The Haunting of Briarsville Orphanage

by Hope Jameson

  Around her neck hung a heart shaped necklace, a locket. Inside the locket were some of her adoptive grandmother’s ashes. It lay close to her heart because Bub had been a very special influence. She reached up and wrapped her fingers around the locket as she drove towards Briarsville.

  Jill was only just growing into her beauty. She had long ginger hair and freckles across her nose. As a young child, the freckles had covered all of her face and arms, but these had begun to disappear as she got into her late teenage years. She pushed her hair behind her ear as she drove.

  She shifted herself and looked in the rear-view mirror, her bright blue eyes stared back. She blinked at herself a few times and took her concentration back to the road. People were drawn to her eyes, they looked like the clear, cool blue of a mountain lake. Wherever she went, and whoever she met, they always stared a little longer into her eyes than with the average person.

  Jill knew she could bewitch people with her eyes, and from a young age she figured out how to wrap the adults in her life around her finger. This grew more difficult with time, but she was still able to push people in the right direction, all with a steady gaze.

  For a few years as a child she’d wondered if she were in fact a witch. This notion finally disappeared when she found that she’d absolutely no powers, cats didn’t like her, and holding a broom seemed awkward and wrong. She laughed out loud remembering the day Bub had caught her trying to make a broom fly.

  “What in this huge, wide world are you doing, Jill?” The confused look on Bub’s face had made Jill stop what she was doing. The broom clattered to the floor as she put her hand on her hips and looked at the woman.

  “I’m trying to get this broom to fly me out to the yard. I should be able to do that, I think. But I think this is the wrong kind of broom. It won’t do what I say.”

  Bub had looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “You think you can fly on a broom? Why would you think such nonsense?”

  “Because I’m a witch, Bub. I’m pretty sure I am, anyway. I read that witches ride brooms, so I should be able to get this one to take me.”

  “Jill, dear. You are not a witch. There is no such thing. It’s only make believe.”

  She had no idea why her adoptive grandmother had given her so much money. She knew Bub had no children or grandchildren, but she did have two nephews and each of them had children of their own. They’d visited once or twice, but all Bub’s family still lived in Poland.

  The orphanage was equally as puzzling. Jill knew that Bub loved children, and wanted to help people as much as she could, and this was helping, in a way. Maybe? Well, it was a building that did help children in the past, but there were other ways, better ways, that the money could be spent to help people.

  Bub must have had other reasons for this. Maybe she worked here, maybe she knew a child who went here and heard her story. Jill was sure that if it was a big part of Bub’s life, she’d have heard about it. Possibly, she just had a soft spot for the building and what it had once been.

  Jill sat in the car and enjoyed the mystery, sometimes the answer to a puzzle is mundane and boring. If you don’t have an answer, then your imagination can run wild and the answer can be scandalous or amazing. Jill’s imagination reeled with possibilities.

  The sun was beginning to set as Jill got close to the orphanage. She knew the sun would hang low in the sky for quite a while, basking everything in a soft orange glow. She liked to think of that glow as the gateway between the light drenched world and the dark covered one, the time when anything seemed possible, if you wanted it.

  Jill could see the building silhouetted against the blue sky in front of her. But when she looked in the rear-view mirror to see the purple and orange sky behind her, she could see night was approaching. She loved the shift in views, flicking her eyes from the rear-view mirror to the world in front of her. Back and forth she went, from blue sky, to purple.

  The building looked dark in the fading light. It grew larger and larger as she approached. She had seen picture of the exterior, but to see it in person was to see how grand the building once had been. As she drew up to the front gate she was astounded at the building, which she was now the proud owner of.

  She sat in the car for a few minutes and just stared at the building. The stonework looked surprisingly clean and crisp. She’d been told that the stonework was cleaned years ago as part of a rejuvenation project, but funds had run out, or something had put a stop to the work. So many buildings now lay empty due to lack of funds, or lack of interest.

  Jill got out of the car and breathed in the crisp evening air. She walked up the long drive, longing to stretch her legs after the car ride. Leaving her car by the main gate, instead of driving all the way up, she set out towards the building. She could feel the gravel under her feet, crunching with each step.

  When she got to the front door, it was locked, as she’d expected. She had the key and she took it out, holding it ceremonially in her palm. It was heavy. Large and made of brass. Not a modern key, but the old kind – long, solid, well used.

  When she’d bought the building, the agent at closing had given Jill a big ring of keys, all old. But the front door key had been on a separate ring. Not sure that was significant or not, she kept them separate since the front door key was so much bigger than the others. For some reason she didn’t really understand, she liked the oversized brass key with the nicks and tarnish. It had character. Just like Bub.

  On her walk up to the building she’d noticed that some of the windows were just empty holes, making the key unnecessary. For some reason she expected that the locked door still kept people out, even with numerous ways of getting in. Maybe it was wishful thinking or possibly she’d too much faith in people.

