L01-03. Lantern

by Chess Desalls

  Tori could almost hear her goose bumps forming in the silence.

  Well, there’s no one here, and this light isn’t helping me find the house. She turned to go back in the direction she’d come. Back to the Better Route plan. When she turned, the light glowed brighter. She looked back, shielding her eyes. “Did you do that, Lantern?”

  The light dimmed.

  Her shoulders tensed. She dragged one foot along the ground, slowly, as if she planned to turn back again.

  Gently, the light brightened.

  She frowned. Her hands balled into fists. “I don’t know what’s going on here. But if someone’s playing games with me, that someone’s going to get it. Halloween’s just a few days away, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve too. Don’t think I won’t use them,” she said, her voice pinched.

  The light dimmed.

  “Ugh.” Tori rolled her eyes at herself. Maybe it’s a faulty bulb? I must look like a complete idiot. Regardless, she closed her eyes as she turned around—the whole way this time. She took a few large steps before opening them again.

  Light from the lantern behind her flashed on and off. Repeatedly, as if panicked. Each pulse of light casted a yellow-orange glow across the fog that had spread out in front of her.

  Unsure of what was happening and too terrified to scream, Tori bolted along the path, away from the lantern and the light.

  Three mugs of hot chocolate and a pile of blankets weren’t enough to chase away the chills.

  “Tori, baby, tell us what happened.”

  “Like I said, I got lost. It was stupid.” She wrapped her arms more tightly around her knees.

  “But you’re still shivering, hon. Did you run into anyone out there?” Tori’s mother hovered, wide-eyed with fear. Her dark hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, heightening the effect. “Someone didn’t hurt you or touch you, did they?”

  “No, nothing like that. I’m fine, nothing’s molested or broken. Really, Mom. I just—I was out there for too long and it took me a while to get back. No one hurt me. Grandma’s property—it’s a lot bigger than I thought. I should have turned around sooner.”

  “Okay, baby, it sounds like you had quite the scare. I won’t make you relive it over again.”

  Tori grasped her mother’s hand where it lightly rubbed her shoulder. “Thanks, Mom. Love you.”

  “Love you too, baby. I’m going up to bed now. You sure you’re going to be all right?”

  “Yes, I’ll be up soon. I’ll just clean this up for Grandma, and then I’ll try to get some sleep.”

  After setting aside the blankets and folding them into tidy squares, Tori headed to the kitchen with her mug. She dipped it in warm, soapy water to dissolve the worst of the sticky chocolate. Squinting, she looked out the window before loading the mug into the dishwasher.

  It was dark outside, but there was a fleck of light that looked out of place. Tori shook her head, trying to rid the image from her mind, but she couldn’t help wondering whether it was Lantern. From the safety of the kitchen, the light didn’t look so bad; it looked lonely.

  “Sleep,” she grumped. “That’s all I need right now. The question is whether or not I’ll get any.”

  Tori glanced out the window one last time before turning away to get ready for bed.

  She fell asleep that night, not knowing that after she’d left the kitchen, the light in the distance flashed on and off repeatedly before it burned out.

  Chapter 3

  Four Days before Halloween

  Marshmallows floated inside a mug cupped between Tori’s hands.

  Tori’s grandmother wrinkled her nose. “Honestly, I don’t know how you drink your coffee that way.”

  “It’s better than straight marshmallows for breakfast.” Tori winked, pointing to Kimmy, whose mouth and hands were stuffed with white, fluffy goodness. “Speaking of—” she added, wiping her brother’s mouth with the closest napkin she could find. She grinned. The napkin was covered in purple bats. Unable to think of how to imitate a bat sound so she could entertain Kimmy, she turned back to her grandmother. “Mom and Dad will be up soon. They won’t be excited about his sugar rush.”

  “Pfft! I get to see you two for a few days at a time, and I will spend every moment of it spoiling you. The boy’s a ball of energy—he’ll burn it off in five minutes.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about.” Tori exhaled out of the side of her mouth. “So,” she said, changing the subject, “do you know that you have a lantern on your property, out in the middle of nowhere?”

