You walked through my heart
Like Elizabeth Taylor
Your redhair
And
You commanded
My attention
What else was I suppose to do
I couldn’t live
Without loving you
Live without
We all lived
Now I’m dying
——
I still find pieces of you
Pieces of me
Of us
Inside all my notebooks
Mexican takeout Scribbled
I try to order the write
Words
Hoping to bring them together
But I know
I know
(Image origin unknown)
Hide and seek
Brett and I returned to the house the following night. He wasn’t too excited about though. ” calm down,moron. I told you, I left the ouija board at home.” I said.
I could feel him jump
“Shhh!! It’s not that.God. I’m fine, I just don’t understand why we have to come over here at night. I don’t know if ghosts or spirits have a schedule but if they do I’m pretty sure it’s at night….” He said. Looking at the stairs.
I started up them with my light. The house was darker.and much much colder. It was like the hallway was alive–as soon as you reached the top…. You could feel something watching you. I froze. My skin crawling. I tried to lighten the weight. Brett was still mumbling to himself coming up behind me.
” oh come on. You’ve never been in an empty house before? I just wanted to get it on — you know. ”
“I will make you….”
He stopped mid sentence at the top of the stairs…
“The house is alive.”
” no…it’s in the room at the end of the hall. She’s here”
I started toward the doorway.
” what!…” Brett said. “unfinished life-unfinished life.that’s what this is. I can see the headline now…This is madness. If this has anything to do with the seventh grade field trip…I’m sorry. I’m really sorry about the tarantula.I didn’t know you throw up when you get scared.”
I stopped.slowly turned around.
” I do not throw up when I get scared.That was a one time thing! I can’t believe you’ve thought that for five years.”
“Oh look a piano!” Brett said. Attempting to change the subject.
I continued down the hall. To the door. When I took hold of the handle- the piano started playing behind us. I could hear Brett whispering ‘no no no’
Room
Inside it was colder. But it appeared to be in order. A bed. Everything in a bedroom. A rocker by the window. And a closet. I could hear a woman singing in the closet. The piano-playing in the hallway. I walked over to the door. Picture frames flew across the room. The rocker,rocking at the window.
I opened the door. Everything in the house stopped.Even the air went still. Brett walked up beside me. ” What the heck is that? Why did she want us to open this door?”
It was a blue cage. Paint peeling. Maybe half the size of the closet.
And then it hit me. Right in the gut… In the corner of the cage there was a pillow made from fragments of blue cloth.
“Because this was her room. Behind this door. This is where she died.Oh mister Harper….”
I had to investigated further. Walking out of the room I ran my hand along the wall…. And stopped when I felt an echo…or draft…
It was in the middle of the house…I looked around in a circle….
“Brett,Harper House has always had a chimney hasn’t it?”
He looked at me over his glasses…”yeah…”
“Then where is it?”
“Oh well that’s easy just look for he ….hmmm.” There wasn’t s fireplace.
“Brett,go get me an axe. The fireplace is here somewhere.”
Fire
I hacked open the wall and there they were. Two bodies of bones. ” I guess mister Harper had secrets.” I said.
I lit the fireplace And left the house.
“We have to graduate tomorrow,Brett. Let’s go home.”
“Sounds good to me.”
No one knows what exactly Mister Harper did to his wife and daughter.
It would just be legend added to legend…inside a creepy old house. In a community that all has their own closets and fireplaces.
I’m just glad they were able to rest.
We all deserve that much.
( photo origin – Dark Mixed Media Artworks by Jarek Kubicki)
Mother May I?
I spent the last few days of summer break,looking up the history of Harper House. The real history.Public files,the whole nine yards. It was late. And I was tired. So I rallied some help. considering the last events. I felt that this may be a much bigger thing than what was just appearing to be black and white. So I asked Brett to help me. Which was not too difficult. Since. He has a paranoia of anything mystic…but is equally intrigued and looks out for my well being.
My phone rang sometime around midnight…”hello?” It was Brett…
“April…you’re not going to believe this…there’s two. If you think this has been bad…just wait.”
“Wait till what,Brett?.Speak English,much?”
“He was married…here I sent you an email.check out these apples.”
And sure enough
There it was
I opened the attachment
A marriage certificate from the state of Georgia …
Mr. Harper…. What did you do with your wife?
My phone started static
And I could feel something sit down on the corner of the bed ….
So I turned on my camera and recorded….
And then played it back …
Just cold static …
And then a voice …
“We hate her.that bitch”
And then it got up from the bed
And slammed the door….
I called Brett and as fast as I could.
“Brett, you have to meet me at the cemetery.”
“Hell no!”
“Brett! If June Stevens can get it on in a cemetery ..you can help me read some stones.”
“Fuck No. We are not getting it on at the cemetery.STP – That’s a thing called ‘sexually transmitted possession.’ And I am not a supporter of that.”
“Brett. If Mr Harper was married. Where was his wife? Why didn’t anyone know about her? And when did she die?”
“Damn it….ok.” He said reluctantly.
The graveyard
We couldn’t find the graves
We checked every one twice
Harper house
I stopped by on my way home
And there she was in the window
A figure in black
And then she faded away
If everything’s been a little girl
What has the mother been saving for us?
What really happened in that house?
Sylvia’s perfect pitched voice accompanying her name brand walking bill board style, accosted me in the hallway,just between classes. “Hey,hey, skank. Are you going to the bonfire tonight?.”
“Hang out with you,and a bunch of horny, pizza faced boys,all trying to stay up past midnight? …let me try and hold back my enthusiasm.”
“I have some girlfriends coming over too…if that’s more your thing…”
I just stared at her…”Sylvi,I hate men.but that doesn’t mean I’m a lesbian.”
