The Museum was a small one roomed building and thrilled Wilma. She enjoyed the couple of displays and the text that described in detail how the town came to be. During the First World War, a group of people fled to the safety of the woods to escape persecution and established the little town of Iniquity Falls, so named after the waterfall that ran into a river behind the old graveyard. Wilma thought the name of the town and the waterfall was quite peculiar and unusual. Iniquity Falls. Was it just one of those places with a peculiar name or did the name have meaning to it? Iniquity? The word was unfamiliar to her.
After the tour of the town and museum, Wilma and Thomas went to the coffee shop to get some lunch. It was a quaint little shop with blushing pink wallpaper with white vertical lines. The walls were lined with photo frames of all sizes, each one depicting a romantic scene between lovers. The tables and chairs were rustic old white garden furniture which was the perfect complement to the little shop.
Wilma and Thomas sat the table in the window alcove. Every now and then someone would walk down the street and pass the window.
“I love this little shop!” Wilma exclaimed excited.
The waiter brought them each a menu.
“It’s so full of character.” Wilma said, “Not like the commercialized coffee shops where I come from.”
“This place has been here for as long as I can remember.” Thomas said
Wilma paged through the menu.
“Wow.” Wilma said, “Everything sounds so delicious.”
“And everything is.” Thomas said.
“So,” Wilma continued, “What’s Albert’s story? Is he married? Not that I am interested in him in anyway. I’m just curious.”
Thomas smiled.
“He was.” Thomas said.
The smile faded from Thomas’s face and he got lost in his thoughts for a moment as he spoke.
“His wife passed away.” Thomas said.
“Oh I am so sorry.” Wilma said.
“She died of the flu.” Thomas said, “It was very hard on him for years. They were married like forever.”
“I can only imagine.” Wilma said.
A little girl walking down the main road outside stopped and turned to face the window. Wilma noticed her, smiled and waved. The little girl stood there for a moment. She just stared at the window with a blank expression on her face. It was as if she did not see the people in the shop, but only saw her own reflection. Wilma lowered her hand, but kept her smile. She did not want to admit it, but the little girl gave her the creeps with her cold blue eyes and black hair.
“You’ll like it here.” The little girl said.
The smile faded from Wilma’s face. What did she mean by that? What an odd thing to say.
A second later a woman rushed over to the girl and grabbed her by the arm. She mumbled something to the girl who kept staring at the window. The woman looked up at the window. When she saw Wilma it was like she was mesmerized by what she saw. She could not take her eyes off Wilma. She snapped out of her dazed state and smiled.
“I’m so sorry.” The woman said.
The woman and girl walked on.
“That was weird.” Wilma chuckled a bit uneasy.
“The town’s people are harmless.” Thomas assured her.
“How long have you lived in Iniquity Falls?” Wilma asked.
“Oh, forever.” Thomas said, “My family moved here when I was two years old. This is my home. I could never leave.”
“I don’t blame you.” Wilma said. “This place is so peaceful.”
A scream outside caught Wilma’s attention and she glanced at the window. The little girl’s mother came running into the shop and nearly knocked over the table Wilma was seated at. Thomas moved out of the way and glanced at the woman. She rested her hands on the table and seemed out of breath – her eyes were wide and filled with terror.
Wilma felt a bit unsettled. She did not know how to react.
“Are you alright?” Wilma asked cautiously.
“Get out!” The woman pleaded.
The waiter stepped closer, but kept his distance. He did not want to get too involved.
“I’m sorry?” Wilma asked confused.
“Get out while you still can!” The woman insisted.
Instantaneously the woman’s posture changed – she was more calm and confident. She stood upright and straightened her blouse. She looked at Wilma and smiled embarrassed.
“Are you alright?” Wilma asked.
Wilma was taken aback by the strange mood swing. The woman nodded, but then the fear returned to her eyes.
“Please!” The woman pleaded, “Go now! While you still can! There is a reason this place is called Iniquity Falls!”
The woman’s posture changed again and she was more poised.
“I’m sorry.” The woman said calmly, “Excuse me.”
The woman turned around.
“Shut up you stupid whore.” The woman mumbled to herself as she left.
How bizarre Wilma thought. She stared out the window as the woman joined her daughter and left.
After the coffee shop they walked back to the hotel. Dinner was served later that evening and Wilma retired to her room as the only guest.
She lay in the continental bed, lost in the covers and pillows and stared up at the mosquito net covered banister above her.
She was glad she booked into the hotel. She had a fun and yet relaxing day exploring and learning more about the town. She wanted to go see the waterfall the next day to figure out why it was called Iniquity Falls. With no reception she could not look it up on the internet. She was intrigued more than ever since the woman’s outbursts in the coffee shop. Why was she so distraught one moment and then graceful the next?
She listened to the sounds of the night outside her window – crickets and owls sang their songs hoping to attract a mate. It was all so peaceful; she knew she would have no problem falling asleep.
She was right. She fell asleep without even trying. The soft and comfortable bed coupled with the soothing nature sounds helped her drift away.
She had been asleep for a few hours when she suddenly awoke to the whispering outside her window. She sat upright. It sounded like someone was whispering her name.
She threw back the covers, got up and walked over to the balcony. She stared out into the night. The whispering was clear and audible. Wilma. Come to us.
It sounded like the whispering was coming from the town. She was strangely drawn to the whispering and so she put on her shoes to go investigate.
She slowly opened her bedroom door and quietly made her way down the stairs. She had to trend lightly as every third stair creaked. She opened the front door of the hotel and stepped out into the night.