  Her grandmother’s eyes narrowed. “You walked that far? No wonder you were upset when you returned last night. That’s nowhere near the gardens.”

  Despite the warmth of her grandmother’s kitchen, which included a stove, a fireplace, and a healthy dose of central heating, Tori shuddered, remembering. “I wasn’t sure I would make it back. I searched for a light, hoping it would lead me back to your house. I hadn’t realized the lantern was so far away.”

  Tori’s grandmother paled, her wizened eyes staring intently at her granddaughter. “As far as I’ve known, that old lantern has never worked. I wanted to find a bulb for it years ago, but my groundskeeper said there was no use—that it was too old. Are you telling me the lantern was lit?”

  Heartbeats pulsed in Tori’s ears. “Yes. It even got brighter at one point...” Then flashed like a maniac appliance. What are you, Lantern?

  Frowning, Tori’s grandmother rose from the table and started gathering empty plates. Her lips pursed. “After all this time...” She fumbled, startled when Tori’s parents entered the room. A plastic cup fell to the ground and bounced.

  “Kimmy!” said Tori’s mother, grabbing the half-empty bag of marshmallows. She glared at her mother-in-law, and then at Tori, who pretended to be interested in her mixture of coffee and melty marshmallows, wishing they’d melt together faster before her mother noticed them in her mug.

  “Good morning, Mother,” said Tori’s father as he kissed the ruffled woman on the cheek. He smirked, dodging the daggers in his wife’s eyes. “What’s wrong?” His smirk faded; he’d expected his mother to crack a joke about her privilege and right to spoil her grandchildren, but instead, she was lost in thought.

  Finally, she sucked in a breath. “Carl, do you remember that old lantern—the one past the gardens?”

  “Sure do, one of the few glass objects around here that I didn’t manage to break as a kid. Did you finally replace it with something that sheds light?” He smirked, amused at his play on words.

  “No, it just so happens that the lantern started to work all on its own, last night when Tori was outside talking her walk.”

  “Isn’t that something?” he said, mussing up Tori’s hair. “Is that what your fright was about? No Halloween monsters?”

  “At the time—yes, it was scary. Now, though, it seems silly. Don’t worry about it. Maybe it was a prank.” Maybe some lowlife was out there shining a flashlight through the lantern. That would make sense. Suddenly feeling stupid, Tori downed the rest of her coffee. She absolutely needed to inspect the lantern further. First, during daylight, and then later at night. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

  “I want to learn more about it,” said Tori’s grandmother, echoing her thoughts. “And don’t tease the girl. I’ll remind you there are plenty of embarrassing stories I can pass on to your children about you, Carl.”

  Tori’s father laughed. He scooped Kimmy up in his arms. “You can’t have anything on me any worse than what Megan already knows,” he said, grinning at his wife. This was met with eye rolls from Tori and her mother.

  “So, can I go back out there to inspect the lantern?” Tori uncurled her fingers from her chair’s armrests. Her voice was strained. “Can I take a look at it now while there’s still light?”

  “Of course, baby. It sounds like quite the mystery.”

  Tori moistened her lips.

  “What are you waiting for, hon
?”

  Leaves crackled underfoot as Tori walked through the gardens, searching for a landmark that led to the broken path—the one covered in weeds and crabgrass. She hadn’t found the courage to go exploring again until after lunch, a game of cards with her grandmother, and an argument with herself over her own ridiculousness.

  A rustle of leaves and branches made her jump. Her hand leaped to her chest as she caught a glimpse of a blue jay darting out of a bush. A bird, just a bird—he probably just found something to eat. She inhaled a slow breath. I must really be jumpy. It’s no big deal—just a lantern. Get a grip already.

  She traced her steps as well as she could remember from the night before. The lantern seemed less visible in the daylight. But it had to be somewhere. Her grandmother had known about the lantern and so did her father. Tori felt better to the extent that she knew she wasn’t making the whole thing up. When she closed her eyes, she could remember exactly how the light brightened and dimmed. She tried not to think about how the light also flashed. Had it happened to someone else, she might have considered it to be a great trick, one she’d like to try some day. But, right now, it wasn’t funny.

