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KATHY WRITES:
"That's it, that's
it, that's it! It's mine, it's mine, it's mine!"
screamed Kathy as both sleeping dogs jumped sky high,
ran from the kitchen to the bedroom, and disappeared
under the bed.
She'd always
dreamed of an old, two-story farmhouse, one with
porches that wrapped around three sides. While
glancing through the Dallas Morning News it had caught
her attention. Everything about it was perfect; it
was out of the city, but not so far that she couldn't
have coffee and lunches with girlfriends. Suddenly
she was in an all-out frenzy punching the phone
buttons.
"Hello," said
Carol. "Hey, Kathy, slow down I can't understand a
word you're saying! What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Oh, Carol, I'm
better than okay! I've found my dream house and we've
got to go see it this afternoon. Please don't tell me
you have other plans or I'll never speak to you
again," Kathy said jokingly. She truly was joking in
one sense of the word, but at the same time she was
dead serious! She was on a mission to see that old
house, and wasn??™t going to take no for an answer.
CAROL WRITES:
"Of course I??™ll
go," Carol told her. "But I have something to tell
you about that house." Carol swears she heard Kathy
drop the phone, and it seemed like an eternity before
she responded.
"What???? Kathy
asked. You could almost hear the tear in her eye.
Carol told her
that she had seen the same ad in the newspaper just
one day earlier. With some tender urging Carol talked
her husband into going with her to look it. She
continued saying the house was wonderful, it had been
totally redone and even had some wonderful antique
furniture left that was to be sold with the house.
"Kathy,??? Carol said, ???this house is perfect, except
for the price.??? It would make the most wonderful bed
and breakfast, but alone it just was not affordable.
Kathy clung to
every word, and the moment Carol finished telling her
about this wonderful old dwelling, she said, ???Well,
let??™s buy it together and be partners. But first get
dressed, let??™s go see it.???
Within 20 minutes
Carol was dressed, out the door, and speeding to her
friend??™s house. It was a gorgeous day and a great
time for a new adventure. Carol could hardly wait to
see Kathy's expression when she walked in for the
first time.
KATHY WRITES:
Knowing Carol drove like a
little old granny, Kathy insisted on driving. Carol
had never been so terrified in her life, nor taken so
many turns on two wheels! In what seemed like a split
second, the 30-mile trip was behind them and they
screeched to a stop at the Realtor??™s office. ???Stay
here, Carol. I??™ll get the key and be right back, you
don??™t need to get out.???
The way her knees were
shaking, Carol would have fallen on her face anyway.
She was happy to stay put and do deep breathing
exercises, as she rummaged through her purse looking
for a Valium.
With key in hand, Kathy
peeled out of the parking area. Soon they were
driving down gravel roads with pastures on both sides,
and herds of cattle grazing. As soon as Kathy spotted
the baby calves playing, she was transformed into a
calm and sane person once again. Carol had never been
so relieved in her entire life, especially since she
still hadn??™t found the Valium.
???Oh, Carol, I didn??™t know
the lane leading up to the house was lined with trees
forming a canopy,??? Kathy gushed. ???This is even more
than I expected. Haunted, yeah, sure it??™s haunted!
Did those Realtors mention that to you yesterday????
Carol had just begun to
calm down, and now she was hearing this lovely home
might be haunted! She started digging through her
purse again looking for the elusive Valium. What had
she gotten herself into now?
CAROL WRITES:
As they started up
the steps to the porch, both gave a sigh and started
to open the door. Before either of them could reach
the doorknob, the front door slowly opened all on its
own. Kathy gulped and grabbed onto Carol??™s arm for
support. Carol led the way and both entered the
hallway. The sunlight shown through the panes of
glass above and gave a glorious shine to the dark
walnut floors below. They crept in further. Carol
started to laugh and said, ??? Kathy if your chin drops
any further, you will scratch these beautiful hardwood
floors." Kathy laughed, and then agreed that Carol
had been right, it truly was an extraordinary house.
It was the most gorgeous house she had ever seen, or
imagined. It would make a grand bed and breakfast.
The two friends
looked at each other and shook hands. "Partners????
Carol asked.
"Partners!??? Kathy
answered.
They began to walk
through the kitchen and just as they rounded the
corner they saw it. It wasn't a dream, it wasn't a
figment of their imagination, and it was there right
in front of them. Carol swallowed hard and tried to
speak, but no words would come out. She was frozen in
fear. She wanted to look at Kathy, but her head
simply would not turn, it was like she was glued to
the floor and every appendage of her body was glued
too. Nothing moved, nothing except her eyes. She
could feel them blinking over and over, hoping that
she really wasn't seeing what was in front of her, but
blinking did not make it go away, in fact it seemed to
be getting closer.
