The End … Trying Again!

Your long awaited questions shall be answered at last in this ongoing saga of ” A Mama for Anna”. Thanks for enjoying the ride thus far.  Hope you enjoy “The End!” If you missed the most recent story in this saga, here is the link. The Finale?? Maybe … Maybe Not!

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Luke was out in the barn in the early morning hours, sitting and milking sweet Betsy with thoughts swirling around in his brain. He hadn’t known that his heart was capable of loving again, but Julia had broken through with her sweet love. The nights that they spent out on the porch swing looking at the stars, after Annie was in bed, were some of the favorite moments of his day.

Sometimes they would talk, sharing whatever was on their heart, and laughing about something Annie had said, and sometimes they just sat in the silence. A comfortable silence, arms wrapped around each other as they looked into the sky. with moments of their lips speaking without words.

Yes, life was really going well for him, he could get lost in his daydreams about Julia. the softness of her skin and how her hair looked when she let it down at night. When she would have that look in her eye meant only for him, and all he wanted to do was …

“OUCH!” Betsy had just kicked him with her leg. He knew she didn’t kick as hard as she could have, but it still hurt!

“Sorry girl!” he said, he realized he had pulled a little too hard, while lost in his daydreams. He finished up with her, before letting his thoughts drift again. He didn’t need bruises on both legs!

Once he finished up he went over to the little white cross to take care of his other job that he needed to do. He had to deliver a special package to the Fluffer Nutter Shoppe. No one knew what he had buried under the cross, it was the best hiding place that he had ever thought of.  Not many were willing to take their chances of digging under a cross, they didn’t want to risk finding a body!

He dug up the box and put it in his wagon. Now he just needed to eat breakfast with Julia and Annie and he would be on his way.

The Chicken Man was in the Fluffer Nutter Shoppe bright and early again. He had been out on a morning hike with Charlie and Tucker, and now needed to rest while enjoying some coffee.

“Is Luke here yet? ” the Chicken Man asked?

“Nope, haven’t seen him. I still can’t believe what he had under the cross all this time, who would have guessed!”

“You thought it was a dead body!” said Mr. Fluffer to Mr. Nutter.

“I wasn’t the only one who thought that! You let your imagination go too and Chicken Man over here, thought for sure something was up because of Tucker sniffing around the cross before.”

“Guess we were all duped!” said Mr.Fluffer, as they all nodded their heads and they went back to rocking in their chairs.

“Crack!” “Thud!”

The Chicken Man was sitting on the floor in a daze, while his buddies were trying not to laugh.

“Well next time you decide to flop on the floor, let us know, and we will put a cushion down for  you.”  said Mr. Fluffer.

“Guess we need a new rocking chair now! And add a coffee cup to his tab as well.” said Mr.Nutter, as he looked at the broken cup on the floor.

He gave the Chicken Man a hand to help him stand up.

Mr.Fluffer brought him another cup of coffee. This one is on the house, being that you already are paying for the rocker and the coffee cup.

“Thanks, you are too kind”.

“Don’t mention it!” Mr. Fluffer and Mr. Nutter said.

The bell jangled as Luke walked through the door. They all greeted each other and Luke was carrying the box in his hands. He set it down and they all gathered round to watch him open it.

Just then the door swung wide open as the bell jangled loudly! Miss. Jill came dashing in the store.  “Hey guys, there is someone out here who wants to meet you.”

They all looked at each other wondering what she was talking about, but momentarily forgetting the box, they ran out the door with Miss. Jill.

“Anna!” the Chicken Man called out. She turned to him and smiled. She walked over to him and thanked him for the kindness he had shown her in the woods. She told him that she lived in the orphanage, but often ran away from it to go in the woods.

Her parents had died on the train long ago, they had been very sick, and were traveling to see a special Doctor, but it was too late.  Anna was little and scared by all the people milling around her parents at the train station and so she had ran away.

She turned to Luke and said that when she saw his little white cross she thought that maybe her parents were buried there, so that’s why he had seen her there at times.

Their hearts were warmed by how sweet Anna was and they wished her the best as they walked back into the Shoppe. They sure hoped that she would be adopted soon they said to each other, as they gathered around the box once more.