She made her way down the overgrown path towards the little town. The whispering became louder and more incoherent the closer she got to town. She followed the sound of the illogical whispering and when she got to the footpath that led to the cemetery, the whispering stopped abruptly.
She stared at the footpath that was nearly covered by shrubs. The branches of the trees extended across the path like claws.
Wilma saw a very dim light on the other side of the bushes and decided to investigate. She pushed her way through the overgrown footpath, thrusting the tree branches out of her way.
“Hello?” She whispered, “Is someone there?”
She finally cleared the bushes and stumbled into the old cemetery. It had a few headstones, a single lamppost in the middle of the ground and a stream that flowed behind the cemetery.
The light from the lamppost was dim and cast eerie shadows on the ground. The gravestones were old and cracked – some seemed like they stood there for hundreds of years. She made her way through the small maze of graves towards the stream.
She stood on the bank of the stream and searched for the waterfall. It was a very small waterfall to her left, which she could have missed if she didn’t look twice. Then the whispering began again. Wilma…
&
nbsp; She turned around and glanced down at the graves. Though she heard the voices clearly speaking together as if they were one voice, she was alone.
“What are you doing down here?” Thomas asked from the shadows.
Wilma’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. He slowly stepped out of the shadows.
“I couldn’t sleep.” Wilma lied, “So I decided to go looking for the waterfall.”
“You could slip and fall in the dark.” Thomas said, “It’s not safe out here at night.”
His voice sounded threatening, as if warning her.
“You could get hurt out here.” Thomas said, “Let’s go back to the hotel.”
Wilma nodded and walked over to Thomas. As she passed one of the graves her foot got caught in an unearthed root. She stumbled and fell. Thomas rushed to her side and helped her to her feet. As she stood up she saw the headstone next to her had a name above the epitaph she recognized; Alfred Wilbershitter.
She was profoundly rattled, but decided to keep her cool and not mention it.
“Are you alright?” Thomas asked.
“I’m fine.” Wilma said and dusted herself off.
“Let’s go.” Thomas said.
Thomas turned and entered the bushes. Wilma glanced back at the cemetery one last time before she followed Thomas into the bushes. Maybe Alfred had the same name as his father. It was possible Alfred is Alfred Wilbershitter II.
The headstone next to Alfred Wilbershitter’s belonged to Lisa Phillips. It had a framed picture of a woman posted to the headstone and beneath it was the epitaph Loving wife, mother and sister. May Angels sing thee to thy eternal rest.
A little vase with a dead flower stood at the foot of the headstone. It was obviously placed there years earlier by a mourning loved one. The grave was just as forgotten as the rest of them.
The vase tipped over and then a bony hand shot out of the earth. The decomposed remains of Lisa Phillips dug its way out of the ground and crawled across the graveyard towards the overgrown footpath.
The ghastly creature groaned as it crawled like a cripple through the bushes and through the town. The town lay calm and quiet in the night, except for the corpse crawling down the road.
It crept towards the hotel and broke a few fragile fingers in the process. The creature climbed up the old tree that stood next to the hotel and used one of the larger branches to climb into the window of Wilma’s room.
The creature stumbled onto the floor of the room and heaved. The mosquito nets untangled from the bedposts and draped themselves down towards the floor. The nets opened like curtains allowing the creature to crawl into the bed where Wilma lay asleep.
The nets closed again and pulled tight as if to prevent anything from getting out. The creature crawled onto Wilma who slowly woke up, and then sat up with a jerk upon seeing the hellish fiend. She let out a loud scream and tried to jump out of bed, but the mosquito nets did not allow her to escape. It was as if the nets were made of iron and indestructible.
The creature grabbed Wilma by the neck and pushed her up against the headboard. Wilma gasped for air as the creature examined her.
The creature pressed its fingers into the flesh of Wilma’s chest until the flesh tore. Wilma screamed in pain as the creature widened the tear. The creature let go of Wilma’s neck and then dived into the tear in her chest. Wilma gurgled for a moment and then the wound closed up leaving a scar that disappeared a few seconds later
Wilma’s head jerked back and forth and then it stopped. Alfred and Thomas rushed into the room and switched on the lights to see as to what all the commotion was about. They saw Wilma sitting on the bed behind the nets. She did not move. She did not speak.
Thomas rushed to the bed and threw back the nets.
Wilma opened her eyes and looked at the two of them.
“Lisa?” Alfred asked excited.
“Man it’s good to be back.” Wilma said.
“See.” Thomas said, “I told you we would find you a body that wouldn’t reject you.”
Alfred smiled when he realized his long lost love had finally returned to him. All the long lonely years he spent without her suddenly seemed like a distant memory. He rushed over to the foot of the bed.
Wilma’s eyes lightened up when she saw Alfred.
“Alfred?” She asked, “Is that you?”
She recognized his soul, though the packaging was different.
“Yes.” Alfred said, “It’s me. I know this old body is not the best looking one out there, but another one will come along. They always do.”
Wilma smiled and shook her head as she crawled over to him. She looked him in the eyes and then kissed him. She missed him.
“I do not care what you look like.” Wilma said. “As long as we have each other.”
Albert seemed pleased with the turn of events.
“Come.” Albert said, “We have lots to talk about. You have missed quite a bit in the hundred years since you last lived.”
Albert took her by the hand and led her off the bed. He turned to Thomas.
“Get rid of the car.” Albert said, “And start sending out more adverts. It’s about time our son came back to life.”
THE END…OR IS IT?
Welcome to the Neighbourhood Page 3