  Tori wandered, hiking along as many paths as she could find and stopping when she found one covered in weeds. Is this it? She peered across the grasses and shrubs in front of her. The overgrown path led toward the woods that surrounded her grandmother’s property, but she didn’t see a lantern hanging from a pole.

  She stepped forward, and then walked faster until she followed a bend on the path that opened into a clearing. The lantern swayed from its pole as if waving to the trees behind it. The top of the pole curved downward, and then up again, forming a hook. Both the pole and the handle that hung from the hook were made of a dark, wrought iron.

  Lantern, there you are. Tori’s eyes reached the middle of the glass globe. Judging from the height of the pole, she would have been able to grasp the lantern’s handle with ease. She gripped the sides of the globe with her hands and frowned. She couldn’t see inside. The glass was clear but clouded with condensation. Her hands remained dry, even though they’d come in contact with the glass. She let go, and then, with two fingertips, trailed her fingers across the globe. The condensation must be on the inside, she thought. Weird, but beautiful.

  Tori bit her lip and thought for a moment. She reached for the handle. Metal scraped metal as she loosened the handle from the hook. She grasped the top of the lantern, hoping it would pop off like a lid. It creaked slightly, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remove the top or loosen it like a screw cap. Maybe it’s fused together? Then how does anyone light it?

  “My flashlight theory might be right,” she murmured, ignoring her own questions. Part of her was disappointed. Knowing something was amiss would have made her feel less silly about having been afraid the night before. Poor baby, scared of the dark. She gritted her teeth, giving the lid one last tug, pulling until her fingers turned pink. It didn’t budge. She sighed.

  With sore hands, Tori placed the handle back on its hook. “This isn’t over, Lantern.”

  She glanced back one more time as she rounded the bend back to the path, and then picked up her pace with hopes of completing the trek to her grandmother’s house before supper was on the table.

  Chapter 4

  Tori sat through dinner, thoughtful and quiet, muttering yes-moms and sure-dads between mouthfuls of food.

  She looked up when she realized everyone had stopped talking. All eyes, including Kimmy’s baby blues, were on her. She blinked, trying to remember the last thing anyone had said. Most of the conversation up to that point had been something about basement renovations. Her mother and grandmother disagreed about whether exercise equipment would be safe given the drainage problems in the house. Her father hadn’t said much, so she assumed he’d kept his opinions on the subject to himself. Tori would have fallen asleep out of boredom if she hadn’t been preoccupied with the lantern and whether the light came from inside of it or from something else.

  “Maybe we should have let her stay in school instead of joining us for vacation,” said her father with a tender smirk.

  “Something on your mind, baby? How’d your visit to the lantern go?”

  Tori shoveled a mound of rice from one side of her plate to the other. “Not as well as I’d hoped. I found the lantern, but I couldn’t see inside of it and I couldn’t open it. I need to go back—”

  “You mean tonight? Hon, I think you should rest. Halloween’s four days away and you’ll get in plenty more walking between now and taking Kimmy trick-or-treating.”

  “But, Mom, if I look at it again tonight I might be able to find out where the light’s coming from. Maybe it will be easier to see the inside of the lantern in the dark.” That sort of makes sense, she thought. Covering her tracks, she added, “I’ll bring a flashlight and my phone; and it will be better now that I’ve been there a couple of times. I won’t get lost.”

  Her mother heaved a long, drawn-out sigh before glancing at her husband. “What do you think, Carl?”

  “The girl makes a good case,” he said. “Sure, why not? I think it’s worth taking another look.”

  Yes! “Thanks, Dad. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

  “Don’t mention it, hon. When you become famous, just don’t forget to mention me in your acceptance speech.” He raised his voice in a faux female tone. “And more than anyone, I want to thank my father, Carl A. Hale—”

  Tori groaned and covered her face with her hands.