Luke opened the box and they all oohed and ahhhed over what was inside. Gold, precious Gold!! Luke had generously offered to share it with them, if he could help run the “Fluffer Nutter Shoppe” too. He wanted to add some ice cream to it, he thought the kids in town would love that. He thought perhaps they could have sweet potato ice cream.  The others looked at him like he was crazy, but he was the one with the gold! He also was really hoping that the Chicken Man could get him a talking chicken, Annie would love it!

Luke smiled. yes, life was good, very good indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Finale?? Maybe … Maybe Not!

Why the question marks after my title?  If you have been following my story ,A Mama for Anna  you will understand. Is this really the End?  Will it become a series?  Your guess is probably as good as mine! With this story my  “followers” have had a large say in it, so I am just taking a deep breath, diving in, and waiting with baited breath to find out.

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“Cock a doodle doo!” The rooster was loudly greeting the new day, but Julia sure didn’t feel like it. The baby had been kicking her all night long. Now it had finally decided to take a break from it acrobatics. Julia may be tired, but she couldn’t help but smile, while rubbing her stomach.

“Have I told you how much I love your smile, my sweet Buttercup?”  Luke said, as he put his arm around her and Julia snuggled her head against his shoulder.

“Only about a hundred times, but whose counting.” she quietly said, with her eyes still closed, breathing out a contented sigh.

They laid in bed for a little while longer, until Luke gave her a soft kiss. “You do make it harder to get out of bed in the morning.”

She gave him a little nudge, saying, “Oh but you have to go, for sweet Betsy and the other cows are calling your name. Plus, now I can spread out on the bed”, and she gave him a little push.

“Oh, I see how it is!”, laughing, he got out of bed and got dressed, as Julia sprawled out in the middle of the bed.

“Just remember, I like my bacon crispy, not my toast!” he quickly went out the bedroom door, dodging the pillow that Julia threw.  Julia smiled as the door shut, she would just close her eyes for a few more minutes and then start breakfast. Yes, poor Luke had to put up with several burnt offerings in the beginning, but she had greatly improved! He just couldn’t resist being a tease!

Meanwhile back in town, Miss. Jill, the fabric store owner was having quite the morning. She had spilled her coffee on herself when she went to sit down. Then she couldn’t find the salt to put on her scrambled eggs.

She also wasn’t looking forward to dealing with Miss.Delaney today. Jill had her dress all made for her. She knew though that  Miss.Delaney, she would find something wrong with it. The lady was so hard to please! Jill had to bite her tongue several times around her. She let out a sigh and then spied the salt shaker and shook it all over her eggs.  Took a big bite and her eyes got watery.  What was red pepper doing in her salt shaker! She smacked her head!

The Chicken Man was on his 3rd cup of coffee at the “Fluffer Nutter Shoppe”. He had just successfully beat Mr.Fluffer at checkers for the third time in a row.  “We need to play poker”, Mr.Fluffer said. The Chicken Man smiled, leaning back in his chair.

“Hey, I never told you guys what happened a couple weeks ago when I was in the woods.”  the Chicken Man said. He went on to explain to them about meeting the young girl, whose name was Anna, and seeing her a few times after that, among the trees

His friends listened intently, and Mr.Nutter shook his head, not seeming surprised.

“Have you guys never heard about the legend that has been told over the years?”

The Chicken Man and Mr. Fluffer, both shook their heads “No”.

Mr.Nutter leaned began to rock as he shared the story. “Legend says that long ago there was a little girl at a train station looking for her Mama. Others had seen her, but as quickly as she came she disappeared. No one knew her story. People have seen her in the woods from time to time, but just like your experience, no one has been able to talk with her long enough to learn much about her. She just runs off.”

Mr. Fluffer spoke up, “That is intriguing, never had heard about it,  but I did hear the mystery surrounding the little white cross.”

The Chicken Man and Mr. Nutter, nodded their heads, that was a mystery that everyone was aware of, but people were split on what they thought.

There was a little white cross in the fields where Mr.Luke Shadow lived. He was known to all as a gentleman and people felt very sorry about what had happened to his wife, but no one quite knew for sure what the little white cross in his fields was for. They had heard that it was a memorial to his wife, but some didn’t buy that explanation. They thought there was more to the story than what he was telling, even though he had repeated the story often. Were their actual bones buried under the cross and if so, who or what did they belong too?

