Happy Halloween

Just a little treat ( Well, a treat for me anyway. I love writing stories. ) for those of you who read this blog. I hope this little ghost story gives you a bit of reading pleasure.


WHAT LIVES WITHIN
by Sandra Seamans

James Ridley sat on the beach staring out at the ocean, the searing blaze of the afternoon sun barely warming his chilled skin. He'd been shivering from the cold slap of his past ever since he'd opened Jedidiah Kramer’s letter. The ancient caretaker of Ridley House had written to inform James that it was time to return home. Natalie needed him.

Home? Ridley House hadn't been his home in over thirty years. Not since he was ten and his mother had swallowed her fear and ripped him from the clutches of that hollow house. The two of them had climbed on the first bus out of Pennsylvania, traveling west until they ran out of land. His mother had kept him close, watching for signs that Natalie was whispering in his ear, trying to lure him back to Ridley House. Mother's fear was his shadow, always a half a step behind and gaining.

He vaguely remembered the chilling legend of Ridley House, the stories whispered behind his back when his parents thought he wasn't listening. Gruesome tales of Natalie Ridley whose ghost possessed Ridley House. The shuddering story of her death in the strangling hands of her jealous husband, a man who lacked the ability to trust his wife's love. James remembered sitting in the upstairs hall and staring at the water stained oak floorboards where Natalie's tears had fallen as her husband squeezed the life out of her. His ears assaulted by the whisper of her final words floating on the cold drafts that shuddered through the halls, "My heart will beat forever within the walls of Ridley House until a Ridley heart can beat one full measure of love and compassion for her who lives within."

With the arrival of Kramer's letter, a tsunami of half forgotten memories swept over James, drowning him in terror. The smell of fear oozing from the walls, wails of grief that tortured the night, his childhood dreams filled with a palpable evil that seeped from every corner and crevice of the house.

In the wash of memories, James could hear Natalie's voice riding the callous, thumping wave of Ridley hearts, beckoning him back to Ridley House. He remembered with vivid clarity the night he and his mother left Ridley House behind. The vision of his father, arms spread in surrender, as Natalie's ghost reached out and tore the heart from his chest. The thud of his father's heartbeat as it joined the choir of Ridley hearts that beat within the walls echoed through his ears embroidered with his mother screams. And now, Natalie wanted him, needed him, and would torture his mind with a constant throbbing pain until she added his heart to the symphony that filled the walls of Ridley House.

Staring into the dusky glow of the fading sunset, James knew that resistance was futile. He remembered his father's struggle to resist Natalie's siren call, remembered the look on his father's face as he'd surrendered to himself to the house. A tragic look of relief mingled with defeat. The house would never be satisfied until it possessed the heart of every Ridley ever born, but the house's hunger and Natalie's revenge would have to be satisfied with James, for he was the last Ridley. There would be no more sacrifices. The Ridley curse would end with him.

He felt the burden of the past reaching out, waiting to devour his wife’s peaceful existence as he burned the letter there on the beach. His tears mingled with the charred remains as he made his decision. He hated keeping secrets from Libby but he couldn't...no, he wouldn't, tell his wife about the family legacy. Better that she thought he'd deserted her, then to know that his heart was beating in the walls of Ridley house.

He kissed Libby farewell on the front porch of their home, his arms folding her into a final embrace. A last minute business trip, he'd told her. His sadness turned to anguish as she whispered in his ear, "Hurry home, my darling, you're going to be a father."

Her words and the glowing blush on her face took his breath away. All those barren years and Libby's inconsolable sorrow at being unable to give him a child thudded through his heart. Why now, when Natalie was calling him?

Jedidiah Kramer opened the door of Ridley House. Staring hard into James’ suffering eyes he said, “You’re to have a son? Another Ridley to follow in your footsteps?”

James stepped across the threshold, the heartbeats thrumming ever louder. “A son? How did you..? I don’t know. My wife just told me she was pregnant. I’ll never know if its a boy or a girl.”

“And why wouldn’t you know?”

“Natalie. Don’t you remember? You wrote, said Natalie needed me." The thumping in his head was excruciating. “Please, let me do this. Let me give my heart to Natalie. Perhaps...” his voice drifted off.

Every generation that had come before and now one generation after. It would never end, but at least Libby wouldn’t have to know of the suffering that would visit their son, wouldn’t have to live with the knowledge of the curse bruising her heart.

“You love your wife? Trust her?”

“With all my heart.”

“Then bring her here.”

“I can’t do that. I can’t let her know the fate that will befall our child. It would kill her to know.”

“You love her enough to sacrifice your life with never a word to her about the curse that haunts Ridley House?”

“I’d rather Libby thought I abandoned her, then let her live with the curse blighting her heart.”

A shadow drifted across the wall. A flicker of light. A female voice. “A Ridley with a loving heart? I don’t believe it.”

James looked at Jedidiah who nodded.

“It doesn’t matter if you believe, Natalie,” said James. “All that matters is that I believe in my wife’s love and that she believes in mine for her and our child. I’ve come to you willingly, do what you must.”

Lifting his arms and spreading them in surrender as he’d seen his father do, James walked towards the waiting wall. His heart was pounding in his chest, his love for Libby filling him with joy, giving him the courage to merge his heart with the house.

Natalie Ridley’s ghost stepped out of the wall, her hand reaching into James’ chest. Natalie smiled as she felt his love for Libby wash over her. “One full measure of love and compassion for her who lives within.”