The Cottage
When David inherent's a cottage in Wale's he gets more then he planned for.
"Here we are" David remarked placing the compact in park before looking at the 2 bedroom Wales cottage. David's grandmother Angie passed the cottage down to him after her death. Per the agreement in the will David could not sell the property without spending time there. It was her intent that it stay within the family despite David's lack of presence. It was by no means any fault of David's at 3 his mother Rebecca moved to New York chasing a position in managing a startup commerce company. David's mother resented Angie and changed her name and David's quickly after settling in. She took many legal steps to make it impossible for her mother to pester her about finding David's father.
The company was flourishing in profits after only a few months causing Rebecca to become needed more. Rebecca placed David in the company's day care before getting on a plane which crashed shortly after takeoff because of electrical issues. With no recorded father or family to speak of David was adopted and never knew he had a grandmother. That is until a letter arrived among a stack of overdue bills in David's Mailbox from a Welsh law firm who had found David shortly before Angie's death.
Anna raised her head off the pillow as the car came to an abrupt stop. The 23-year old groaned looking over the dash at the cottage. It had stone walls lain in with a chimney on the side. Vegetation ran over most of the structure clinging to the stones relentlessly forming around shutters with the paint flaking off. The landscape was hilly with flat protruding stones scattered about with a dense tree line in the shape of a horseshoe with the cottage in the middle.
The faint smell of saltwater entered Anna's nostrils causing her to give her husband a strange look. The sound of a loud cry turned Anna's attention to Edith in the car seat behind her. Anna opened the door and handed Edith a small bottle.
"Be right back Edith" Anna said before walking after David towards the cottage.
David rummaged through his pocket before finding a small key and walked to the door of the cottage with Anna closely behind. The Iron door protested as it slid across the floor reveling light into the living room. David walked through the living room and up a set of stairs which ran along the inner back wall of the home to the second level and found the breaker. He screwed in the old buss fuses before throwing the main up.
"Try the lights!" David yelled from upstairs before Anna flipped a switch clarifying the cottage's simplicity. Anna walked into the kitchen turning the handle on the faucet. A reverbing tone was heard as a pump turned on sucking air before quickly becoming quiet as the water ran into the porcine sink.
"Lights and water work" Anna yelled back looking through the kitchen. The counter was stone as was the floor yet the kitchen housed appliances only a few years old. Silk curtains slid gracefully reveling a window covered by shutters which blocked all scenery. Anna pulled up on the window and then noticed a heavy steel latch.
"That's strange" Anna thought prying at the latch before the sound of screeching steel was heard. The shutter opened slightly before Anna pushed both of them causing the sight of the forest below to be seen. The sound of Edith fidgeting in the car pulled Anna's attention and she pulled at the shutter leaving them open a bit before leaving the window open to allow fresh air into the cottage.
"Aww, Edith" Anna remarked wiping the milk from Edith's face before pulling her from the car seat and placing Edith on the ground next to the car. The three-year-old looked around noticing the landscape and quickly ran around making her way towards the cottage. Anna grabbed a few bags out of the car flowing Edith into the house.
The afternoon was fairly uneventful as the couple moved their belongings into the home. They set up Anna's crib in her bedroom next to there's upstairs and by 9pm the couple had settled in fully with the flat screen chirping an old movie which the couple quickly fell asleep to.
The moonlit up the landscape showing the foreign outline of the car causing the little one to perk her head up. She curiously walked through the tall grass pushing it aside before taking in a deep breath and rising off the ground. A light breeze carried the little one toward the car before she let out the breath and fell into the grass. Looking up at the mammoth structure the little one placed her hand onto the tires valve cap turning it with her transparent fingers. Reaching down next to the tire the little one picked up a small stone and placed it into the valve stem. The sound of hissing was heard as the little one walked towards the cottage finding the steel door closed.
The little one perked her nose up into the air sniffing wildly before freezing. She walked around the cottage finding it sealed before noticing the open shutter. Taking in a deep breathe the little one jumped between the shutters landing on the windowsill. Running her nails along the wood the little one scratched away pulling the wood before she had made a hole big enough for her to move into the kitchen. The little one looked around raising her head into the air taking in a deep breathe before gliding across the kitchen floor through the living room and onto the handrail. She quietly walked up the incline before seeing the two open doors a few feet apart at the end of the hallway.