“I went to see Mr.Shadow once, and had Charlie with me. He couldn’t stop sniffing around that little white cross. Mr.Shadow watched him closely out of the corner of his eye and seemed nervous to me as we were talking.” the Chicken Man said.

There was silence as they all wondered about the two mysteries for a little bit.

” Well, I know one thing we all can be sure of…. I bet that I can win another game of checkers.” said the Chicken Man.

“No, we are playing poker this time, get the chips,” Mr. Fluffer said.

“But I ate them!” replied Mr. Nutter.

Mr. Fluffer smacked his head with his hand and the Chicken Man rolled his eyes.

Mr. Nutter laughed as he went to get the chips and they all started playing.

While everyone was going about their day, no one seemed to notice the shadow of the little girl, with the chestnut brown hair kneeling beside the little white cross in the field.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Eerie Night

Frank was sitting at his table when the phone rang.  He had just taken his last bite of cinnamon toast. Washed it down with some milk from his Jackalope mug,  and answered the ringing phone.

“HI Frank, its George, we got a call from the boss. She has an assignment for us. She wants us to start right away. How soon can you be at my place? ”

Frank sighed. He had planned on spending a relaxing evening listening to some good music while working on the 1000 piece puzzle that he had. It was a picture of a a myriad of different colored balloons soaring in the bright blue sky.  A boy and his dog were lying on the lush green grass staring up at all the balloons. It was a challenging puzzle, but he was getting there. One piece at a time, and a lot of patience.

“I will be there in about 30 minutes. What kind of assignment is it?” Frank asked.

“I will explain when you get here, but bring your shovel.”  and with that George hung up. Frank stood there for a few moments wondering where they could possibly be going, and why he needed a shovel.

He walked over to the stereo and waited for Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” song to finish playing before he turned it off.  Then he walked outside to the shed to get his shovel. He had several to pick from. A lot of them were pretty worn, so he just grabbed the blue one and headed to his car.

It was a half hour exactly when Frank pulled into George’s driveway. George came out, right before Frank honked the horn.

George opened the door and sat down. He turned to face Frank and said, ” So you aren’t afraid of the dark, right? ”

Frank rolled his eyes, ” Of course not! What are the plans?”

“We need to go to a cemetery on Eerie road.”

“A cemetery? Why?” asked Frank as he started driving.

“There is a fake headstone there and once we remove the headstone, we need to dig down about 6 feet to find something that the boss thinks is very valuable. The boss thinks there either is some stolen jewels or stolen cash to be found. She said she got a tip from someone about it. She couldn’t reveal the name of her informant.

They drove in silence for a little while, each one was thinking about this strange assignment.

“Have you ever seen a cemetery on Eerie Road before?” George asked.

“Not that I can remember, but I don’t travel that road a whole lot.”

“Well guess we will soon find out.” said Frank and George agreed.

“Oh look, there is the sign. A small field laid ahead with the sign, “The Cemetery”

“Hmm…I see that they worked real hard on coming up with a name! So how do we tell which is the fake headstone?”  George asked, as he parked on the gravel road.

“Look around George, I don’t think it will be too hard!”

They both had quizzical expressions on their faces as they looked around and only saw one solitary grave with a simple headstone. It read “Here lies….”

“So looks like they put as much thought into this headstone, as to the sign. Who tipped our boss off again? is this really real?” Frank asked.

“Well No, the headstone is fake, remember? And she wouldn’t reveal the name of the informant.” replied George.

“Yes, I know the headstone is fake, I mean does she really know that there is treasure under this headstone?”

“Lets start digging and find out!”

They dug and dug and dug as their arms grew tired and the night got darker.

“Whoooo Whooooo” broke the silence of the night as Frank and George both jumped! George looked and saw the owl’s eyes shining out of the tree.

Than a gray cat with emerald green eyes brushed up against George’s leg, making him stumble.

“Frank, dig faster! I am ready to find whatever treasure there is and get out of here.”

They kept digging in silence for a little while and then Frank yelled.

“My shovel struck something hard! I think we found it.”

“Can you scoop it up with your shovel?” George asked.

“I think so, its rather heavy, but its a small box.”

