by Hope Jameson
The boy began to pull on the little girl’s long brown hair. She tried to fight him off, but he was stronger than her. She batted at his hand, but his grip was too strong and he wouldn’t turn loose. Every time she swatted at his hand, it only pulled her hair more. Tears finally start spilling from her eyes while she stands there looking at him.
The boy pushed her to the ground and she didn’t try to get back up. The boy looked around and Jill could see that he was smiling. “Are you smiling at me, you little meanie?” she muttered knowing it didn’t matter what she thought. There was nothing she could do to help.
He turned back to the girl on the ground and it looked like he was ordering her to do something. She stayed on the ground without looking at him. The boy took a step towards her and grabbed her sleeve, urging her to get up from the ground.
The sleeve tore and she fell back down. Then he grabbed at the front of her shirt and yanked her up again. This time she managed to get on her feet, but a button popped from the shirt and was lost in the long grass. The looked to the area the button fell into, but she didn’t move to try to find it.
Jill realized that she was doing nothing to help, so amazed by the scene, that she hadn’t moved from where she was laying. She jumped up and reached out for them, but something knocked her back. In shock, she looked around squinting to see if she could see a barrier.
She was about to try again, when one of the children turned and looked at her. Then they all turned and looked at her. The boy stopped bullying the little girl, though he still had a handful of her shirt in his hand. She opened her mouth to speak and a second young girl left the crowd in a mad dash and ran straight through her.
Jill could feel the cold immediately radiating through her body and almost passed out. She was stabbed by an ice forged sword, a frozen lightning bolt shot through her stomach. The child’s move was unexpected, but the result was even more of a surprise. It took her breath away.
The girl circled back, avoiding Jill, and she didn’t stop until she was beside the girl with the brown hair. The boy let go of the other girl’s shirt and looked at the two girls standing in front of him. Neither of them backed down.
Finally, the running girl pushed the boy and he stumbled back. The boy came back in and pushed the girl, the push was hard and she fell back, faltered a little, but kept her feet. She took a step forward and swung her arm. The fist was closed by the time it connected with his nose. Jill could see the look of fear and surprise in his face as he was thrown backwards to the ground.
When he got back up, there was blood running from his nose, and tears were streaming down his face. He wasn’t even trying to hide it. He stood still for a second, then he starts running to the woods. The other children follow him, apparently not daring to stay and find out what will happen nest.
The running girl holds out her hand, and the other girl takes it. They follow the others towards the woods, though at a good distance behind. Neither of them are smiling, both have tears in their eyes.
As they walk past Jill, the girl looks down at her. She wondered if the girls could see her. She wasn’t sure. Looking into her eyes, she saw a confidence, a daring, an energy that was rare. She also saw anger, determination, and adventure. She stared into the eyes and saw all of this, but there was something more. Something from her past. She knew those eyes.
8
Jill woke in a cold sweat. The darkness encompassed her. She blinked twice, trying to make sense of where she was and what had happened. As she lay in the darkness she processed everything.
“Must’ve been a dream,” she whispered. “Had to be. What else could it have been?”
She shuffled to the bathroom and put a washcloth under the cold water coming out of the faucet. She wrung it out and wiped her face with it then folded it and held it to the back of her neck.
“But it was so real. I was in a different world. A world from the past, I think. My mind wouldn’t have made me believe something like this actually happened—would it? Oh gosh. What’s happening to me?”
She felt a little desperate as she went back to her room and sat in the big easy chair by the window. She went through every part she was able to remember, as difficult as it was to think about the sad and horrible things she’d either seen or dreamed. Then she tried to focus on the eyes of the girl that had run through her.
“Did I really just relive a moment where a little girl literally ran through me? I’m going nuts. I have to be.” She put her head in her hands as the tension built even further in her shoulders and neck. “I do know those eyes, though. I’ve seen them before. I’m sure of at least that one thing.”
This was the last piece of a puzzle that would help her see everything more clearly. It had to be! She closed her eyes and brought the image back, running faces through her subconscious, trying to match them. Nothing triggered a memory.
She opened her eyes again and could make out flowery patterns in the wallpaper. She was definitely back in the bed and breakfast. Suzie’s place. She picked up her phone from the bedside table and looked at the time. It was thirteen minutes after four in the morning. The sun would be rising soon and she felt like she’d hardly slept any at all. To make it worse, she was certain she wouldn’t be getting back to sleep.
The room came back into focus as she leaned over with her elbows on her knees. She looked up and her eyes searched the dark corners for a little girl hiding in the shadows. She teared up as she thought about the little girl with the long brown hair.
In her dream, or whatever it had been, that girl lived in the orphanage. Probably the one she’d inherited. She felt sorry for her and for the other kids too. She even felt sad for the bully, a product of the environment he was in. He probably had more hardship later in life than any of the others.