KATHY WRITES:
???Isn??™t that the
cutest thing you??™ve ever seen???? Kathy squealed as she
bent down to touch the beautiful black and white
coat. ???Oh you poor baby, where is your mama and the
rest of your litter???? She was cuddling and stroking
the tiny body when she noticed Carol was frozen in
place, and turning pale. ???Here Carol, feel the coat
on this precious critter,??? she said as she extended
her hands with the baby cradled tenderly.
???Is t-t-t-that wh-what
I think it is???? Carol stammered, as she backed into
the wall bumping her head.
Doing her best not
to laugh loudly and scare the tiny creature, Kathy
replied, ???Well, just what do you think it is, you city
girl, you????
???S-s-sk-sk-unk!???
???We??™ve got to find
the rest of the litter or take it with us when we
leave. Otherwise, it will die,??? said Kathy, who by
now had it wrapped up warm and snug in her jacket.
Carol continued backing away as Kathy approached
wanting her to see it up close and personal.
Carol was still
keeping her distance. ???Are you out of your mind, or
what? That thing is going to spray us, and we??™ll be
soaking in tomato juice for a week!???
???Babies this size
won??™t spray! But, I have no idea how long it??™s been
here alone.??? She handed the baby to Carol and began
looking through the cabinets for anything that would
hold water. If nothing else, it had to be kept
hydrated. By the time she found a paper cup and
turned around, Carol was sitting on the floor, the
baby was sound asleep against her neck, and she was
singing a lullaby.
CAROL WRITES:
Kathy laughed out
loud, but then anyone hearing Carol??™s singing would
laugh; either that or run for cover. There wasn't a
worse voice this side of the Mississippi. Carol was
known throughout her hometown as having the worst
voice ever.
With Kathy??™s
laughing, she immediately stopped her lullaby. "Yes,
I know, I??™m a sucker for anything in a fur coat, even
a stinky old skunk!" Kathy continued laughing, then
stopped suddenly when she saw Carol point to the old
stone fireplace. Yep, there was mama skunk coming to
look for her baby. "I suppose you are going to tell
me that one won't spray us either,??? quipped Carol.
"No, actually
that one will," said Kathy. "My advice is to put that
little one down now, and back out of this house slowly
before we startle her." Carol did as she was told.
They backed out slowly with the mama skunk watching
their every move.
Once they were
safely outside, Carol again started searching her
purse for that darned elusive Valium. This time she
succeeded and popped it into her dry mouth, no time
for water. It stuck in her throat slightly, but then
slid right down. Kathy once again laughed. Carol did
not think it was amusing, but gave her friend a half
smile anyway.
"Now what???? Carol
asked.
Kathy looked at
her with tears in her eyes. " We are going right down
to that Realtors office, and make a deal on this
house," she said in a very determined voice.
Carol looked at
her like she was nuts, "BBBBBut you haven't even seen
the whole house yet, and what about the skunks, and
what about it being haunted, and what about the
price? And what about??¦"
???What about you
just get in the car and let??™s go.??? Kathy
interrupted. ???The house is perfect, I trust your
judgment, we??™ll make it work, I promise. I know it
will make a great bed and breakfast. As far as the
wildlife goes, hey you have to expect that in the
country. DUHHHHHH! Besides, the last time I heard,
haunted Bed and Breakfast places are the IN thing.???
Kathy winked.
Carol nodded to
her friend, fastened her seat belt, and they were off
to make the deal of a lifetime.
KATHY WRITES:
While driving back
to the Realtor??™s office, Kathy began wondering how she
would break the news to her husband. They had always
discussed things before plunking down a large amount
of money on anything. Besides, after the run-in with
the skunks she hadn??™t even inspected the entire
house.
???Carol, how about
we sleep on this overnight, run the idea by our
husbands, and come back tomorrow. We??™ll go through
the entire house, and then see if we feel the same
way.???
With a
disappointed glint in her eye Carol hesitantly
agreed. ???Well, I suppose you??™re right. It is a lot
of money unless we??™re both positive, but I know I??™m
not changing my mind.???
They returned the
key and told the Realtors they would return tomorrow.
As Kathy backed out, she noticed a gas station just
across the street. Knowing she was running on fumes,
she pulled in to fill up. While inside paying her
bill, she spotted the Texas Lottery sign for that
night??™s drawing: $26,000,000! She suddenly had an
overwhelming urge to buy tickets, lots of tickets, and
an unusual feeling of luck descended around her.
She??™d never felt anything quite like it. Digging
frantically through her purse, she scrounged up $62.00
and spent every last dollar. She never played the
lottery, she knew Carol didn??™t either, so decided not
to mention her pocket full of tickets. She would just
surprise Carol the next morning with a phone call
stating she was now a very wealthy woman.