Soon Frank had it out of the hole and they sat down on the ground to open it.

Marbles came spilling out everywhere as Frank and George looked at each other. They both had the same look in their eyes, having the truth dawn on them. Their boss couldn’t reveal the name of the informant because there had been no informant, it had all been a set up! They hadn’t even thought about the date. It was Halloween! Their boss had succeeded once again at pulling one over on them. Now they had an overflowing box of marbles and one mighty big hole that they had to fill back up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It All Started with A Letter

The plane was landing. Samantha had dozed off, but was now awakened by the announcement to buckle up. Still clutching the folded envelope in her hand, Samantha buckled up, and closed her eyes once more, as the plane made its descent. She tried to calm the butterfly party that was going on in her stomach right now.  She hadn’t been nervous about the long flight, but she was nervous now about what was to come.  About where this journey may take her. The flight was the easy part, now very soon, her real journey would begin.

Samantha smiled at the stewardess who saw her off the plane, but her thoughts were miles away. Carrying her 2 pieces of luggage she entered the airport and headed towards the baggage claim area. People were talking all around her, but all she could hear were the loud thoughts in her head. The fact that she really was going to go through with this. That she had made it here, and now all she had to do was pick up her rental car and she would be off on the next leg of her journey.

She squeezed the hot pink envelope in her hand once again. Samantha had read and re-read the letter so many times that she had the lines memorized, but she felt she needed to look at it once more, to see the words in black and white,  to assure herself that this wasn’t a dream!

Emotions were welling up inside her, thinking of all the recent events that had brought her to this day. One day she is sitting in her cozy recliner at home, with her tiger orange striped cat laying on her feet and then there is a knock on her door. A special delivery for a Miss. Samantha Elkono . She signed for the certified letter and just like that her life was suddenly changing.

Samantha spotted her suitcase coming. She could easily pick it out because of the hot pink ribbons that she had tied around it. Grabbing it off the turnstile, she walked to the car rental place, hoping it wouldn’t take too long.

Fortunately the line wasn’t long at the car rental desk and she was opening the door to her sapphire blue Chevy Cruze in no time at all. She sank into the seat with a smile on her face, this was it, her adventure was about to begin!  First though, she needed to get some breakfast. Her stomach was reminding her that it had been a long night! The lady at the car rental place had told her of a 24 hour diner that was open close to the airport, so that is where she was headed.

Turning on the radio she was going through stations trying to find some tunes to start her day. She wasn’t usually an early morning riser, but she had to admit that the sky was looking amazing right now as the sun was slowly rising.

Samantha stopped searching as she heard Cat Steven’s voice singing “Morning has Broken”. Her heart was full. She gazed into the brilliant orange sunrise. Morning was breaking, and who knew what lied ahead, but starting off the day with some overeasy eggs and strawberry crepes sounded good to her right now.

 

The Clue of the Seagulls (Part 2)

If you missed Part one yesterday, just click on this link.The Clue of the Seagulls

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“We got to go back to the bungalow, I want to take a closer look at something.” Frank said, as he started walking back at a quick pace.

George tried to keep up, wondering what it was that had Frank so excited. He looked back at the seagulls. With the way Frank was acting, perhaps he understood seagull speech after all. maybe the seagulls had been talking about the jewels to each other. OH, Now he must be crazy! Seagulls talking about jewels? He shook his head and started to jog to get caught up to Frank.

Frank entered the bungalow ahead of him and yelled to  George to follow him to the study upstairs. George walked up the spiral staircase into the study.  Frank was staring at the floor.

“I can’t believe how something was right in front of my face and I didn’t even take notice of it!” Frank said. He bent down to look closer at the floor.  “Do you see it George?”

“See what? I see the moon, which is very well done! I am starting to think that perhaps I should have my house redecorated with Mosaic tiles like these. The turtle downstairs,  and now a night scene up here with a shining moon. The moon really does shine too!

“Look closely George. Look how some pieces really sparkle!”

“They sure do and its all very nice, but I am still a little confused. I thought you had a clue about solving the mystery of the missing jewels.”

Frank smiled broadly. “Don’t you see it, this house is full of all the clues we need!”

“Did you take notice of the tile in the bathroom?” Frank asked.

