Madeline's Island

Chapter 1

    She stood on the wide dock, staring out over the bay. Her mind wandered to a place far away. A place she had never seen.
She was only fifteen, but mystery enshrouded her thoughts as she wistfully wondered what kind of people she had come from.
She knew all the stories from her parents and grand parents. They had been ingrained in her very early on. She felt
suspended in time as she thought of a time different then now. She was English and American Indian, and had always loved
adventure, and a good story.
    Turning back to the scene behind her, she ambled slowly across the slip and back across the street to her Mother's shop.
Pausing, she listened to the loons at the edge of the water. People not from the island always said they were lonely sounding,
but she did not think that. They were part of her home. Drifting to the back room, she plopped down at the desk and stared
un-mindfully at the large  piece of poster paper. Part of her history report was the map of her island in relation to the
long chain of twenty-two islands strung out off the peninsula.
    Father worked on the mainland, and would not be home for a couple hours yet. It was fun watching the ferries come from
the little town of Bayfield every evening. She mused to herself briefly, glad there would be more time come summer, to
work on the information she had carefully tucked away in a special notebook. She had been gleefully hoarding every
little bit of lore and history she could about the  colony on Roanoke, where Grandma had said she came from so many years
ago. It would be quite an adventure piecing it all together into some kind of sane order, but she relished the idea of
the venture. Using the timeline guide her Grandma had given her would make it much easier to record the events of her
families past in the right sequence.
    She had carefully noted the time of each event as it happened since the earliest records of the colony. It was a strange
history. a mixture of two peoples who had not understood each other, or the strange ways each had lived by.
    The next few weeks were busy, working at the shop, school, visiting with friends. The school session ended, and summer
came. Wildlife wandered through Maddie's field of vision as she sat at the  picnic table filling in geneology tables.
She was looking forward to the summer, working through the many pages of her notebook. She discovered that one of her ancestors
was named George Howe. He had been accidently killed while fishing, by a young Indian man. He left behind a son, and
a daughter, The daughter had married a man from the  Roanoke tribe, and they had decided to settle in the colony. So, from
that family had come the joining of both peoples. Then disputes between the peoples caused fighting, and it was said that some
of the settlers disappeared. Claims say some of them had decided to migrate  west, and that was how her ancestors came here.
    The Indians that lived on the mainland had willingly accepted many of the migrants, some had stayed, some continued west.
There was nothing known of her family before they had come to the new world. They had been builders in the settlement,
building many of the houses on the rough land when they came off the ship. They had built the wagons that took them west,
over rugged, unknown mountains. The huge barn that had been built had housed their wagons when they reached the small town.
Then they had been deserted and left to rot when they decided they would go no further. Many had decided to continue west
to more open country, to hopefully prosper in farming and raising cattle. The few that had decided to stay became builders
and store keepers.
    The promise of plentiful land had lured them to this beautiful Island, still close enough to the mainland
to keep their trades. There, they had been granted rights to build the two large docks that were a big part of the towns
business now. Fur trading, fishing, and other trade had all been part of the towns prosperous past. Each year had brought more
wealth to the community as the movement of people came and went. Other small settlements began to prosper and trade,
bringing with them their own diverse goods. Hunting camps and cabins became common place as trades prospered and faded, and
people moved on or formed partnerships.
    Maddie looked up from her thoughts, startled by  the calls of the wild geese flying just overhead. She laughed at herself
for being so wrapped up in her musings. She felt as if she could reach up and touch them as they passed, wings beating the air
with seemingly hardly any effort. Sweeping past her they landed on the soft grasses nearby, intent on hunting through the low
set brambles for wild berries.
    She glanced out over the water, where heavy pearl-grey clouds hung over the distance. It was raining hard somewhere over
the mainland. It would reach them in a matter of minutes. Maddie did not mind rain so much, or the hard winds that always
seemed to come with it. The hard whack of wind that reached her seconds later blew over the tree tops, bowing them
relentlessly into twisted arches. Another group of wild geese came in, barely ahead of the storm. It hardly seemed to affect
them as it blasted into the island, ruffling feathers and fauna equally. 

    Sighing, she gathered up her things to head back inside. She was planning a big day tomorrow, with
lots of fun and adventure.

She was going on a spirit-walk!

