No One Would Miss You

The house is most welcoming, she said. It is high on the hill, don’t let that scare you. I thought this a curious turn of phrase. But I was not dissuaded, for she was persuasive. My mother and father and grandmother will be there They know you are coming. You may stay as long as you like. You mean if I decided to stay a year, it would be okay? She looked at me curiously. “No one would miss you?” This struck me odd, in some weird prophetic way. I will call them and tell them you are coming. I could hear her arguing with her mother on the phone. It’s fine, she assured me. They let people stay all the time. I arrived at the house around midnight. They had left a light on. As I was walking toward their porch my grandmother yelled, “STOP!” I was surprised, for she has been deceased for nine years. “Do not go in there!” She cautioned me. I felt this was silly, and took another step, but was pushed backwards. I nearly fell down. My heart began to beat in my ears. I began to run. I jumped in my car and drove to the next town. Years later I discovered from another mutual friend She had nearly the same experience. “I felt if I went inside, they would kill me and keep my car,” she told me. This was the exact feeling I had.