“Oh yes, the one with the sand dollars and some real shiny blue….”

Frank saw George’s face light up as the truth hit him.

“We found them! The missing jewels. Oh  Josie will be so happy when we let her know that we found her grandmother’s jewels. She was sure that they had been stolen, but now what her grandmother wrote in her final message to Jodi, before she died, makes sense. It said to look to the moon and don’t miss what is right in front of you, there are always treasures to be found by the sea.”

“This is cause for a celebration! Supper is on me!” Frank said.

“My stomach is very glad to hear that, but I have one question. How is it that you were sitting in your chair watching the seagull in front of you. Then it walks away talking to another seagull and suddenly you spring out of your chair. What triggered your thought to go take a closer look at the tile of the moon?”

Frank’s eyes gleamed, “Well that is simple, the seagulls told me. Now where would you like to go for supper?”

“Of course! The seagulls told you, What was I thinking?”

Frank laughed as they walked to the car.

 

The Clue of the Seagulls

“Frraank! Are you coming? ”  called out George from the car, as he blew the horn.

Frank came flying out his front door with his arms full, he hurried to George’s car as his thermos left a trail of  his coffee spilling behind him. He opened the car door, causing him to drop the folder he had been carrying under his arm. Papers spilled out, and George groaned, as Frank scrambled to pick them up. He bent down tilting his thermos causing more of his coffee to spill out.

At last Frank got all the papers gathered together and sat down and buckled up as he closed the door.

“Lets go!” he said to George.  “We don’t have all day, you know.”

George rolled his eyes and backed out of the driveway.

They had been on the road for about 10 minutes when Frank took a sip from his thermos. At least he attempted to take a sip. Apparently more of his coffee had spilled out then he had thought.

“Hey George, think we can stop at Starbucks before we get on the interstate, I need some more coffee.”

There was silence as George turned his head to look at Frank. Their eyes met and Frank quickly said, “Its okay, I can wait, just keep driving George.”

George shook his head, and then he couldn’t help but smile. Frank was a good guy, in spite of his coffee habit.

For the rest of the drive they talked about  the new case they were given,  and what they thought so far about it. It was quite the perplexing mystery.

“The clues are rather baffling”, said Frank, and George agreed.

” I mean what does the moon have to do with anything?”

“I have read these clues several times and still feel as much in the dark, as I felt before. ” said George.

“As much in the dark as a total eclipse of the moon, would be?” Frank asked.

“Very funny, but yes, just about! I keep waiting for something to jump out at me from these clues, but so far, nothing has.”

They were silent, both lost in thought as George turned down the road.

“Your destination is 800 feet ahead on the left.” Suri said.

The bungalow looked inviting and Frank was glad to at last be here. Now he could grab his coffee pot and make some coffee or perhaps he would make a cup of tea.

They walked in and were happily surprised by how cozy it looked inside. They never quite knew what kind of accommodations to expect when they were sent out on assignments.

Their feet sank into the plush, sea blue carpet. There was a fireplace , though they didn’t plan on starting a fire, for it was still quite hot out. The kitchen was a nice size with a lovely mosaic tile on the floor. It had the design of a sea turtle in pebbles.

Frank made himself a cup of tea and took a seat on the leather couch.  He looked across the room at the huge bookcase. One of those that was built into the wall. It was filled from top to bottom with books.

“Hey George, perhaps these books hold a clue to the mystery.? Why don’t you look and see if you find any on the moon?”

George walked over to the bookcase and silently browsed through the books.

“Well …. I don’t think we can count on these books helping,” said George.
“Not unless you speak another language! I haven’t found any in English yet!”

Frank  walked over to the bookcase and pulled a book from the shelf flipping though the pages and then another one.  He smacked his leg, ” Remember when we visited the North Pole, for that special assignment our boss sent us on.  Where we met Jinx and Jangle, Snowball and Candy Cane? Didn’t Candy Cane speak a different language at times? Though I am not sure what it was. Too bad she isn’t here right now, she may have been able to decipher this gobbley gook for us!

“Listen! Did you hear that?”  George asked.

“Yes! That is strange, sounded like a clicking noise to me, like a series of clicks.”

As suddenly as it came the clicking noise ended and all was silent once more. They shrugged their shoulders at each other and Frank spoke.

