Grace

Grace

By: Emma Ladner

Chapter One: Villa

The first time I stepped off that carriage the first thing I saw was an ugly looking yard and house. There were trees that had leaves but everything else had weeds and vines covering it. I opened the brown gate that used to be white and closed it. A boy was staring at me from next door. He sat on the fence watching my every move. I walked down the path and came to a beautiful fountain. It used to be beautiful. It was covered in vines and was brown. There was no water around it. Everything was dead all around it. It was an angel. And on both sides there was one path leading to different directions. One to the courtyard and the other to the maze and barn. I gulped. This place wasn’t very welcoming. I walked up to the house and nearly threw up. The house was black no color at all. Vines and weeds covered it and at first I thought I saw a raccoon climbing up the side of the house. The legging was broken and the swings of the porch were broken. The doors were grey and the windows were dusty. In fact all the windows were dusty. I slowly knocked on the door. A woman with a straight body opened the door. She had a bun in her hair and her eyes were green. Her hair was grey and she wore a black dress. The governess, I thought. She stared down at me. “What do you want?” she asked. “I’m Grace Bicket.” I said. “Nobody knows that name here.” She said. “Isn’t this James Bicket’s house?” I asked. “Yes why?” she asked. “Well my daddy is his brother and they died and….” I began. “Child hurry up! I haven’t got all day!” she yelled. “Meg? What are you yelling at?” asked a deep voice. But it was kind and gentle. A plump man who had a brown beard with blue eyes appeared at the doorway. He had my father’s face, my nose, my eyes. “Are you Mr. James?” I asked. “Yes.” He said. “I’m Grace Bicket.” I said. “Oh my!”  he said. He stared at me. “How big you have grown! I wondered where I knew those eyes from! Come in! Come in! Out of the cold.” He said. I stepped in. My furry coat was taken by a man. He wore a black jacket and brown shoes. His pants were grey and his shirt bright white. He had a red puffy mustache. “Miss Gracie.” He bowed. He took my jacket and hung it on a hook. I gave him my hat, and my gloves. I stared at my Uncle. “This is Thomas, the door butler.” He said. I curtsied to Thomas and followed my uncle. We entered a tall room. There were two staircases leading to a big ledge. The ledge had a white railing. The floors shined and in the middle of the room was a brown table with a pot of roses and some books. I smiled at the welcoming house. It was cozy and warm. He walked deeper into the house. I followed him. “This is the dining room.” He said. He went to the left. “The kitchen.” He said. Then he came to a door. “The back door.” He said. We exited both rooms and went to the right. “This is the library and the bathroom.” He said. He went deeper. “This is the parlor.” He said. He turn to the right of the parlor and entered a room. “Your room.” He said. I stared around. The room was green and there was a view of the bayou. There was a swimming pool and a row boat but the back yard was disgusting. I could see the maze which apparently did have leaves on them. I could see animals out of the barn and I could see maids on the porch talking and having their lunch. A maid came in with my bags and set them on my bed and then left and brought tea in. I generally took some and began having tea with my Uncle. “Upstairs is the other rooms. Such as school and more bedrooms, including mine. The maids bedrooms are in the attic so if you need anything in the night just go up there.” He said. I nodded and took another sip of my tea. “You remind me of your mother.” He said. “Do you happen to have a picture of my mother and father together?” I asked. He paused. “In fact I do.” He said. He stood up. “You can unpack later, I will show you to my office.” He said. I stood up and put my tea on the window sill and followed him. We came to the library and turned to the right and entered a large room with books and a desk with some feathers and extra ink bottles. There were glasses and there were photo albums. He took one photo album down that said 1655-1659 on the side and began flipping the pages. I looked at the wall. There was the Mona Lisa painting done a few years ago. “Ah here!” he said. I turned my attention pack to him. He took out a picture of a woman. She was wearing her wedding gown. She had glossy lips and her hair was black by the picture. She was smiling. “That’s your mother.” Said my uncle. He pointed to a man. Who I knew instantly. It was my papa. He had a brown mustache and beard and he was not bald. He had his arm around my mother. They were both smiling. But I did not see me. “Where am I?” I asked. “Grace, this is when your parents just married.” Said my uncle. He handed me the picture and closed the album and put it away. “Lunch will be served shortly.” Said my uncle. He stood up and led me out of his office. He closed the door and locked it. There was no going back in there without him. He left me in the library and I went to bedroom. The bed had a roof. It was blue and my covers were green with white pillows. On the wall was a drawing of a flower pot and a maple tree. The window sill pillows were green and blue and my rug was green. To the left of my room was my dresser. To the other side my bookshelf. I picked my packages up and set them on my bed. I opened them and took out my clothes and sorted them. I folded them and put my pajamas, underwear, shoes, shorts, and bathing suits into my dresser drawers. The rest of my clothes; skirts and shirts and dresses were put away into my closet. I slid that bag under my bed and opened the next one. I order my books in ABC order on my bookshelf and put my little horse on the dresser where I put my doll; Miranda. She was special to me because my mother had given it to me when I was little. I sat back on the window sill after putting my bags under my bed and took my tea and began sipping it. The sun was going down. The maids had left the porch. I put my tea down and when I looked up all I saw was the ugly grounds and the animals eating from their treys. The backyard was empty and lifeless. And I wanted to do something about it.

