Page 3 of Buried Souls
The old lady scrunches up her nose, as if having smelt something foul, before pulling her hands free. “Well, there isone, I suppose, that is quite the mystery with us locals. No one really dares to speak about that abandoned mansion, let alone go near it.”
Adjusting her skirts, she begins, her raspy voice adding a foreboding touch to her tale. “Legends say that once, long ago, a family inherited these lands from the creatures of the forest, making them a sort of keepers of the woods and all living beings that dwelled in it. They built a resplendent mansion on the very grounds where it still stands, to this day, calling it their home and residence. Many centuries passed where the woods thrived under the watchful eyes of its members, not once letting anything go amiss. Then, one day, out of the blue, the leaves started to turn black, as if scorched by a fire. The bark started to fall away, leaving the trees barren and prone to sickness. The ground began to rot, as if a plague had infected it. No one seemed to know the cause, try as they might to search for some answers.
“The head of the family took a group of men and went into the woods, scouring the entirety of it for any clues as to what was attacking the land, but to no avail. It seemed as if the ailment was of a natural origin, one that could not be stopped by the interference of man.” She clears her throat, unease coloring the woman’s wrinkled face.
I wait patiently, not wanting to sound overeager while my blood thrums with excitement, but when no words come out of her mouth, my curiosity wins over. “Well, go on, what happened next?”
A moment of pause, and then on a more serious note, she says, “My dear, it is best if we don’t talk about this any longer, that should be more than enough to help you. Now, you never told me your name.”
My back hits the plush seat, my coat billowing out around me, vexed that the tale was cut so short. “Elena, my name is Elena.Elena Fremont.” Maybe if I soften her up, just like I have to do with all the rich sponsors for the Institute, she will be willing to tell me the rest of it.
The old lady beams, her eyes bright with some hidden spark. “What a lovely name! You are indeed a bright, shining light with those brilliant long gold tresses of yours.” She inspects me from where she sits with eyes that seem to know everything before extending forth her hand. “I’m Olga. It is a pleasure to meet such a wonderful young lady.”
I shake it, batting my eyelashes dramatically as I flash my brilliant white teeth at her.
Time to put my negotiation skills to use.
I clear my throat. “Olga, you seem like a very knowledgeable woman, one that many people go to for some sound advice. I would be forever indebted to you if you would be so kind and finish the tale about the abandoned mansion. I will even dedicate the entire paper to you, it would mean that much to me.”
Blushing at my words of flattery, the old lady nods in agreement after a few moments of consideration. “Well, alright, I suppose I could tell you the rest of it.”
Smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles from her moss-colored dress folds, she begins, her voice getting low the longer she speaks.
CHAPTER 2
“The House in the Woods”
“There are many rumors circulating between the townspeople, some which are quite outlandish, if you ask me, but we all agree on one thing: the Bear Mansion is cursed!” Olga gasps as the words leave her, quickly covering her mouth with her hand, as if afraid that someone might have overheard.
“Its last residents had met the most unfortunate of fates, my dear. So tragic that I am not even one bit surprised that the remaining living descendants had vanished into thin air in the middle of the night, never to be seen again.”
She shakes her head, sorrow unfurling on her pleasant face.
“You see, Elena, the father had been impaled through the throat while out hunting one autumn’s day. He had slipped on some mud and fell onto the dead animal’s antlers, killing him on the spot. The mother,” she sighs, “had wandered off into the woods a few days later in search of some rare plants that she was prone to collecting, and never returned. Her body was found hanging from the branches of that very same plant, its thick vines all tangled up around her neck.”
“That’s terrible.” I lean in closer, my heart beating uncontrollably.
Olga frowns as moisture pools in her eyes. “There’s more, I’m afraid. There were three brothers and a sister, her being the youngest one in the family and therefore the most cherished one. She had been out hiking one day in the forest, and her foot got caught in between some rocks on the bottom of a shallow stream. Unable to get it out, she sat in the water, waiting for someone to come get her, hoping that they would realize she was gone and come searching for her. As night fell, she became tired and weak from sitting in the cold stream for so long, and so, unable to stay awake any longer, she fell asleep—and never opened her eyes. Some say that the forest entrapped her. That its ancient trees wound their spindly branches around her limbs and tried to take her into the earth as an offering. Her body waslater found floating in the shallow waters, all bloated and pale, her tiny foot still lodged between those very same two rocks.”
Taking a handkerchief from her small granite colored purse, Olga wipes the tears from her eyes.
“The oldest Bear brother had been the one to find all three bodies of his family members. That poor fellow had to bury them on his own. His remaining two siblings weren’t present when these incidents occurred, one having been studying overseas while the other had been gone on a business trip. He was forever changed after that.” She trails off before suddenly exclaiming, “Oh, Elena! You should have seen how lovely he was mere days before everything transpired.”
“Yes, I can imagine.” I know all too well about the deep scars that unhealed wounds and trauma can leave on one’s soul. My own somber history comes to mind, one where for years, I had been taking care of my bedridden mother until she eventually succumbed to cancer, only to be followed by my father’s untimely death shortly after that.
The coroner had said that he had died from a broken heart.
“What happened after?” I ask, forcing my grim thoughts back to the present. “Did they sell the house?”
“Oh, no, my dear, the oldest Bear wouldn’t hear of it. He continued living at the place for some time while the other two were off to school and managing their restaurant business, not allowing even the real estate agent onto the grounds when potential buyers showed up. He even got married, but his wife got into a terrible accident. Poor fellow, bad luck seems to follow him around.” She shakes her head, pity etched into her features. “Lord only knows what happened to the brothers after that, no one’s seen them for years. We all just assumed they left, but—”
I jump back in my seat as a large object crashes into the window. My chest is on the verge of exploding when the said object turns out to be a huge crow. Its beak is completelyshattered, its body plastered to the glass of our moving train, as if stuck to it.
I stare at it.
Its one eye—the one that’s still somehow intact—stares back at me.
Olga shrugs, undeterred, and stands as the train begins to slow. Her fragile limbs tremble from the effort as she limps towards the cabin doors, her personal belongings held tightly to her chest.
