Taylor's short story....

This is my daughter's short story that she wrote for her class, enjoy!!!


Lockets and Pearls
The white manor stands still, silent. The Chateau Ste Michelle Winery Manor House from first glance seems nothing more then that. The quiet, whistle of the wind blows, soft and still. But suddenly, lightning strikes, thunder bursts, and rain falls. Each drop of rain crushes the concrete; each lightning strike burns the night sky. A shadow which would frighten even the largest, strongest man flies across the upstairs room. The night sky hides behind the dark grey clouds, causing complete and utter darkness. The winery next to the manor causes a sweet fragrance to drift across the silent grounds. But the scent of death overcomes that, causing the atmosphere to change, a dark air touching into the body. Then, blood curdles, thunder is silenced, all you hear is the last breath of a dying soul. All that is seen is blood dripping from the upstairs window, down into the puddle of rain below. And the body of girl lying outside.
Sarah Reese wakes up in the prison cell. The house her and her mother moved into 3 months before is still as cold and lonely as when they moved in. Her white walls are blank, bland. Her clothes are dark, cold. Moving out of her small bed, she makes her way to the bathroom. As she walks down the plain hallway, the scent from the bacon sizzling in the pan down stairs fills the home. She breathes it in, mouth watering, as she enters the bathroom.
Sarah looks at the face in the mirror. Slim and attractive, as it was back at her home in California. Her dark brown hair gently lies along her shoulders, and curls all the way down. Her father’s hair was the same, dark brown, as dark as chocolate, with curls contained in the thickness. Her tan skin continues to lighten, reminding her she wasn’t in sunny Cali, but in rainy Woodinville, Washington. But her eyes, that’s what showed her beauty. Deep, rich, chocolate brown. They were enticing, inescapable. She could hold you in a glare for hours, just by a simple glance. But they haven’t been the same, since the day years back, when everything changed for her. When the light contained in her eyes left, destined to never return. She looks a few seconds longer, and decides that it is as good as it was going to get. She walks down the stairs to the prehistoric kitchen, containing a small, black oven, an over-size white refrigerator and a small, old, white microwave in the back. Her mom hands her the tray of bacon, ready with her fried eggs, sunny side up.
“Sarah, this Friday, I will be going out with Bryan. I’ll leave dinner in the fridge, and all you’ll have to do is heat it up.” Her mother said.
Bryan Snuff. Exactly, a snuff. It can be assumed that he was attractive, with his light brown hair, and sparkling Paul Newman eyes. He was in his late thirties, and obviously bleached his teeth quite often. Outward appearance, he was a model from a magazine. But inside, he was a prideful, vain, a simpleton. Sarah finds it amazing he could breathe and talk at the same time. Sarah’s distaste for Bryan might have been simply because of the tragic death of her father 3 years before. When Sarah was at the beginning age of adolescence, 13 years old, her father came into a bloody accident on a freeway in California. Her father was driving the new car home, and her mother and herself were in the older car. Her father, Ryan Reese, looked over to his little girl, and laughed because of the look she gave him. That one second of not paying attention cost him his life. The car in front of him through on the breaks, and the new, midnight blue Toyota crashed into the old clunker. The explosion next to them was deafening. Ryan flew out of his seat, and his cranium smashed into the safety glass, and the blood splattered across. Sarah sat in shock, unsure of what had just happened, right before her eyes. It was a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. The ambulance rushed to the accident, but there was no hope. So much blood was lost, that Ryan was sure to die within the hour. Sarah ran to her father’s side, her best friend, the one she could trust more then any other. He leans forward, and gives her a locket. It was beautiful silver, shaped into a heart. She opens it, and it plays the melody of the lullaby her father always sang. He looks at her. His last words to her were, “Take care, I’m always going to be with you.”
