As the first snowflake settled, it whispered secrets of a winter tale waiting to unfold. Within an hour, the entire forest was covered in a thick blanket of snow. But when did winter happen? Elena stood in a clearing of untouched snow. The dead trees loomed above her as the silence crein. The snow was falling like feathers around her. It was not winter a moment ago. The weather had been getting colder, the days darker, but the snow had yet to fall. What had she been doing a moment ago? She was in her room, doing homework. First semester finals were approaching and being a Junior meant applying for colleges. She had definitely been in her room, not outside, and not wearing…what was she wearing?
Elena looked down at her clothes. Gone was her purple sweater and blue jeans, and in their place was a large brown dress, white shawl, boots, and a bonnet keeping her long brown hair tucked in. This was weird. This did not make any sense. Deciding she was dreaming, Elena kept her breath steady. She looked at her surroundings. There was not much, but for some reason it looked familiar. This place looked a little like Whalley Park. Without the playground, basketball courts, and parking lot. The space fit and the trees, though fuller, looked a lot like this. Elena needed to figure out what was going on. If this was a dream, she did not understand how she could feel the cold snow tickle her skin as if it were really there.
She looked around again; no tracks, no nothing. Just an untouched blanket spreading across the entire clearing. Still confused, Elena began to walk. If this was Whalley park, then there should be civilization past the trees. The dress did not make it easy to walk in the growing snow. Elena had been warm in her room, she wished she could get back there. When things were normal, Elena liked the silence that paired itself with the snow. It always calmed her. Instead of feeling like a tiny blip in a world of static, she felt like she was one of few that existed. Right now, the silence was making her uneasy. All she could hear was the crunch of snow under her boots. She would give anything for that static now.
After what seemed like forever, Elena finally saw the tree line. She stopped for a moment worried there would be nothing on the other side. Taking a breath, Elena kept forward and was relieved to see houses down the hill. Old houses. Cottage like and small. In fact, the entire town looked small. Although different, this place definitely looked like Green Valley. That was where Elena had lived her entire life and she never remembered it looking quite like this, but it looked like the old pictures they had showed in school. They learned about the history of the town, and this definitely looked like old Green Valley, Pennsylvania. She hoped she could find some answers where the people were, so Elena set off down the hill and headed into the town.
Once in the town, Elena walked on the snow-covered dirt road. There was a main road that led through Green Valley. That was where it seemed to hold the General Store, Doctor Office, and Butcher. Anything the people living in the town needed. There were a few people out. Children were laughing and playing in the snow. A small snowball fight was beginning between the girls and boys. Distracted by this, Elena did not see the horse walking directly in front her. She almost lost her footing and was ran over by the large brown beast, but she stopped just in time. She took a breath trying to stay calm. As if what was going on was not stressful enough, she had to almost get stomped by a horse. Her eyes focused on an older woman coming out of the General Store. The woman’s handkerchief fell to the ground as she stepped onto the street; Elena rushed over to pick it up.
“Excuse me, Miss.” Elena held out the handkerchief. “You dropped this.”
The woman with silver hair smiled as she took back her hankie. “Thank you, dear.”
“Uh, I was wondering…” This was her chance to ask someone what was going on. She needed to know anything about what could be happening.
Before Elena could finish her sentence, there was a loud scream that filled the streets. People were rushing towards the source of the scream. Elena stared back at the woman for a moment before following everyone to see what was going on. The screaming continued, getting louder as they all got closer. They walked through some trees where there were more houses. The crowd was thick, but Elena peeked through the shoulders to see who was screaming.
There, in front of a cottage, was a woman, sobbing, wailing. Elena could see the blood all over her hands and dress. Crouching down a little, Elena looked through the spaces between people sides. She popped back up for a second when she saw the deep red soaking into the snow, surrounding a tiny thing. Blonde hair. Small hands. Small feet. Elena crouched down again to confirm what her eyes were seeing. A little girl. Dead. Brutally murdered. A thin layer of snow covered her, but the blood was too deep to be concealed. There were drag marks around the small cottage home. Elena could only assume the mother found her behind the house somewhere and brought her body to the front of the house. Maybe the girl was alive, she couldn’t know. Townspeople were crowding around the mother now, trying to console her and find out what happened. Others were checking the little girl to make sure she was gone. A man put his coat over her body. Everyone was in a panic, whispers flooded the crowd.
“Oh goodness. Poor Anna, first her husband, now little Maggie.”
Wait a minute. Elena had heard those names before. There was a ghost story they told in their town. When was the last time Elena heard that story?
It was over Summer. August, a couple weeks before school let back in. Her and her friends were at the cemetery. There was not much to do in Green Valley, so often groups of kids would sneak over to the cemetery and tell ghost stories. They would visit the tombstones of the dead. Some stories were made up on the spot, but others had been passed down for generations. The story of Wailing Anne was famous in their town. The tombstones were next to each other. So old they were almost unreadable, but everyone who knew the story knew what those graves said. Anne Elmore born May 1st 1829. Died September 9th 1905. Next to her: Margret Elmore born July 21st 1849. Died January 16th 1857.
