Grey Day

Hickory is a small town that sits by itself in the middle of nowhere that smells damp of the nearby freshwater lakes. Residents here in Hickory are quiet, kind and hardworking people who relish their privacy, usually keeping to themselves. Many who live in the small town were born here, grew up and raised their own families here for generations. The ones who had come here over the years had settled, finding solace in a place that reminded them of simpler times before the reach of social influence and technology. A place where everyone knew everyone and not much else happened without the prying eyes of the neighbors in town hearing about it.

  Not too much happens in this isolated sleepy town, that is until something known as ‘Grey Day’ changed the fabric of Hickory forever. Now if you ask anyone here what Grey Day is, you may be met with dirty looks from a senior resident or two or find an uncomfortable stare of silence from a woman clasping her pearls to herself as she makes haste to avoid the conversation. It is no secret the ominous cloud of uttering these words creates over the town, but to understand the meaning you must understand who Serenity Grey was.

Serenity Grey was her name. A vibrant young woman who came to Hickory from the sunshine state of southern California looking for a new life, a fresh start after dropping out of med school. The outgoing, bubbly, chocolate-haired beauty that she was, made her easy to get along with and soon she had many friends within the small town. She was a lovely host at her parties, giving color to the usually dull town.

It all began with a party, one of many that Serenity hosted. If you asked some, one specific party was the one that tore a rift in the quaint little town, changing it forever. One evening in the spring Serenity threw a party, the first of the year, to welcome the season of growth and all things new including her settling in amongst the residents in her new town. For this occasion, she had out done herself.  Sparing not even the smallest of details, almost every inch of her property was draped beautifully in colors and accents complimenting the arrival of spring. It was an almost magical event, even the air was sweet with the natural smell of primroses and lavender.

People danced, laughed and spilled drinks on the grey property as they usually had at parties before. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming just as much as the host herself was. Bringing together a mix of both young and old alike, Serenity seemed to live up to her name. She had become the place of calm for many, where neighbors felt safe and at home enough to unwind, connect and at times confided in her with their problems and secrets.

She held a bigger reason for the planning of the party outside her love for the colorful season. Today would be the first time that Serenity had welcomed the Catherines to her home after extending an invitation to one of the most important families in Hickory. The foundation of Hickory was built on the backs of the ancestors of the Catherines who owned the land the small town grew on and the lakes beside it. The blood of the Catherines was deeply rooted and entwined within the very soil of the town’s making and Serenity strived to be just as important of a figure in Hickory as they had been. She was determined to show them. Specifically, she was set on impressing Sue Catherine, current head of the Catherine household.

Sue Catherine had been the guest of honor; upon her arrival her presence captivated the attention of the party guests almost immediately who welcomed her with a round of applause. Her fiery red locks fell in perfect spirals past her shoulders with a radiant smile upon her face, there was no doubt that Sue Catherine was of great importance in Hickory and carried herself as such. But instead of Mr. Catherine being in attendance alongside his wife there was a young man of no more than 23. The young man was quiet and more reserved than Sue had been. His eyes stayed fallen to the pavement below instead of on the few people who attempted to stir up small talk with him. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable in the setting and stayed at Sue’s side the entire time, finding comfort beside the woman. How unusual, Serenity thought, could there be something more there, something more scandalous? To her it sure seemed like it and she had to share.

It was delectably juicy, so much so that she couldn’t contain herself. Being entrusted with so many secrets, or which she thought were secrets, she just had to share. Maybe the dull town had been spicier than she had thought, hiding a salacious luster beneath the shroud of its rural simplicities. All that she had seen, like Mrs. Diego tutoring the hunky athletic college males on the piano in her home. She was just sure Mrs. Diego had been melting over the way the men’s fingers tickled the ivory while Mr. Diego was away at work. She was sure he wouldn’t be all too pleased. Or how the high school coach would be spotted hanging outside unusual places in his spare time, clearly up to no good, maybe even looking for substances to spur the morale needed for another win for the Eagles. That would explain the winning streak they had been on! Her imagination was wild, and her stories had been wilder, so much so that there was a burning urge to share them with anyone who would stop to listen or was lucky enough to overhear the whispers. Every observation that Serenity made in town deserved a peroration of her own words. Thrusting her up the social ladder, making her one of the most interesting people in town or so she thought, and she wasn’t ready to give that up just yet.

“Did anyone see the young man that Sue strung around the party like a lost puppy? Can you say cougar on the prowl? Or the way Mrs. McKenzie kept dozing off during conversations and started swaying, the alcoholism she struggles with speaks for itself. Or when Mr. Dave shouted at the children from across the yard, he obviously was an unhinged man that threatened his household at the drop of a dime. His poor wife was probably a battered woman. That would explain why she never leaves their home.”

The stories were gaining momentum and pouring in from everywhere and Serenity had her own story of each one. The more she saw the more she shared in a vicious cycle of rumors.