    "Miss Maddie lazy bones! Wake up"! Mother's voice called from the kitchen. "It's already 8:00"!
Maddie joyfully hopped out of bed with a "Whoohoo! I can't wait to get going!  Look at that beautiful sky! Where's my hiking shoes!
I think i'll take the old schoolhouse road first, then hunt around in the woods for a couple hours. Man. I just might cover the whole
outer end of the island"! Twenty minutes later after swallowing a quick breakfast, Maddie set off. A spirit-walk was supposed to take
just one day, and she was sure she could cover several places on the other end of the island. She started along Big Bay Road, looking
out on the North Channel. That was the quickest way to the North Shore Road, whwere she could then get to the Old Schoolhouse Road.
This was her fourth time doing the walk, and she always found new things to see. The one place she wanted to get pictures of this year
was the tiny stone village. It was one of the magical places of the island. As she walked, she snapped a few pictures of the little
red-tailed hawks and brown cranes that wandered around the edge of the water. Yes, today was going to be a great adventure.
    Five hours later found her sitting on an old tree stump by the side of the road, busily writing out in her  journal everything 
that had transpired in the last hours. This walk so far had been the best one, and she had alot to record. She had learned what
types of things to watch for, including  wildlife. She gleefully gloated at all the  wonderful photos she would have, along with the  stories.
    The wind blew in soft puffs, carrying the  calls of  brown cranes to her. They were easy to find, they were always around the best fishing
holes. She stood, tucking her things back into her backpack. Time to start back towards home. With alot of the day left, she hoped to see more
along the walk home. Her camera, always faithfully at her side, had been a gift from her parents when she had turned twelve. And she
had quickly learned the tricks to good photos.
    The whirring of pristine dragonflies, like flying jewels, vibrated around her as they lit on the long grasses at the side of the water.
She slowly sunk down, ready to snap some photos. Her presence did not seem to bother them as she snapped eagerly away. Then as the shadow of
small fishes rose from the silver water, they opened their wings and quickly floated into the trees. Smiling, Maddie rose to continue on.
    As she came back into town, she noticed several people in front of the store. They were all talking excited, gesturing to the direction
she had just come from. Her Mother came running out the door, very relieved to see her. "Oh Maddie, I am so glad you are back! There have been
reports on the television of a bad storm coming in! We were just getting ready to come find you! Your friend Thomas was gone on his walk today also,
but he returned about an hour ago. Father called  just a short time ago, He is coming home as fast as the ferry can get him here". Maddie shuddered,
glad to be back. "I am glad to hear that, Mom. I'll drop my stuff off in my room, and be right down to help in the shop". It was then she
noticed that the wind had picked up a good deal, blowing up waves that rocked any boats that were tied to the pier. She quickly left her gear and
hurried back down stairs. She had planned to drop off her film at the  general store when she returned, but that could wait. Many people
were coming in to get supplies for the coming storm. The sounds of boats hurrying in were heard on the docks, as the men heard the news.
Shudders were being placed hurriedly over shop and home windows, it was a routine well choreographed. The island people knew how to
prepare quickly and efficiently. Then she heard the call of "Here she comes", as the towns bell rang out once or twice as the signal.
The next two days were spent listening to the winds blow hard across the Island.  Maddie spent her time in the shop, and studying History.

    "Hey folks! You won't believe what Mr Jensen found floating just off the  main dock"! Maddies friend, Thomas had burst into the shop
in excitement. Maddie and her Mother  looked out the window to see a crowd of the towns people running toward the dock. They  followed,
Maddie quickly grabbing up her ever constant companion by it's cord. When they reached the water, Mr Jensen and two other men were carefully
pulling in a very large eagles nest. "Will you look at the size of that"! Mr Jensen was amazed by what he had discovered. "It's in almost perfect
condition too! It must be around Fifteen feet across, I swear"! It was gently pulled up onto the sand. One of the men pulled  some of the debris
from the nest, and there were three little eagles sitting with gaping mouths. "Yep. that's the nest off my back field, alright, Jim"! Piped
one of the men. "There's the blue cloth the mama stole from off my scarecrow. I'll be durned"! This last remark set everyone in the crowd laughing.
"I'll bring the truck around, and you can help me load it, so I can haul it back home"! It was amusing watching as the men carefully slid boards
underneath the nest and lifted it to the truck bed, babies and all. Slowly the truck crept down the road, back to it's rightful home.


