seemed like a good place to start. The first box revealed a few sets of Christmas lights. The second box had ornaments for the tree. “Should I put these in the garage?” said Sam, holding up an ornament to show Paul.
“No, I really want to keep the garage for my restoration stuff and tools,” replied Paul, knowing very well that once stuff started going into the garage it would fill quickly, and he didn’t want to lose his planned workspace.
Sam nodded her head. “Ok, you’re right—after all, we’re going to need room in there for all my craft boxes,” she laughed as Paul’s eyebrows raised.
“Umm…,” Paul said, trying to come up with a response that could save his garage from being overtaken.
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay out of the garage,” said Sam playfully. Paul smiled in relief. “I wanted to make the dining room into a craft area anyway. You’re just going to have to make me some shelves,” she said as she walked away with the Christmas boxes.
Shaking his head, Paul watched her go into the dining room. “Now I’m making craft shelves,” said Paul to himself, knowing very well he had just been deceived into another project.
“What?” called Sam from the other room. “I didn’t hear you.”
“Nothing,” said Paul, biting his lip and trying not to laugh.
Sam made her way up the stairs. She paused at the top, looking around on the ceiling for an attic door. Not finding what she wanted, she searched through the rooms one by one. “How on earth am I supposed to get into the attic?” she whispered to herself. She opened the bathroom closet and put the box on the shelf. Stepping back, she spotted a hatch at the top of the closet. “There you are,” she said, starting to climb up the shelves to reach the panel above her head. The panel was supported by four boards connected in a square. It felt cold, and it squeaked when she pushed it up. Dust drifted down from all sides. She gazed up into the opening. It was pitch black, with a musty smell from being shut up for so long and not well ventilated.
The panel tipped back, and from the darkness two eyes stared down at her.
“Aahhhhhhh!” Sam screamed and fell from the shelves onto the bathroom floor. The panel fell shut again. She covered her mouth and almost in tears when Paul came flying upstairs and around the corner.
“What happened? What is it?” said Paul, kneeling down to her.
She looked up to the ceiling of the closet and pointed to the attic panel. “There’s someone in the attic! I saw him,” she insisted.
Paul peered at the ceiling while he helped Sam to her feet. He gently pressed his hand to her stomach, signaling her to back up away from the closet. Leaning towards the wall, he grabbed the broom and slowly approached the closet. Listening for any movement, he raised the broom to the panel. Pushing the panel up until it flipped back and away, Sam again felt uneasy and grabbed the soap dish.
“If there’s anyone up there, you better come out! I have a gun and I have no problem using it!” Paul said loudly with his intimidation voice. All Sam could hear was the kids outside playing in the yard. Paul looked over at Sam. “Are you sure you saw someone?” he said.
“I opened the panel and there were two eyes staring back at me and I lost my balance,” replied Sam, annoyed at not being believed.
“Could it have been another raccoon?” said Paul.
“I’m pretty sure it was a person,” she replied. “Go ahead—look for yourself.”
Paul turned back to the closet and took a deep breath. He climbed the shelves up to the top and slowly peeked over the edge. Reaching up to a dangling cord, he pulled it and the light turned on. He saw a low unfinished space with a few chairs and some clothes covered with a thick layer of dust. He climbed up further until he was sitting on the edge of the hatch. He could feel the heat of the attic fighting with the cool air of the bathroom. “Your right, Sam, there is someone up here,” he called down through the hatch.
“Should I call the police?” said Sam ready to run for the bedroom phone.
Paul tossed down what looked like a small body. It landed at her feet. Sam knelt down and picked up the old scarecrow dressed in farmer’s overalls. The face, with its glass eyes, had been crudely stitched together. His material was covered in soot and faded. Someone had taken the time to stich real looking black hair sporadically on its head
“You can call the cops, but I don’t think he’s talking,” said Paul, giggling at Sam.
“Creepy,” said Sam as she sighed, shaking her head. She knew Paul was going to remind her about this for some time.
“Our uninvited guest has overstayed his welcome, and for this he shall be sent into exile,” said Paul with a smile as he descended from the closet. “Come Edgar, to the garage with you.” He was quite pleased that he had rescued his wife from the scarecrow.
“Edgar?” asked Sam.
“Yes, he reminds me of Edgar,” said Paul lifting up the decrepit decoration.
“Ahh, the creepy gas station guy from home,” said Sam.
“Yes—I shall call him Edgar,” said Paul. As Paul started down t
he stairs with Edgar tucked under his arm, the girls were running into the house with Kingston.
“Cool—a scarecrow,” said Emily.
“Yes, girls,” said Paul. “Meet Edgar, who, after scaring your mother, will now reside in the garage.” Paul went into the garage and sat Edgar up on the workbench. Stopping to take a good look at his newfound friend, he could barely stomach him. “You are hideous aren’t you?,” he said as he looked into the cold glass eyes of the old dirty scarecrow.
Paul went into the house and back to the kitchen.
The door to the basement was wide open. “Girls?” He heard a noise like something was moving about. “Kingston? Are you down there? Come here, boy.” He looked up through the kitchen window to see the girls in the back yard walking Kingston around toward the pond. “Hmm,” he said heading down into the dark basement. The light switched at the bottom of the stairs snapped on loudly as eight dim light bulbs came on, leading him through the basement. The noise came again, this time like fingernails scraping on a blackboard. Paul walked through the basement past the boiler to a circular stone well covered with a thick round piece of wood. He put his ear down against the piece of wood, listening for the sound. It came again—a loud scraping that startled Paul and made him jump back and fall onto the cold dirt of the basement floor. He stood up, brushed his pants off, and listened again. “Probably just rats,” he said to himself.
He jumped feeling two hands grab him from behind. He twisted to see Sam smiling at him.
“Looks like somebody else is awful jumpy,” she said. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, honey,” replied Paul, fumbling around. “Just looking for a shovel.”
“One day you’ll be a better liar, but not today, Mr. Bolton, not today,” Sam said as she walked up the basement stairs.
Chapter Five
Welcome to the Neighborhood
The next morning everyone met downstairs for family breakfast. A normally cheery Sam was moping around the kitchen.
The House on Hayden Pond Page 2