Chapter Two: Lily

I walked downstairs where my Uncle sat at the table. He was talking with Meg the governess who hadn’t greeted me at the door but yelled at me. I sat close to my Uncle. The maids came in and served us potato soup with some tea. I sipped some of my tea and put it down. “Uncle, when was the last time you cleaned the yards?” I asked. My Uncle put his tea down. “The last time your parents visited Grace.” He said. “When was that?” I asked. “When they married.” He said. “Oh.” I said. “Why?” he asked. I took a bite of soup. I swallowed it. “I was just wondering if we can make it have grass again.” I said. I stirred my soup around. “Child! Don’t play with your food!” said Meg. I was mad already with that girl. I stopped stirring my soup and sipped some of my tea. “Well we do have the money and all.” Said my Uncle. “I suppose we could get some people out there.” He said. I smiled. “Thank you Uncle.” I said. We all ate silence after that. “May I be excused?” I had made it louder again. “Go ahead.” Said my Uncle. A maid came in. Her hair was red and she was no older than ten. She wore a black dress and a black hat. She had bags under her eyes and she wore grey plade shoes. I scooted out and pushed my chair behind me and entered the library. The library was beautiful. There was fireplace and two armchairs beside it. There was my great-great-great grandfather’s clock and there was a brown, red, and orange rug. There were books and there were chairs and tables. There was picture of my Uncle and my aunt, who had died. I was alone and was the only child there. I took the book War and Peace and sat down on the arm chair to the right. I turned on the lamp and opened the book to chapter one and began reading.

 The clock chimed 8:00 at night. I turned the page corner down and closed the door and stood up. I was tired. I looked at the window. It was dark and it was raining. Pouring, to be exact. I started hearing crying from up above. I slowly walked up the staircase and came to the fifth door to the right. I opened the door slowly. A little girl, no older than five was crying on her bed. She had blond hair and was wearing a green dress. She looked up and threw a pillow at me. “NO! Go away! I didn’t kill you! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she screamed. I put my hands in front of me. “Why are you throwing pillows at me.” I said. She stopped. “Who are you?” she asked. “My name is Grace. Who are you?” I asked. “Lily. I’m sorry that I threw pillows at you just you reminded me of somebody I once knew.” She said. “Who was that then?” I asked. The wind whistled and I sat beside her. She looked around and whispered; Martha. “Who’s Martha?” I asked. “My sister.” She said. I looked around her room. Her room was pink and above the fireplace was a picture of her and an older girl. “That’s my sister.” Said Lily. She had noticed me gazing. I looked at her and back at the picture. “Martha looks like me.” I said. “She’s your cousin.” Said Lily. “Oh.” I said. The clock chimed 8:30. “I got to go.” I said. It was chiming and I could hear footsteps. “Hide under my bed!” said Lily. “Who is it?” I asked. “Meg! The governess! Now hide!” said Lily. I climbed under her bed which was dusty. The door opened and the steps came to the bed. “Goodnight Lily.” Said Meg. “Go away! I hate you!” said Lily. She threw another pillow and I saw it hit the ground. “Fine then.” She said. She kicked the pillow towards me and I backed up so it wouldn’t hit me. Meg closed the door and left the room and I heard her bedroom door clink. Lily lifted her bed cover up. “All clear.” She said. I climbed out from under the bed. I stretched. “I’ll see you tomommrow Lily.” I said. “Bye.” She said. I walked downstairs and heard steps behind me. I turned. “Meg?” I asked. No answer. I ran downstairs and closed my door behind me. I took off my dress and put on my nightgown and climbed into bed. I didn’t know what had come over me but I had a feeling that somebody was watching me.

