"The Old Cartwright Home"
Part 6
Leonard wasn't sure if the blessing
would work or not. He had given up belief in anything after his wife
had died. The first night following the blessing there was nothing.
Leonard was relieved but kept his fingers crossed. The second night
turned out to be a peaceful night also. Leonard enjoyed an entire
month with no ghosts, spooks or other disturbances.
It was early fall, and there was a
cool crispness in the air. Before going to bed, Leonard opened the
window and rolled over to turn off the light. He had almost entirely
forgotten about the ghost and felt a sense of safety in his home. A
slight breeze moved the shear curtains in a peaceful wave motion.
Leonard watched them and began to feel sleep approaching quickly.
Suddenly, there was a strong gust that blew the curtains in a wild
frenzied motion. The wind continued longer than a second so Leonard
got up and shut the window.
He lay back down and propped his head
upon his pillow. Leonard began to feel sleepy again, when out of no
where, came a loud thump directly above the bedroom. Leonard quickly
reached for the lamp, but no light was produced, the lamp was dead,.
He sat up, and then the door slammed which caused him to jump back
fearfully. He leaped to the door and turned the knob frantically, but
the door would not open. Upon turning around, he was startled by a
child's reflection in the mirror. The child blankly stared back at
Leonard. Leonard approached the mirror, and stood in front, when
suddenly the child morphed into a dark shadow with sharp teeth, and
screamed in a blood curdling screech, “LEAVE US ALONE”. It moved
from the mirror onto the wall and began circling the room. The window
flew open and the ghastly apparition was gone. Leonard ran back to
the door and it opened as normal. He ran through the den, grabbed his
gun, and took aim for his room. The room was back to normal though,
even the wind blew gently through the open window.
The next morning Leonard lifted his
head from the couch and thought about the terrifying night he had
experienced. He was tired of the ghosts presence, he only wanted to
be left alone. That day, Leonard mowed the lawn and worked around the
house. He contemplated leaving, and he thought about about staying,
after all, they had left him alone for a solid month.
“There has to be a solution”,
thought Leonard to himself.
The day passed quickly, and Leonard
was satisfied with the all the work he got done around the house. He
felt oddly calm about all that had happened, and also didn't worry to
much about what would happen in the future.
That evening, Leonard cut a cucumber
he had gotten out of his garden for a fresh salad. He looked out the
kitchen window and saw it. The dark silhouette was moving across the
back lawn, headed around the side of the house. Leonard watched the
figure complete an entire lap around the house and then he called the
sheriff's office.
“Hello sheriff, I have a
trespasser on my property.”, he had reminded himself he couldn't
say he had a ghost.
“Sir, we will dispatch a unit
immediately.”
Leonard hung up the phone and looked
out the kitchen window. The figure was closer, and still pacing
slowly in a circle around the house. He went and grabbed his shotgun,
then stepped outside and took aim with the gun. He squeezed the
trigger with his quivering finger, and the shot flew impotently
through the shadowy figure as if it were made of air. He pumped the
shotgun and fired another round that was just as big of a waste as
the first. He pumped the shotgun again but decided it would not help
matters, so he turned and ran inside locking the door behind him. He
quickly walked to the front door and locked it as well and then
looked out of the living room window. He saw nothing for a brief
moment, and then the shadow moved across the front lawn. Leonard
reached and pulled the curtains together.
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