The Haunting of Annabelle (6 page)

Annabelle’s agent was resigned to her
decision and the plans she had made. He wished her well and advised
her to keep in touch. By mid-afternoon, she was boarding the train
once again and on the way to her new home.

Chapter 18

By the time she arrived in the country, she
felt tired but elated. Driving the road to her house she couldn’t
help being excited to see if Richard was still there. Running up
the steps and turning the key, she called out that she was home,
but of course she didn’t get a response.

She’d have to wait until dark before she let
her hopes slowly sink. She was informed by the police that they did
locate his wife in a nearby state. However, they wouldn’t say what
the charges would be until a full investigation was conducted. Not
knowing what effect this would have on Richard, she continued to
hope that she would see him again.

Taking the travel case up to the owner’s
suite, she took a warm shower, which relaxed the tired muscles in
her body. Yawning, she crawled into bed and sighed at the softness
of the sheets and finally settled down for a quick nap.

She was woken later by a sound, but when she
looked, she saw nothing. Turning her gaze to the window she tried
to determine the time but the sky was already dark. She must have
been asleep for several hours and then the realization struck
her.

“
Richard, are you here? Do
you want something?” she said, quickly putting the recorder
on.

She waited for a few seconds and then
started the machine to play back.

“
My wife has been
arrested, and I am free to leave this plane of existence. I expect
the doorway to open up any time now, and wanted to thank you and
say goodbye before leaving.”

“
You’re welcome Richard. I
hope you find peace,” she replied with sadness in her
voice.

As luck would have it, the sky was clear and
Annabelle knew that as soon as it got dark, the last full moon of
this month would be shining its light through her window.

“
Are there any people you
know on the other side that will be waiting for you?”

“
My mother and father I
hope, but I don’t fully know what awaits me,” he replied into the
machine.

Minutes later, the full moon came from
behind the only large cloud in the sky, and shone its light into
the room. Richard’s outline appeared and Annabelle could suddenly
see him clearly. Her eyes met his and she smiled tearfully as she
saw the concern in his face.

“
I hate to leave you this
way,” he said and suddenly reached out for her.

She stepped forward hoping to grasp his
hands when he was suddenly surrounded by a shimmering light. His
body managed to cover the bright light invading the room and
grasping her hands, he turned to the light.

Annabelle tried to see what he was staring
at but the light was so bright. His one arm surrounded her
shoulder, and at first she couldn’t see anything out of the
ordinary, but then it opened wider and she could just make out the
outline of an oval door that was slowly opening.

The intense brightness of this light seemed
to affect Richard more than the moonlight. His body came sharply
into focus and as his lips moved, she began to hear him speak.

“
It’s so beautiful
Annabelle, and I can see my parents waiting for me,” he said, and
he tightened his arm around her shoulder.

She felt his fingers in hers and Annabelle
smiled. She could feel the warmth of the light spread throughout
her body, a type of warmth she’d never experienced before. Richard
turned his face back to hers and placed a kiss on her lips. He
began to pull her towards the opening door, saying that he wanted
her to see what he was seeing.

Annabelle wasn’t sure about this, but she
was in love with him and couldn’t resist his lead. They stood at
the edge of the opening and they positioned their heads across the
threshold. Beyond was a brilliant white light and at the far end
were her grandparents waving frantically to her. Her golden
retriever, Hone was racing towards her. Annabelle’s face lit up
with joy and she began to take a step forward, when suddenly
Richard stopped her.

He turned her away from the threshold with
hands tight on her shoulders.

“
You can’t come with me,”
he said. “It’s not your time.”

“
But I love you,” Annabel
replied, trying to push her way forward.

“
I beg you, no. I love you
too much to allow you to do this. It wouldn’t be right,” he said
forcefully.

Shaking her shoulders, he forced her to look
at him and she knew he would never let her enter into the light
with him. Looking in his eyes, the tears streamed down her face
when his forehead touched hers.

“
We’ll meet again,” he
whispered. “Time passes quickly where you are and before you know
it, we’ll be together again. I have it on the highest
authority.”

With one last kiss, he released her
shoulders and walked away—and the door suddenly disappeared. She
was alone again.

Six months later

Annabelle was finally happy again. She’d
made a successful transition from being a model to owning a
wonderful property. The grand opening of her bed-and-breakfast went
off without a hitch. She’d been booked solid these past months and
looked forward to the transition of the seasons. Fall would arrive
with the changing of the leaves from green to amber, and soon
after, the snow would arrive. She was sitting in the library next
to the fireplace when she heard the front door open.

Footsteps on the marble brought her out of
the chair she was sitting in and she left the room heading to the
entrance.

“
Hi, have you got a room
available for a couple of nights?” a male voice asked.

She was scanning the reservations and then
began to reply. She then lifted her head, putting on a smile. Her
voice trailed off as the book slipped through her fingers.

“
We have one
left...”

“
Is something wrong?” he
said, coming quickly to her side.

Annabelle stood there in shock, unable to
comprehend what she was seeing. It was Richard—standing before
her.

He leaned forward and placed a hand on her
shoulder trying to steady her stance.

She looked at his fingers on her shoulder
and raised her face to whisper, “Oh no, I’m sorry, it’s just that
you remind me of someone that used to live here,” still unable to
stop staring.

“
That’s funny, that’s
exactly why I’m here. You see, I’ve recently been tracing my
ancestry, and I discovered that a cousin lived here a long time
ago. I thought I’d check the place out and see if I could find out
anything about him, it’s always fascinated me to see where the
family originated.”

She managed to gather her composure and
said, “I’d be happy to tell you all you need to know, perhaps I
could join you later for a meal and I’ll fill you in.”

“
That would be wonderful,”
he replied.

“
In the meantime, would
you please follow me? I’ll need your name and address here in the
registry book,” she said.

She silently watched him as he completed the
paperwork and credit card information. After that, she called one
of her assistants to take him up to his room.

Annabelle turned the book around to face
her. His name was Richard Granger.

The End

****

About the Author

I was born in Hull, England.
I’ve been writing for some years now mainly for the pleasure of it
all but with the advent of self-publishing I’ve entered a whole new
world. I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I enjoyed writing
them. If so I’d love to read a review from you just to show me that
you did at least enjoy the story.

Discover other titles by
Carl East at Smashwords.com:

Title 1 –
Hell’s Gate

Title 2 –
The House on the Hill

Title 3 –
Gangbang Stories