Jane

Jane crept quietly down the darkened passage. The door was slightly
ajar. A faint rustling was the only sound to disturb the silence. As
she neared the door, she reached out her hand and touched the handle,
wincing as the door creaked. She stood perfectly still, eyes shut
tight, waiting, listening for footsteps on the stairs, but there was
nothing.

Out in the garden, the grass was cold and wet between her toes. The dew
was sparkling where the moonlight hit it. Jane glanced over her
shoulder at the house. It was still sleeping. She looked away and
stared down at her feet. The dew sprayed up against the back of her
legs every time she took a step, sending goose bumps crawling like
long-legged spiders along her arms. She looked up at the sky, watching
the clouds chase each other across the moon. She turned back again to
look at the house. She felt the wind brush her cheek with icy fingers,
making the chimes on the veranda tinkle. Jane's mother had always loved
those things. She had hundreds of them, on the veranda and hung in
every window in the house. When the wind came up, all of them would
chime at the same time. Jane hated it. Their song was so haunting and
it stayed in her ears for hours afterwards. Her mother would close her
eyes and twirl her hands in the air in time to the noise. She had
always said to Jane how it sounded like the music of fairies. A twig
cracked somewhere in the garden and Jane jumped. Her eyes skittered
back and forth between the back door and the Oak tree, the grass now
burning the soles of her feet. She felt the blood pulse through the
veins in her legs and she started to run.

The soil was moist and slightly warm as she sat down and leaned against
the Oak tree. Her heart was throbbing in her chest and her breath came
short. It wasn't a long run but she felt as if she'd been running for
miles. The chimes were still ringing in her ears. A few feet away stood
a stone. It wasn't anything fancy, just a plain and simple slab. Jane
knew her mother never liked things to be overdone. On hands and knees,
she crawled over to it and lay down on her back, her arms above her
head, cradling it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Hello
mommy, it's Janey?"