Marissa held her phone’s flashlight to her face, making her green eyes almost glow. Elena leaned on Jacob with excitement. This was her favorite story, and leaning on her crush did not hurt the adrenaline she felt. Jacob let his dark hair cover his eyes a little. He acted tough, but Elena knew these stories really freaked him out. Every noise the wind made would cause all of them to jump. Except for Marissa, she was a sucker for the theatrics and was loving every second of anticipation.
“Okay, Marissa just tell the story! Rhea’s never heard it.” Alyssa, like always, got everyone back on track.
“Alright, alright, alright. Picture it. It was a cold day, a very unusually late snow. The first flakes to stick that year. Practically a blizzard blew through Green Valley, but that did not stop one person from letting temptation grasp their darkest thoughts. In the late hours of the morning someone came into the town and slaughtered poor little Maggie Elmore. Her blood stained the snow and soiled the earth forever.”
“What was that?” Rhea’s head snapped to the side as she looked in the darkness of the cemetery.
They all stayed quiet for a few moments while they were taken out of the story, staring into the shadows. When nothing showed itself, they focused back to their storyteller.
“Everyone in the town was in a panic. Little Maggie’s father had died in the Great Train wreck the Summer before. Her mother was raising her alone. Overwhelmed and a bit neglectful. One minute Maggie was playing in the snow, the next she is sliced up from head to toe. Everyone became a suspect. Who would hurt a child? How did no one see? Every night after Maggie’s death, Anne would walk up and down the town streets screaming for her daughter to come back to her. Screaming for the one responsible to reveal themselves. To this day no one was ever charged for Maggie’s death, but Anne’s ghost still haunts the town looking for her child and her killer.”
Marissa leaned back lowering her light to splash shadows across her face. “Every Winter the ghost of Anne still walks our streets, her footprints imprinting deep into the snow. Some may think she is mourning the death of her daughter, but we know what really keeps her here. Driven mad from becoming a widow, raising a daughter was too much. One day she snapped and killed the child in a fit of insanity. After seeing what she had done she lost it. Screaming that someone killed her child, all the while knowing it was her own hands that took the small innocent life away. Guilt is what keeps her tied here. Forever parted from her child, because of her own wrongdoing. She cries for the pain she caused her only daughter and will for all of eternity. Just when the snow causes a still silence the wind will pick up…and you’ll hear her wails!”
Marissa screamed that last part, lunging forward to the group. All of them jumped back and yelled. Jacob fell out of Elena’s grasp and rolled onto his back. After the shock of the scare, the friends all burst into laughter.
“Oh, you should have seen all of your faces.” Marissa could not stop laughing.
Once Rhea composed herself, she looked around. “Has anyone here actually seen Anne’s ghost?”
Elena looked at the ground. “I have.”
Now Elena was standing in front of the scene she had heard so many stories about. The first thing she realized was everyone was calling the mother Anna. In that moment, Elena thought back to the worn gravestone she had seen countless times. The letters were so worn, they were almost unreadable. The names had been passed down through stories and generations. Like a game of telephone, Anna somehow turned to Anne. She wondered what else had changed in all those years. Among all the whispering and crying, Elena could only think of one thing.
“The Mother did it.”
No one quite looked at Elena when she said this, but the whisper was enough to cause the townspeople to act. Everyone was getting this thought in their head, and it did not take long for a man to approach Anna with a look of detest.
“Did you do this to your child?”
Shock crossed Anna’s face. “What? No, I would never heart my child! Who are you to accuse me of such horrid things?”
Her denial did not seem to help the situation. Soon everyone was yelling at the woman, accusing her of the act. There was blood on her hands after all. The child was killed with a knife, something that could have been found in the widow’s kitchen. No one saw what happened, but Maggie was murdered behind the small cottage. Anna dragged her body to the front of the home in plain sight. She wanted everyone to see. Maybe she did not want them to see anything else. The town was irate, moving in on the poor woman. Elena stood still as people shoved past her. Their minds were already made up, Anna had done this crime, and she would pay for it.
As the townspeople rushed past her, Elena’s vision seemed to tunnel for a moment. The people were rushing faster, but somehow all getting further away. She felt as if she was being pulled backwards, but her feet were planted firmly into the snow. In a gust of wind, the screaming of the town stopped. The snows had gotten heavier, and Elena was standing in the exact spot she had been when she was put in this place. She was back in Whalley park. The silence of the snow fell around here. There were no footprints, no disturbed snow. No indication she had been standing there just a short time before.
“What is going on?” Elena looked around even more confused as she was when this started.
