Worth a Thousand Words

The water crashed down over the rocks with rippling speed. I balanced on one leg and stretched my other out to the tips of my toes over the balcony. My skirt fell against my skin, smooth as silk. The morning light shone through the stained-glass windows, pouring over the shadows, reflecting against the water. I stood in the dark, still as a statue, staring at the arches in front of me. An archway in the broken wall, a door to another world, a gateway to the future, a shadowbox of dreams, a hope chest of life. I traced my fingers along the grooves in the wall. As high as the ceilings reached and grew, the sky just outside went on forever. It was more than enough to make a young girl feel small and insignificant. My hair pulled back, strands falling down around the side of my face, started to drip, dampening my rosy cheekbones. There was no rain except for the drops coming from the corner of my stormy grey eyes. They slowly made a path down past my nose, over my lips, off my chin,...

Lydia Jane crossed the street to pass the old Brickett House, just as she had done every day walking home from school. But something was different. Lydia Jane noticed the car was now facing the other way. Then, just as she was turning away, something moved in the window upstairs. She stood there completely still, waiting to see it one more time. Maybe she had imagined it... Maybe she hadn't. It was often said that the house was haunted, but it had always just been speculated rumors and a local folktale. Lydia had lived in this town her whole life, and she never once saw life in the old house. Nothing but decay and rust. It would really be something if the stories had been true all along. She wanted to tell someone, but decided she'd wait. She didn't want anyone thinking she was making it up. So how to get proof was the next thing on her mind. Lydia decided it would be a good idea to take someone with her. She glanced toward the Collins house. Lytle Collins, her nex...