Sarah could not believe her mother had forgotten the soft spoken father that was with her for 15 years, to come to this business man, who was a mere looker, but didn’t have the brains to run a corporation. Her father was everything to her. He took her everywhere, and always showed his love to the young girl. She looked at the woman who raised her alone the past 3 years. She replied with a simple, “Alright Mom, whatever.”
Sarah leaves the house and enters into the cloudy, rainy Washington day. She often walked to her school, so she had time to think about her life, on the long, frozen sidewalks. Woodinville was nothing compared to the sun of California. Why her mother moved out here to be with Bryan, she’ll never know. When she makes it to the crosswalk, the three, menacing girls, Katriana Jones, Mary Lee, and Katie Ray appeared, with there bleached, blonde hair, obviously from a bottle, since there was no sun anywhere in Woodinville. Katriana obviously disliked Sarah, probably due to her automatic popularity, even though her negativity and monotone voice. Katriana was used to being the girl everyone looked at, let it be the quarterback on the football team, or the point guard of the basketball team. Her beauty never was competed, till the new girl came around.
Katriana over the past few months, she looked for a way to get rid of her, to embarrass or scare her out. The manor. That was her master plan to be rid of Sarah. The white manor, known by the name of Chateau Ste Michelle Winery Manor House, was legend to be haunted by Elizabeth, the mistress of Frederik Stimson. Elizabeth was a servant in the home, and in her room, pearls were hidden away, given to her by her mother. After a night with Frederik, Elizabeth became pregnant. Of course Mrs. Stimson was in a fury. Her body burned with the anger held within her. Apparently shortly after Elizabeth was found out, she had an “accident” down the stairs, leading to the kitchen. Since then, Elizabeth is said to be found in the house, especially in the bathrooms. Alarms would begin blaring, and toilets would flush out of nowhere in the late hours of night. Surely it was Elizabeth. It was perfect. If this paranormal activity actually occurred, then it would scare her right out of Woodinville.
Katriana walked up to Sarah.
“Sarah, what are you doing this Friday?” asked Katriana, in an innocent voice.
“Nothing? All I’m doing is sitting at home.” Sarah replied. “Why?”
“I know that I haven’t been the most welcoming in the town, but I feel like we can become great friends. But I have to prove your good enough.” Katriana explained. “You know the manor on the hill?”
“The winery? Yeah, my house is right around from it. Why?” answered Sarah.
“If you can get the hidden pearls of Elizabeth, you will have proven yourself in this town. Well, unless your chicken.” mocked Katriana.
“I ain’t scared. It’s a silly house. That story is only a rumor. The scariest thing would be those century year old floors falling on top of me. No prob.” Sarah said, in a strong voice. But she wasn’t as sure of herself as she made it sound. When Bryan told her the story, trying to frighten her, she simply ignored it, thinking nothing of it. But in the late night dreams, she saw the ghostly spirit, the light that exalted from her. The pearls, hanging from her neck, and her wild hair flying behind with the long dress she had on. She would hear the soft moaning from the ghost. Was it singing? Even though she feared this rumored spirit, she wasn’t going to let Katriana frighten her away, make her look like a fool in the town. She would never live it down. Her mom would be out on the town that night, so she wouldn’t have to come up with a story. “I’ll do it!” she exclaimed.
Sarah begins to go through the rest of the three days before heading to the house. She feels her sanity leave her. Lying in her bed, she begins to see her worst fear, Elizabeth. She sees the spirit moving towards her, moving, with eyes bright, and a blood stained dress. Her hair flies across the room. Sarah can smell the odor of the dead body. The dress is a soft blue, and overcomes the body of the spirit. All she can do is stand, staring at Sarah. Sarah wakes in a cold sweat. What would the spirit do to her? She hears something in the closet. She steps off the bed, and moves closer to the closet. She grabs her softball bat, lying on the ground, and moves closer to the closed door. She opens it, and screams. She sees Elizabeth hiding in the back. She throws the bat, but it just hits the wall behind her closet, and leaving a mark.