There had to be an explanation for this. Definitely not a dream, but maybe something else. Maybe she fell and got a concussion. Maybe she was in a coma in the hospital or something. No, that didn’t make sense, she was just in her room doing homework. This was really happening, somehow. Elena closed her eyes and breathed in the cold air. She focused on the silence. That was always calming. She could not panic, there was no time for that. She needed to figure out what was going on. Elena took one last deep breath and headed for the woods again. Faster this time she made her way down the hill and into the town. As she walked through the streets, something caught Elena’s attention, stopping her in her tracks. The kids were having a snowball fight. The same kids she had seen earlier. She was frozen watching them as the big horse almost ran into her again. She moved out of the way and looked toward the general store. The old woman with the hankie. There she was just like before. Elena ran over and grabbed the hankie off the ground.
“Ma’am…you dropped this.” Her hands were shaking.
“Thank you, dear.”
Elena stared in shock, but before the woman could say anything else, there was the scream. Elena’s head shot up towards the sound. She ran with the other people, and just like before there was Anna on her knees, crying over her dead child.
“What is going on?”
“Little Maggie Elmore’s been murdered.” A woman near Elena answered, not knowing Elena was not talking about that.
Backing away, Elena left the crowd. Left the screams. Turned and walked as far away as she could. She needed to get away from that. She needed to figure this out. She walked back through town, away from it, and towards the cemetery. Elena almost did not recognize the area. Just a few plots. New tombstones, and a lot of trees. It was so small, putting into perspective how far back she was. How many lives had been lost since then. So much had changed. She knew that made sense considering how long ago all this happened, but it still felt surreal. Elena walked through the small cemetery, passing graves as she went. William Young. Mary Lou Jenkins. Cynthia Roberts. Blips in history. This was probably the only time their names were even written down. She continued to walk until she saw a familiar name. Henry Elmore. Anna’s husband. The one that died in the train crash. The reason everyone thought Anna snapped. Elena looked to the right of the tombstone. There was empty space. Soon this would be filled with the body of Maggie. Next to her in about fifty years would be her mother. Her and her friends were always so focused on those two, she never really paid much mind to the husband. They never seemed like a family. Just a murdered girl and her insane mother.
Elena knelt down, staring at Henry’s grave. “Why am I here?”
“I don’t think you’ll get an answer.”
Turning at the voice, Elena almost fell, catching herself on Henry’s grave. “What are you doing?”
The boy smiled a little, his blue eyes were piercing in the blinding white snow. “You looked distressed, so I followed you. I’ve never seen you before…you do know what happened don’t you?”
Elena gripped the tombstone for balance, sizing the tall guy in front of her up. “Yeah, I know…I saw.”
“Isn’t that her father’s grave? The girl that was killed?”
Looking down at the grave, Elena took her hand off of the rock and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Were you close to them?”
She shook her head. “No. I just don’t understand what is going on.”
“It’s hard to believe, I know. That something this savage could happen here. It’s always so quiet. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“Who are you?”
“Nicholas Baxter, and you Miss?”
“Elena…Young” She wasn’t sure why she gave him a name she had just read off a grave. Staring at the guy about her age, she wondered if his grave would be in the cemetery someday. If she would see it whenever she went back…if she got back.
“Young? Are you Miss. Effie’s niece?”
“Uh yes. I am.”
“She mentioned she was having family visit, but I thought they were not coming until Spring.”
“Change of plans, I came early to see her.”
“She never mentioned your beauty.”
Elena blushed a little.
“Well Elena, there may be a killer on the loose, it isn’t safe for a lady to be wondering around on her own.”
“And going off with a guy she doesn’t know sounds like a bad idea too.”
Nicholas put his hands up. “Whoa, I didn’t have anything to do with that down there.”
“How do I know, something killed that little girl, they got close enough for her trust them for a least a second. The only screams we heard were from her mother.”
“How do I know it wasn’t you then? I’ve never seen you here before and everyone knows everyone Miss. Young. A little girl would trust a young lady like yourself.” He took a step back.
“It just happened right? There was a lot of blood. I doubt someone could hide that very well.”
Nicholas put his hands down. “So that would clear us both then.”
Elena straightened up. “I suppose it would, yeah.”
“You speak strangely.”
“I’m not from around here.”
“Well, Elena, I could escort you back to your Aunt’s house, if you would like.”
“That would be great…My Aunt’s would be so great. I would love the company.” She had no idea what the plan would be from there, but maybe she could figure some things out on the way.
She walked toward the brunette, but refused his arm. He stood for a minute confused, but followed behind her. As they walked back towards town Nicholas seemed on edge. She supposed that was normal, though, considering what had just happened.
“Do you believe in ghosts?”
Elena huffed a little. “Yes.”
“Have you seen one?”
“I have.” And until about twenty minutes ago, Elena was not sure she had seen one until she saw Anna.
She thought back to a few winters ago. Elena was walking back home from Marissa’s house when she walked past the cemetery. A quiet scream filled the air. It almost sounded like the wind, but there was something odd about it. Elena looked toward the cemetery when she saw a woman walking. She did not look right. Blonde hair a mess, old dirty dress. Not from this century. She was walking with purpose, like she was looking for something. Wailing Anne. That was her. Elena was frozen watching, but just as quick as she appeared, in a blink she was gone. Elena always weighed if that were real or not, but the woman she had just seen screaming over her dead child, was one in the same that she had seen that night.
