The Guest Room

     The room was cold and kind of musty. There were cob webs from floor to ceiling. The curtains were torn and hung like ghosts in the windows. There was a tall wardrobe that stood in one corner. It was covered in dust and cob webs. There was a dresser. The mirror looked smoky and cob webs hung all over. Under the dresser had dust and cob webs hanging down. The bed curtains were hanging in shreds and covered in cob webs. The bed still had a blanket and it was really dirty. Something caught my eye under the dresser. Something moved!! I watched to see if it happened again. There was nothing. I felt as though I was being watched. I waited and nothing happened. I decided if this was going to be my room I needed to get it cleaned up. So I went to get cleaning supplies from the Kitchen. I came back with a broom and started sweeping. I moved gently so I wouldn’t stir up all of the dust. When I got to the bed I gently pulled the cover off of the bed and took down the curtains. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something move again. This time it was closer. I couldn’t tell what it was and I knew if I looked I wouldn’t see anything. I kept sweeping and watching. The phone rang. It was the lady who owned the house. She was in town and wanted to know if I needed anything. I told her no but as I went back to cleaning I wondered if I had picked up everything I would need to stay here for two months. You see, I am a writer and I have had a hard time coming up with the right words so I decided a vacation would help. My stuff was still in the car and I couldn’t remember what all I brought. Wait!!! I saw it again!!! This time it wasn’t out of the shadows but I saw something!!! What was it? I started to walk over to the window to take down the curtains and when I was almost to the window, it blew open and dust flew everywhere!!! I tried to close the window but the latch wouldn’t work so I just left it open and went back to cleaning. I had this weird feeling. Something or someone was standing behind me. I had cold chills. I quickly turned around!!! It was Louise, the woman who rented me the room. “Are you having trouble with the window?” Louise asked. I explained that it blew open and I couldn’t get it to latch. She closed it like nothing was ever wrong with it. I asked her if she could tell me about the room. She looked sad as she began to tell me about her daughter.

           The room belonged to her daughter. One day she woke up with a fever. Doctor’s were called and some came from all over the world but no one could find out what was wrong with her. One morning, just before dawn, she heard a loud scream from her daughter’s room. She ran into the room and no one was there. They looked for years but no one ever found her. She just simply disappeared. There were no footprints, no windows opened, and absolutely no clues. The only thing that happened was every once in a while the bedroom window would just pop open. No one could find out why.

           We finally got the room cleaned and I went straight to bed because I was so tired. Tomorrow I planned to start writing. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The wind began to blow against my face. I heard a thundering sound coming from the woods. I got up and opened the door and walked slowly down the steps. The noise got louder and louder. Suddenly, the sky lit up with all shades of lights. I had never seen anything so beautiful. I walked through the yard like I had no fear at all even though I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. All of a sudden, I felt someone watching me. I looked around me and at first glance I didn’t see anyone. Then something caught my eye. There was someone watching me from up in the tree. It was way too big to be a person. What could it be? I felt like I was being pulled into the woods. I started walking again. The wind burned against my cheeks. The woods were so dark after I left the yard that it was hard to see anything. I still felt the presence of something watching me. I was glad I couldn’t see it. Up ahead I could see lights and the thundering sound was getting louder. Then I heard shrill screaming that made the hair stand up on my neck. I came closer and closer to the end of the trees. I could see a clearing. Suddenly, I felt something touch my back!! It was a person’s hand!! I was so scared but I turned around and it was her!! It was Louise’s daughter!! I don’t know how I knew it was her but I knew that was who it was. She put her finger to her lips to tell me to be quiet. We walked back the way I had come for a little way and then we turned and walked through another part of the woods. I looked up into a tree and there was that thing watching us again. I pointed to show it to her. She said quietly, “It won’t hurt you.” We kept walking. I felt the wind die down. The trees changed as the darkness disappeared. Suddenly, we came to a clearing and some little houses. “Where are we?” I asked. She said, “You are safe here. Let me explain. I am Shelly. My mom is Louise. I was brought here because I was sick. The Queen here knew how to help me so she sent her soldiers to bring me here. I was frightened so I screamed out. They quickly took me away. I have been here ever since.”

           The door to one of the little houses opened and the most beautiful lady I had ever seen walked out into the light. She walked over to me and touched my hand. She said, “Thank you for coming. Shelly has been waiting to go home but she couldn’t find her way without your help. The way you were going when she found you was very dangerous. They are a very evil people. They are the ones who made Shelly sick. We helped her get well but every time we tried to take her back home we were attacked. Can you help us?” There were many things running through my mind. How could I help? How could I fight evil? “I can try”, I said. The Queen started to speak again. “We need to overcome this enemy so that we are safe in our forest again. You will not be fighting alone.” The light turned to darkness. “What is happening?” I screamed. The Queen spoke gently, “Do not be afraid. This is our friend.” He came down out of the tree. He stood at least 11 feet. He had a huge wing span. He looked like a giant bat. The Queen said, “He possesses a gift of sight so that whatever his eyes see, we can see. He will help us to know where the enemy is.” Like she was reading my mind, the Queen looked at me and said, “Do not be afraid.” Suddenly, the loud thundering noise was back. The Queen looked around and said, “It is time.”

           The door opened to each house and people started gathering around us. I looked around and no one had weapons. As if she was reading my mind again, the Queen said, “We don’t fight with weapons. We fight with love. Each person hold your neighbor’s hand and do not let go, no matter what!!” We all held hands and stood in a line across more than half of the forest. Light started to shine. It came through the trees from behind us and in front of us. The thundering noise got louder and louder and we could tell the enemy was coming. The Queen said, “Everyone stand strong.” The light got brighter and brighter and the thundering noise sounded further away until it was gone. We all had closed our eyes because we were afraid. We slowly started to open our eyes. There were people standing in front of us looking all around. They looked confused. The tallest man looked at the Queen and said, “You have set us free. Thank you.” The Queen bowed down before him. “You are welcome your majesty,” she said. Many years ago this evil came and destroyed the entire town. The land changed and people began to build houses. Now the Kingdom could be rebuilt. Everyone thanked Shelly and I and we started to walk back to her house.

           The sun was coming up and as we came out of the woods we could see Louise sitting on the porch. We walked toward the house and as we got closer Louise stood up. I could see tears streaming down her face. Louise and Shelly embraced and cried together. They spent the rest of the day talking about what happened. I now had my story. I no longer had trouble finding words. I thought many books might come from this story.