Chapter Three: Bradley

I woke up by the scrapping over Nellie; one of the house maids cleaning my fire place. She stood up. “Sorry to wake you miss. The fire needed tending.” She said. “It’s alright.” I said. I rubbed my eyes. “I was having a bad dream anyways.” I said. I removed my knuckles from my eyes. Nellie was gone. The fire was still going. I shrugged and climbed out of bed and made my bed. I propped my pillows on top of my covers. I took off my nightgown and put on my brown dress with white lines on it and put it on with brown boots. I brushed my hair and walked out of my room. I heard clinking and I entered the kitchen. My Uncle was there. But the governess had just closed the door. “Morning Grace.” Said my Uncle. “Morning Uncle.” I said. I sat down at the table. “Sleep well?” he asked. “Oh yes.” I said. “Good.” He said. “I hired men to tend to the yards.” He said. He took a bite of pancakes. “Uncle? Could I plant…. Flowers?” I asked. “Go ahead.” He said. “Thank you!” I said. He handed me twenty-five cents. “Go one girl.” He said. I stood up and kissed his cheek and came to the door. “Where are you going?” asked Thomas. “To the shop.” I said. He handed me a basket. “You will need this then.” He said. I smiled and took the basket. He opened the door and I stepped out he closed the door behind me. My Uncle had not lied. Men were outside pulling weeds out. I stepped down the steps and walked to the gate. The same boy was there. He had brown hair and freckles. He also had hazel eyes. He wore jeans and plaid shirt. “Hi.” He said. “Hi.” I said. I opened the gate and closed it. “My name’s Bradley.” He said. He hopped over the fence. “Where are you going?” he asked. I crossed to the other side  of the street. He followed me. “To get flower seeds.” I said. “I can lead you there.” He said. “Ok.” I said. I followed him to town. “How long you have you lived here?” he asked. “Since yesterday.” I said. “Oh, you will get used to it.” He said. “I forgot to tell you my name.” I said. “It’s Grace.” “Pretty name.” he said. “Thank you.” I said. We came to town. Where two men ran by. He led me to a shop where a woman was holding out flowers. “Hello.” I said. She turned to me. “Do you want to buy flowers?” she asked. “Yes,  I want tulips, all kinds of roses and some sun flower seeds.” I said. “And also some watermelon, grapes, green beans and weed seeds.” I said. She handed me all the seeds and I payed for them. “Thank you for leading me.” I said. We were heading back. “It was a pleasure.” He said. He opened the garden gate for me. “Bye.” I said. “Bye.” He said. He hopped over his fence and ran to his house. I closed the gate behind me and pulled my hair behind my ear. I turned to the house. The windows were no longer dusty, the vines had been removed and they were painting the house a lovely white. The weeds had been removed and they were putting the new grass in. There were no weeds or vines. The barn was being painted red and white and the fences were now painted white. There was once again water in the fountain. I walked inside and sat my basket down on the front table. My Uncle was in his office writing. I knocked on the door. He looked up and took his reading glasses off. “Grace, come in.” he said. I walked in and closed the door behind me and sat on the couch. “What is it that brings you here?” he asked. “I was wondering… who is Martha?” I asked. “Martha, was my daughter. The oldest actually. She was sweet thing but she turned evil. One day she was torturing her little sister-“ he began. “Lily.” I said. He looked at me. “How did you know that?” he asked. “We met last night.” I said. “Oh.” He said. “Well they were in the maze and when Lily came inside she told me the maze had caught on fire. When we went out we burned the maze and we found Martha. She had caught on fire. We buried her in the courtyard.” He said. “And what about Aunt Elizabeth?” I asked. “She died of the flu. We buried her next to Martha.” Said my Uncle. “I’m sorry.” I said. “I sometimes think Lily blames herself for her mother’s and sister’s death.” He said. “Poor child.” He said. He put his glasses back on and went back to writing. I stood up and left the office. I grabbed my basket and some gloves. I put some gloves on and walked outside. I came to the front of the house and planted flowers in the front. In the back I ordered the men to make a large rectangle and they did so. I planted the rest of my seeds there. I turned to looked at the attic window. A girl that looked like Martha closed the window. I looked at Lily’s window. She was staring at me. I waved she waved back. She looked away and screamed. Darkness covered her.

