I hope you have a wonderful and safe Halloween.
Lizzie, Damp and Wet:
Lizzie pulled herself from the pond that occupied a section of her farm not far from the house. Jack climbed out as well and shook all over splattering water from his fury body. Lizzie laughed, grabbed her clothes, and glanced about the trees to be sure she was alone before putting on her dress. It clung to her damp body. She ran barefoot in the cool autumn sun toward the house, her hair dripping. At the door she grabbed the handle and had to twist hard since it stuck. Inside she paused. Jacob, her husband, must have left the basement door open. The coal shaft allowed cold air to flow from outside into the dark basement and made the entire house frozen. She shivered, went to the door and shut it.
In the kitchen she started a fire in her cast iron stove with some wood and once it was engulfed she added coal which would burn longer. At last heat warmed her.
An odd bell rang three times. Lizzie had never before heard it. She turned, alarmed by the noise and peered at her kitchen. Everything seemed the same. The bell rang again, only once this time and seemed to come from the far corner where only her cabinets were. That was followed the distinct sound of a door opening and shutting. Fear gripped her. Lizzie ran from the kitchen, up the stairs to her bedroom that she shared with her beloved Jacob.
Glancing about as if some specter would present itself Lizzie felt nothing untoward. She tiptoed across the wood plank floor. Her hair dripped a trail as she went. At the wardrobe she pulled out a clean dress along with under garments and changed quickly. Glancing at the window she estimated by the light of the sun that it would be a good hour before Jacob returned. He’d loaded the wagon earlier and taken the wheat into town to sell to the miller and bring back enough for them to last the winter. However, their cow needed to be milked so she returned to the main floor and glanced down the hall. The basement door was still closed and the kitchen was quiet.
She blinked and entered the barn. That was odd; she couldn’t remember her walk along the path. Lizzie often day dreamed and found that time slipped away for her too often so she dismissed the strange thing that had just happened. They’d recently purchased a white mare and the horse became wild in its stall upon seeing her. Lizzie went toward it. If she could just reassure the animal, but when she put her hand threw to pass it an apple from a nearby barrel the horse reared and let out a frantic scream. Lizzie pulled in her hand, troubled by the mare’s reaction.
The cow beckoned. She sat on the stool and began to milk it. Sally, their cat, came sidling up to her and Lizzie giggled as she let some of the milk squirt Sally in her mouth. The cat jerked about in an attempt to catch every bit.
“No more for now Sally,” Lizzie said after a moment. “I need to make butter and Jacob will want a glass of it too.”
Jack whimpered at her side. “You’ll get yours in the house,” she told the dog.
When she said house she quite suddenly found herself in the kitchen again with a bowl of milk in hand for Jack. This day was altogether strange. She wanted Jacob to stride through the front door and hold her.
She put Jack’s milk on the floor and turned to grab a bowl to start supper. When she did she had a flash of an entirely different room. It was still a kitchen. It was still her kitchen. But someone had changed everything about it. Gone where her stove, table and cabinets. In its place was a silver colored stove with odd round things on top. A sink had shiny spouts attached to it. The cabinets were more elaborate than any she had seen before and made of oak wood. But the oddest thing was a rectangular silver colored object at the far end. As she watched the door opened and a light emanated from within. Food in odd containers rested on the shelves. She peered at it and jumped when the door closed and her own kitchen returned.
Lizzie screamed and ran from the room. Jack followed her barking. She slammed the door to her bedroom shut and shivered in a corner staring at the door, afraid.
Lizzie longed for Jacob. She found herself before the bedroom window staring down into the farm yard, her wet clothes back on and her hair dripping. An odd wagon pulled into the drive, no horse was attached to it, the side door opened and a woman wearing jeans and an orange sweater climbed out. Her hair was cut short. She grabbed some bags from the back and walked toward the front door. Who was that? Lizzie wondered. Where is Jacob?
As she searched for him the forest changed and only a few trees remained around her pond. The road became covered in gray with yellow lines in the middle and houses appeared out of nowhere all around her farm.
The bedroom door opened. Lizzie turned. A flash nearly blinded her. A different woman entered with a red coat on. She held a thick weed that was smoldering gray spoke. The day had given way to night.
“What is your name?” the strange woman asked.
She felt compelled to answer, “Lizzie.”
“Lizzie, I thought so, you drowned in the pond in 1897. You’re dead. Jacob waits for you on the other side. Go into the light.”
No, that can’t be true, Lizzie thought. Didn’t I just milk the cow? A bright light appeared. Jacob beckoned. Lizzie stepped through to her man.
Word count: 987
I hoped you enjoyed this. I just couldn’t leave Lizzie trapped in her home forever. Can you guess what appliance was beeping in the first part of the story?
Don't forget to check out the others at ...Haunting and then at Trick or Treat Hallowe'en.
Nancy
