Good Luck Charm

Chapter II

The picture itself wasn’t that shocking. It was what my mother had on. Around her neck was a necklace. It was a full moon hung on a piece of string.

  I touched the charm around my neck. They are exactly the same. But how could this be?  I pulled out more pictures of her. In every single one she had it on. “I’m so confused,” I said to myself, sitting back on my heels.

  If this had belonged to my mother then why was it in the antique shop?

For once in my life I had so many questions for my mother. And now I couldn’t even ask her.

   I ran a hand through my hair and sat cross-legged as I pulled out a pile of papers. Most were just letters but there were more pictures too. Loraine was in all but one.

  It was a picture of the house in black and white, seeming much older than all of the others. To the left of the house, right at the edge of the forest, was a man. I almost didn’t notice it.

  I couldn’t make out whom it was.

“Aurora.” I could just hear my aunt’s faint voice from downstairs. Replacing everything in the chest, I went down to greet her.

  “There you are. I called you like five times. Where were you?” Aunt Mara said as I entered the kitchen.

“I was in the attic,” I answered.

  “What on earth were you doing up there?”

“I heard something.”

  She didn’t reply. She just continued putting things away.

  The next morning was gloomy. A thick fog covered the grounds, giving the outside and odd eerie feeling. The ground was still damp from the previous nights rain. My shoes easily sunk into the soil as I walked through the woods. Not bothering to take the path, I had to step over old trees that had fallen.

  Despite a few birds here and there, the forest was relatively quiet today. 

I sat on and old log and rested my head against the tree behind me. The thick fog didn’t allow me too see very far. It looked as if someone had taken the clouds out of the sky and pushed them down to the ground.

    The sun was still rising, as it was early in the morning still, and the woods was still a little dark in some spots. I looked across the grounds at the shadows that the trees made. The partial sun highlighted some parts showing the dampness of the underbrush.

       It was early fall and the leaves were just starting to turn colors.

  I sat until the sun had risen all the way, and then continued my journey farther into the depths of the dim forest. As I walked I kept getting the strange feeling of being followed, but every time I turned around, expecting someone to be there, there was no one.

   When I finally couldn’t take the feeling anymore I called out. “Hello!” I yelled loudly. My voice echoed through the trees. Just like the last time I was here there was no answer.

      This really was becoming ridiculous. Everywhere near the house I went I would see or hear things. And if it was not at the house then I would run into Devon. Everywhere. Even when I was on the complete other side of town. Maybe this meant something. No, it couldn’t. I don’t believe in those types of things.

  I sat back down after a little bit and sat as still as I could. Just like a bird, I thought, maybe if I sit very still whatever I heard will come back. I sat for about twenty minutes and it never came back.

      Walking back towards the general direction of the house, there was a noise to my right. Just as I turned a figure was running through the trees. It was fast. I walked faster hoping to catch up to it but it was just too quick. Breaking out in a run I tripped over the sticks and fell. I took the mishap to look around for the figure. It was nowhere in sight. I sighed and went to stand up. As I straightened up my back bumped against something making me stumble again. My heart went into overtime as I ever so slowly turned. My breath stopped as I took in what was in front of me. “Devon?” What was he doing out here? This was just too odd.