These visions of the spirit cease to stop. The sound of things dropping continues. But that wasn’t all she saw. She begins to see her father at her side at all times. He follows behind, in front, or even walks at her side. She is unsure why. No one else sees him, or Elizabeth. Is her sanity gone? Is it becoming too much? Sarah hides her insecurities at school though. She can not show her fear to those around, especially to Katriana. Each of her nights ended with her crying the stress on her shoulders away. She feares Friday, but knows that she needs to face it.
Friday comes.
Sarah gets on her cherry red bike, riding on the dirt road, leading to the street to the house. As she begins to ride, her legs become Jell-O; she can hardly balance herself on the bike. The road leading to the house is bumpy, and trees grow all around. She finally makes it to the house, and sees Katriana in the distance. She rides up, nods, and continues up to the house. The gate is locked with an old antique lock. She doesn’t know if she could break in. Coming from California though, she learned to jump even the highest fences. She climbs up, and jumps down. The atmosphere changes. The air became cooler, wetter. She notices that it begins to sprinkle, and she is sure a storm was coming in.
The grounds are well kept. The trees are tall, and well cut. It obviously is well taken care of, but there never is maintenance at night. That’s when Lizzie comes out. The damp air makes Sarah sweat. Her stomach is aching, feeling as if a hole is ripped through. She keeps walking to the door. It is locked. How is she to get in? She walks to the nearest window, which is left unlocked. She looks in the freshly cleaned glass, and sees the room is empty, dark. She slides the window open, finding the room holds some of the most beautiful antiques. They are dusted and polished. In the back, a baby grand piano stands, appearing as it would in the most amazing music store. It shines in the dim light. It is a dark black, the keys are clean. Her hands sweep across the keys. It leaves a beautiful sound, a melody that echos through the mansion. It makes the home feel less empty, less frightening.
She continues to walk forward, into a great hall. A staircase stands in the back, made of beautiful white marble, with breath-taking engraved railing. She smells the polish used. She smells the lemon Pledge. The home did not hold the fear she was sure was there. She begins to walk up the steps, and sees a portrait of a man, a hardy face, and a glare going right through to her very soul. She has to turn away. She continues to walk up, and sees a long hallway. She decides to turn to the right, see what would happen. On the right, she sees a light brown, wooden door. The knob on it is gold, rusting. This confuses her. The care the house had, and they couldn’t care for a doorknob? This frightens her, so she walks down further. She walks to the next door, and saw it was only a closet, so she continued on, and at the very end of the hall, she sees a door. The light inside seems to flicker on and off.
She runs down the other side of the hall. She looks at all the rooms, and none of them contain Elizabeth’s pearls. They contain tables, chairs. A bed or two. She walks back to the door with the rusted knob. She slowly turns the knob, and walks into a dusted room, with cloth over the furniture. The particles of dust could be seen in the moonlight shining through the window. A mirror stands in the back. Sarah walks forward to the mirror. The glass is distorted. She can not see her reflection, for it has changed. She notices, in the reflection, a beautiful blue gown on a manikin. She moves slowly, steadily, quietly to it. She looks at the blue gown, a soft, baby blue, silk dress. At the neck of the manikin, she sees something sparkle. The pearls sit across the artificial body. She knows right away, they were Elizabeth’s. This is Elizabeth’s room. The hole in her stomach returns. Is she trespassing in the room she fears most? Softly, in the background, she hears a soft melody. It seems to be playing on a piano, but no one else is supposed to be in the house. She grabs the pearls off the manikin and runs to the top of the stairs. There, she sees a small figure. It appears to be a woman. It appears to be Elizabeth.
The spirit looks at Sarah, with glowing yellow eyes. She is in a tattered, blood-stained dress. She suddenly comes up the stairs. She flies past Sarah, forming circles around her. Sarah stands still, staring at the yellow eyes glaring back at her. The air is closing in, her breath is scarce. Then she hears in the back, the flushing of water. Then again. And again. The water starts to flood the house. Sarah runs to the bathroom. She walks to ward the bathroom toilet. The water is spilling over, Sarah is soaked. She sticks her hand into her pocket to hold on to the pearls. They are gone!