  “Never was there a man like him—thoughtful, supportive, and devoted to his wife and children. But most of all, I’ll never forget that night at my grandmother’s house when my mother highly disapproved of my curious endeavor—”

  “Carl!” Tori’s mother’s eyes flashed something fierce.

  “My father, on the other hand, had all the faith in me. He knew I would do great things, that I would someday—”

  Giving up, Tori’s mother shook her head and laughed. “You know how ridiculous you sound, don’t you?”

  He opened his mouth in mock surprise.

  “Dad,” Tori groaned. “Fine, I’ll include you in my acceptance speech, but I better never ever sound like that voice you just used.”

  Frowning, Tori’s mother bit the inside of her cheek. “Both of you are absolutely adorable when you want something, but I think we should give it another night. I’m sorry, Tori,” she added, noting the disappointment in her daughter’s face. “But if there was someone there yesterday night, that person may have noticed your curiosity. He or she might come back again tonight, expecting you to be there too. I’m not comfortable with it, Carl.”

  Tori’s father lowered his head, looking foolish. “Your mother has a point, hon.”

  “But—” Tori fumbled with her fork, feeling her chance slipping away. Her eyes darted to her grandmother, who sat with her lips pressed tightly together. One eyebrow arched above the old woman’s eyes, which, to Tori’s surprise, held a mischievous twinkle.

  Tori closed the door to her grandmother’s house.

  She grabbed the flashlight from her pocket and flipped the switch. Two minutes into her walk, music blasted from another pocket. Tori pulled out her phone. The screen lit with a picture of her best friend, Shawna. The photo made Tori laugh every time. Shawna gaped at her with a toothy grin, holding her hand up to her ear with her thumb and pinky finger spread out like a phone, as if she were saying call me.

  Tori accepted the call and said, “Hey, what’s up?”

  “You won’t believe what you missed today. Mr. Peterson called on you and everybody sat there waiting for you to answer. Well, you didn’t answer—of course you didn’t because you weren’t there, but that’s not the point.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Uh-huh, so, we all stared at him. ‘Would anyone like to tell me where Miss Hale is today?’ Total grumpster, I know, right? Anyway, you won’t believe what happened next!”

  “Oh? What?”


  “Adam happened, that’s what. He raised his hand and said, ‘Tori’s still visiting her grandma. She won’t be back until Halloween, after the weekend.’ Well, Mina gave him a look like she was ready to kill him for knowing about that—even though we all knew. Adam’s hers, you know.”

  “Yeah, hers.”

  “You okay? You sound, I don’t know, focused on something. You don’t wanna hear about your crush?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Tori!”

  “Sorry, I’m outside my grandma’s place, looking for something. You wouldn’t believe what’s happened here either.”

  Tori told Shawna everything she’d learned about the lantern—when she’d first found it, what it had looked like in the daylight, and how no one had seen it light up before she did. Shawna listened in stunned silence—at least that’s what Tori imagined, given that she hadn’t been interrupted at any time while telling her story. When she finished, all she heard from the other end of the line was a deep breath and “Whoa...”

  If Shawna said more, Tori hadn’t noticed. The light that caught her eye the night before was there, along with its calming presence. “I’m almost there. I can see a glow,” she said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. “It must be lit.”

  “So, so, so spooky. I’m getting chills just thinking about it. You want me to keep chatting with you so you’re not alone?”

  “No, that’s all right. I’ll probably need both hands to get a good look at Lantern.”

  “Okay, well, let me know how it goes. Tell, um, Lantern that I say hi. Wish I was out there with you for Halloween.”

  “Me too. Talk to you later, okay?”

  “Definitely. Night, Tor! Be safe.”

  Chapter 5

  Tori slipped the phone in her pocket and looked up. It was a clear night with a round moon and a sky full of stars. The glow of light brightened as she neared the lantern.

  She stopped about a foot away from the pole and shined her flashlight at its base. Unsure whether she felt more relieved or terrified that she didn’t see a pair of shoes and legs, she circled the pole to make sure no one was behind the lantern.