In the beginning it was fun. Residents gathered harmless dirt on one another for laughs during passing observations in town before telephoning the slander on to be sculpted into more outlandish ideas of the imagination. Cold hard facts didn’t matter in this game of rumoring. Eager ears waiting nearby only fueling the excitement of what was to be spread next. Nobody was safe from the whispers once they got out. Sue Catherine, once proud of her town had become the laugh of it after totting the young man to the Grey party. A cougar she had been called by Serenity and more by her own citizens who joined in the fun. Ashamed and faced with embarrassment, Sue locked herself away on her family’s estate for the crime of introducing her timid nephew to the town of Hickory that would one day be his.

Mrs. Diego had been ridiculed by her neighbors for teaching the love of music to young men who would be the same age as her son if he hadn’t passed at the tender age of 10. Each young man that she taught reminded her of her little boy who even as a child shared her love of piano. The rumors made Mr. Diego file for a divorce, leaving her alone with no child, no husband and no students who wanted to return.

Mrs. McKenzie struggled with low blood sugar since she was a little girl which sometimes made her dizzy, tired and weak, causing her to sway. Because of it she never touched alcohol and was a very health-conscious person. But since Serenity labeled her an alcoholic, the dirty looks she got from neighbors during a minor episode was enough to make her want to do nothing more than stay home, affecting her social life and career.

Coach Nix, who spent most of his time coaching the high school football team, which he loved, would be seen around town in unusual places in his spare time. Serenity was just sure that he was up to illegal activities but in fact he was only working odd jobs just to make ends meet so he could continue coaching full time. Since the accusation came out, the high school decided it was best to fire him. It broke his heart.

Mr. Dave was a boisterous man who shouted everything he said because he was hard of hearing, which made him a little frightening, but he was nothing more than a teddy bear of a giant who took outstanding care of his ill home bound wife.

Once the rumors grew as large as they had, there was no case that could have been pleaded or explained to repair the damage that had already been done. It was a dark time for Hickory. The people had made their minds up, everything that had been said and molded was to be accepted as truth and nothing that could be said would change that.

Over time Hickory was no longer the welcoming place it had once been. Friendly greetings were no longer exchanged in passing amongst neighbors and pleasantries were far and in between. Instead, squabbling took root as neighbor turned on neighbor unsure of who or what to trust anymore. Residents spent their days side eyeing and keeping their distance from one another in suspicion of what wrongdoings one or the other might be up to. The mood had become grim and cold, with people passing by one another in their own dissociative worlds. Nobody wanted to do business within the town, and many began to suffer greatly spiraling downward.

Enough was enough, no more could the division within Hickory be tolerated. No more could the people suffer the plague of Serenity Grey. Sue loved the town that her great grandfather had built, she was committed to the protection of it and her family legacy by any means necessary. That’s when the plan was decided on how to do away with the young woman known as Serenity Grey for good, giving a town a chance to heal and thrive once more. Important figures in town came together to meet in secrecy on the Catherines property one night to discuss what needed to be done. “Operation Grey Day” a phrase one uttered, giving birth to what would forever cement the moment in the history of Hickory.

Days following the mysterious meeting, a sense of calm befell the town. It was a feeling which hadn’t been present since the night of the Spring party. Neighbors came out to greet one another in an old-fashioned way that almost seemed lost weeks prior. The mood was welcoming. It was as if Hickory had a breath of fresh air gripping the town once more, but no one seemed to know where Serenity Grey had gone. The efforts looking for her were in vain. It was an eerie feeling, as if she vanished off the face of the earth leaving everything that she possessed behind. Nobody knows exactly what happened after that meeting but some swear that they witnessed Serenity being marched by the important leaders through the woods that night towards the cliff ends. Others say that she just got tired of the town and left in the dramatic fashion that suited her. Some whisper that the Catherines banished her from the town, tossing her out on the spot, not even sparing her the time to pack. Whatever truly happened to her may never be known, no clues or answers ever explained her whereabouts. Only the day that Grey vanished it has been said that Serenity’s last words before she disappeared never to be seen or heard from again was that “rumors weren’t against the law.” In most places there is no law for it, but here in Hickory a law known as ‘Grey Day’ was passed soon after by the head of Catherines, damming the spread of rumors or speculations without cold hard facts in place to keep the town safe.  Anyone found breaking this law faced meeting the same fate as Serenity Grey. It was a law deemed necessary by the Catherines and accepted by the people after the blame was placed on Serenity.

Now, today if you ask what happened to Serenity Grey you won’t get many answers, only potential speculations here in Hickory, speculations that are now against the law. Some say that Serenity Grey herself was nothing more than a made-up rumor and the law is to make others forget the ghost of her. It's no secret that A stain of caution now sits over Hickory especially when someone says, “It looks like it’s going to be a grey day.” One’s mind can’t help but wonder back to Serenity Grey. What she did to the town and what became of her. One thing can be said for certain, if you are unsure of what you see it’s best that you keep it to yourself or you could possibly end up like Serenity Grey, faced with the consequences of meeting your own Grey Day.