The Aspen Grove

Gray clouds filled the sky as AJ sullenly walked down the hill. She looked at her serene surroundings. The small pond reflected the unmoving sky above her. There was no sign of a breeze in the air, and the trees in the distance were still. No frogs, fish, or other animals came out of their hideouts.

Suddenly, she reached down, grabbed a rock, and threw it at the pond with a frustrated scream, marring both the quiet and the pond's surface. She listened to her voice echo among the trees. Then all was quiet again.

Resisting the urge to scream again, she made her way around the pond and into the forest. It was cooler among the trees, and iridescent dew drops still clung to the green leaves. AJ found it refreshing to live on such an extensive property. Now, she had a place all her own. She walked the familiar path that she'd made herself, until she could no longer see the gray sky beyond the branches. She found the tree. It had a heart carved into it, about eye level, with "CM + JW" carved within.

As usual, AJ traced the heart and the letters inside, wondering when it was written, who CM and JW could be… She sat down at the base of the trunk and hugged her knees to her chest. A voice in her head reiterated what she had heard just minutes before, blocking out her romantic notions of past lives.

"You're a horribly annoying child, Alice. You and your blasted notions! I can't very well think with you around, let alone you blabbering on and telling me what to do. You can't tell me what to do! I'm your mother! Do not tell me what to do!" Not only had she directed rages at AJ often, but at AJ's stepfather as well. Her mother's remarriage was blighted by constant irritability, outbursts, and foul moods. AJ had found comfort not in her five sisters, but in her stepfather. AJ was the youngest in the family, and felt generally worthless. Her stepfather understood how she felt, as her mother treated him the same. Her sisters were still treated like princesses.

Sometimes she felt guilty leaving her stepfather to fend for himself, but she suspected he dealt with her mother along the lines that she did. Maybe he had his own special place, too…

"Are you crying?"

AJ jumped up and twirled around to find a handsome young man, about her age, leaning against the tree.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he said softly.

She put a hand to her face and realized she had been crying. She quickly wiped her tears away as she stuttered, "Who- who are you? What are you doing here? My f-family owns this land!"

"There's no need to be alarmed. My name is Jake. What's yours?" His voice was low and gentle, reminding her of a timid kitten.

"AJ," she told him cautiously.

"It's nice to meet you." He sat down very near where she'd just been sitting. Not trusting him, she sat down where she was, facing him.

After a short awkward silence, she said, "You haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"

"If I answer you, will you answer a question of mine?" She nodded slowly. "I come here to think. It's a peaceful place."

AJ's eyes darted to the heart. The letter J.

"What's your last name?" she asked him.

"No," he said, holding up a hand. "My turn. Why were you crying?"

"Oh, um… family troubles, I guess. It's no big deal… My mom just gets on my nerves sometimes… Or I guess I get on hers…" she trailed off in a whisper.

"Oh, I can understand that." She looked from her lap to his startling green eyes. "My last name's Whitby," he added. She just nodded, transfixed by his gaze.

She didn't know how long they sat like that, but eventually, he stood. He offered her a hand up, and she took it. He pointed to the carving on the tree trunk.

"This was carved in 1867."

His voice was much stronger now. He seemed to believe his information was infallible, but AJ was doubtful. Perhaps he could see her disbelief in her eyes, for he doggedly continued, trying to prove it.

"My name is Jacob Whitney." He pointed to the J and W respectively as he spoke his name. "I was born on October fifth, in the year 1850." AJ couldn't believe him. He looked eighteen at the most. "The Aspen family lived on this land. They were a wealthy family. My family was wealthy as well. We lived on the next property. The Aspens and my parents arranged a marriage between Alison – the Aspen's eldest daughter – and me – the eldest son." He kept his eyes trained on the carving as he spoke.

"I had already promised my love to Charlotte Marigold." He traced the initials CM on the trunk. "The Marigolds weren't a particularly wealthy family, but Charlotte and I were in love. Neither my parents nor the Aspens could understand it. They planned the wedding, but I ran away with Charlotte."

It crossed AJ's mind that this was a romantic story of forbidden love. But in place of happiness or romanticism, she felt a precarious sense of uneasiness. Jake exuded body language much different than he had before.

"We made it to the next town before nightfall and found a small inn," he continued. "But the Aspens found us there.

"Perhaps it was their wealth, their high standing. Or perhaps it was their appearance or reputation – they weren't the friendliest family around. Whatever it was, we were brought back to their land - here, in fact - without a hindrance. No one saw us, and our screams and yells for help must have fallen on deaf ears.

"I wasn't a weak man, and though there were five captors, I tried to fight. I punched one holding me in the face, and broke my hand. I knew then something was wrong. Something was different. I knew we were both going to die.

"When we were thrown on the ground, I held Charlotte to me. And I lied. I told her it would be fine. That nothing would happen. Even though I knew death was imminent." His voice was firm, his face blank.

"They didn't have weapons, but I knew we wouldn't make it out alive.

"Two of the men pulled me away from Charlotte and pinned me to a tree. This one here," he patted the trunk in a sarcastic fondness, like an old friend… or enemy. "Another lifted her by her hair and put his mouth to her neck. I was confused until he pulled away. Charlotte's body fell to the ground and I could see blood covering her neck and shoulder, mingling with her hair.

"The monster with blood running down his chin turned to me. His eyes were red, and he took meticulously slow steps toward me as the two pinning me laughed cruelly.

"I could smell Charlotte's blood as he bent toward me and I struggled harder than ever. I couldn't suppress my scream as he bit me, pain searing from my neck throughout my body.

"In the distance a dog howled. Before I knew it, I lay on the ground, next to Charlotte, alone, and in agony."

He fell silent, and AJ stood in shock. His detailed tale had her second-guessing reality.

Suddenly, his green eyes met hers. These eyes weren't the benign emeralds that had held her captive moments ago. These were the eyes of a vengeful killer.

"I think you know what they turned me into," he said in a malicious whisper. In a flash he had her pinned against the tree trunk, two feet about the ground, strangling her with one hand.

She gasped and kicked, scratching and pulling at his hand. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe. Jake's story echoed in her mind - "…death was imminent."

"You live on their land. This land has been inherited. Never bought or sold. You are related to murderers. To monsters." Black spots danced in her vision and began to blur together. She was going to die.

"You deserve to die for what they've done. To die, just like Charlotte. An eye for an eye…" He laughed maniacally. She'd never heard a more evil voice in her life. She felt breath on her neck and her pulse beat faster than she thought was humanly possible. Her vision went completely black and just as she was losing consciousness, she heard a howl.

AJ woke to darkness. She was lying on the grass by the tree, alone. She sat up and put her hands to her neck, feeling for blood, or puncture wounds, or even the tenderness of a bruise. She found nothing, but when she touched her face, she felt the salt of dried tears. She stood, confused and shaken, and looked at the engraving on the tree trunk. Underneath "CM + JW," something new was written. Squinting in the dark, AJ could make out "1867." She heard a coyote howl in the distance. She turned and ran.