” I know we are here to solve a mystery, but lets head out to the beach for a little. It will help clear our minds so we can focus.”

“Sounds great to me, lets go!”

“Ahh! This is the life! Feet in the sand, and a gentle breeze blowing from the sea.”

They were sitting in their beach chairs watching the waves roll in and kiss the shore. A seagull was just inches away from Frank’s chair, sitting and staring right at him.

They sat for awhile being mesmerized by the waves and the seagull stayed, looking at Frank most of the time.  Then its friend came by and they walked off.  Frank watched them walk away and said, “Hey George, do you know how to interpret seagull language?

George watched them for a little and then started to speak…”I do believe that…”

Frank didn’t let him finish his sentence, as he jumped from his chair, ” I got it, I think I may have figured out a clue to the mystery surrounding the missing jewels!”

**to be continued** and just to let all of you know, No, I am not at the beach yet! Its just on my mind as the countdown gets closer! 🙂 

All pictures were  from Pinterest

 

 

The Flying Mystery

 

They had struck again.  Confetti was one of their calling cards that they were known for. It always sparkled and glittered.

They were a smooth team, always managed to have the element of surprise. One knew to expect the unexpected when dealing with this talented team.

Frank and George were walking around the room looking at all the glittery …. and sparkly confetti and trying to not to disturb the cat who was eyeing them with a mischievous glint in its green eyes.

“George, did you see this?”

George walked over and looked at what Frank held in his hand.

“Mini spaceships? Hmm… What are spaceships doing here?”  George looked at them scattered about.

“Maybe this wasn’t the work of who we were thinking. Perhaps some aliens were having a party, confetti and all! There are 24 spaceships, so it must have been a pretty good sized party.”

Frank stared at him. “Aliens?”

“Yes, aliens, you know, those little green or blue men that live in outer space.”

Frank kept staring at him as he slowly shook his head, “Are you saying that you believe in aliens?”

“Well can’t say I ever saw one… but…”

Frank sighed, “Look George, I think you could use some of these!”  He picked up some marbles that were lying on the floor.

“I always said you were losing your marbles. Now I am more convinced than ever before! ”

George made a face and said, “I am getting hungry, lets go grab a burger.”

Frank reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of goldfish crackers. “Want some of these to snack on?”

George shook his head, “Those crackers would be the perfect size for a snack for aliens to eat. Maybe we could come back after dark and take a look in the house to see if…”

Frank opened up the door, “Lets go, you need some food and I think it can be your treat tonight. Do you mind if I order all the desserts on the menu? Then I believe that you need a really good night’s sleep!”

They went out the door, closing it behind them. The sound of the door being closed echoed down the hallway of the empty house.

Around midnight there was some stirring in the house, but it wasn’t a mouse. There were no mice, as the mice had no chance against the cat that ruled the house.

The cat wasn’t sure though what to make of the noise, as he looked around. If someone had been watching they would have seen an intriguing sight, that made the cat howl. 24 mini spaceships were flying around the house in circles, and they were getting higher and higher.

A daring mouse saw his chance, the King Cat was distracted. The mouse quickly darted across the floor grabbing some goldfish cracker crumbs as he ran into his hole.

The cat’s eyes were transfixed on the circling spaceships. What would happen, would they mysteriously disappear through the ceiling and travel elsewhere?

Meanwhile George had just got home, and was getting ready for bed when he happened to look out the window. No! It couldn’t be, but yes, he was seeing it with his own eyes. 1, 2, 3, 4, …… spaceships!

Whoa! George opened the window, and about fell out in surprise. “Was that really a flying cat that he just saw go by following the spaceships!”

Perhaps Frank was right, perhaps he really did need a good, long, sleep!

 

 

Danger on the Train

In my Name the Challenge! post I gave my readers a chance to give me an idea of what they would like to see a post about. I did get some creative ideas and do plan on using them all.  It’s never too late to share an idea with me, if one comes to your mind!

For today I am going to start with an idea from Tippy.  A fun blogger whose blog contains the adventures that he has in chasing unicorns.  Here is a link to one of his adventures, https://unicorniks.com/2019/04/14/the-winchester-mystery-house/

I will admit that at first I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle the idea of a train being derailed and a murder happening, but …. then an idea struck me. It might have diverted a little from Tippy’s original idea, but thanks Tippy for helping to get the creativity flowing.

