Several times she had the distinct feeling someone was watching her from the dark. Each time she snapped on the light and found only shadows on the wall. Near dawn, exhaustion finally won, and she fell asleep.
She woke to bright sunlight in her face. After washing in cold water, she made herself eat a solid breakfast. Lydia decided she needed to keep a firm grip on herself.
She told herself that she was a grown woman and would handle this one way or another. To keep from dwelling on it, she threw herself into work. She methodically took apart more of the old shed, sorting rotten boards from usable ones.
Some went into the firewood pile; some she saved for repairs. After lunch she decided to walk around and talk to more people. Maybe someone else knew details that would help.
On one street she saw an older woman working in her garden. Lydia went to the fence and politely asked if she had a few minutes. The woman straightened up, wiped her hands on her apron, and smiled kindly.
She introduced herself as Anna Stevens and invited Lydia inside. The house was spotless and smelled of fresh pie and herbs. Anna sat her at the table and set a kettle on.
She told Lydia to ask whatever she wanted to know. Lydia said she already knew about Alex, but she wanted to understand what was really going on. Anna stirred sugar into her tea and thought for a moment.
Then she said that Mary had not only treated people with herbs. According to local talk, she had believed she could communicate with the dead. Lydia stiffened at that.
Anna explained that Mary was said to have inherited the gift from her grandmother. People came to her hoping to reach lost loved ones. Anna admitted she had never put much stock in that sort of thing herself.
Still, many people claimed Mary’s sessions had felt real. Lydia asked what happened after Alex died. Anna said that after losing her son, Mary became consumed with trying to contact him.
She insisted his soul was trapped and tried to help him cross over. At night she performed strange rituals, and neighbors heard chanting from the house. Lydia felt the hairs rise on her arms.
She asked why Mary’s daughter hadn’t stopped her. Anna said the daughter, Vera, had simply fled to the city to get away from it all. She hadn’t even come back for the funeral.
Now Vera lived in a large city with a husband and children and wanted nothing to do with the place. She had tried to sell the house, but eventually the county had taken it over. Anna looked at Lydia seriously and offered her advice.
She said the house had become heavy because of Mary’s attempts to bring her son back. In trying to reach one thing, she may have opened the door to something else. Anna said she always felt a chill when she passed that property.
Lydia thanked her, finished her tea, and got up to leave. At the door, Anna gave her a slice of pie and a small blessed icon.
She told Lydia to hang it in the house for protection. Lydia accepted it, though she felt a little awkward. She had never been especially religious, but at this point she was willing to try almost anything.
Back home, she hung the icon above her bed. That evening she tried to distract herself by reading, but her mind kept circling back to what Anna had said…
