Inheritance

Alice pulled into the long gravel driveway passing through a canopy of trees that casted shadows over an already overcast day. She knew it wouldn’t be too long until the snow came she looked forward to knowing what the country side looked like covered in snow. As Alice passed the stone archway the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and a strong feeling of fear washed over her. The car came to a stop on the massive driveway and Alice looked up over the mansion she had inherited. 

“This is going to be great Gabriel just you wait,” she said. 

Her cat poked his sleek black head up over the dashboard and looked around meowing in response. Sometimes she swore he thought he was human, the way he looked at her almost like he didn’t believe a word she said. 

“Look I know its not our loft in the city but its much bigger and you can become a champion mouser,” Alice said scratching behind his ears. Gabriel shifted his yellow eyes over to Alice and chittered. She was pretty sure he was sassing her in cat. Alice chuckled and looked out over the home again taking in the appearance. The house was massive, it stood stark white against the grey sky the stone bleached from the sun. The wrought iron rails that stood along the balcony looked rusted but sturdy. The windows were grimey and the whole place just looked like something out of a horror movie. Alice took a steadying breath and shut off the engine to her car.

“Ready Gabe?” she asked. Gabriel meowed in response and Alice opened the door, scooped up Gabriel and made a beeline for the door. Alice unlocked the heavy oak door and it swung open with ease the hinges groaned in protest sending a chill down her spine that settled in her bones. Alice looked down and made eye contact with Gabriel who did not look amused. 

“Okay so… we need to fix that,” Alice said setting down Gabriel who ventured off to sniff around the house. 

“Go ahead you slacker explore the house while I do all the work,” Alice said going back out to the car. After a few trips her few boxes of her belongings were brought inside and set in the foyer. She walked into the massive sitting room and looked around the old furniture was covered in white sheets layers of dust coated everything in sight. Alice went about the room pulling off the sheets from the furniture sending dust particles flying in every direction. As though the very action made her giddy Alice raced through throwing sheets over her shoulder each one hitting the ground except for one it stayed hung up in midair. Alice glanced over her shoulder and spotted the hanging sheet. She turned slowly and walked towards the sheet. She reached out with shaking hands and gripped the sheet. The house was dead silent aside from the old grandfather clock ticking away. Tick, Tick, Tick, Alice ripped away the sheet to reveal an old coat rack. Alice released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and laughed to herself. 

“That’s it no more haunted Travel channel for me,” she said. 

Over the next few weeks Alice made herself at home, upacking and looking through the home discovering who her aunt really was. Her favorite room of all was what looked like her aunts art room. She knew Lillyth had been a painter and an amazing one at that, some of her art hung throughout the mansion. Alice made her work place her aunts old art room it opened out to the balcony out of everywhere in the house this is where she felt the most peace. Alice was absorbed with the portrait of her aunt that hung over the fireplace touching each part of her face that was eerily similar. Her hand hovered over her throat where on her aunt set a simple pearl necklace the pendant that hung from it was emerald and the shape of a nautical star. I loud crash pulled her out of her thoughts and jumping to her feet. Alice ran towards the kitchen just in time to see Gabriel skid out of the kitchen and hid under the couch. 

“Gabe what did you do,” Alice chided going into the kitchen. On the floor was a solid pine box covered in intricate carvings that looked like old Norse runes. Alice picked up the box it was cold to the touch there was no lock but the box would not open. Alice put the box down on the table and walked away she was barely out of the kitchen door when she heard the box clatter to the floor again. For the first time she arrived she felt uncomfortable in her new home, Alice closed her eyes and turned around and grabbed the box off the floor and tossed it in the trash. Whatever it was she wanted nothing to do with it, Alice made her way to her work stopping when she heard a scratching noise. 

“Oh that is the last thing I need right now,” Alice said closing her eyes and turning on her heel to head towards the scratching sound. She followed the sound till it lead her to narrow door in the hall. Alice’s heart pounded in her chest and sweat beaded her forehead. She didn’t understand why she felt so scared to just open the door. With shaky hands Alice turned the knob to find a narrow staircase that lead down into a dark abyss. She searched around on the wall for a light switch, the silence around her was deafening she didn’t even notice that the scratching had stopped. Finally, she found the switch the light buzzed on leaving the stairwell filled with an eerie yellow glow. 

“Well that’s not creepy,” Alice said. The stairs groaned in protest with every step, she made her way forward. The light stopped at the bottom of the stairs she groped around on the cold stone damp walls looking for a second switch the scratching noises started again resounding through the seemingly empty room. Alice found the light switch and gathered her courage and flipped it on, more creepy yellow light filled the dust covered room. The scratching stopped and deafening silence filled the house. The cellar became overwhelmingly cold Alice shivered and crossed her arms as she looked around. Settled into the wall was a massive wooden door, like a moth to a flame she walked towards it. 

