Chapter 4
The convertible grumbled as it made the way down the gravel path, not entirely used to such rugged terrain.
Luckily for Grace, the Lantern House wasn’t too far out of town, only stretching into the wilderness for a mile or two.
As she drove through the neighborhood, the houses each having a bit of space to call their own without being too isolated, Grace couldn’t help but gawk at all the Halloween decorations.
The voice on the static-y radio mentioned a few minutes ago that it was only four days till Halloween, but there was no doubt that Holiday Hollow took the celebratory season a little farther than any other town.
Jack-o-lanterns with carved expressions and glowing candles stowed within their cores loomed in the shadows of the forest. They peered out at her as she drove by, some with orange glowing eyes deep within the darkness.
Skeletons sat in the trees, their legs hanging down from the branches as they clung onto it for dear life.
Thin lights were strung through the treetops, giving off a haunted glow long before darkness ever reached the town.
The front porches were just as adorned with momentos of the holiday as well.
Walkways were lined with the pumpkins, armed with odd-looking scarecrows, haunted by hanging ghosts that swayed against the constant breeze.
Holiday Hollow was more beautiful than any other town Grace had ever seen, even if some of the beauty was a bit on the odder side.
In fact, she preferred things that way. Where was the fun in a usual life, with boring colors and identical houses?
Where was the excitement in a boring town, one that didn’t bother to pride itself in having personality?
Out of all the places Grace could’ve ended up in after her divorce, she could hardly believe that Holiday Hollow was there for her, just waiting.
As though she was always meant to be there, always meant to follow that road, always meant to be at the Lantern House.
A hazy glow came from the wide windows of the Lantern House as Grace pulled her convertible into the long, dusty driveway.
Tall dark trees adorned the sides of the house, not blocking her from the close neighbors but providing ample shade from the summer sun.
Bats hung from the trees, decorating the branches as though they were caught in mid-flight.
There was even a stuffed black cat hanging out there, sharp green eyes that instantly reminded her of Bryant staring out at her.
Grace clung to the wheel long after she put the car in park.
“You can do this,” she murmured to herself.
“You deserve a new beginning, just as much as Chuck.” Her brow furrowed as she imagined her ex-husband and his much younger – and annoyingly pregnant – mistress.
“Let’s be honest: you deserve a better beginning than Chuck. ”
Before doing anything else, she retrieved the business card Caroline left her with and shot her a quick text.
It was a short greeting, giving her new friend her number.
It was exciting to connect with someone so effortlessly, but Grace was quick to ignore the growing sense of confidence.
Now that she was staring up at her new house, she was briefly overcome with the realization that she was looking an unrecognizable life in the face.
As Grace lingered in her car, trying to give herself the courage to let go of the wheel, a sharply dressed woman stepped out of the Lantern House’s tall front doors, a beige folder securely held in her hands.
She dressed in a delicate pink three-piece suit, minus a constricting tie.
With a slender face and pointed features, dark short hair neatly framed the woman’s cheekbones, granting the woman an ageless air.
She raised her hand and waved, a wide smile stretching across her face.
Grace waved back with the biggest smile she could muster. “Get out the car now,” she said behind her smile. “Come on, Gracie! Get out of the –”
She shoved open the door before she could even finish.
“Are you Grace?”
“I am,” she responded nervously.
“I am beyond thrilled to meet you!” The woman called out as she followed the rest of the walkway to meet her halfway. She let out a puff of air as she reached her, her smile unmoving. “Honestly, I’m a hugger! Can I give you a hug?”
Grace barely managed to nod her head and the short woman was engulfing her in a tight squeeze.
“Holiday Hollow is so excited to have you here!” She pulled away and sheepishly shrugged one shoulder.
“It’s been quite some time since we’ve had someone move to our small community, if you couldn’t tell.
My name’s Anna, by the way. Anna Louise Harper.
I work for the lawyer you spoke to on the phone.
” Her thin brow furrowed tightly. “You did talk to the lawyer on the phone, right?”