They were nearly
back home when they both saw the wall of black clouds
to the west. ???Whoa! Looks like we??™re in for some
major storms this evening,??? Kathy complained. Turning
on the radio confirmed her suspicions, major
thunderstorms with hail, and the probability of
tornados. ???That??™s the one thing I hate about Texas,
no basements! I??™ve lived in ???tornado alley??™ my entire
life, but at least in Kansas we had basements. Here,
you just take your chances when it comes to old Mother
Nature.???
CAROL WRITES:
Kathy pulled into
her driveway just as the rain started. Carol said "
just let me out here, I??™ll climb into my car and head
for home before the storm really hits." Kathy pulled
into the garage and the door was down before Carol
even pulled away. Carol was feeling very relaxed
after that pill, plus a little let down after Kathy's
radical mind change about the house. She whirled
things around in her mind as she drove along the
parkway towards home. "Weird!" she said out loud.
"How can someone change in mid stream just like
that?" She knew Kathy very well, after all they had
been friends for nearly two decades, still this was
very out of character for her. The more she thought,
the angrier she became. Carol had wanted to think
about it, when Kathy insisted on going forward with
the deal, and then in a matter of seconds completely
did an about face. She tried to shrug it off as she
turned onto her street. She looked up at the sky, and
it was positively black.
She was glad she was
almost home. As she pulled into her garage, she could
hear her three dogs barking, it was their way of
welcoming her back home. She hoped she could let the
dogs out into the backyard before the storm hit too
hard.
She was still
feeling a bit woozy from the Valium an hour earlier,
and decided she should lay down for a while. She had
plenty of time before she had to start dinner. She
had made a roast in the crock-pot that morning before
leaving, and the aroma was enveloping the house in the
most amazing fragrance. She would peel potatoes after
she and the three dogs rested a bit. Carol had fallen
asleep almost the moment her head hit the pillow, but
woke up minutes later to the sound of hail and tornado
sirens. All of a sudden the electricity went out,
there was a loud clap of thunder, and then the sound
of freight train, which could not have been possible;
the closest railroad track was over 25 miles away.
KATHY WRITES:
Luckily the storm
didn??™t last too long, but it had been a ferocious
one.
Electricity was
restored within a few hours and Kathy was sitting with
pen and pencil to make note of the winning lottery
numbers. The news and storm reports seemed to go on
forever as she impatiently waited for the drawing.
Finally: 23 ??“ 4 ??“
50 ??“ 16 ??“ 31 ??“ 48 PB
With her pile of
tickets before her, she began plowing through them one
by one, checking and double-checking. It was late,
she was getting weary, and then there it was. The
winning ticket! Again the dogs took refuge under the
bed, as she raced through the house screaming, ???I won,
I won, I won!???
It was late
afternoon the following day when Kathy and Carol drove
back to the old farmhouse. They didn??™t bother picking
up the key since they had discovered the door lock
didn??™t work anyway. As they started down the
tree-lined lane to the house, they noticed broken
limbs and debris everywhere. It looked like a war
zone. They rounded the slight bend in the lane, and
both gasped at the sight; the house was gone! It had
literally been picked up and torn to shreds by the
tornado the night before.
They sat in the
car with tears streaming down their faces. Their
dreamed had been yanked right out from under them.
Kathy finally decided they must look at the bright
side. They hadn??™t put down any earnest money, which
more than likely would have been lost. Plus, she had
enough money now that they could buy anything that
struck their fancy.
???Carol, lets get
out and rummage around before we leave. You never
know what small items sometimes survive a tornado, and
we can stretch our legs before driving home,???
suggested Kathy. ???You never know, we might just find
some valuable old trinket.???
As they walked
they pushed debris around with their shoes, and looked
under loose boards. Suddenly Carol shouted, ???Kathy, I
think there used to be a cemetery here! Come see, but
I think these are pieces of old tombstones.???
Sure enough - they
were old, old headstones that had crumbled due to age
and being made of limestone. Neither woman could
understand why a house would be built on top of them
in the first place. It seemed so very wrong. As
close as they could tell, it had probably been a
family cemetery many years ago.
Time had passed
quickly while they rummaged around, and it was getting
darker by the minute. They hopped in the car to drive
away from their shattered dream. Before rounding the
bend in the lane, Kathy stopped. They turned to look
back one last time ??¦ and before their eyes were three
apparitions, located exactly where the broken
headstones had been found. They seemed to be
frolicking or dancing, as if they were children at
play. No doubt, eerie things had occurred in
that old farmhouse, and the stories of haunting had
not been fabricated. Sacred, final resting places
are not to be built upon or desecrated, and what these
friends witnessed now, were free and happy spirits -
Mother Nature had seen to it at long last??¦??¦??¦
?©2005
Kathleene S. Baker
Carol A. Brosowske |