Elena looked at Nicholas. “Haver you? Ever seen a ghost that is?”
“I have. Today actually. Right before Maggie…or I suppose she could have already been gone. Maybe the spectre was taking her to the afterlife. It’s strange really…an odd occurrence to find you…”
“Nicholas?” Elena was not sure why he paused, but he was staring at someone.
“Miss. Effie.” Nicholas’ eyes shifted away from the conversation and set on a worried looking woman speaking to some people in front of the church.
“Right, my Aunt. Well, I should go see her now, but you should just stay here…I will talk to you later, yeah?”
“Nonsense, I will make sure she knows you have been in safe hands.”
Before Elena could protest, Nicholas was already approaching her “Aunt”.
“Miss. Effie, I found your niece up the hill a moment ago, you did not mention she had already come to town.”
“Dear, Nicholas what are saying?”
“Your niece…Elena…” She motioned toward Elena who took a step back.
“That is not my niece. I have never seen that girl a day in my life.”
Nicholas’ head snapped towards Elena. “Who are you?”
“Uh…no one. I…”
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
Effie grabbed Nicholas’ arm. “What are you saying?”
“She was in the graveyard. At Henry Elmore’s grave. She doesn’t know them, so why today of days would she be there. Be here.”
“Someone, find Chief Hudson!” Effie pointed at Elena. “She’s the one who murdered that poor little girl!”
“Whoa, no, no. I’m not the one who did it. I don’t even know what I am doing here. I’m not supposed to be here. I don’t know what is going on.” Nicholas grabbed her arm. “Let go of me!”
More townspeople begun to get closer. They all wanted blood. Her blood for what they think she did. Everyone was pulling at her, yelling. Accusing her. She felt her dress rip as they dragged her toward the jail. She squeezed her eyes shut begging them to go away. She waited to be dragged into the jail, but then there was silence. The hands were gone. Elena opened her eyes to find herself back in the park. The snow was falling. Untouched around her. Her clothes were not ripped, her hair neat. She sat down in the snow.
“What is going on?”
Again, this was happening again. Elena screamed and slammed her fists in the snow. She got up and ran to the town again. She did not stop running when she got there. She ran past the horse that was going to be in her way if she had walked. Past the children about to start their snowball fight, and past the General Store the old woman would drop her hankie at. She ran straight towards Anna’s house. She looked around hoping to see someone running from the scene, but as she looked over her shoulder, she missed the person right in her path. She slammed into someone and landed on her back, as did the other person.
“Where are you going in such a hurry.”
Elena pulled herself up and looked at the man in front of her. “Nicholas.”
“Pardon me, have we met?”
Crap. “Oh…uh…not yet. I’m Elena.” She hoped she could distract him enough to not push how she knew his name.
“Nice to meet you. Are you alright?”
Elena shook her head. “No, actually I’m not. Now I need go, something terrible is about to happen.”
“Something terrible, what do you mean?”
Pushing past Nicholas, Elena kept on her path. She only got a few steps when the scream sounded. It was so much louder this close. Elena ran, followed by Nicholas. Anna was dragging Maggie to the front of the house screaming and crying.
“Oh my God.” Nicholas stood frozen.
Elena looked around, hoping there would be some kind of sign or clue to what was going on. Soon the townspeople were gathering and Elena was getting pushed back into the crowd. She felt someone grab her arm and pull her away from the group. A brown sleeve, attached to a tall teen. Nicholas’ grip was firm, but gentle.
“How did you know that would happen?”
Elena looked away wondering if she should lie or tell him everything. She decided to land somewhere in the middle. “I don’t know.”
“But you knew, you did not look surprised.”
“I’ve already seen it three times today.”
Nicholas looked confused. “What?”
Elena pulled out of his hold. “Nothing, I need to go.”
“Wait!” Nicholas ran after her as she went away from the crowds.
Speeding up, Elena tried to ignore the boy following her. She needed to figure this out. She needed to find a way out of there.
“Please, just hold on a moment.”
Elena stopped and turned to Nicholas, who pulled her off to the side.
He stared at her with worry and fear. “A little girl has just been slaughtered, and you, a person I have never seen before, say you have seen it thrice times over. Please shed some light on this and help me understand what is going on.”
She stared back, her brown eyes challenging his blue. Screw it. “I don’t know what is happening, but I’m from…a completely different place. I don’t know how I got here, or why, but it’s like everything is looping. Over and over again. I end up on the hill over there. I come down to see this. Something goes terribly wrong and then it starts over. I’ve already met you last time.”
Elena waited for Nicholas to grab her and drag her to the crowd of people to accuse her of the murder…again. She waited for him call her crazy and run. She waited, but none of that happened.
“That sounds so unbelievable, but I want to believe it.”
“What?”