“Oh, I did.”
Anna released a loud sigh, one hand over her chest. “The man is a sweetheart but his memory is hardly what it used to be.” She flashed a stunning smile before extending the folder she carried forward. “Well, Grace Baker, I hope you’re ready to become a homeowner.”
Grace stared down at the folder with wide eyes. Though she knew it was far too late to turn back, she couldn’t stop the panicked nerves from igniting at the sound of those words. A small nagging voice burst to life in the back of her mind, sounding oddly familiar to Chuck’s demanding tone.
How do you know this isn’t a mistake? How can you tell that you haven’t already ruined it, already flushed your entire life down the toilet? How can you tell, Gracie?
Above her, a pair of doves were spooked by something and hooted as they flew away together.
They shot over their heads, and a singular feather fell from their wings, drifting along the breeze till it noiselessly landed on the middle of the folder.
The silver feather remained there till the wind forced it to brush away, carried high over them once more, before being pulled elsewhere, to be a sign for someone far away from Grace Baker.
The answer to her questions came forward in the same breath, echoing through her mind with the strength of her own voice, as though she said it aloud: I can’t tell, but isn’t that simply part of the ride?
Grace beamed as she took the folder. “More than ready.”
“Splendid!” Anna clapped her hands together.
“Inside is all the paperwork you’ll need regarding the house and utilities.
Anything you’ll need in the town is tucked in there as well.
And here –” she pulled a wide key from her pocket, the silver ring small and obviously much younger than the key itself, “ – is the most important thing of it all.”
Surprisingly, the large key was as light as a regular one.
“Are you ready for a tour?”
Grace met the woman’s eyes and grinned. “I’ve seen all the pictures available but I’m sure they don’t live up to the real thing.”
“Not at all,” Anna said as she turned back to the walkway.
“My twins used to come down here and play outside the house. Something about it made them feel safe, though I never quite understood it. Years on end, I found them out here.” Anna laughed lightly as she pushed open the front doors and gestured for Grace to enter first. “I’m sure you’ll understand why very soon. ”
Grace stepped over the threshold with wide eyes.
The house had a vast, open floor plan with its angular ceiling, allowing her to see the upper floor without needing to go up the staircase.
The roof met at a point high over her head, with an extra room stowed away on the second floor.
A circular living area was at the very center, the kitchen’s long island counter acting as a standing bar and a natural divider between rooms. Windows stretched across one entire wall, giving a wide view of the entire lake.
The back door was within the living room, opening up to a back porch and a trail toward the old wooden docks.
The loft Grace recognized from the pictures was visible from the front doors as she walked in.
A warmth echoed out from that side of the house, urging her to come closer without any rhyme or reason.
Grace waded toward it like a blind man, eyeing everything she passed and never realizing where her feet were leading her.
Halloween decorations adorned the inside of the house as well, radiating comforting colors like rusty oranges and mellow yellows.
She passed by a tall entryway, where she stole a peak at the master bedroom and the ancient wooden furnishings already inside before continuing on to a staircase.
“You’ve already found the prize of this house,” Anna called out from behind her.
Grace blinked and realized her feet had brought her to the staircase leading up to the loft.
Without thinking, she climbed the staircase until she came to the small loft and the wall of windows that looked out onto the lake.
There wasn’t much in the loft, not that there was much space up there for much of anything.
It was more of a decorative space, where the Halloween decorations only multiplied and the famous Lantern that earned the house its unique name sat.
The lantern itself was an old thing, looking as though its wooden fixtures had been hand carved out of a mahogany tree.
Glazed glass sat on the four walls, encompassing a pearl white candle at the very center.
It had a permanent spot beside the long window, placed upon an elaborate table and venerated with a plethora of shorter candles.
Grace began to reach for it, but something drove her hand back to her side, even made her take a small step backwards.
“Lots of people find that the Lantern makes them feel strange,” Anna chimed as she stood beside her.
Grace shook her head. “I wouldn’t call it strange.”
“No?”