    Clean-up after the storm was always a community event. All along main street rows of trucks sat, waiting to be loaded with debris to be
hauled away. Scrap wood was tossed into a separate pile in front of the  big dock. This would be used later for the huge bonfire that was to
be built later that evening. The spirit's of the town's people could not be  kept down, this was part of life on the island. Benches were set
in a large circle, prepared for the celebration. Long lines filed down the street as each building was taken in turn, yards were raked and
trash tossed into the large bins to be wheeled away. The small children even worked to clean up, grabbing up as much as they could carry.
    Making a game out of it was a task taken up by several older children, and it quickly turned into a race to see who was the quickest. Later,
there was singing and dancing. No one thought of retiring, this was a night for everyone. The next morning found the town children staggering up
to abandoned beds, with all thoughts of daily routine forgotten.
    Only two or three people were to be seen haunting the street the next day. A quiet aura held the sleepy town in it's spell. The only
sounds heard were the occasional squawk of bird, or chirp of insect. As evening came on, the festivities slowly resumed.
   
    Maddie merrily hummed a tune as she  came out of the general store with a package in her hands. She could hardly wait to get home and see
the pictures from her spirit walk. She bumped right into Mr Jensen coming the other direction. "Oh, hello Mr Jensen. Sorry I wasn't watching
where I went! How are those baby eagles doing?"
   "Hello to you, Maddie! Mr Jensen laughed. "They are as feisty as can be. Will be big in no time at all!"
    Maddie burst in the door upon reaching home, full of excitement. "Mom, the pictures are here!"
    Her Mother came from the front of the store. "Oh, that is so nice!" She exclaimed. They sat at the table happily looking at the wonderful pictures
until it was time to get ready to close the shop and get something to eat. After they had eaten they wandered out onto the store's porch to
watch the last few stragglers sitting around the remnants of the bonfire, chatting gaily.

    Maddie was so excited! Mother had told her about the new job offer her Father had gotten. "Yes, it is a great opportunity". Her Father was saying.
"Ten of us at the company are going to restore all those old covered wagons that have been sitting in the old barn for many years. Then
they will be sold to museums all over the country. There must be One-Hundred wagons in all"!
   "Yes, it is a good chance, and good money. I think you should take the job, and it is the same work hours you have now. There will be a little
extra money in the bank also. I think it's a good choice".

    Next week was going to be so much fun! father had told her He would take her to the mainland one day to see them hauling out the wagons to
be restored. It was going to be a big job that would take the better part of a year. It had also been discovered that some of the wagons had
trunks in them that held a large assortment of very old clothing. These would be sent to a company that specialized in clothing restoration.
As always, Maddie would have her trusty camara at her side. It would be an adventure in itself snapping pictures of all the dresses that were
carefully being un-packed, listed, and numbered. Father told her there would be professional photographers there also. Everything would be
catalogued, and tagged with a special stock number for indentification.
    Next week came, and with much excitement, Maddie crossed the bay on the ferry with Father. They got off and walked the four blocks to the
barn where the wagons were kept. There she saw small tractors hauling out the wagons and taking them across the road to Father's work place.
There, the work was already in progress. Maddie watched in awe as wagons were diss-assembled, and each piece was carefully sanded and painted.
They were then assembled again, and went back to the barn. The process for each wagon took four or five days, and it made her realize the amount
of work that was to be done. The work kept Maddie busily snapping away, recording the whole process from start to finish. And there were
countless beautiful dresses to photograph also. She had never had such fun! She waved to Father a couple times as he worked, being careful
not to get in the way of the workers.
    At the end of the day they were exhausted, but happy. Maddie was thoroughly enchanted by the whole idea of the movement westward. She was
quiet on the way home that evening, barely noticing the rocking of the ferry. When they reached home, she crept up to her bed in
exhaustion and fell right to sleep.
    The next day a very tired Maddie took her film to the  general store, then came home to help Mother stock shelves. Chatting as they worked,
Maddie told about the professional photographers she had seen. They had even talked to her, and given her some ideas for taking  good vintage
style pictures. She could not wait to see how they turned out! When she had gone back to the store, old Ben had joked that she was becoming a
regular and was fast earning a spot on his famous peoples wall! 

