A ghost story, kinda II

“Annemarie?” the woman asked. Again I wish her voice had been mysterious or wispy and weak. Instead it was strong and no nonsense, matching her appearance perfectly.

“Yes,” said Annemarie, she was trying to remember when it was that she had met the woman. Of course she could have spent the whole night trying to remember and she never would, since she had never met the woman in her life. Unfortunately I wasn’t there to tell her that, so she just stood there dumbly.

“Are you going to come in or not?” the woman demanded.

“I’m sorry but do I know you?” Annemarie asked, finally giving up on her own memory.

“No, of course not,” said the woman. “You’re wasting time, come on.”

Annemarie was halfway up the sidewalk to the abandoned house before she even realized what she was doing. Oh for the narrative convenience of being able to say that she had been placed under some spell, that the woman had hypnotized her, or there was some black magic at work. My life is full of narrative frustrations if you couldn’t already tell. It was the pure authority in the woman’s voice that made Annemarie move without her own volition, which is altogether unromantic.

The door did not squeak when it was opened, the windows were boarded up, but once inside Annemarie could see that was to protect them from being broken rather then because they had been broken. The glass was fully intact and clean, the boards had served their purpose, though they made the room very dark. Here I am happy to finally report that something supernatural happened. I don’t know about the reader but I have been waiting for something like this since I started it with the setting. It was a simple thing I’m afraid, the room was suddenly full of light. It wasn’t from any normal source of light, I have double checked with the electric company and that house hasn’t had power for several years now. It also wasn’t from a candle or portable device, since none were present in room. It was simply that as soon as Annemarie crossed the threshold something seemed to decide that she would need light and provided it.

“Can you tell me what’s going on?” Annemarie asked timidly. The woman didn’t really seem like the sort of person who would tolerate questions but at this point curiosity overcame timidity.

“I am the executive of this estate, and I was told to bring you, and you are late already so please walk faster,” snapped the woman. Annemarie might have pointed out that she hadn’t been aware that she had an appointment and therefore couldn’t be blamed for tardiness; I know I would have in that situation, but Annemarie is more timid then I am.

They went up the stairs, which failed to creak ominously, and then down a hallway. The hallway was lit in the same strange manner as the room downstairs had been. They reached a door and the woman stopped in front of it and knocked.

“I brought her like you told me to,” the woman told the door and then nodded to Annemarie. “Go in, I will be downstairs if I’m needed for anything.”

To be continued...