“Not strange at all. It’s warm, isn’t it?
Familiar even. Like I know it, or I should know it.
Like I have known it.” Grace blinked a few times and shook her head till everything was rattling in her head.
An embarrassed laugh slipped out as she rubbed the back of her neck, avoiding Anna’s friendly and curious expression.
“I-Ignore me. I have no clue where any of that came from.”
Anna watched her for a moment, the silence spreading till Grace felt the awkward need to laugh again.
But it wasn’t like Anna carried the intent of embarrassing her, or to tease her.
There was a different look in her eyes, one that seemed to say: I understand.
I hear you. It was uncomfortable because it was unfamiliar, and that realization was more haunting than Grace expected it to be.
“Have you heard the story of the Lantern yet?” Anna asked.
Grace shrugged one shoulder. “Not fully. I know about the couple who once lived here, when it was first built. And the wife used the lantern to guide her husband back home, didn’t she? When he was out hunting?”
“You got it,” Anna replied. “No matter the weather, no matter the conditions, the Lantern’s light was capable of shining as bright as the sunrise itself. The husband was bound to return to his wife, through rain or shine,” but there was a solemn note to her words.
“Something tells me he didn’t make it back to his wife.”
Anna laughed. “All things that are living are destined to be taken by death, Grace. No matter what.” She stepped closer to the Lantern, letting her hand hover over the glass, over the unwavering light.
“The story goes on to say that the husband perished in the lake. But the woman continued lighting the lantern for him, illuminating the way home, as if he would one day return to her.”
“That’s sad,” Grace murmured, her eyes glued to the Lantern.
“When the woman’s time came to pass on,” Anna continued in her story, “people say she simply walked out of her house, crept into the lake, and disappeared.”
“She drowned?”
Anna shook her head. “She walked into the lake and disappeared.”
A shiver ran down Grace’s back, as though a hand left an airy trail against her sensitive skin.
She trembled as the words hung in the air, her eyes looking out the window and seeking out the surface of the lake.
There was no figure hovering over it, though she half-expected to see a shadowy woman looming at the shore’s edge.
Grace jumped into the air when Anna’s ice cold fingertips touched her arm.
“Boy, you’re spooked!” Anna giggled. “Don’t worry, Grace. It’s only a story!”
Grace pressed her hand against her chest as her heart throbbed relentlessly. She took a moment to catch her breath and stretch a placid smile across her face. “It’s a creepy story, that’s for sure.”
“Well, there’s plenty of those to go around in Holiday Hollow.”
“Really?”
“Of course! Strange stories are the backbone of our odd town.” Anna grinned and wiggled her brow. “Isn’t that just exciting?”
As Anna eagerly led the way back down the stairs and toward the back door, gesturing for her to follow, Grace kept her arms tightly wound around her torso.
Something about Anna made her feel as comfortable as she did with Caroline, but she couldn’t forget how cold her fingers felt.
Cold like the sea, cold like the dark waves that never knew what the sun’s warmth was like.
She shivered again as they stepped into the backyard, a stone trail leading down to the rickety dock.
A small boat sat at the edge, securely tied to one of the tall posts.
“A lot of the houses on the lake have porches on the back instead of the front,” Anna explained as she motioned to the nearby homes. “For the lake view, you know!”
Grace slowly felt the jitters of the unusual story drift out of her.
The neighbors were closer than she expected, but that was hardly anything to complain about.
If anything, she only hoped they would like her and her to like them.
There were no plans to go anywhere else, so it needed to work.
No matter what, it would work. Caroline resided in one of the houses, which was more reassuring than Grace thought it would be.
“So,” Anna chimed, taking a stance beside her. “What do you think?”
Grace breathed it in. For the first time since her divorce, she felt sure of herself.
She felt sure and certain and firm. This was it.
This was it and it felt right, whatever right even meant for Grace.
She let an easy smile stretch across her face.
It was a beginning and it was better than she ever could have imagined.
“I think it's perfect. It’s all perfect.”