“If what you are saying is true, then you have been brought here to see this. It must all be for a purpose. Maybe you are meant to stop it.”
“Nope, just tried that and here we are.”
“Oh.”
She began walking, and Nicholas followed.
“Where are you going?”
Elena kept walking, but looked around. “I don’t actually know.” She turned to him. “Look, last time I saw you, you accused me of…” She glanced over her shoulder and lowered her voice. “Killing the girl, and I got reset or whatever.”
“And the other times?”
“Before that I accused the mother. I thought it was her, everyone said so where I’m from. We know the story there, or I thought we did, but I guess some things got lost over time.”
Nicholas was thinking. “So, every time someone is accused you go back to where you started?”
“No…” Something clicked in Elena’s head. “Every time someone is accused who didn’t do it. I’m supposed to figure out who killed her.” A little joy spread over her face, soon to be faltered. “Wait, how am I supposed to do that? No one ever knew.”
“If you are here, at this particular point in time, there must be an answer to this crime. Why else would you be here now?”
“Good point. Okay, so who do you think did it?”
“Who do I think? I would not know…Maggie is…was such a sweet little girl. Anna, her mother has had a hard time since Henry died. Everyone has done a lot to help them.”
“Okay, well was anyone really close to them then? Or maybe too close to Maggie?” Elena looked around trying to decide if anyone looked suspicious.
“Everyone has been helpful, but I have not noticed anyone being around too often, or paying too much attention. This does not make sense. Nothing like this has ever happened here before. Everyone has already seen so much tragedy with the train crash last summer. Everyone has been quite solemn since then, I thought we as a community were beginning to heal.”
“Well, it has to be somebody, but none of these people. There was blood, so much blood. Anyone in the crowd would have had to have at least some on them. They couldn’t be in the crowd for long without being noticed. Who isn’t here?”
Nicholas looked around. “I’m not sure.”
They walked back into the main part of town, where most of the people were flocking to the church. All of them hoping for some kind of answer as to why a person would kill a child. The devil’s work was what Elena was overhearing. She knew that may be part of it, but what these people did not know was people died all the time for stupid reasons. There was some kind of motive to this crime, and she hated to think it, but had a good feeling it was over something insignificant. Looking around, she watched the shattered looks on everyone’s faces. They all looked worn, tired, and lost. Right now, she felt just as lost as them. She had no idea how she was supposed to stop this cycle. She looked up at Nicholas, feeling at least a small amount of comfort knowing he knew to an extent, her situation. She needed help in this.
“Why there?”
Elena looked up at him. “Why there what?”
“Why drop you all the way at the edge of town each time? Seems odd you are not sent somewhere closer to the crime.”
“I dunno, maybe so no one sees me?”
Problem solving. This was good, maybe they could figure this out together. Just as a small feeling of relief washed over Elena, she heard a train whistle far away. In that moment, Elena felt the familiar rush of the world slipping away. Nicholas, who was just a couple feet from her did not notice the change. She could not say anything before everything blurred past her again and she found herself back in the field. Snow untouched. Lightly falling.
“No!” She screamed and kicked the snow below her.
She could not understand what happened. No one had been accused of the crime. There was no reason for her to get thrown back to the beginning. Elena was starting to think she was trapped in this loop forever. That had been the longest one so far; she had felt close to getting somewhere. She had help, someone to talk to. Then it occurred to her, that had been the longest so far. The train whistled and she was whisked away. Not only could she not accuse the wrong person, but she also had a time limit.
She needed to figure out what to do next. Making her way into town, Elena thought about how to solve this thing. She needed more resources, more to go on. Once in town she saw all the familiar sights. The kids, the horse, the old woman. All the same. This time, however, when the scream sounded and everyone ran towards the source. Elena stood back. Maybe there was some sort of clue in the town, something that could help her.
Walking through the empty streets, she half expected that the culprit would run past her, and she could see exactly who did it. She stayed on guard, but there was nothing. Elena walked over to the horse that almost stomped her multiple times. It was tied to a post before the owner ran to see what happened. She pet its nose before noticing the people were beginning to make their way back. She saw Nicholas walking back with the crowd. For a brief moment their eyes met, and it was almost as if there was recognition there. She had to ignore him this time because there was someone else she wanted to talk to.
The timing would be short, but Elena waited for everyone to start filing into the church. They were going to hold a town meeting to try and figure out who could be responsible for such a crime. Elena followed the people in, taking in the environment. The church was made of dark wood, it reminded her of all the pioneer schoolhouses she had seen on old TV shows. Sitting in one of the middle pews was Anna. No one wanted to be near her, not knowing what they could say. Elena walked over to her and sat down. Anna had calmed down to a state of shock now. She was staring off at nothing. Elena put a hand on the woman’s.
“It’s a horrible thing, for a mother to lose a daughter in such a terrible way.”
Anna said nothing.
“I hope that the Chief can solve this, but if he can’t, you must be able to think of something that could help. If you can think of anyone that may have a grudge against you or Maggie.”