Chapter Four: Martha

I dropped the shovel and ran inside. “Dear child! What is wrong with you?” asked my Uncle. I passed him and ran up the staircases to Lily’s room. Everything was torn up. I ran outside and ran to Bradley’s house. I knocked on the door. “Bradley!” I screamed. Bradley opened the door. “You need to help me!” I said. We ran to the fence he jumped over and helped me over. We ran to the house. “So your cousin; Lily was kidnapped by darkness?” he asked. “Yes, I know sounds weird but it is true!” I said. We ran upstairs to the attic. The maids had left the room and the beds were made. Lily was passed out on Nellie’s bed. I kneeled down beside her. “Lily.” I whispered. I sat on the bed and picked her up and put her on my lap. Bradley sat in front of me. “Lily.” I whispered. I held her up close to me. “I’m so sorry.” I said. Bradley somehow put a shield in front and something hit it. He removed the shield. A girl stood there. “Let’s play a game!” she said. She disappeared. “Try and find me!” she said. Bradley slashed the air. “Leave us alone!” He said. Martha appeared beside him. “Don’t you remember me Bradley?” she said. She kissed his cheek. He slayed at her. “Leave us alone Martha!” he said. He turned around and around. Lily woke up and screamed. We crashed to the ground. Bradley held his sword above us and we ducked our heads and screamed. That’s when Uncle and Meg opened the door. “Lily! Grace!” he said. He made us stand up. “You tried to murder them!” said Meg. “No!” said Bradley. He dropped his sword. “He was helping us!” I screamed at Meg. “Then why was he trying to kill you?” she asked. I looked at him. “Because he wanted to.” I said. He smiled and smiled back. “Grace, walk this boy home.” Said my Uncle. Bradley followed me downstairs and we went to the gate. He climbed over the fence. “Thank you Bradley.” I said. I kissed his cheek. He got red. “You’re welcome.” He said. I smiled. “Bye.” He said. “Bye.” I said. He walked home. Then he ran back. “I’m going on a trip. But I will write to you.” He said. We hugged and then he went home. I walked back to the house and sat in the library and began reading War and Peace. It was obvious Bradley and me were dating.

Chapter Five: Martha is put back to the dead

I was fifteen. It was April and I was harvesting my watermelons. Martha had not been seen. I heard some drive up. I walked up front. A truck pulled up. “Bradley!” I said. I opened the gate and closed it and ran after the truck. It stopped in front of the old house. Bradley got out. “Bradley!” I said. I hugged him. We walked back to my house. “What was that?” I asked. We looked around. I looked up at the house. Lily ran downstairs. She was eight now and her blond hair was longer. She was a blue dress. She ran outside. Martha ran after her. “No!” I said. We ran after Martha. Bradley tackled Martha. Lily and I ran inside. I took a knife out of the kitchen and ran outside. “No! Let me go you fool!” said Martha. I ran to Martha. He let Martha go and she pushed me to the ground. I dropped the knife. I grabbed Martha’s head and slammed it to the ground. I took my sash and wrapped it around her. She stood still. “Let me go!” she said. “No!” we said. Bradley cut off her head. She moved motionless. Her ghost body faded away.

It was a few weeks before we got front page of the newspaper.

Two Kids Kill Ghost Again?

Friday

On Friday, two teenagers killed a ghost by the name of Martha Bicket. Martha had died six years before World War 1. And in two houses she appeared but in the front yard of Grace Bicket’s house they killed her. Her father said she died in front of the maze. And now they never see her.

I hugged Bradley and we looked at Martha’s grave. “It’s best you stay here Martha.” I said. “Yeah.” Said Bradley. He put his arm around my waste. And we walked back to my house. We left Martha alone in her grave.

The End