Lost Journals

Peri keyed into the silent house. The entry was as she remembered - warm, inviting and beautifully appointed. The whole of the downstairs - from parlor to dining room, from foyer to kitchen - was decorated in coordinating shades of blue, green and burgandy. Everything had been recently dusted, vaccuumed, waxed and fluffed by the maid service that came once a month to keep the place looking fresh.

It seemed the residents were on vacation and should be back any day. However, their vacation home was across town in the Boone County Cemetary.

Peri meandered through the rooms, stopping finally at the dining room. The deep mahgany wood of the massive table looked as though it'd been stained with gallons of blood. The house still smelled the same even a decade later; it smelled of fresh laundry, lemon wood polish with a vague hint of apple pie.

Peri shed her coat and mittens, dropped them on the floor and sat at the table. This was the same chair she'd sat in ten years ago Thanksgiving when Sean told his parents he was sick. She could pictiure it now as she looked down the table. David's face growing red with anger and Maureen spilling Merlot all over the white linen tablecloth that was surely a family heirloom.

"You did this to my son, you fucking whore!" David screamed as he chucked a vase at Peri's head. The crystal slammed into a painting behind her as Peri ducked.

She now turned to look behand her, stood and opened the linen closet. The Khandinsky print and mangled frame sat in a heap on the closet floor. It was no surprise it was still there. Maureen would've left it for the maid. The maid left it for Maureen to deal with.

The realtor siad a new family would be moving in after the new year - a young couple with three little ones. Peri hoped this family would find happiness in this sad house. She knew the only thing in the house that was haunted ... was her.

Peri closed the closet door and wandered up to Sean's childhood bedroom. The room had remained untouched for 10 years. A stack of Will Eisner graphic novels sat next to the plaid bedecked twin bed. The walls were covered in posters of comic books and movie posters from The Crow. Bookshelves were laden with books about drawing. A drafting table was neatly stacked with sketches, paper, pens, pencils and an assortment of rulers.

Peri gathers the drawings and Eisner books and left ... forever.