The Abandoned Greenhouse

Chapter 2 (Edited)

As they approached their destination, the forest became increasingly denser. A few signs warned the drivers of wild animals, others of snow and ice. With her phone almost dead, Ginny admired the landscape. She felt the car shake as they passed the especially rocky path. It wasn't even paved.

Ginny saw something in the distance. An old weather vane. As they passed the trees, from underneath the vane appeared a house taken out of a horror movie. It had three stories, and it was made of wood, black rotten wood. Although it had many windows, filth obscured the glass panels, making them almost opaque. Moss grew out of the roof, and birds settled in their nests under the porch. A moss-covered wall circled the property, closed by a metal gate with a decorative pattern of a spider web on it. The whole house looked like nature had swallowed it.

Her mom parked the car near the entrance, and the family got down. The whole place smelled of dampness. That was where they were going to live? Ginny doubted there was an electrical installation. At least she didn't have to worry about a fire. A memory crossed her mind. The fire.

"Are you sure this is the house?" asked Ginny's father, his voice wavering.

"It wasn't that bad when I left. What has happened here?" answered her mother, stopping Lance as he tried to explore their surroundings.

The door to the house opened wide, and a tall, bony man came from inside. His unsettling smile made Ginny's hair stand up. He looked younger than her parents, but his hair had started prematurely greying. His black beady eyes had a weird glint on them. Ginny recognized them immediately. They were her mother's eyes. The man opened his arms and ran towards them.

"Oh, Darcie, it's been so long!" Said the man, hugging Ginny's mother.

"Hello Freddie, I've missed you too. You've grown quite a while in the time I was gone."

Her mother smiled awkwardly, looking like she was going to be crushed. The man had quite a lot of strength for his lanky frame.

"It's Fred now, Darcie. " said Fred. Then turning his head towards Ginny's father he added. "I believe we haven't met,"

"I'm James Farnham, your sister's husband. She talks a lot about you," said her father.

Uncle Fred grabbed her father's hand with both of his hands and shook it.

"A pleasure to meet you. And who are these goblins?" he said, addressing the kids.

"Arthur," said her brother, extending his hand unsurely.

"Guinevere, but call me Ginny. And that's Lance, "she said, pointing at her little brother.

When he heard his name, Lance stopped trying to escape his mother's grip and turned towards the man.

"Why are you so dirty?" He asked bluntly.

Ginny grimaced. It was true. The man, dressed in a simple black t shirt and jeans, was covered by some kind of mud. Still, she didn't feel it was an appropriate way to talk to someone you had just met. Even for an eight-year-old, manners were important. She turned towards her brother to reprimand him. Fred started laughing. Ginny had expected him to get mad.

"You really pull any punches, kid," said Uncle Fred with a toothy grin. "Come, come inside. We'll grab everything later."

He didn't know how bad the fire had been. Almost nothing was left. The bags they packed were almost empty, and everything had been bought after the fire. The only thing she conserved was her phone and a red hoodie. She had bought it in New York that summer and had been waiting to show it to Katy. The boys hadn't had that much luck. Most of Arthur's games had been burned except for a Nintendo 3DS and a copy of Pokémon Y. Lance still had his tablet, but almost all his Legos were gone. It had been a rough few days.

Uncle Fred went inside the house, and everyone followed. It was a big house, the hall, long and narrow, had multiple doors on one side. On the other, electrical lights illuminated the hall, and a staircase went up to the second floor. The wooden floor had a green carpet on top or what would have been green once upon a time. Now, the colour was closer to brown. It had holes in it, probably made by mice.

Fred turned towards a door and went inside. It was a living room. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, and two sofas sat in the middle of a circular carpet. One made of green linen, the other of brown leather. Two women were on them making macramé and bobbin lace. Ginny supposed they were her aunts, Eleanor and Edith. They were certainly older than Fred. They also were supposed to be younger than her mother, but they didn't look like it. They had sunken eyes and gaunt bodies. Their hair was almost white, and they had a lot more wrinkles than her mother did.

The women turned towards the family. They looked almost the same. One had a birthmark over her eye; the other had glasses. The woman with the birthmark dropped the macramé she was doing and went to hug Ginny's mother.

"Oooh, Darcie. How much I've missed you. Look, Edith, Darcie is back."

"Yes, yes, I see her. Let me finish this line," Edith's voice harsh as she talked.

"Hello, Ellie," Chuckled Ginny's mother. She hugged Eleanor. "You look great!"

She was lying, even Ginny could tell. Eleanor was dressed just like her sister. In two black buttoned-up dresses, which had lost some of their colour over time. For shoes, they wore black high heels with what looked to be white mould on them. They weren't supposed to be older than forty, but they looked like grannies.

"Where is mum?" asked Ginny's mother with a smile.

"She's in dad's study," said Edith without looking away from her bobbin lace.

"I will go talk to her. You guys can stay here," Ginny's mum walked out of the room, leaving them alone with total strangers.

Fred made the introductions this time, and Eleanor told them to call her Ellie. Edith seemed to like her name, but what would have been the other option, Ed? That didn't sound like a good name for a girl.

Strong steps were heard going down the stairs, and her mother appeared at the door.

"James, take the things from the car. Fred, can you take the kids to their rooms? I want to talk with my sisters."

Her mum's mouth laid frozen in a thin line, and Ginny wondered if she had done something bad. Fred put his hands on their back and guided them upstairs. Ginny looked back, trying to see what was happening. Fred distracted her by asking about Coffee. She quickly forgot about what was happening downstairs. She was too occupied trying to get the best room.