Anna finally turned to face Elena. “A grudge?”
“Was there anyone that you may have angered?”
“No.” Her eyes were bloodshot from crying.
Elena decided to change the subject to get her more comfortable with talking. “Things have already been hard for you, haven’t they?”
“Henry…it’s been so hard without him.” She began crying again. “This is my punishment.”
“Punishment? What do you mean?”
Anna looked around the room to see where the Reverend was. He was standing by the doorway. “Maggie was made from sin. My weakness.”
“Henry wasn’t her father?”
Anna’s wide eyes confirmed that even in her silence.
“Whose her real father?”
Anna shook her head. “Gone. Left out of shame when he found out.”
“Would he do this?”
“James? No, never.” Anna shook her head with certainty.
“Did anyone else know?”
“I put it all in a letter and left it at Henry’s grave. Only the spirits and I knew.”
Letter. There was no letter when Elena was there earlier, but maybe the snow covered it. Knowing she did not have that much time, Elena got up and ran to the cemetery. She pushed past the people, not caring because she would just reset soon anyway. Once she got to the cemetery, she stopped for a second trying to remember exactly where the grave was. Towards the back. She rushed over looking at the names on the graves. When she spotted Henry’s, she dropped to her knees and began pushing the snow around. There was a stone in front of the grave, but no letter. That had to mean something. Before Elena could think anymore on that, the train whistle sounded in the distance and she was being swept back to the beginning.
Here she was again. She had lost count at this point, but she felt like she was getting somewhere. She stood in the snow thinking about everything that had happened up to then. What did she know? Not much. Anna did not kill her daughter. Someone who knew about the affair probably did, but if Elena was being honest that was just a hopeful theory. She wished she had help in this. Nicholas was helpful. Elena looked around, maybe he still was being helpful. She remembered something he had said. Why here? Why this spot in particular. Was the universe just laughing at her running across the whole town each time, or was this place important? Nothing happened here. This was not where the murder happened. It was no where near. This place was not anything. At some point it would become Whalley, but right now it was just a clearing in the middle of the woods. Elena looked at her feet. A late snow. Marissa had always made that a point in her story. The snow was new, freshly covering the ground. She dropped to her knees and began digging under the snow. She ignored the icy grip on her fingers, determined to find something, anything that could explain why she was there. Pushing the snow away, Elena’s hand brushed against something. She dug in that spot until she found an envelope. She picked it up and stood on her feet. Anna’s letter. She was holding Anna’s letter to Henry. The one that was supposed to be on his grave. Her theory was right. Whoever found out about this, must have wanted to hurt Anna and Maggie.
Now the real question, who would care that much? The 1800’s were full of religious fanatics who could think it blasphemous to have a child through adultery. Ironic that the solution would be murder. Why kill Maggie though and not Anna? Maybe Maggie’s biological father? Elena had no idea how to figure this out, so she began walking back to town. Maybe there was something she missed at the murder scene. Someone out of place. Once in town, Elena ignored the kids playing, the horse that almost hits her, and the old woman with the hankie. She did not want to rush too quick before the scream or she could get accused again, but when it sounded, she broke off into a run.
Every time it hurt to see Anna screaming and crying over her child’s bloody body. As everyone rushed to her side and checked around the house, Elena waited. She had always left before most of the crowds, but she knew most of them made their way back soon after. She hung back, watching as they took Maggie’s body away with Anna soon following with a lot of the townspeople. As she looked around the faces, she noticed curiosity more than anything. It was also surprising to see how many people stayed back. Even more surprising when all the people began traipsing though the house and the rest of the crime scene. There was no consideration for it being a crime scene at all. At least on the positive, this would help Elena.
There were too many footprints to determine if any of them belonged to the person who did it. She walked behind the house where the murder had happened. There was a lot of blood, but the snow had covered a good amount of it. This happened as the snow was falling. Maggie had looked like she was partially covered in snow when Elena had seen her before. She looked around the area. There was not much. A secluded part of the house surrounded by woods. There was a window in the house, but Anna must have not seen anything. Maggie seemed to have been out there for a while before she found her. Elena decided to go into the house since everyone else was. When she got in, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. A normal, quaint home. Elena walked over to the window and looked out. Maggie would have been lying dead right underneath it, and Anna would have had no idea.
Nothing made sense. What would make someone do this? If Anna was this close, she should have heard something, but no. Nothing. Maggie must have known her killer. Unless they snuck up behind her and caught her off guard. The motive though. Someone must have known about Anna’s secret, but who would be angry enough to kill her daughter? The only person could have been the biological father, but he would have already known everything. Maybe he always held a grudge, but Henry dying opened an opportunity. Elena was thinking about all the things she had seen, all the questions she had. She wished she could get more help. Nicholas for the short time it was, helped her a lot.
Nicholas.
She forgot when they first met, he had said something odd. She needed to speak to him. Elena left Anna’s home and ran back into town. Once she was back among the panicked people, she searched their weary figures for the tall boy that seemed to stand out. There talking to another man, she spotted Nicholas. She ran up to him and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away from the crowd.
