COUNTERTOP
A couple of items sit quietly in the dark upon the countertop, the Aunt’s purse and a cocoa pot. Above them, an open cabinet gives way to a slightly rusted safe on the bottom shelf.
A scaly-skinned purse, a red jewel now set into the clasp. The bag itself seems half-rotted, moth-eaten and foul. Its only contents are a sole book with the title, “Overcoming Grief”.
It’s only a moment of studying the purse before you hear the cries of a woman behind you. You turn to find the sobbing spirit of Aunt Jane shaking her head in denial.
“Not the curse again!”
“I’ll do whatever I can to end this misery!”
“I wish I knew! One minute she was here and then… Oh my goodness, it’s just like Rose! Oh, that poor girl, I should’ve known the curse wasn’t done with any of us yet. You feel it, right? That dark malevolence that stole Elsie away? It’s surrounded us even after we died. It won’t let us go!“
“It was all very disorderly! I remember trying to keep everyone calm while I waited for Vera, who had abandoned me to deal with the very irate neighbor. The neighbor was insistent on seeing Elsie, babbling about the theft of her garden stones or some trivial nonsense. Vera returned with some hot cocoa, awfully sweet if you ask me, but I was panicked by Birdie and regrettably quaffed it down too quickly! I instantly felt that something was off. I looked around, some people were missing. Virgil was gone, as was the salesman and the lodger. Come to think of it, the only people left in the room at all were myself, Vera, and the neighbor, Birdie! I saw Vera collapse to the ground, she was writhing in pain! I tried to scream for help but everything was already going dark! There was an unsavory flavor in my mouth, like metal, and a great pain started to overwhelm me. I fell back into the chair and… I saw the neighbor take off down the hall. A few moments must have passed by… I was still alive, but I couldn’t move. The last thing I remember is seeing the salesman step back into the room!”
“How dare you! Have you ever had every good thing stolen away from you without warning?! I’ve been rebuilding as best I can. I may not be good as new, but who could be? When life just seems so unfair, so intent on dealing blow after blow, it’s hard to stay positive. After losing my husband, I struggled. Then came that day at the park, filled with kids, but it was my darling Rose… But I’d been trying my hardest, here with my brother and his family. It was a matter of one day at a time, treasuring the family that still remained to me.”
You can’t avoid looking at the cocoa pot forever. Unlike the rest of the house, infested by rot and disquiet, the stainless steel pot remains pristine. It makes your skin crawl to look at it. Though the police at the time never determined how the victims ingested the poison, you’re fairly certain you’re looking at the culprit.
It’s only a moment of studying the purse before you hear the cries of a woman behind you. You turn to find the sobbing spirit of Aunt Jane shaking her head in denial.
“Not the curse again!”
“I’ll do whatever I can to end this misery!”
“I wish I knew! One minute she was here and then… Oh my goodness, it’s just like Rose! Oh, that poor girl, I should’ve known the curse wasn’t done with any of us yet. You feel it, right? That dark malevolence that stole Elsie away? It’s surrounded us even after we died. It won’t let us go!“
“It was all very disorderly! I remember trying to keep everyone calm while I waited for Vera, who had abandoned me to deal with the very irate neighbor. The neighbor was insistent on seeing Elsie, babbling about the theft of her garden stones or some trivial nonsense. Vera returned with some hot cocoa, awfully sweet if you ask me, but I was panicked by Birdie and regrettably quaffed it down too quickly! I instantly felt that something was off. I looked around, some people were missing. Virgil was gone, as was the salesman and the lodger. Come to think of it, the only people left in the room at all were myself, Vera, and the neighbor, Birdie! I saw Vera collapse to the ground, she was writhing in pain! I tried to scream for help but everything was already going dark! There was an unsavory flavor in my mouth, like metal, and a great pain started to overwhelm me. I fell back into the chair and… I saw the neighbor take off down the hall. A few moments must have passed by… I was still alive, but I couldn’t move. The last thing I remember is seeing the salesman step back into the room!”
“How dare you! Have you ever had every good thing stolen away from you without warning?! I’ve been rebuilding as best I can. I may not be good as new, but who could be? When life just seems so unfair, so intent on dealing blow after blow, it’s hard to stay positive. After losing my husband, I struggled. Then came that day at the park, filled with kids, but it was my darling Rose… But I’d been trying my hardest, here with my brother and his family. It was a matter of one day at a time, treasuring the family that still remained to me.”
You can’t avoid looking at the cocoa pot forever. Unlike the rest of the house, infested by rot and disquiet, the stainless steel pot remains pristine. It makes your skin crawl to look at it. Though the police at the time never determined how the victims ingested the poison, you’re fairly certain you’re looking at the culprit.