Page 7 of Whispers of the Elderoak

Eleanor huffed a laugh. “Yes.”

“Probably.”

They remained silent, a thoughtful expression on Eleanor’s face. “Okay.” Eleanor sipped her wine. “What do you want to do?”

“What do you mean?”

Leaning forward on the couch, Eleanor scrutinized her. “Let’s figure it out.”

“How?”

“Let’s just say this is real…” She paused. “We search for clues. If we can’t find anything then we’ll know that your grandfather was senile and maybe your mother was a witch or something.”

“And if we do find something?”

Eleanor gave her a half smile. “Then I guess we aren’t crazy.”

Ava laughed quietly to herself, pondering Eleanor’s words. It sounded like a good plan. She just needed to prove or disprove her grandfather’s ramblings and then maybe she would have some answers. As the women remained silent, Ava’s mind wandered back to this morning.

“Sorry to change the subject but do you know a guy in town named Henry?”

“Cunningham?” Eleanor asked.

Ava took a sip of wine. “I didn’t get his last name.”

“Tall, blonde… Ridiculously good-looking?”

“Yep. That’s the one.”

“Yeah, I know him. Not well, but he’s nice.” Eleanor crossed her legs. “Does odd jobs around town. Why?”

“He showed up at the farm this morning, claiming he used to help and basically asked for work,” she answered.

“What did you tell him?” Eleanor took another drink.

Ava scrunched her face. “He starts tomorrow.”

Eleanor laughed heartily.

“What?”

“Ava, he’shot,” she blurted.

Ava bit her lip before replying. “Yeah, I know. I guess now I’ll have something even prettier than flowers to look at while I work.”

4

The wood floors creaked beneath Ava’s feet as she plodded to her bedroom after brushing her teeth. Still somewhat tipsy from the wine she and Eleanor had drunk, she was ready to burrow under her down comforter and sleep the night away.

She sat at the edge of her bed and clicked off the vintage Tiffany lamp on her nightstand, shrouding the room in darkness. As she lifted the covers to settle herself, her eyes caught on something outside.

Ava froze as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing. From her second story bedroom window, she had a view of the flower fields at the front of the house and the forest beyond. And right at the edge of the woods, stood a tall shadowy figure. Motionless, it stared directly at her from between the trees.

It was just some local messing around on her property. Right?

She grabbed her robe from the hook on the door and headed down the stairs, fumbling in the dark for the light switch. Making it to the front porch, she prepared to chase them off when she noticed it hadn’t moved, still watching her.Her feet froze, a voice in the back of her mind telling her to run. It was taller than she originally thought, at least several feet higher than herself.

Her blood ran cold as she stared at it, unable to pull away her gaze.

---