“I need to speak to you.”
Confused, Nicholas followed, but pulled his arm back. “I am sorry Miss, but I do not know you.”
“Not this time you don’t, but we’ve talked before. I just need to ask you something.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You said you saw a ghost today. Who was it?”
Nicholas’ eyes widened. “How do you know of such things?”
“Just answer the question. Who?”
He seemed to be searching her eyes for some kind of familiarity. He looked back at the people as if he were about to yell for help, but then he turned his head back to face Elena.
“This morning, before the snow began to build, it was near the cemetery…Henry Elmore.”
It was then that Elena’s world got blurry again, and in her shock, she was placed back to the park. She stood there astonished at what Nicholas had said. It was not possible. Unless it really was a ghost. She shook her head and began looking for the letter again. Once she found it, she opened it to read it over once more. Addressed to Henry. Left on Henry’s grave. Detailing the sins Anna had committed and how terrible she felt for keeping the secret for so long. The pieces were starting to fall into place. The crime never got solved because the person who did it was presumed dead. No motive. No witnesses. No evidence. They would have looked extensively for some time, but eventually the war would happen. Solving a four year old murder would not seem important in the grand scheme of things. Henry was not dead. Henry had to have done this. Now she needed to prove it.
The biggest question was where did Henry go? Nicholas saw him before the murder. Henry must have found the note on his grave and made his way to Anna’s. He had to have dropped the letter in the park on the way there. So, after he killed Maggie, where would he go? Elena knew he did not come back the way he came or else she would have run into him, or seen footprints. Something. She was not meant to stop it, just solve it. That must mean that Henry is close by, at least until the time limit is up. Her eyes widened. That was it. Every time she gets sent back must be when Henry is out of town. The train whistle. He’s hopping a train. He leaves forever and no one ever thinks to search for a dead man. He gets away with it, while Anna is left to suffer.
Elena ran faster than she had all day. She needed to get to town and convince them Henry did it. This was her chance to set things right, and go home. Once she reached town, she almost ran straight into the horse again.
“Seriously?” She scanned the town looking for the Police Chief.
She needed to tell them, but then she realized, she could not tell them who committed a murder they did not know happened yet. Running down there was a waste of time. She caught her breath and began walking towards Anna’s. It was not long before the scream. Elena rushed with the crowd scanning for the familiar face. She spotted Nicholas and grabbed his arm.
“Nicholas, you don’t know me, but I need to talk to you.”
He seemed to still be trying to process what was happening.
“I know who did this, it’s going to sound crazy, but it was Henry Elmore…you saw him today. He wasn’t a ghost, he did this.”
Nicholas looked over at the screaming Anna and shook his head as he turned back to Elena. “What? That is not possible, he died in a train wreck last year.”
“I know, but something must have happened and he survived. Maggie wasn’t his, he found out and killed her. He’s still here somewhere…I think he’s going to try and jump on a train to leave town, and we need to catch him before he gets out, or else I’ll be…. or else he will never be caught.”
He looked at her like she was crazy, but there was something in his eyes that told her he, at least somewhat, believed her.
“Who are you, how would you know this?”
“It doesn’t matter, please just help.” She looked up with pleading eyes.
“Alright, come with me.” He grabbed her hand, and led her closer to the front of the crowd. When he let go of her, he made his way to the Chief that was consoling Anna.
Nicholas knelt down and whispered something in the man’s ear. Already overwhelmed, the man shot his head up. He motioned for another townsperson to help Anna as he made his way back over to Elena
“Nicholas here tells me you saw a man after this incident?”
She nodded. “I did, Sir. He was running towards the railroad. I think he means to escape.”
“And who exactly are you, Miss?”
She was not going to make the same mistake twice. “I was just passing through to visit a friend. Found myself taking a walk in the main town today when all of this happened.”
Nicholas grabbed the Chief’s arm. “Chief, I saw someone this morning that looked an awful lot like Henry Elmore…her description of this man is oddly similar.”
Elena met his eyes, happy Nicholas was helping her.
The Chief looked around for a moment before nodding. “Alright! I need a few fast men to come with me to the railroad, now!”
Curiosity shot through the crowd. Not only did men begin to run with the Chief, but anyone that could carry themselves to keep up. Elena, too, followed. She needed to know if this was it, or if she was going to be stuck in this loop forever. She was tired of running; she was tired of being there. Tired of the screams. Tired of seeing Maggie’s mangled body. Tired as she was, Elena pushed on. She needed to see this through.
“There!” Someone yelled.
Elena looked up to see a weary man running away from the crowd. They were at the train tracks, but Elena knew they had a little bit of time before the train came. He must have been waiting here, and jumped on when it went by. Nicholas pushed harder, gaining more distance on the man as he ran. He dived and caught the man by his shoulders, bringing him down onto the tracks. The man screamed out, but Nicholas held him down until the Police Chief got close enough to haul him up, and pull him away from the tracks. Gasps waved across the small crowd.
