The walk into town was dreadful. Her skin ached from the burn. She always wore a dress going into town to look presentable but the stockings against her left leg gave her pure agony, causing her to limp slightly. I hate this, she whined.
The doctor gave her ointment for her wound, asked her to return in a few weeks, and gave her tending instructions to keep the burn maintained. She thanked him and went about her day as best she could. One of the boys in town offered to carry her supplies and she accepted the offer with gratitude. On the way home, Daisy noticed the boy's mood had changed slightly. "Why on earth do you live out here?" He asked walking ahead. She could hardly concentrate over the burn. "What? .... Why?" She asked. The boy looked annoyed over the question. "You know this place has a reputation for ...... weird and spooky occurrences right?" he asked. Daisy looked at him dumbfounded for a moment. "No, not really," she said. "I've been there almost a month now and nothing out of the ordinary has happened to me." At the front door, the boy eagerly handed her back the purchased supplies and made a hasty retreat out of the area, waving a goodbye in the process. Daisy was slightly taken aback by his abrupt behavior. Shrugging it off, she made her way inside and began to start her evening.
Several days went by. Daisy was caught up in the heat of things trying to plant a small vegetable garden when the boy she met from town paid her an unexpected visit. "Excuse me ma'am". Daisy nearly screamed from fright. "Oh my god I didn't see you there!" she cried out in apparent relief. She put down her planting hoe. "What can I do for you?" The boy looked a little nervous. "well ma'am," he stuttered, "you forgot a few items the other day when you left town. I was told to come here and to give you back these items." He held out his hand to reveal an ink pen, a notebook, and a box of tissues. Daisy laughed to herself. "Thank you so much! I was wondering what I had done with my pen and notepad." she went over and grabbed the items. "I'm Daisy" she said, extending a friendly hand. The boy looked dazely back at her. "I'm Thomas." An obvious crush Daisy noticed. How cute! "Thank you Thomas. Would you care to drop by for some carved turkey. I'm making a full course meal next week for a few people in town and I would love for you to take some home for you and your family as a thank you for handing to me these lost items." Daisy's smile was as bright as the sunlight. "Sure," Thomas beamed. As he skipped away, Daisy smiled to herself. Thomas is going to be a very cute man when he gets older. She smiled as she went back to planting and hoeing.
The wind sliced through the air several nights later. Daisy was woken to the sound of what had to be her imagination. Daisy! she heard the wind whistle. She listened. Then she retorted with a sense of humor. "Whaat?" Giggling, she was almost asleep when she heard the wind again. This time it had a girls voice slightly attached to it. "Don't laugh at me bitch." Daisy's heart literally flew up to her throat in fright. She jumped out of bed and made her way to the hall where she found the lantern she owned and lit it as fast as her fingers could manage. She waved that thing all over the place searching for traces of a little girl inside her house. "Whose there?" she would call out. Her cry echoed slightly though out the hallway.
By the end of the night, Daisy ended up sleeping with a lighten candle by her bedside. Somehow it gave her courage to go to sleep.
The next morning bags lay under Daisy's eyes due to nightmares and periodic wakes in the night. I need a sedative to knock me out so I can catch up on my sleep, she thought as she dug through the dirt in her garden. An unexpected visitor showed up sometime later to visit Daisy. She was washing her hands in the basin when she heard the knock. Slightly unnerved, she walked down the stairs and greeted what appeared to be Thomas's mother. Daisy's mood instantly vanished "why hello" Daisy beamed. "Hi" the older lady responded. "I'm the owner of the grocery down in town. Thomas's mother. How are you?" Daisy couldn't have been happier to receive this unexpected visit. "What brings over?" She asks. The two women walk inside and towards the kitchen. "Well, I'm here to see if I can help with some of the cooking you'll be doing for the folks in town." Daisy noticed the lady was sweet, but slightly nervous about being in her home. "I would love that, but are you sure? You seem a tad bit frightened." Daisy was drawing the curtains back as she said this. "Dear, you have a lovely place here. But my guess is ..... you havent heard about this place or these woods, have you?" Daisy's heart stopped cold. She looked at Thomas's mother for a moment. "No ma'am I haven't. Dad bought this place then passed on unexpectedly days after. I moved in to keep it from being a wasted investment." Daisy sighed and walked away as tears threatened to stream down her face. "My my," the lady responded. She appeared to be torn between telling Daisy what she apparently needed to and not doing so out of respect for her apparent grief. Daisy broke he silence. Laughing she said, "I honestly thought I heard a little girl call me a bitch last night as I slept." Thomas's mother let out a howl of a laugh. Daisy laughed to. "Well I do declare miss," she laughed. "I've heard a lot of tales over the years, but never have I heard one about a smart mouth little girl cursing out the residence" on and on she giggled. Daisy got caught up in the heat of the moment and laughed right along. Suddenly she remembered her father and felt all good inside. "Yeah, it was probably my imagination. Why don't you stop by Thursday. I'm cooking up a storm for several people for their help in making my acquaintance. Show up early around 9:00." Thirty minutes later Thomas's mother left and introduced herself as Vicky before waving goodbye to Daisy. "See you then Daisy."
To be continued...
Nice story plot, it is scary yikes.