 

Danger on the Train

 

Cynthia was looking out the window, it had been 2 days that she had been traveling so far.  The train ride had been nice and smooth, but she still hadn’t had a chance to try her plan.

They seemed to be heading deeper into the countryside, no-man’s land. The track was getting more windy the farther they went. Cynthia found herself getting drowsy, she had just enjoyed a nice cup of Chamomile tea. Deciding to close her eyes for a bit, she let herself be rocked to sleep by the rhythm of train.

Suddenly she was thrown out of her seat. Other passengers had been thrown as well and there was chaos! No one was quite sure what had happened until they looked out the window and saw that they were off the tracks.

The conductor’s voice was soon heard over the intercom. ” My apologies, but we seemed to have derailed and gone into a ditch. We will do our best to get the train up and running again as soon as possible.”

Cynthia looked around, it appeared that there were no serious injuries with any of the passengers, just some scrapes and bruises. She brushed off some dirt that had flown in the window and sighed. Oh well, “C est la vie!”

“Excuse me Miss. do you mind if sit by you? ”

Cynthia looked up at the older gentleman talking to her.  She was thinking of reading, but maybe it would be nice to have someone to talk with for a bit.

“Sure, have a seat.”

“Thank you!”  he said, as he sat down beside her.

“I see you like to read,” noticing the book in her lap. “May I ask what the book is about? I am an avid reader myself. I love Shakespeare and other classics. ”

Cynthia smiled, ” I prefer mysteries. Right now I am reading “The Cat and Mouse Game”. Its a murder mystery.”

The gentleman smiled, “Hmmm … that may be interesting. Would you like something to drink, I was thinking of getting a drink myself.”

Cynthia’s thoughts started flying, this might be the chance she was waiting for. Seeing the bulge of his wallet, she guessed he was fairly wealthy.

“Yes, please, I would love a white chocolate latte. ”

The man shook his head, ” I don’t know how people drink latte’s, or just plain coffee, but I would be glad to get you some.”  and he tipped his hat at her while he walked away.

Soon he came back with 2 steaming cups, he handed her latte to her and began to sit down with his drink, when Cynthia spoke up.

“I am sorry, but would you mind getting me a sandwich as well.  I was sleeping earlier and I am rather hungry now.”

“No problem,” and sitting down his drink, he went to get Cynthia’s sandwich.

Cynthia watched him go out of sight and she dug in her purse for her bottle of arsenic. It wouldn’t take much, she had grown pretty good at knowing exactly how much to use. She put a few drops in his cup and stirred it around and then sat back in her chair and started reading her book until he came.

“Here you go Miss. I hope you like egg and olive sandwiches.”

“They are great! My Mom used to make them for me all the time, thank you so much.”

She started to eat as the gentleman sat down and took a drink.

“I still can’t believe I am actually going to drink coffee, but they were out of  bottled water.”

Cynthia was nodding and drinking her latte as she kept her eyes on him.

” I have always said that coffee is poison!…”

Spitting out some of her latte, she started coughing.

The gentleman turned to her in alarm, “Are you okay?” He started patting her back.

“I am f-f-fine”, she said, “the latte just must have gone down the wrong throat!”

He picked up his cup and started drinking again. “Like I was saying, this stuff tastes nasty, I am sure it is ….”

With those words he slumped down in his chair.

Cynthia was ready to take his wallet when suddenly there was a commotion as an animal stepped onto the train!

The doors had been open, so it didn’t get too hot for everyone. People were in shock! They found themselves staring at a beautiful white unicorn! It seemed to be on a mission as it ignored everyone and trotted right over to where Cynthia and the gentleman were sitting.

Everyone was stunned as the unicorn scooped the man up with his head and tossed him on his back, walked out of the train and started flying away!

Cynthia couldn’t believe it! She looked at his coffee cup and realized he hadn’t drank enough of it for it to kill him, he was just unconscious. He sure would have the surprise of his life when he woke up!

She picked up her book to read again while she waited for her next victim. Perhaps this time she would actually get their money before another crazy unicorn comes and steals them away!