    The summer passed quickly, and Maddie found herself in a debate as to what classes she would sign up for in the coming winter school session.
Her Western History course was definetly part of the plan, and she had her photography club on the weekends. There were a couple weeks left to
decide on the others. She was working on her first photo project, which would be a large poster progression of woman in the westward movement.
Her other five club projects were just vague ideas so far. They were going to the mainland in a week to get some new slacks for her. She did
not need any tops, she had plenty of those.  And she also wanted to get some of the cute hair ties she had seen on her last trip to
the mainland with father.
    Wandering downstairs to the store, she scooped up a spoonful of the bright multi-colored jellybeans from one of the big candy jars. Tossing
them into a little paper bag, she rang them up on the register and then decided to go for a walk. Down by the water she stood idly, wondering
what this next year would bring. She was interrupted in her thoughts by one of the boats coming in, the men shouting and whistling in glee
at her as they passed. She laughed, wondering why they were coming in so early. Watching them unload some very big fish had her interest instantly.
    "Hey, ho! Look at what we got"! Called out one of the men. He extended his arms skyward, holding a very large Salmon and proceeded to
do a goofy dance. The other men laughed at his silly antics, telling him he looked like a madman. He did not care, he was stunned at the luck
they had. They had found a place that was teeming with the fish, and had caught a full load very shortly. Matt, the one who had done the 
silly dance ran up to the shed to pull out one of the big scales. They were going to be busy for awhile, with cleaning and weighing. They would
get a good price on this haul, they had no doubts, and were glad because there would not be many more runs before the season ended.


    It was the last weekend before classes started, and everyone was excited about the spirit-walk party. This was held every year by the
school board, in the big warehouse close to the docks. All students would bring their photo albums and journals they kept on their walks.
They would be put up for display for everyone to see and read. It was one of the best times of the whole year. Food and snacks were
contributed by volunteers, and there was always somthing good to nibble on. It was an all day event, so everyone made sure to come.
    Across the room her two classmates happily waved from their table. A girl Maddie did not know stood close by.
    "Hey, Maddie"! Tommy quipped. "Looks like a good turnout. Lots of mainlanders. I would like you to meet our new classmate. This is
Jenny Johnson, she is from New York".
    Maddie stepped around a baby carriage, happy to see her friends. She had seen them only a couple times during the summer.
    "Hello, Jenny, welcome to our Island". Maddie smiled brightly.
    Then Matt piped in. "Yep, this is the whole of our combined Eleventh and Twelvth level class for this year. Man, with all four
of us, we can cause all sorts of mischief. Jenny does not have a spirit journal, so the celebration will be a good chance for her to
learn some of our History".
    The day was spent happily wandering through the big hall looking at picture albums and reading countless journal pages from the
other class levels. Later in the evening the bonfires were lit on the beach, and the town people sat around talking and laughing.
A beautiful silvered moon hung in the night sky.
    Grilled fish roasted on the spits set over the fires, and folks eagerly waited for  their portions. The children had spent all
afternoon wading in the lake, catching the fish with their little pole hooks. Maddie thought they had done very well.

    This was the final school year and Maddie found herself totally absorbed in the field History class. There were free days, when
they spent the school day visiting the big library on the mainland. These were her favorite days, preparing for the college level
courses and her one year apprentenceship. The next weeks were spent in study at the kitchen table, discussions of timelines, and
pop quizzes.
    Snow-blown days and ice covered lake turned warm. Sooner then they knew the school year came to an end, and they said goodbye to
the schoolhouse they had always known.

    The warm summer breeze returned, stirring the crisp white curtains in the kitchen. Maddie felt liberated as she strolled out onto
the porch. A whole summer was before her, with no worries. She sat idly on the porch swing, sipping her tea, trying to think what she
might do first. Looking down toward the dock, she saw Matt on the top deck of one of the boats. She smirked to herself thinking,
"Yes, that is where he is going to spend his summer".

