“We’ve come this far…”
They looked at the book. It looked old. Black leather bound a large volume together with a gnarled tree embossed on the front cover.
“Eleanor…” Ava whispered as she realized what she was seeing. “The dreams I’ve been having… there’s a tree in them. It looks like that,” she finished as she pointed to the symbol.
It was the same tree that was on the key.
Eleanor was speechless.
Steeling herself, Ava reached toward it. Her fingers grazed the leather as she lifted the cover, the temperature in the room plummeting the moment it opened. Shivering, the women looked at each other. They could see their breaths in the frigid kitchen.
A chill went down Ava’s spine as she looked at Eleanor, voice shaking. “What the fuck?”
Luna didn’t seem upset, but jumped onto the table and sat down, staring at the book. As if saying ‘well… read it.’
Unsure what to do, they remained still for a few moments, the temperature of the room rising back to normal. After the icy air had seemed to disappear, Eleanor inched closer to Ava and whispered, “I think your house is haunted.”
“Ghosts aren’t real,” Ava responded unconvincingly, giving her a wan smile.
As they sat down at the table, she flipped through the pages but nothing else unusual happened. No chilled air, no strange sensations. Relieved for that part to be over, Ava’s heart calmed down as she tried to read but the text was in an unfamiliar language. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. Flipping through more of the book, the pages revealed drawings. Archways with symbols on them with swirling black voids in the center.
“We can’t read it,” she said. “It’s in some foreign language.”
“What are those pictures?” Eleanor pointed to the archways.
Tracing her finger along the drawings, Ava said, “I don’tknow. Maybe I should start to explore the property more and see if there’s any more clues.”
Eleanor nodded, glancing at the time on the microwave. It was past midnight. “Oh god, I didn’t realize what time it was. I really should go.”
“You’re right,” Ava said. “I need to get to sleep too.”
After bidding her friend goodbye, Ava poured herself another glass of wine and sat down at the table. She knew she should go to bed, but she had to look through this book more thoroughly and didn’t want to wait.
She spent almost two hours attempting to decipher each page while Luna slept at her feet but had little luck understanding the information in the tome. The language was unrecognizable.
She tried focusing on the pictures of those strange archways. She couldn’t help but trace each one she came across and every time her fingers grazed the symbols lining the void, she felt that tug.
The book was another piece to the puzzle. The puzzle that still meant nothing to her. She would have to keep looking.
7
Fall was in full swing, and tonight Henry was taking Ava to Piney Hollow’s annual Halloween festival. Ava had spent all day cleaning her house as a distraction from her nerves and now her house was spotless. It had helped, and the anxiety was now a low buzz as she anticipated Henry’s arrival. Cleaning always helped when she was nervous.
Henry had been coming over regularly to help with farm tasks and though it had been several weeks since their greenhouse make out session, nothing further had happened. They kissed a few times, and the flirting was much more intense, but she still hadn’t invited him inside.
The crunch of gravel outside announced his arrival, and she bounded down the stairs in her black jeans and cream-colored sweater. Her long waves cascaded down her back from her high ponytail, bouncing as she made her way outside.
Ava leapt down the porch stairs and Henry grabbed her hand and pulled her close. “Hello,” he said, voice low, as he enveloped her in his warmth and gave her the tightest squeeze.
“Hi.” She smiled back, heart fluttering.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes!” Ava said, trying to hide her nerves under her enthusiasm about this being their first official date.
She climbed into his vehicle and Henry grinned at her like a child excited to go to an amusement park as they pulled away. His eyes looked exceptionally blue against his black sweater, sparkling in the evening sunset as they headed down the drive toward town.
Twenty minuteslater they were walking through charming booths lining the barricaded streets, with ebony awnings and purple twinkling lights highlighting the wares displayed on deep violet tablecloths. Witch hats and bats were strung about, decorating each stall with a festive spirit, flowing together seamlessly as if all designed by the same person, the sellers and wares the only difference between each alcove.