  She put the key in the lock and could hear the rasp of metal on metal as she turned it. It took a little bit of force to turn it all the way and she made a mental note to oil the lock at some point. The door creaked as she opened it and Jill felt as if she were in the middle of a ghost story. She was sure that the floors would creak too and the wind would howl through the building. Remembering ghost stories around a campfire as a child, she loved this feeling as she entered the abandoned building..

  She walked around the ground floor. There had been some work done on the skeleton of the building, but there was a lot of cosmetic touch ups to be done. She almost lost herself as she walked from room to room, basking in the size of the place.

  She imagined living here, each room a different theme, perhaps she could open a bed and breakfast, or turn it into apartments and rent them out. Her dreaming took her well out of her budget.

  The only stipulation in the will was to make use of the building—Bub hadn’t specified that she’d to make it an orphanage again. She thanked Bub silently once again since she’d no idea what sort of regulations would be involved. She also didn’t want to turn the building over to the government to run.

  Jill was certain that once she’d finished with the renovations, she could sell the place and go back to her career if she wanted. She’d just need to do the research to decide what sort of renovations would add the most value. Knowing she’d a little time before a hard decision had to be made, she let her imagination roam.

  She found many sets of stairs, but each one as blocked off with the same printed report stapled to the temporary wall. It told Jill that the upstairs was too dangerous and was sealed off until it could be inspected and a crew could come in and make it safe. That would be her first main task, to get the upper floors unsealed.

  She was approaching one of the windows when she heard a sound, something being knocked over. The faint peal of laughter echoed lightly from the back of the building. It was a definitely the carefree glee of child, or at least someone young. This building must attract lots of kids. It’s definitely the sort of place they’d seek out to play hide and seek.

  Jill began to walk towards the sound. “Hello? Hello? You know it’s not safe to be in here. Hello?”

&nb
sp; As she rounded a corner, she saw a little girl playing at the end of the hallway. The girl didn’t even look up.

  “Hello? Hey, what’s your name?” Jill raised her voice to get the girls attention, but the girl still didn’t respond.

  Jill continued to walk to the girl. Something seemed off, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. “Hello! Please! Tell me your name.”

  Finally, the little girl looked up and her eyes locked on Jill’s. Jill smiled at the girl, though the smile was a little unsteady. She wasn’t sure what was going on. The girl wasn’t very old to be in an abandoned building alone.

  “Are you here with your brother? Sister? You’re not in trouble, I just want to make sure you’re safe. This is a dangerous place. Even I’m not allowed to go upstairs.” Jill smiled at the little girl again, who stood still staring back at her.

  “Not allowed to talk to strangers? I suppose your mama taught you well.” Jill stood still looking at the girl who stood looking back at her.

  Jill was getting uncomfortable with the odd stand off. Finally, the girl shook her head and Jill was sure that she saw the hint of a smile.

  The wind picked up pace and began to howl in through the broken glass of the two windows beside them. One of the notices on the temporary wall began to flutter and the top half came loose, flapping in the wind. Jill turned and placed her palm over it before it could be torn from the wall. She heard the sound of footsteps and turned back around.

  “Hey! I told you it’s not safe in here! Don’t go further into the building! Please come back and I’ll help you get out and get home!” Jill’s pleas went unheeded as she ran after the retreating footsteps.

  She turned the corner, but the little girl was gone. Jill stood and listened as the wind calmed down. She thought it odd that a wind gust had even blown through. The air outside had been quiet when she’d arrived. There was no rain in the forecast. There was no reason for the wind to kick up.

  She stood listening for sounds of children playing or more footsteps, but she heard nothing but stillness and quiet.

  She walked around for a while searching for the girl or signs that children had been around, but there wasn’thing to indicate this was anything but a lonely old abandoned building. Sighing in frustration, she walked back to the front entry and locked the door behind her.

  Walking to her car, she threw the key up into the air and caught it when it came back down. It felt like a toy or a prop from a movie. She looked back at the old orphanage she now owned. “Where did you go, little girl? And how did you get away so fast?”

  Shaking her head, she turned and got into her car. Driving away, she took one last look in the rear-view mirror. The view was different than when she’d arrived. The darkened building was the view now. The moon was starting to rise in the sky and it shed an almost eerie bluish light all around the place.

  Jill tore her eyes away and looked forward thinking about the bed and breakfast she’d booked a few days ago. She hoped the bed was comfortable because she was exhausted.

  3

  Jill woke to the sound of birds chirping from outside her window. The bed and breakfast was very quaint and cozy and she liked the homey comfort of her room. The woman who the place seemed a little quirky and that added to its charm.

  She had slept like a log after the drive and tour of the orphanage. The bed had been extremely comfortable, something which she hadn’t been expecting. Usually she didn’t sleep very well away from her own bed, but this one was almost more comfortable than her bed at home. This was a good thing, since it would be her bed during the renovations of the orphanage. She had no idea how long that would take.