 

 

 

Suspense at the Sea

painting by Karen Hollingsworth (Pinterest)

 

She had collected all the books and was ready to delve into the research, but she was waiting for Kolby to show up. Where was he? What was taking him so long?  They had agreed to do their research in the morning while enjoying the nice ocean breeze and then take a break to stretch their muscles, while taking a walk along the ocean.

Tanya looked at her watch again, time kept passing, he was a half hour late now.  She would give him a call but her phone had died and she had forgotten her charger. Well, while she waited for him she may as well take a stroll along the beautiful sparkling water.

As she walked along the water she thought more about the research they were doing. They had been warned to not do it, but she thought those warnings were silly. Apparently there were rumors going around that the last detectives that had tried to solve the case vanished. It was like they disappeared right out of the blue, no traces had ever been found.

Tanya wasn’t one to be scared though, she figured they were just rumors and that there was no truth in them. She wasn’t afraid, she was  excited actually.   Kolby had called her last night with excitement in his voice.  He had found out something very big, something he thought would be a great breakthrough for them!

She checked her watch again. This was crazy, it wasn’t like him to be so late. He was usually very punctual. Perhaps he had come back already, maybe he was up in the room going through the books just waiting on her.

Tanya turned around and walked back to the house. She noticed the door was ajar, had she not closed it all the way when she left?  Maybe Kolby was here, she rushed in the door eager to hear what news he had to share with her.

“Hey Kolby, are you finally here? Did you sleep in this morning or something?” she called up the stairs. She reached the top of the stairs and turned the corner to go into the room.

“Kolby I ….” and the words died on her tongue, as her body froze.

Into the Woods … (Part 3)

At last, Part 3, the ending of the story! I hope you all enjoy it. Here is the link to Part 2, if you missed it. Into the Wood … (Part 2)

 

Out of the Woods

Samantha squinted her eyes against the bright lights. Everything was white.  Who were the people staring down at her?

“Samantha, Samantha, can you hear me? It’s Dr. Richards, can you move your fingers?”

Move her fingers? Why does she need to do that, of course she can do that. She was surprised to find out that it did actually take some effort, but she did move them a little. Why was she in a hospital room?  Why did her Mom have tears in her eyes and her Dad looked like he was losing his composure as well. What was going on? Her mind was in a whirl.

“Mom! What happened? Why am I here?”

Her Mom came over to her giving her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“You are at the hospital dear, we were so worried about you. You were involved in a serious car accident, we didn’t know if you were going to pull through! You have been in a coma for the past 3 days.”

At these words her Mom’s voice broke,  and her Dad reached out and pulled Samantha close to him enveloping her in a big hug. Samantha felt the wetness on his cheek.

Wow! A serious car accident, comatose for 3 days! As Samantha was trying to wrap her mind around all that she heard Dr. Richards speaking again.

“I am sure this feels very overwhelming to you right now. Do you have memories of the accident at all? What do you remember?”

“I was in the woods, I remember I had the need to run as hard and fast I could to the woods. That my lungs craved oxygen. I made it to the woods and everything felt so silent and still.

“Do you remember anything before the woods? ”

“No.”

“Everyone has different experiences when they are comatose. Its my guess that your memory of being in the woods was your mind’s way of reacting to the severe trauma that your body was going through. In your mind you were running desperately, needing to breathe. While you can vividly recall being in the woods, it is very normal for you  to not remember the traumatic event that led to you being in a coma.

The memories of the car accident may come back to you and they may not, the important part is that now you are  “out of the woods” he said, with a wink and a smile.

“We will need to run some tests, but I am very glad to say that I believe you will make a full recovery.  It will take time though, you will need a lot of patience and your body will need a lot of rest.”

Dr.Richards patted Samantha’s shoulder as he walked out of the room. Her Mom took Samantha’s hand in hers giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I don’t have the words to say how full my heart feels right now. I was so scared. I love you!

Samantha felt the tears come to her eyes as she slowly moved her fingers again in her Mom’s hand. Her head started feeling heavy as she lied back down on her bed. Her eyes closed and she was at peace. She wasn’t running, gasping for air, and there was no hole. There was only a peaceful feeling, as if she was at the ocean, listening to the waves. Their soothing sound made her fall into a deep sleep.