Echo Hills

It felt strange to be waking up in what used to be her newly deceased grandmother’s bedroom but it was the only room in the huge, Victorian house with its own bathroom. It was also made clear that the old woman hadn’t in fact died in her bed, much to Ariana’s relief.

The newly crowned Miss America crawled groggily out of bed and stood at the window, her dirty blonde hair hanging in a droopy bun. It was the perfect place to see what was going on in the isolated town of Echo Hills.

Much water from last night’s dreadful rainstorm soaked into the spacious lawn below. All that remained were scattered puddles. In the middle sat her shiny blue sedan. The drive deep into the woods had been her least favorite experience thus far but at least the live-in caretaker, Ian was nice. He was young and friendly. The same couldn’t be said about his sister, Mara who she spotted now heading out on foot. But not before giving Ariana’s car a nasty scowl.

The blunt brunette seemed to have a problem with the pageant winner’s presence. However, it’s not like Ariana asked for a creepy old house after her grandma died. She’d much rather return to planning her vacation to the Bahamas.

Sell the house. It was that simple.

Or at least it could’ve been if her mother hadn’t insisted that she stay a while and think on it. After all it had been in her father’s family for generations. Nevertheless, she didn’t see a point in thinking about it. Ariana had never known her father or his family. What obligation could she possibly have to maintain a relic of a family she never knew? A family who didn’t even call to comfort her mother who had to raise a child alone in her grief when her dad died.

A knock came to the door. It was Ian.

“I thought it might be a good idea to take a walk around town today.” He said.

The man had a mellow smile with brown eyes that glinted under a heavy set of dark eyebrows which matched his hair.

“Sure.” Ariana gave a tired nod.

As much as she dreaded the town, she refused to spend the day in a large old house full of portraits of dead guys. Besides, if she couldn’t decide at this moment to dash the house, she might as well do something.

They went into town on foot much to Ariana’s dismay. Ian on the other hand insisted it was a better way of experiencing the town. While on the topic, Ariana noticed that there weren’t many cars around. In fact, she had yet to see one besides her own.

“Yeah, cars aren’t really big here.”

The woman’s eyes went wide. “Are you kidding? The road to here from the next town was nearly twenty miles long! How does anyone ever make it out of here?”

Ian shrugged. “We’ve got everything we need here. We even grow our own food. Where else would we need to go?”

Unable to wrap her head around his point of view, she let the topic go and focused on learning the town. But it only got stranger.

News had spread of a sale on lights and people came in droves to stock up. One lady walked away with twelve boxes of string lights. A man passed them with a bunch of flood lights tucked under his arms. On a nearby pole was a flyer that said:

Full Moon Sale!

15% off all lights

Prepare and protect your home!

Protect? Ariana knew when she arrived that the town was very festive. But she never knew it was an obsession. The line into the shop extended around the corner. It was like a Black Friday sale, except all that was on sale were lights. I looked at Ian in shock.

“A good opportunity to save.” He smiled tightly.

Just then, a plump woman with a bag of an assortment of lights approached her with an amazed gasp. “Oh, you must be Ariana! What a beauty! I was so thrilled to hear you’d be coming back to Echo Hills. Oh, but I’m so sorry about Carol. She was such a sweet woman — always offered her roof to those who found themselves without light. In fact, you know what? Here, take this, sweetie.” She took two boxes from her stash and handed them to the confused newcomer. “Consider it a welcome gift. Let’s hope the moon actually makes an appearance this time, eh?”

“Oh! Um, thank you!” Ariana took the lights politely. “But-”

The woman then pinched Ian’s cheek. “I’m so happy for you, Ian, sweetie!” And with that the woman waddled away.

After another awkward smile from her escort, the two continued their tour. That wasn’t the last unusual encounter they’d had all day. One man came to talk about the world outside and her experiences. The poor dear had never even heard of social media or a beauty pageant before.

“My son left years ago.” The aged man reminisced. “I suppose he’s forgotten like the rest. But seeing you here, gives me hope.”

Besides that, Ariana noticed the townsfolk stared at her a lot. Whispering about ‘the Jackson girl’. It was a small town so it wasn’t a surprise.

Still, it was a bit unsettling.

When they returned to the house, Ian offered to put up the lights she’d been given. Although, she didn’t think the house needed anymore lights. Before the sun had totally gone down, the house and the town lit up at the same time. Everything was put on a timer here.

Ariana kindly turned down dinner with Ian and Mara as Mara seemed especially irritable today. And she felt drained enough from the day’s unusual encounters. Instead, she sorted out some business with her press agent before retiring to bed early.