Storytelling Saturday: The Lonely Manor

“Bella,” I called.

It was raining and we ran to a house we spotted from the bottom of the mountain. It was a long way home and the rain had started pouring heavily suddenly. Bella and I were out hiking. She loved to trod unknown territories. She had run ahead of me. I saw her disappear inside the house but couldn’t find her once I got there.

“Lonely Manor.” The gate had read.

I wondered if it was abandoned, the window was open and the door unlocked, but the house was cozy and well-kept inside. No furniture was covered and there were even teacups and a basket of biscuits on the center table. Someone must be here. Why did they leave their door unlocked like that?

“Hello?” I projected.

I had to shout; the rain was powerfully loud on the roof. If someone did answer, I wouldn’t hear. I resolved to just look around until I stumbled across someone. Bella must be with them, I thought. She was a friendly dog. I passed through a dark hall into an open space that resembled a sitting area and the atmosphere of the house changed. There was an overwhelming sense of foreboding. I felt as if I was trespassing. I backed out of the room quickly, my head somewhat dizzy. My back to the room through which I entered the house, I stood stiffly feeling the strong ominous energy in the hallway. Suddenly, the door behind me banged open. My heart lurched as I spun around. The rain was blowing in. I hurried toward it and latched it shut. I swallowed letting out a heavy breath. I was freaking myself out. I probably just didn’t close the door properly the first time and the wind blew it open. I blinked and paced toward the dark hallway again.

Not stopping to pry into any rooms this time but still noticed that energy shift. I made long strides to a bright welcoming kitchen just waiting to receive me at the end of the hall. It was of a wooden interior and smelt of warm biscuits. A shadow moved over the counter.

“Hello? I’m sorry to intrude but your door was open and it’s a rainstorm out there.” I began as I bent around the door to see an old woman by the oven. Her back was to me. “I hope it’s no trouble.”

“It’s a manor, dear. People coming to a manor is no intrusion. Would you like some tea?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“It rains every day here now. I can always expect to have company. There was a time when no one came up here. It was a lonely time, such a very lonely time. It’s sad being alone. So very sad.”

“Yeah, your house was the only shelter in sight. I and my dog Bella were hiking when the rain started. We were too far from home to go back. Have you seen her?” I asked looking around. “She loves exploring so much she ran in here before I could reach the gate.”

“There are no pets allowed in the manor dear.”

he said all the while with her back to me.

“Oh…I understand. If you’ve seen her, I can take her out by the front door.”

“There are no pets inside the manor. Tea is ready, help yourself to some biscuits. The teacups are in that cupboard over there.”

Hesitantly, I reached up and got the teacups. When I turned back around, the woman was gone. I poured tea into one of the cups and bit into a biscuit. They were strangely already cold. The old woman had just pulled them from the oven. But I was too hungry to fuss. Bella must be hungry too, wherever she’s gone off to. I’d have another biscuit and finish my tea then go searching for her.

Night was approaching and the rain still poured. I guess I was staying at Lonely Manor for the night. I still hadn’t found Bella though. It worried me. Since tea, I hadn’t seen the old woman. I figured there were other guests in the house that she had to tend to. It didn’t look like a big house but I hadn’t seen it in its entirety. Sitting in the living room, I waited to be attended to. I switched the lights on and looked around. I needed something to do. There was a small bookcase and I skimmed through the selection of books. There was nothing there that interested me, they were mostly for female entertainment. In that instance, I noticed something unexplainable. The light shining from the opposite wall did not illuminate the hallway. Curious, I walked toward it watching my shadow cast before I disappear into the blackness of the passage. The light seemed to stop at the passageway. I stuck my head out looking up then down to the kitchen. I couldn’t see anything up the hallway. It was pitch black but the kitchen, like before was bright. When did the old woman pass to turn those lights on? I wondered if she was in there. My stomach was protesting wildly. Stepping into the creepy passage, I ran my hand against the wall feeling for the light switch I had seen earlier. I stubbed my finger as I found it and switched it on walking down the passage.

“Hey, sorry to bother you again.” I alerted as I reached the doorway. She was old. I wouldn’t want to startle her. “But do you have any food? I’m starved. Miss?”

She wasn’t in there. Well, she did say to help myself. I rummaged through the cupboards but there was no food. I settled for another cup of tea and biscuits. I lifted the cover and hurled it staggering backward as I saw the biscuits I had not too long eaten from festering with maggots. Just then, the light in the passage flickered off and my head felt dizzy with that feeling of menace again. I couldn’t even see the light from the living room that I was sure was on. Something lurked in the darkness, I felt its energy. I stepped into the shadows, I needed to get to the switch, and as I slowly crept through the passage, I heard unidentifiable sounds. My ear twitched, my heart galloped and my breath quickened. A force surrounded me. It was cold and horrifying and as my finger stubbed on the switch and I flicked it up, I caught a glimpse of a distorted shadow disappear under the crack of the sitting room door.

“It’s sad being lonely. So sad.”

The voice came from the sitting room.

“It’s so sad being alone.”

It was the old woman. I opened the door and was revolted by what I saw. The old woman was sitting in a chair, the skin on her face melting from decay. I felt suspended where I stood, staring at the repulsive sight unable to move. Until I heard a familiar bark. Bella. I swiftly shut the door and bolted to the living room, out the door, and into the rain where Bella pranced excitedly around my feet. But there was no time for happy reunions. We had to get away from that house. Soaked, Bella and I weaved through the tall trees and down the mountain until we made it to the main road where there was, surprisingly, no rain.

“It rains every day here now.”

The old woman had said. Her corpse had recently started to rot. She wasn’t dead for a very long time. She must have died there alone of loneliness. No wonder it rained there all the time. It was a sad death. I guess it really is a sad thing being alone. Thank God I had Bella. “You saved me, girl.” Shaken, I lowered my arm and scratched her ear, and together, tiredly, we walked home.

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