Living yet

Living yet

The sky was clear, the stars were out and I just loved the tranquility, quiet and stillness of my surrounding. The land my dad had half bought recently was way into the country, so there wasn’t anything to boast about it until the night time came. We were not much interested in buying this land at first but when the land owner was so desperate to get money immediately and as he came for a deal of twenty five percentage off, we found it to be on more than agreeable terms. So we paid the advance it about a month ago and since none of us had time to come to check on the land after the first time, my parents made me take this trip. But now it seems like it was completely worth it. There’s enough fruits around in the trees, the stream running close by the land was really refreshing and musical at this peaceful moment and the small wooden house was spacious enough for a small vacation like this.

The grass on which I am laying now is about half my size and so gives me a feeling of being in a completely different universe. The Orion out there in the sky was aiming at me and the moon really seems happy to see him shooting at me. The clouds weren’t prominent but still it wasn’t hard for my wild imagination to imagine them to be in a shape of a teenage ghost.“Watching many horror movies really pays off Tessa!” I chided myself and stood up to go and ravish the mouth-watering food that the cook seems to be preparing in the kitchen. “Hmmm.. Jenna you make me hungry just by the smell of your food!” I moaned on entering the kitchen. I know Jenna had talking issues but since I had no one else to converse other than Jenna and the driver I couldn’t help but try her to make her talk.

Jenna just turned and gave me an empty look with, “You shouldn’t be out at this time. Things are different here!”. “Woah!” was all I felt. I just shrugged and stood up to go to my room in the attic. For I really didn’t like to adviced about silly, superstitious things. “You must go from here, you don’t belong here”, Jenna said out of nowhere. When I said, “Excuse me?” Jenna did not say anything nor did she turn to even look at me. I looked at my watch and found the time to be nine. Sure I was hungry but as the awesome yet mood spoiling cook took away my will to eat just now I just flew up the stairs.

The attic room had been furnished to be used as a room for one, so it fitted me perfectly. Though not extremely beautiful it was comfy and the previous inhibitor of this room had really been in love with it. For there were many evidence around that proved it. It apparently must have been an early teenager’s room. The large window also gave a breathtakingly beautiful view of the surrounding of our land and the night sky. I sat at the window seat and peered at the night sky. The night sky never fails to amaze me. The ginormous galaxy really is a wonder. While I was wondering about the creations of god I suddenly felt like someone was staring at me. I turned my head and found a girl with pale skin, long black hair, white eyes and tattered nightshift standing behind me. For a split second I couldn’t even breathe but when I came to my senses I shook my head and found Jenna standing in the doorway of my room. She left me with a “Food ready, table downstairs.” I actually was dumbstruck. Was this woman for real? Also I wasn't able to erase the image of the white angry eyes.

Anyways, as I was famished I went down and ate in the company of silence. The food was really awesome, so the wait was worth it. I finished my dinner and as Jenna was not around I washed the utensils out of habit and left for bed. The bed was comfy enough but sleep was not welcoming me as soon as I wanted. Tomorrow will be a big day. I need to do the background checking of this land, get acquainted with the few neighbours who were yards away and most of all settle the rest of the amount to own this land lawfully.

Suddenly I felt like something flashed from the door towards the window. I saw it too, it was some white flash with a black mane cascading but as I wasn’t sure, I shut my eyes and tried to get some sleep. “Gettttt ooouutt…. thissssss issn’t where youu beloooong, geeeettttt ouuutt”. This chanting kept getting louder and louder and when I wasn’t able to bare it any longer I opened my eyes and sat straight on my bed. The curtain of my window opened and the white curtain was winnowing in the wind. Saying, “All these must be my stupid imagination.” I shot out of my bed to close the window. The cool breeze welcomed me and the willow tree in front of my eyes was really beautiful with the silver shine of the full moon. Just when I was about to close the window I saw Jenna looking at the tree too. She seemed to have been lost in her own world and when I raised my eyes to see what she was seeing, I saw it!

I saw it glaring at me from the branch of the willow tree. A skinny pale figure in a tattered nightshift, with blazing white eyes and thick black mane that was flying all around. I could not shift my eyes. I was transfixed and rooted to the place. The figure did nothing but glare at me as it wanted to incinerate me with its eyes itself. I shook my head to clear my thought and looked down, Jenna was staring at me too and just when I was about to see the branch again, it swooshed in front of my face in lightening pace and knocked me down with a loud screech, “Myyyyyyy rooooommmm”. My vision blurred and I fell into a deep abyss.

The heat was penetrating through me, I couldn’t bear it anymore, I wanted to run but my body ached, I couldn’t even twist. So I just fluttered my heavy eyelids open to meet the source that was scorching me. A smile crept on my face when I saw that it was only the sun. It must be noon time by now and that was the reason for the heat. I wasn’t in hell. Well not yet atleast.