“Alice” a voice whispered in her ear. Alice froze in place and looked over her shoulder but saw no one. The scratching resumed it was coming from behind the door. “Alice,” the voice called out again. This time Alice didn’t turn she was afraid to see what she could feel behind her, the breath she felt on the back of her neck was enough. The grey face of her aunt appeared behind her “Alice,” her aunt whispered. A slam on the heavy wooden door sent Alice scurring up the stairs she shut the door gasping for air and turned to see her dead aunt standing and inch from her. “Alice!” the apparition screamed. 

Alice sat up with a gasp she was in her bed drenched in sweat panting she got out of bed and flipped on the lights she wiped her face on her shirt. Gabriel stretched and yawned on the bed looking annoyed that he had been woken up. Alice stripped off her sweat soaked top and tossed it aside. The cold air was a relief she decided a hot shower was in order. 

“I am gonna shower Gabe be good,” she said leaving the cat who was already asleep again. Alice flipped on the water and got in sighing at the steaming water streaming down her body. She closed her eyes and couldn’t shake the sight of her aunt. The grey gaunt face her eyes were dark almost black. Her red hair streamed down her shoulders like it was wet around her throat was the necklace from her picture she was wearing an old night gown it clung to her like it was soaked. Alice shook her head trying to shake the image from her mind, she decided to write to take her mind off of her dreams. Drying off she wrapped herself in her favorite robe and went to work. After a few hours she found herself unable to keep her eyes open, she yawned a stretched deciding to head to bed. The house was silent aside from the sound of the wind blowing. Alice went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water she turned to see the pine box sitting on the kitchen table open not all the way but like it had become unsealed. Alice ignored her instincts to turn and run and picked up the box, she opened it to reveal the necklace her aunt was wearing in her portraits. Alice touched the necklace and a gust of emotion filled her senses like a blast visions of her aunt in the cellar opening the huge wooden door and entering it. 

“Alice,” her aunts voice whispered “Alice.” Her aunts voice called out to her again and again. Alice placed the necklace around her throat and made her way to the celler this time without hesitation she flipped on the lights and gripped the handle on the door, and it refused to budge. Alice yanked at the door frustration filled her as she yanked with all her strength a feeling of desperation filled her and she began to search for something to pry the door open. She found a crowbar and began pulling at the door she managed to pull it open just enough to see there was a huge bar across the door. A thought struck Alice and she rushed find a screwdriver she took the hinges off and placed the crowbar at the bottom of the door and lifted with all her strength she could hear the wooden beam cracking under the weight of the door. Finally, the beam gave way and sent the door crashing down through the other side. Alice stepped over the fallen door and looked around the dim light of the cellar filled the room. The whole room was empty except for an armoire that stood against a wall. Alice looked at the armoire and drug her fingertips across it gently. 

“Alice,” her aunts voice whispered again. Alice was no longer scared of her aunt’s voice. It was like she was driven by a motor. Like her instincts told her to open this armoire in it a rat scuttled across the cabinet. 

“Are you the one making all that noise,” Alice said pushing the rat aside without so much as a flinch. The rat had been sitting on a small leather book the book itself was free of dust even though the surrounding cabinet was covered. Alice took the book and sat on the stairs and began to page through the book. As she read it was like her aunt was reading to her, it was her journal and it was detailing her life in the mansion. As it got further in, she began to speak about the hidden room. The necklace she found in the basement, the hidden world beyond it all. The man she had grown to love… and his dark secret. She lamented her loss, the love she descended into a deep sadness one that she would never recover from. Lilith’s final entry spoke of a heaviness one she couldn’t shake and the love she could never let go. She spoke of the world beyond and a goodbye. Alice set the book down and looked up at the empty room, the armoire stood undisturbed she got up and investigated studying the armoire realizing it was lighter than it looked. She shoved it out of the way to find another door, runes were etched into the frame. The lock was simple the shape of the nautical star she wore, Alice used the necklace to unlock the door. And stepped through in the room was dark and in the back was a single free-standing mirror covered in a black sheet. Alice pulled the sheet off and, in the mirror, she saw her aunt dressed in an old Victorian gown her red hair up in bun. She looked happy standing next to her was a man. Tall and handsome with steel grey eyes and chestnut brown hair he was dressed in the Victorian fashion. 

“Come… Alice,” her aunt called to her. Alice reached out to her she touched the mirror and it rippled like water. “Alice,” her aunt called. The house came alive almost like it was breathing the house trembled around her a woman screamed from somewhere in the house. Alice reached out to her aunt the man placed a possessive hand on her shoulder. 

Alice stood on the balcony of her home with a cup of coffee in her hand the sun shining brightly across the snow-covered lawn. A man came to join her wrapping his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. She leaned against him with a contented sigh the emerald nautical star hung from her throat.

“Come my love your aunt will be here shortly,” he said urging her towards the balcony doors. Alice gave one last look over the snow-covered lawn and went inside shutting the doors behind her. The old mansion stood silent against the blue sky, still and empty.