    Madeline walked slowly along the beach, kicking the sand under her feet up in little puffs. Waves washed up over her sandals, leaving
pits where she had walked. The day was perfect, even though earlier they had sat in the kitchen listening to the reports of the
storm that was expected. Blue swells threw foaming whitecaps up around the rocks, making hissing sounds as they fell back. The tide was
surging in an uneven flux, the water looked heavy and dark. She noticed tiny pearl-grey shells washed up on the sand. Perfect, smooth
surfaced, they were pointed spirels. She picked up a handful, tucking them into her pocket. They would look beautiful on the front room
shelf. Gulls were hanging just beneath large, angry-looking clouds, diving downward towards rocks, then swooping upwards again.
    She was thinking about her choice of schools. That morning they had gotten two catologues that were her top choices for the
History studies she wanted, both in New York state. The whole summer was ahead of her, so it was a good amount of time to choose.
    Hearing the whistle of the ferry, she turned toward the dock and waved to Father as it came in. She walked down to meet him, and
they walked home together. Later as they sat at dinner, the wind started to pick up. Father shook his head. "It seems that there has to
be a certain number of storms each season". He remarked. Mother smiled. "Yes, it has always been that way". They talked  for a bit,
and Maddie rose to clean up, thankful for a good home. She piled a bunch of fresh baked cookies on a large plate and set it on the table
for them to nibble on, and they sat listening to the storm.
    The next day there was nothing to do but hang around the shop and help pick up storm debris. Maddie was out working in the yard
when she saw Jenny strolling up the road. "Hey, Jenny"! She called out, waving. Jenny came up to the shop, laughing. "I was coming to
see you, Maddie! I heard you were going to school in New York state. You know I am from New York, and I have applied to a couple places
back there. I wondered if by some chance we might be  ending up in the same school? Trenton is where I am going".
    "Hey, that is where I am going too"! Maddie exclaimed. "Maybe we can room together. This is so cool". They sat for awhile talking
and nibbling on the cookies and lemonade,  working out possible class times, transportation, and other things before Jenny headed for home.
    The next afternoon there was a knock on the door. Maddie opened the door and Matt, Jenny, and Tommy were standing on the porch.
    Tommy made a dramatic bow, offering his arm and announcing very formally, "We are going to the Gulls Nest for burgers and sodas"!
He said it so comically that Maddie had to laugh. "Oh yes, I believe I will come too"! She pulled the door closed, and they swept down the
street with their arms linked. At the Gulls Nest they sat and talked about their plans for the summer. Matt was going to work at the
warehouse with his Father. He had done this the year before also. Jenny and Tommy had both landed jobs on the mainland, Jenny at the library,
Tommy at the same company where Maddies Father worked. Maddie already worked at her parents shop.

    Humming, Maddie cheerfully made her way across the long counter with the dust rag. Today had been a slow day, with only three people
coming in. It had been a good summer, with work and a bit of fun on the weekends with her friends. There had also been lots of
planning for school with Jenny. They had gotten assigned to a nice big room looking over the cities beautiful college park that was pictured
in the school advertisement. They both planned to get jobs on the large campus, so they would not have to go off grounds every day.
    In about three weeks the tourist season would be pretty much finished, and Maddie was glad. She was busy getting ready to leave for school.
All the travel plans had been made with Mother and Father, and no problems were foreseen. All tickets and schedules were carefully
tucked into her travel pouch. Maddie looked forward to the new year with excitement and determination to do well.

    The flight had been uneventful, and the short cab ride was fun. They spent the next day signing up for classes, and getting into
their room. Then they had to find where the class rooms were. At one point during the day they had stopped for just a moment, looking at each
other and ending up laughing at themselves.
   "Wow, we are finally here"! Jenny said with another giggle. "We are on our own"!
    Maddie shook her head in disbelief. "Yeah, now we can eat all the sweets we want, and watch lots of television"!
    They looked at each other, and both said loudly, "YEEAA"
   
    The History course work was not to difficult as they worked each evening either in their room, or at the nearby library. There were alot of
maps and diagrams to study and memorize for different time periods, but this was the kind of stuff Maddie loved studying.
    They found a photography class that was a group that met once each week at the library, and quickly signed up before space ran out.    
    Jenny had only taken a few photography classes, so it was all new for her. One night she brought back cupcakes for them to celebrate being
there one whole month, and they asked a couple of the other students to join them. Their circle of friends grew quickly, and there was always an excuse to have fun.







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The Seventh Summer

"You don't go down there girl, it's dangerous. The old woman is crazy!
You will disappear, and no one will ever know what happened to you!"