I got up to get ready for the day which I was already late for. A sudden pain hit my back bone when I stretched and that was when I notice a bruise as large as an apple at the side of my hips. At that moment I went back to the memory lane of yesterday night and a tremor shook my frame. The blazing hot sun reminded me of the yellow eyes that had glared at me not inches away from my face. I wanted explanations. What is up with this place? Then I remembered that Jenna had witnessed all that happened yesterday but not even uttered a single syllable. I dashed down jumping over two stairs at a time and not even caring about my sleeveless pajamas or the pain that shot through my body like thunderbolts.

I dashed through the two rooms downstairs, kitchen, storeroom, and even the bathroom but Jenna wasn’t in any of these places. “Seems like you’re searching for something miss”, I heard a gruff voice from behind me and on turning on my heels I saw the old driver James leaning on the door frame. This man had been in these areas and he sure would know some details about the madness that happened yesterday. So I moved towards him. “Yesterday night something happened”, I started but I didn’t fail to notice that he started too. “You know about it don’t you?” I questioned him and he hung his head. “It’s a big story miss, poor soul. It all happened because of that monster.” The pain in his eyes changed into hot red anger so he sagged to the couch nearby.

“Jenna’s child Hannah was a very lively child. She wasn’t like other teenagers. She was very much like her father, who was a wonderful friend and an excellent worker. The master of this land loved her like his own child but…” James stopped like he hesitated. As I waited he continued, “The master had a daughter too. She was of the same age as Hannah but an exact opposite of that sweet soul. Jenifer had an outrageous anger that made her do mad things that no one would even dream a teenager to do.” I kind of figured the theme of the story but remained quiet. So James went on “Jenifer hated the fact that a servant’s daughter was treated equal to her. She hated her father being kind to Hannah. She hated that Hannah too got gifts when her father came from work from abroad but miss, most of all the little monster abhorred that Hannah was given the room which she had wanted to keep for herself as an art room. That little monster wasn’t even fond of art and the master who knew this gave the room to Hannah who always loved cleaning that room though she was never asked to.”

James said that Hannah had cried out of happiness when the master had painted the room pink and purple before letting her have it as a gift for her birthday but Jenifer had not been one bit happy with the set up that she had left the room when the gift was presented. No one reacted to the anger in her eyes nor the tears streaming down her face when she left the room because they had been absorbed in Hannah’s reaction and the master’s praise of her. Two months had passed and that was when Hannah had brought her report card to show to the master. She had not noticed that Jenifer was already sitting in the dining table with tears in her eyes. When the master had seen that Hannah had got really good grades he praised her and shot Jenifer a glare and uttered, “I wish you were my child dear.”

Jenifer who had never spoken about her feelings before had burst when the master had said this and after screaming, “I wish mother was here to see me as her child while you discard me and cherish on the servant’s child!” had stormed out into the night. Hannah who had felt bad thinking that she had hurt Jenifer whom she saw as a friend had gone after her. James said that he never knew what had happened after that and the next day when he went to the stream he had seen something fat floating on the water and on nearing had seen that it was Hannah who was face down in the water, dead and soaked due to the water seeping into the body.

“I still remember how unrecognizable that beautiful child had been and how I felt carrying the corpse that was about to fall apart if I gripped a little bit further! The whole house collapsed with her death. Jenna is now always lost in her own world, Alexander had a stroke and was dead five months ago and the master now wants to sell the house.” he stopped to wipe away the tears that had rolled down his face when he was telling me the flashback. “So what happened to Jenifer?” I questioned out of curiosity. “That monster pledged that she had not even seen Hannah and had returned home after a few hours. But I am sure miss that she must have pushed that dear into the water. She was terrified when the cops kept interrogating and after a few days she started telling tales that Hannah haunted her, that she saw Hannah coming to strangle her and all other nonsenses. So the master has put her in an asylum unable to see his only daughter suffering.” he finished. “Do you think this place is haunted James?” I asked him observing the stupidity of my own question but I was as sure as my existence that all that happened yesterday night was true. “She is a sweet soul miss, I’m sure she won’t ask anything more than her own room.” With that he left the room not even noticing that I was gaping at him.

This man must be insane! I was more than sure that later he’s going to say, “She’s a lovely soul miss, I’m sure she won’t ask anything more than a little blood!” I just packed my bag with the determination to terminate the deal and drove off without James. But throughout the journey back I could not stop thinking how much responsibility parenting holds, the consequences bad parenting brings and how much Mr. Jefferson must have suffered to sell the house he has lived with his wife and one which holds so much memory for him. 

Author:- Badurdeen.Fathima.Ayesha