She stopped herself abruptly. There was no later in life for these children. The fire had taken everyone. There were no survivors. Until now she’d not wanted to know the real truth about this little girl. She was oblivious just believing her to be a child who was allowed to run free to play in an abandoned building. This wasn’t rational thinking on her part. Who would allow their child to do that? Who would keep such loose attention on a child that she could be on her own time and time again to roam where she pleased?
Then it hit her. Hard. Was this girl a ghost? And all the children she’d seen today—ghosts, too? No. It wasn’t possible. There’s no such thing. She’d never believed in ghosts or spirits or anything like this at all, making that option too complicated to wrap her mind around.
But what other explanation could there be? The girl wasn’t real. As she looked back on the times she’d seen the girl, it was clear now that she wasn’t real. But what, then? The others were like the little girl—not real, but what?
Maybe they were real. Real ghosts. Jill felt a shiver go up her spine. She tried to calm her nerves by taking deep breaths and rolling her shoulders to relieve the tension in her back.
Maybe the girl and the others had never left the orphanage after the fire. Maybe it was possible after all that the halls were haunted by the ghosts of all the children, stuck in what they knew as an awful place. Maybe all they wanted was to go home and be reunited with their parents in the afterlife, but were unable to do so.
Jill had read the reports when she’d found out she owned the orphanage. The fire hadn’t put her off, not that she’d had a real choice since Bub had set all this in motion for her.
Recalling what she’d read, she shuddered again. The death of so many people was unsettling, but it had been so long ago. She didn’t know anyone from the Briarsville area and it was far enough away from Helmsworth that it wasn’t likely any of their family friends were tied to the fire.
Even now, with the thought that ghost, or even just one ghost, was still in the building, spooked her—which is just what ghosts did, wasn’t it?
“I can’t let this drive me away, though. Bub wanted me to have this place and do something with it. I can’t let her down,�
�� she whispered. “I can’t let her last wish drop unfulfilled.”
From what she’d read about the place, there were no reports of abuse towards the children, but times were different back then. Information could be covered up and kept secret. And details online were sometimes sketchy. Not to mention there were no witnesses since everyone had perished. Unless someone had spoken to someone else who wasn’t there that night. But those chances were slim to none, in Jill’s opinion.
She wondered about Bub. Did she know about the happenings there? Perhaps there had been rumors, someone had gossiped and it had spread. Gossip like that would be difficult to prove—if anyone even tried—so it would have been brushed off as silly folklore. It’s possible, even likely, that some would have believed a story about ghosts in an orphanage.
If Jill’s adopted grandmother had a belief that the children had been treated badly before perishing in the fire, then perhaps this was her way of giving respite where she thought it was needed. Bub had said many times that the dead should be allowed to rest in peace. Usually this talk came at the time of a funeral, but she could hear Bub’s voice in her ear declaring just that the day after they’d buried her adopted grandfather.
So did she believe that the children wouldn’t be able to rest until the damage from the fire had been repaired? Would this restoration bring closure to the ghosts of the children? It made sense, in a way, to Jill. From what she knew of Bub, it was definitely something she’d do.
Jill got out of bed and got dressed. She looked out of the window and could see the sky starting to lighten in the distance. The sun would soon peek over the horizon. She decided to go for a walk to clear her head.
When she made her way downstairs she could feel the quiet and calm of the quaint little cottage. No one had stirred yet, it would be a couple of hours before Suzie got up and began her morning routine. Jill basked in it before opening the front door quietly and closing it gently behind her so as not to disturb anyone.
She still had more questions than answers, but maybe today, she’d find out more information. Maybe today she’d find out who the little ghosts were. Maybe today, she’d finally understand what was going on with her new property and just what Bub’s true motive had been in buying this place and then leaving it to her.
9
There was a chill in the air, not unpleasant, but just enough to help wake her up completely. Jill could feel her head begin to clear as she walked, the breeze blowing out the negative emotions of her past few days and clearing her mind. She didn’t have a route in mind as she walked, but felt herself drawn to the rising sun. Each step she took helped her solidify her resolve to see this through.
It was after an hour that she found herself standing outside the orphanage. She hadn’t intended to walk there, but she was happy she’d made this unconscious decision. She brought her hand up to the locket around her neck that contained just a little bit of what was left of Bub. She let her fingers caress the gold piece as she sighed.
“What do you need from me, Bub? I want this to work out the way you wanted, but I need some help.” She looked up at the sky as she spoke. Neither the Heavens nor the ashes gave her an answer. She hadn’t really expected them to, but with all that had happened in the last few days, she thought it was worth a shot to ask.
The place looked so peaceful as she walked up the gravel drive. When she walked inside, she felt at peace with the first floor still and calm.
She walked the hall to find the room with the old trunk, the one filled with the children’s letters and drawings. This time it was exactly in the place she remembered leaving it. She found the drawing that had captivated her the first time she saw it.