“Yeah ok…look I have a Ouija board …and besides that…we’re having it at Harper House…but…(she looked away,as if not to care) if you don’t want to go,I guess we will manage without you. It’s just an old house with lots of empty rooms.”
“Hold on,Sylvi…just …curse you…fine..I’ll try and make it.You witch.”
She tossed her hair and flashed another billboard smile…I imagined her in one of those dental hygiene commercials,you know,the ones where everyone is happy.They make the toothpaste appear miraculously to cure depression and pay off all student loans… “splendid.I’ll let the girls know.” She said just before strutting away.
Night School
Harper House is even more terrifying at night. And there really wasn’t that many of us there. Carolyn of course and Rachael….Sylvia…and Ariel,who Carolyn insisted upon coming because she had just experienced a miscarriage…with …oh what’s his name…Robbie ? Was it Robbie? seems like a cheap name…very generic…maybe it was the other guy…the animal shelter guy.I don’t know.Not my monkeys. The night was filled with drunken chaos-naturally- I will Spare you the details of all the madness…Eric insisted upon groping every girl present,and his winning hook line and sinker was that ‘ we have the cure for a zombie apocalypse…it just has one side affect…Gay Autism.’
Who could possibly see where he was going wrong…there was just too many holes in his game.
inevitably we were persuaded along with our ouija board to an open window in the house…which just happened to be …the library.
Candles
Stairwells
One empty library
Rachael
Carolyn
Sylvi
Megan
Ariel
Outside it started to rain
A real thunderstorm
You could feel the air thicken
As Sylvi lit the candles and started things off …
Touching the Oracle
“Is there anything in here?
Tell us what you know?”
Nothing happened …
We all looked at each-other
Then scratches appeared on Sylvi’s wrist and Ariels phone started ringing
She looked at it
Then over at me
“Why are you calling me April?”
I shook my head
“I’m not-my phone is outside.Use speaker phone.”
At first there was just static
But you could hear someone walking above us in the stairwell
And then the sound of a rocking chair
And a crying baby
Over the phone
We all froze
I jumped up first
Followed by the others
we were running outside in the same direction,to the car.
I grabbed my phone out of the side pocket….
“It’s dead.”
I looked at Ariel.She was soaking wet from the storm and the run..but you could tell she was crying…we all were pale…and frankly scared shitless.
I looked at the house again
The porch
The windows
The darkness that surrounded it
Then I saw her
Step into the window
Staring at us
In her blue dress
I looked at the girls and back again
But she was gone
There was only the curtain
My family spent a lot of time in and out of mental institutions. So I try to limit what I let everyone else in on. The ghost sight shows for example, those will not be shared.
Harper House was always strange,even before it was empty.And everyone has seen things there.It’s like a legend.
Home
I’m folding clothes when I hear it…the sound of a girl laughing…I look outside …and I see her…dancing in a blue dress …she runs around the house out of my line of vision. I feel a cold chill down my spine. Turning back to the laundry, her dress is laying there –across the sofa.
Photo origin (unknown)
Morning
Sam is kicking the wall…
I wake up to the TV blaring
Thanks to my sister
And Sam,my nephew
Screaming …
I cover my face with a pillow
And scream
I feel only a little better
This is fucking great
Just great
My sister opens the door
“Oh god,did Sam wake you up again?
I’m sorry.” Then she yells into the other room at Sam
“Sam! You little idiot,you woke up April.”
He stops kicking the wall…I hear the TV go down…
And his quiet voice apologetically
“Ohhh ..sorry Paypril.”
That’s what he calls me
Aunt Paypril
School
Carolyn grabs me first thing
She’s kind of shorter than me
So she pulls my face down
To yell in my face
But she can’t really help that
Her family is practically
Hobbits
I mean if that is scientifically possible
And it’s ok for me to say this
Because we’ve practically grown up together
But if anyone else says it
I’ll have to stab them
“Jerica lost her virginity,and she’s telling everyone about how bad it was
You’ve got to get in on this”
Carolyn kind of fell in step with me
On our way to the car
“Whoa,I don’t need to get on that.
This is the third time she’s lost her virginity this year.”
Carolyn shook her head
“I think it’s legit though,she’s upset.and it was bad
And he’s not talking to her or anything.”
“Oh for fucks sake
It’s not supposed to hurt
That’s so not true
If it does he was a real asshole
And didn’t
Take his time
The body is made for sex”
She was just looking at me blankly
And bored
“It’s science! 7 out of 12 women
experience pain every time
And think it’s supposed to be
And it’s not
It’s because they are not aroused
This is just shit they feed us
So they get theirs and we
Won’t complain!!”
I was pissed off
And mad
And on a soap box
But Carolyn just looked at me
And shook her head
“This- all of this-is why you’re going to be a crazy cat lady.not because of your lame ass generic looks.
You scare men away
And speaking of men
It’s Brett
The best the state of Ohio could do”
We tossed our books at him
“Whoa! Hey! watch the baby maker.”
He was totally panicking
“it won’t be making any babies
If you keep calling it that…”
“What? What’s wrong with my baby maker? And christ,
At least I won’t be adopting,
Like you two.”
Harper House
I always walk past Harper House
On my way home
It’s the oldest house in our small neighbourhood
Probably a couple hundred years old
Which is a lot for American homes
And I like to look at it
Although today
It is definitely burned down – At least partially
I feel a hole in my chest
And cold like I’m going to be sick
I just stand there
Looking at it
No one’s lived in it for years
And it was never open
We never got to see inside it
something cold
And heavy comes over me
When I see it
a blue cloth fall from the window at the back of the house
And then
I see her
A little girl
Pale and
Staring
Back at me
I look quickly at the front of the house and then back again
But she’s gone
Regarding Samuel 