Elizabeth plays music again. But not from the piano. Sarah walks towards Elizabeth’s room, the room with the rusted doorknob, the room with the music. Sarah walks in, but Elizabeth can’t be found anywhere. In the back, by the dusty window, with the floral white curtains, is a locket. It is metal, and shaped in a heart. It is scratched, but beautiful. Sarah recognizes the locket her father gave to her before he died. The locket that played the lullaby her father sang to her each night. She picks it up, feeling the cold metal in her hand. It plays the old melody, making Sarah begin to sway back and forth. Stuck in the moment, she is frozen in time. Elizabeth floats over. Her spirit holds the smell of a corpse. She comes behind Sarah. Sarah turns and the angelic spirit’s face changes. She scowls, appearing as a monster, a gargoyle. Sarah walks back, coming right up to the window. She touches the cold glass. The condensed water touches her sweaty hands. Elizabeth circles around the room, closing the air again. Sarah sits there, crying. Her mind is blank, as she sits, fighting for air. She sees a man, in the corner of the room.
“Dad! Help me! Please!” Sarah cries.
He stares at her, looks in those deep brown eyes. The dark, cold, brown eyes. He turns, and walks out.
“I thought you were never going to leave me! Why?” are the last words Sarah spoke. She falls unconscious, and falls to the hard dirt floor below.
Katriana stands in the distance, sees the body fall, and hears the alarm system blare. She knows something bad happened, unsure of what. She runs to Sarah’s bike, yelling to her droids to run home, and to not look back. She rides to the police station, which is a good mile and a half away. She rides as fast as possible, runs in, and says to the chief, “The winery! Go now, a girl just fell, I believe she’s hurt!”
Chief Aaron Smith drives in his cruiser, down the dark road. It is quiet; he sees the house stood still. Suddenly, the rain and thunder strikes, blinding the man in the cruiser. They come to the home, and break the lock. As he walks up the grounds, he sees a blood puddle, next to the pale body, drenched in the blood. He notices her soft appearance. Footsteps of other policemen surround the area. Aaron hears the fire engines in the back ground, whaling as they drive down the road. He walks around, noticing a window open. He jumps in and sees the baby grand piano. He notices that it is the kind of piano, programmed to play on its own. It plays a soft melody. He wonders why it could be on so late in the night, but dares not to question it. He walks around the upstairs, and notices all the rooms to be open. The bathroom door is wide open, but nothing seems obscure. He walks to the room with the rusted door. He looks around the dark room, and sees a manikin. The body was dressed in a silk, baby blue gown, but nothing else. He sees the distorted mirror, causing a different reflection to be seen.
A month later, Sarah is well forgotten by the rest of the town. The quarterback falls in love with Katriana again, and the point guard can’t take his mind off of her. But Katriana doesn’t care. She didn’t want it to end this way. Sarah was supposed to run back to California, not end up in the Woodinville cemetery. She can not forget the cause of death, written on Sarah’s death certificate. “Suicide. Suffocated.” No one knows the truth. Except Katriana. She was scared to death.
Kimberly Reese, the mother of the dead girl, sits broken hearted. Did she not pay enough attention? Was she away too often, and spent too much time with Bryan? She can never know, for her only answer is decaying in the ground. Bryan did not understand her pain, tries to help, but is useless. They fight, they argue. They fall apart, no longer together, no longer in love.
Kim walks through the grave yard one afternoon, overcast. She walks slowly, fearing to see the once more proof of her daughter’s demise. When she gets there, she sees something. Unexplainable, unimaginable. Sarah’s locket and pearls. And a note. Kim picks up the locket, opens it, expecting the well-known melody to play. It didn’t. Kim picks up the note. It says, “This is the end. Do not face me, for you will never win.”