  The twinkling sounds from her phone woke her with a start. “What time did I set that for? I can’t believe I slept long enough for that to go off.” Mumbling to herself, she sat up and tried to get her eyes open. She had the option of a wake up call from Suzie, the owner, but had opted to use only the alarm on her phone thinking she’d wake well before it went off. She may need to change that strategy if this project got too tiring.

  After a quick shower, she got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. Suzie was in the little dining room and walked straight over and gave Jill a hug. Jill hugged her back albeit a little awkwardly. The overly familiar behavior wasn’t something that she was used to, but she accepted it as small town friendliness and vowed to embrace it.

  Jill sat down for a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and home fried potatoes. Fresh fruit was piled into a bowl beside her plate. The toast was wholegrain and the butter and eggs were fresh from the local farm, so Suzie said when she’d placed her breakfast in front of her. Jill could certainly taste the quality of the food.

  She briefly considered it might be a good idea to move into the bed and breakfast permanently. Food like this was hard to come by at her place since she didn’t cook very much. She wiped the side of her mouth with a cloth napkin as Suzie came by to check on her. The woman placed her hand on Jill’s shoulder and then stepped back to look at her.

  “All the dairy products I use are from one of the local farms. It’s just outside of town. The Barkleys own and run it. It’s been in their family for at least three generations.”

  “Well, breakfast was wonderful. You’re a good cook and I’m sure it helps to have such quality products just down the road.” Jill smiled over at the woman trying to not feel uneasy with her personal space being invaded.

  “You should let me read you sometime.” Suzie smiled and nodded then tilted her head waiting on a response.

  “I should what?” Jill raised an eyebrow in confusion.

  “I should read your being with the cards.” Suzie’s smile didn’t fade.

  “My being?” asked Jill, becoming more confused.

  “Oh, you may know it as your fortune, but I don’t like to use that word. It could be fortune, it could be fate, but really you’re finding out about yourself. I like to call it your being. I’ve read many people, no one has been disappointed, in the end.”

  Jill looked at Suzie with alarm. She tried to keep her shock at bay, but she didn’t think she did a good job of that.

  “Oh, my! I didn’t mean it that way!” Suzie giggled and hurried to explain further. “I didn’t mean ‘in the end’, like people I read have died or anything. I mean when they go away and see their life play out, they see that the cards don’t lie. It may help your journey through life.”

  Jill shook her head in disbelief. Discussing the local butter and tarot cards was a combination she never expected to have in the same conversation. She was just a little in shock, but she tried to continue just to be sociable.

  “Maybe. Um, I don’t have time today, but maybe one morning when I am a little less busy.”

  Once she’d had a second to think about it, she thought there wouldn’t be any harm. So, she was genuine in her response. She didn’t necessarily believe in stuff like that, but she figured it might actually be fun.

  “Sounds good, hon. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here.”

  “Okay. I will. Well, I need to be on my way. Big day today. Thanks for the delicious breakfast, Suzie. Hope you have a great day.” Jill waved as she left the dining room and headed back to her room to get her jacket and her bag.

  Before her trip to Briarsville, Jill set up some interviews and walk-throughs with two local contractors to see if one of them might be a good fit to work with her on the renovation. From the plans she’d seen and the photos, it was obvious – even to a novice her – that this was going to be a big job.

  Both contractors she’d called knew of the orphanage and had at least a general idea of the magnitude of work that would be required. One of them had even worked with the previous contractor who had started the work before the money ran out on the prior renovation effort.

  Jill was meeting both of them at the orphanage for a tour and to discuss plans and budgets. From there, she would hire one of them and work could begin.

  On her drive back to
the orphanage, she thought about the little girl she’d seen in the building last night. She wondered if she’d be there again or if possibly more kids would show up today. She hoped not since a burned out building less than halfway renovated was no place for kids to be hanging out.

  She hadn’t expected to see anyone there, but finding a little girl all alone was a little unnerving. She wondered why a child that young was out on her own at just about dinner time. She had to admit that the girl was cute and it reminded her that even though it was hard to see now, the place could eventually be a home. If that’s the way she decided to go with the renovation plans, of course.

  Before she got too caught up in the romanticized thoughts of building a haven for children, she reminded herself that this was a for profit endeavor. She wasn’t doing this for charity – she wanted and needed to make money on whatever this placed turned out to be after all was said and done. She couldn’t help but chuckle at the fleeting thought of a gaggle of kids playing hide and seek with the contractors. What a bad idea that would be, in so many ways!

  The first contractor was there when she arrived. After a few introductions and formalities, they quickly got down to business. After walking through the building’s bottom floor, they laid out the blueprints Jill had brought to review.

  “We can make the place stable before we know what you’re going to do with the property, but it’ll save you some money to make that decision before we start work.” Joe Booker, the project engineer, nodded with a bit of a frown.

  “How much money?” Jill bit her bottom lip as she waited on the answer.