Elise and Cynthia. Was Elise the little brown-haired girl? She thought it was likely since she kept trying to get Jill to know about someone named Cynthia. And it was possible that the girl from her dream, the one who had protected Elise, was Cynthia. She was the girl with the familiar eyes.
The drawing showed a wishful happiness which must have been missing from the lives of these two girls. She was sure that the drawing came from a memory or a feeling, rather than from a shared time inside this building. After her recent experiences, she couldn’t believe that the residents of this place ever had a moment of contentment once they darkened the door.
The drawing and letters gave Jill a thirst for more discovery. She left the building before anyone else arrived on the jobsite. She left the door unlocked and walked back down the gravel driveway. She sent a text to Amanda, letting her know that she’d visited that morning and that it was her who had left the door unlocked.
Jill walked back to the bed and breakfast, taking the sweater off half way there since the sun was up and warming her world. She sneaked up to her room so she could hide away undisturbed. She made it to her room and gently closed the door behind her. As she leaned against it once she was inside, she smiled and sighed with relief. Safe!
Heading to the desk, she stopped to pick up her laptop and then opened it up as she sat down. Once the machine booted up, she started on the research she’d been itching to get to. Reading and making notes, she lost track of time and the morning eased into afternoon. Before she realized it, lunchtime had passed.
A knock at her door took her by surprise. She looked at her phone and groaned when she saw it was almost three o’clock. Where had the day gone? It was probably Suzie at the door, and she debated on whether she should answer it or not. Deciding it would be terribly rude to dodge her short-term landlord, she got up and went to the door. As expected, Suzie stood on the other side of the door with a smile.
“Hi there. Just thought I’d check on you. I saw you sneak in this morning and figured you’d been out for an early walk. Also figured you wanted some privacy since you crept back in.”
“Hi Suzie. I didn’t mean to be anti-social. I just had a ton of research to do. Still working on it, actually.” Jill turned and gestured to the desk and her open laptop with notebooks stacked up beside it.
“I see. Something interesting, I take it?”
“I guess that depends on your perspective.” Jill chuckled.
“Oh?”
“Well, I’m looking up articles on the orphanage. Trying to see if I can find out more about the place before the fire. How well stocked is your library?”
“We have two. The one on Bessemer Street nearest downtown is the biggest with the most resources. I think that one’ll be your best bet.” Suzie tilted her head to the side and scrunched up her nose. “You know, you might also check the town hall. They keep public records there. Not sure you’ll find much there, but you never know.”
“True. You never know. Thanks. I’ll check those out tomorrow. Looks like it’s too late to start on that today.”
“Hey, since you missed breakfast and by the sound of it you skipped lunch, too, I can make you a snack if you want.”
“Oh, that’s okay. Honestly, I’m not really hungry. Believe me, I’m just as surprised as the next guy about that. I’ll go out later and get some supper and that’ll do me. But thanks.”
“All right then. Have a good night, Jill.”
“You, too.” Jill smiled at her as she turned to go. Happy to have the research options to check out and happy to be alone again.
Looking at her watch, she was fairly certain she wouldn’t have time to make it to the town hall or the library and still have time to pull files and do the reading she’d need to do. That would have to wait till tomorrow.
Realizing she was indeed hungry after a day of neglecting to eat, she shut down her laptop and headed out to the diner. Breakfast for an early supper sounded like just the plan to fill her belly and help her get a good night’s sleep.
10
Jill decided that she needed to spend the day doing research. Certain that things at the jobsite were well under control with Amanda in charge, she set out to the town hall first. She suspected she wouldn’t find much there, but it was worth a look.
The records in
the town hall didn’t give up much information, other than the property deeds, the owners over the years, copies of the blueprints, and fire damage reports. They all gave information, but not the information Jill needed to solve her mystery.
The library, on the other hand, had more of the sort of reports she wanted. She found some old articles from local newspapers sharing stories of claims of abuse at the orphanage. The three articles were spaced just about a year apart and were full of rumors and innuendo. The last article, dated in January of 1957, spoke of frightened children and intolerant tutors. The account ended with a quote from one of the teachers at the institution, of course with the promise of anonymity.
These practices of abuse need to end immediately. School officials are harming the children emotionally and physically. Their exploiting their inability to protect themselves.
From the lack of follow up articles and the fact that there was nothing in the newspaper after that January, 1957 article except the coverage of the fire, nothing was ever proven. At least, nothing was ever done about it. Though the news was heart wrenching, it backed up Jill’s horrifying dream and fueled her fire to get to the bottom of what happened in that place. The place she now owned.
There was one other article of interest. Jill found it when she was about to give up and move on to other research. On a bit of a whim, she added a decade to the end of her search and got one more hit. This one was an interview with a woman who had lived in the orphanage as a young girl, before being adopted by a local family. She shared her experiences of emotional and physical abuse from the staff and also from the other children while she lived there.