She had heard these words all of her short life.
The blond boy they called R had gone down the  weed choked
embankment, and he had come back with horrible stories of dead
animals hanging in the windows and strange signs
drawn in blood on the door posts of the old house. But no one
could ever say they had really been close to the place,
so she never really understood what all the big fuss was about.
But there were the stories.
She had never heard an adult either confirm or deny them. There
was a cold feeling about it all deep down inside of her. She didn't
allow it to surface often.

Some of the kids said a witch lived down there, and would  come out
at night and tie black crow feathers to peoples trees.  If you
found a black feather in your tree, that meant she was coming
for you, and nothing could save you!

The old man who owned the grocery store had found feathers in
his trees, and his wife had disappeared later the same evening
when the moon was just rising. Some said she had taken both his
children years ago when they were just babes, so all
the towns people believed he was cursed. No one ever went into
his store, and when he walked down the one long street of the
tiny town, people would go to the other side of the street,
or would not come out of their homes.

The witch's ancestors were believed to be buried in the south end
of the graveyard, and large circles had been found scratched into
the ground around the stones, along with odd symbols.  And then
there was the small stone grotto that had been there as long as
anyone could remember, at the edge of the graveyard. It
had always remained untouched, yet always seemed to be changed,
different somehow. Some claimed to have seen a shadowy figure
lurking there at night, and things were not in the exact same
positions as they had been. Shallow, small footprints were also
found. It was a place that was always avoided, even
by the adults.

People disappeared in this small town, and no one seemed to know
just what happened to them. Some families packed what would fit in
their old cars and just left, without so much as a goodbye.

This had all  happened the summer she turned seven.

Strange things still happen there

This had all happened twenty years before. She was grown now,
married with a babe of her own...

She had met John in college, they had both been in the
same conservation training courses. They had had a whirlwind
romance for two short years, then had been married.


When they had finally found the farm, it had been like a dream,
it was the perfect place. It was for sale at a good price, with
only one barn of the three being in very bad condition. They
had fallen in love with the place instantly. Dia loved the huge
front porch, and already knew she wanted her beautiful
white wicker set there.

The next two months were filled with planning just how to set
things up on the rest of the place.
Then one morning, she had idly wandered out the back door,
to the big barn where John was working. She passed the well,
and just glancing, noticed something fluttering around near the top.
Walking closer, she saw there was a black feather snagged in the
clapboard shingles. Shrugging her shoulder, she reached up and
pulled it from the old wood. Somewhere in deep memory, a vague
twinge of uneasiness rose, but she shrugged it off...

She had been working in the garden only a short time, when she
heard, John come in through the front door. She stood up from her
crouched position, and pulled off her garden gloves.
"John, is everything ok", she asked, hearing angry voices. She
found him sitting at the table with the sheriff, one of the
farmhands, and two other farmhands from the nearby farm.
"No, I'm afraid not", He replied. "Dan found three of his cattle
dead last night, in the north field. Real strange too, they were
cut open straight down the middle, nothing taken but the hearts."
"And there were strange symbols carved on there faces in blood
too. And the area was strewn with black bird feathers, crow,
if i'm not mistaken". Added the sheriff. "A couple families I met
coming out of the super-mart said they had seen an old woman
lurking around town the last week or so, and they didn't
recall ever seeing her before. We'll check it out, John, and
let you know what happens. Until then, everyone's going to
have to keep their eyes peeled, he remarked, standing. "See
you in a couple days."

The next evening they were sitting together with the fireplace
pleasently warming the large room, when the phone rang. John rose to
answer. After a few short moments, he returned.
"That was the sheriff. He couldn't make it out here tonight, too much on
his hands. It seems this old woman people have been seeing isn't
from town. No one seems to know where she's from, she doesn't
speak to anyone, and she's pretty strange by what their all saying.
Seems she crossed his path last night, and he arrested her, put her
in jail, and she tried to set the whole place on fire!"
He rose slowly, shaking his head, and walked to the window.
"No one knows what to make of this. He cant hold her for more then
one night, because no formal charges have been brought against her.
Dan is angry, but he doesn't have the heart to put her in jail
for good."...

Dia sat idly rocking on the front porch, looking out over the farm.
She sighed, glad the last month was behind her. Planning the
birthday party for her sixteen year old daughter had been both
a trial, and a blessing. Tomorrow was the big day!
But Jenny was the light of their life, spirited, gutsy, not afraid of anything!
Picking up the note pad from the small table, she rose to go into
the house, glancing one last time at the moon rising in a beautiful
night sky. A movement caught her eye, and she looked out at the hedge
bordering the large yard. Probably just an owl or nighthawk, she mused,
and went in.