“Henry Elmore…a living ghost it seems.”
“How is this possible?” Nicholas helped hold onto the man.
Elena pushed her way to the front of the crowd to get a closer look. The man was thin, and lost looking. Blood stained his sleeves. His light brown hair was stuck to his forehead by nervous sweat. His mustache trembled as he came to terms with being caught.
“You died in the train crash.” The Chief gripped his arm tighter.
“I-I did...at least I let everyone think that. I was miserable here. Anna and I fought all the time and when I walked off that train, I saw my out. I left my watch there so they would think I was another body. Months I tried to start a new life, but I felt guilty for leaving my family, so I came back. I came back, but I couldn’t see her yet, so I found myself in the cemetery. That was when I found a note on my grave telling me my daughter wasn’t mine! That whore let me raise someone else’s kid. Made me feel guilty about it when she was the one fooling me all along.”
“So, you killed an innocent child?” The Chief looked baffled.
“I was going to kill my wife. I went there to hurt her, but Maggie was there, playing outside. When I saw her, I felt an anger bubble up like nothing I had felt before, so I did it. I took care of her and left her out there for that woman to find. She hurt me, and now I hurt her.” Henry seemed to laugh and cry all at the same time.
The Chief, with the help of Nicholas, brought the man through the angry and astonished crowd, back towards town.
“She got what she deserved!”
“You’ll hang for this, you monster!” Someone in the crowd yelled and soon they were all yelling.
They followed back, but Elena stood still watching the people get smaller. She had done it. She had figured it out. Henry Elmore killed his own daughter out of anger towards his wife. A horrible tragedy. An unnecessary one, but she knew people often killed over minuscule things. He raised that little girl, but in the end it did not matter. He let his anger take him over.
She thought once the culprit was caught, she would go home. Back to her room doing homework, but she was still there. Maybe something was unresolved. Elena began to walk back towards town when she felt earth beneath her rumble. Then the train horn. She jumped at how loud it was where she stood. She stopped walking, and just like every time before Elena could feel the world slipping away.
“No.”
Everything began to shrink around her and soon she had the familiar feeling of being sucked out of that reality and back at the park in the middle of the snow. She closed her eyes not wanting to believe this was going to happen again. Maybe she was dead and forever trapped in this loop. When everything stopped, Elena kept her eyes squeezed shut. She did not know what to do anymore. What else could be done? Was there a partner or something? Elena was about to face the world again when she heard something. A car. She popped her eyes open and looked around like she was seeing the world for the first time. The snow was gone. The silence she had heard was replaced with cars driving on the nearby road. People talking as they walked through Whalley Park. She was back in her time, it was like how she knew it. The playground. The basketball courts. The grass brown and dead waiting for winter to start. She looked down and saw she was back in her purple sweater and blue jeans. Not the layered brown dress. She had pants. She never realized how much she could miss pants. Elena smiled, she did it. She was back.
Still unsure how everything happened that did, Elena wondered if she had imagined the whole thing. It felt real. It had to have been real. She walked out of the park and towards the one place that could give her some answers. The cemetery. This place had more meaning now. She had forgotten how big it was compared to the small area it covered in the past. She made her way to the back of the graveyard to find two familiar stones. She stood in front of the headstones. They looked exactly as they did all those nights her and her friends told ghost stories there. Anna and Maggie Elmore. So worn the letters could almost not be read. She looked next to Anna to find that Henry Elmore’s plot was gone. Replaced by a stranger. They must have removed it when they caught him. She was happy he did not get buried next to the family he destroyed. That was one thing to prove it was all real.
Elena stood there looking at the headstones for a while. She could not get the day’s events out of her head. She closed her eyes and felt a snowflake hit her face. Her eyes snapped open worried she was back in time again, but she was still in her time. She sighed out of relief and turned to go when she saw someone else in the cemetery. On the other end of the plots stood Anna. She was holding Maggie. They both looked a little faded, like they did not belong in that plane. Maggie looked happy. Not the lifeless child frozen in the snow. Anna smiled at Elena like she was telling her everything was okay. Elena nodded at her, glad the killer was caught and brought to justice. Anna looked down at the headstone next to her and back at Elena. She seemed like she wanted Elena to look at it, so she made her way over. The closer she got the more Anna and Maggie seemed to fade away.
When Elena got to the grave Anna was standing next to, a sad smile crossed her face. Nicholas Baxter: 1840-1925 Beloved Husband, Father, and Police Chief. Elena had worried that Nicholas would have been a victim of the Civil War. Another forgotten and lost boy fighting his own country. Instead, he lived to be eighty-five. Got married, had a family. Protected the town just like he had on that day. Elena wondered who heS had been prior to her getting sent there. She knew that without him, she may have never made it back. The world would not have been set right and no one would have known what happened to Maggie Elmore. Elena smiled as she walked back home. She loved ghost stories, but she was happy to know this story melted away just like the winter snow.