Walking into Edith's room the little one took in a deep breathe and then jumped onto the edge of the crib looking down at Edith with a grin. She studied the 3-year old for hours singing quietly over her until her eyes finally opened. The little one waved at Edith playfully about watching as she rose to her feet. Edith reached for the barely visible being causing her to take in a deep breathe and glide back just out of the child's reach. The little one held her breath remaining out of Edith's reach watching as she pulled at the latches of her crib.
The sound of the crib side falling to the floor with a loud click caused Anna to open her eyes. She turned onto her side pulling on the covers a bit before her feet hit the wooden floor. It creaked as she walked towards Edith's room flipping on the switch. Anna looked down at Edith and smiled as a guilty face came across the child's face.
"Not supposed to be out of bed Edith mommy needs to sleep" Anna remarked noticing Edith trying to look behind her. The little one stood still only her small breast rose and dropped slowly as she breathed before she heard the child speak.
"Mommy looks." Edith said pointing at a shelf with a small painting of a bear on it. Anna looked at the Bear rubbing her eyes then reached up and grasped the painting.
"You want the bear honey?" Anna asked holding the painting in front of her.
"No mommy looks" Edith said more urgently pointing at the shelf. Anna stood up looking at the shelf closely then back at Edith.
"There is nothing up here honey" Anna said looking at the shelf before she seen a quant shimmer of light catch her eye. Looking closer she seen the transparent outline of a small woman standing with her back against the wall. In a fit of panic the little one blew hard at her feet causing a plume of dust into Anna's face and quickly went out of the home.
Anna rubbed her eyes looking about the rom wildly before her vision returned. She looked about the room then back to the shelf. The shelf was covered in dust with only the spots with the painting had been laid being undisturbed.
Anna opened her eyes resting her head against the pillow with a sigh of relief. Looking at her clock it showed 4:30 am. She rolled over pulling at the covers before her feet hit the floor and walked into Edith's bedroom. Anna turned on the light smiling at the sight of the crib side still up came into view.
"Just a dream" Anna said to herself walking over to the crib noticing Edith under the covers. Anna reached into the crib and felt a hard structure before pulling back the covers to revel a long shaped log with a child's face carved onto the top. David heard his wife let out a scream and got to his feet running into the room.
"What's wrong?" David asked looking at his wife holding the log questionably before he ran through the hallway. The cold morning air filled the living room as David ran down the stairs. He stopped motionless at the sight of the open door. Digging through the boxes David pulled a flashlight out and walked out the door looking around frantically.
"Edith! Edith where are you?" David yelled looking through the landscape before the sight of his daughter on the edge of the tree line entered his view. David made his way after his daughter walking through the tall grass and into the woods. The sight of Edith sitting under a large bush with a large circle of mushrooms around her caused David to smile.
"Look who is the little adventurer. You know your mother is scared to death, right Ed? David said looking back at the sight of her walking through the grass. David walked into the large circle before finding a sudden rush of heat overwhelms him. Looking down at Edith he caught the faint outline of tiny transparent men and woman sitting around his daughter looking up at him. One of them let out a low bellow before beginning to sing and David could not control himself as his feet began to move next to his Daughter. The little ones walked around David circling the within the mushrooms with glee as they sang louder. Anna walked into the woods at the sight of David tromping his feet next to Edith. She laughed playfully at her father clapping her hands rhythmically.
"David what are you doing" Anna asked getting no response from him. She heard Edith clapping and walked closer to her.
"Don't!" Edith heard David yell suddenly as she walked into the circle.
"Don't what?" Anna asked defiantly before she felt a shoving against her back shoulder. Looking back Anna seen the sight of the little ones floating next to her and began to hear the music. She felt her feet being to move and took David's hands in hers dancing around. The two continued dancing feeling more and more exhausted with each passing minute. Their hearts beat faster and it was David who noticed the change first. Anna's hair had become gray wrinkles littered her face yet she continued to hold his hands. David was further along his hair fell onto his shoulders and body sagged. The sound of the couples bones cracking caused them to cry out as the singing continued forcing them to continue to dance wildly to the singing of the little ones until the sun began to rise.
The sun rose across the landscape and after a few days of unanswered calls the local law drove out to the cottage finding the front door open. They later found the bones of the couples bodies laid on each other rotting on the edge of the tree line. The Daughter Edith's body was never found and the log laid in the crib was searched for traces with no results.
The case was quickly dismissed and the cottage soon placed in care of Wales's property to sit and decay to this day.