"Wake up! Get up, lazy daisy!" She heard Jenny's voice outside her room. 
Opening her eyes, she looked at her clock. Eight o'clock already! Goodness!
She sprang out of bed and hurriedly showered and dressed, there was a lot
to do! She walked into the kitchen, and Jenny poured her
a cup of hot tea.
"The trucks are coming in from town already, and the
caterers will be here in an hour," She reported. Then she wandered out
onto the porch with a glass of orange juice.  After a few moments she
called "Hey Mom, come out here and look at this, it's really odd!"
Dia came out to look at the hedge Jenny was pointing at. It looked like
some kind of dark streamers had been attatched to the hedge.
A strange feeling, like vague cobwebs in her mind, swept through her.
She ran across the yard to the hedge and stood in disbelief!
There, strung throughout the whole hedge were black crows feathers!
From somewhere far away, she heard an unearthly scream. Then she
fainted dead away...

Somewhere from the depths of eternity, she felt herself rising
slowly from the blackness. John was there, gently patting her face to
revive her. She slowly sat up at last.
"What happened outside?" He asked her, "You let out a scream that would wake the dead!
Some kid had some stupid idea of a funny joke, I guess that's all it is."
She shook her head to clear it, but she knew better, she knew what it was!
"John, there isn't time now, but we have to talk about some things,
tomorrow maybe." She said.

The next day they all slept until noon, exhausted from the festivities.
They ended up sitting in the front room with the big stone fireplace
taking the chill from the air, talking about everything right into
the evening.  John had listened, fascinated by the history that he
had never heard up until now.
"I'll just say that's the most interesting thing I have heard ever." He finished.
"What can I say about all this? I just wonder why you never told me before now."
Dia thought about that for a long moment. "Well, I guess after we were married, it just didn't
seem to be part of my life anymore, then as time went on, it just
stopped being of any importance. But, you know something, I don't
believe this is over, John. The old witch didn't come for me, she
came for Jenny, and I don't know how to stop this! I don't know
why this is happening now! Bringing the police  into it isn't
going to stop her. Oh God, I wish Momma were here now! She was right
in the middle of all this in that little marsh town, and she would
know just what to do! Meanwhile, we can't let Jenny go out
anywhere with her friends, or otherwise. I don't know how in hell
I am going to tell her about all this!"
"Well, mom, you don't have to." Came  a voice from the back staircase.
"I heard it all when you were telling Dad! You have always told me
that there are always ways to solve a problem, and I believe we
can do this together!"
Dia sighed, "Oh, baby, I'm so sorry I never told you and your Dad about
this. It never seemed of any importance."
John comforted her, "Well,
it probably would not have made any difference, she was going to do it
no matter what. I'll just tell Luke to keep his eyes peeled for anything
funny going on around the place."

Several days went by with no incident. Then one day they came home from
a shopping trip early in the afternoon, and as they came into the driveway,
they saw thick black smoke billowing into the air. The house was
burning!
"You stay in the truck with your mother!" John barked, and he was running
across the yard to meet Luke coming out of the barn. Luke panted out,
"Mr. L, I've called the fire trucks, nothing else seems to have been
bothered but the house!  I gotta tell you, I've never seen a hotter, faster
fire then this! It went up like a tinder box!"  Then He added low, so
he could not be overheard. "Man, it's like someone knew what they were
doing!" He shook his head.
They heard the sirens shrill blast coming down the road, and John ran
to move the truck to the far side of the barn, out of the way.
As the large water truck came into the yard, the walls of the house
were falling in. The men jumped out and stood watching the inferno
in disbelief.
"John, nothing we can do!" Yelled Walt, the fire chief,
over the roar of the flames. "It's a bloody rotten shame!"

They stayed in the farmyard for the next few hours, watching to
be sure nothing else would catch fire. It seemed forever until the
flames engulfing the house finally started to die down. The scorching
air billowed up in huge swirling devils, and as the fire chief
looked up to the sky, he saw a strange sight.
"John, look at that." He remarked, pointing upwards. Then they
all stood watching the amazing sight.

There, swirling slowly down from the sky, were hundreds of black
crow's feathers...












Copyright 3/2007
D.Fleck