Beyond The Iron Gate (The Faery Meadow Book 1) Read online

  Chapter 1-Bed Time Story

  Mother's thick fingers stroked my hair as her hushed tone indicated it was story time. I remember staring at the white chipped ceiling as her voice dropped to a whisper.

  "Now listen closely, Elaine. Mommy is going to tell you a story-" Mom said.

  I will never know what she was going to say.

  "Elaine, how dare you keep your mother up! You know she's sick!" Dad yelled with narrow accusing eyes.

  "But daddy mommy say-" I had said.

  "Don't back talk to me! Tomorrow you will clean out your play room and help your mother do the dishes. You will also help her garden. That clear?" He huffed.

  "Yes daddy." I whispered staring at the floor, anywhere but at him.

  I glanced up, his eyes softened briefly, something I would later learn to be rare.

  "Now go to sleep Elaine...goodnight." he said.

  Mom had stayed with me a little longer.

  "Maybe Laura can come over tomorrow Elaine? You can show her your puzzle or go on the swing. I will give her mom a call tomorrow? M'kay?" She said her voice wavering.

  "Okay mom. Goodnight." I whispered.

  "I'll make your favorite pancakes tomorrow, with chocolate chips! My birthday girl your going to be six years old!" She whispered, closing my door.

  I had smiled to myself at that and closed my eyes.

  I will never forget the soft footsteps I heard that night as she walked to bed.

  For some reason, my ears knew that would be the last sound I would hear of her.

  The next morning I would learn my mother had died that very night of a heart attack.

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  "Elaine! Get down here!" my step mom screams.

  "Coming!" I yell towards the hallway. I jump out of bed and scurry to my dresser quickly getting changed into my favorite black shorts and light yellow tank top.

  I arrive downstairs to see, unlike me, she is already wide awake and ready to go.

  Her unnaturally blonde hair, shines like a beacon in the morning sun's rays. She taps her long manicured blood red nails impatiently against the wooden table. Her teeth are yellow, rimmed with scunge. Her eyes narrow in on me, as I slowly open up the fridge.

  "Give me a drink of ice tea." She snaps.

  "Okay. I was just going to grab some milk for cereal." I mumble.

  Dad's at work and my step mom doesn't have a job.

  So she stays home with me in the summer.

  All summer.

  "Hey mom, want to go see my sunflowers I planted? They're in full bloom." I tell her with a smile.

  "Your sixteen and still messing around with your mom's garden. You must think I pity you, well honey, you're not getting any pity from me. You should get out more, make some friends. Maybe get a job. Oh, but your daddy sure makes a lot of money though."she cackles, her stomach jiggling as she gets up and waddles to the counter.

  She pauses before opening a cupboard.

  "I just want you to be happy alright?" she says with a fake smile.

  "But I am happy." I mumble.

  "How could anyone be happy after losing their mother?" She snaps.

  That's one of the only things we have in common. She lost her mother when she was 18, I lost my mother when I was five.

  "I'm sorry." I cringe, whispering.

  "Just finish cleaning up the living room for me. Oh and can you do the laundry today? I'm feeling a little tired." She says with a yawn.

  I'm used to this. Every other day she claims she's tired or her feet are sore, I end up as a house maid to her, all summer long.

  I've watched as she pretends to limp in front of my dad, only to ride her bike or walk to the shopping center down the road.

  Dad of course doesn't know.

  I do pretty much all the house cleaning. My mom does a good job of keeping me quiet. She threatens to make me go to summer school or do online school. Dad and her both know my grades aren't that well.

  But that's not the only thing they know, about two years ago I started hearing voices in my head. Usually its only when I'm outside. It's like I hear random conversations. I had told my parents immediately because I thought I was going crazy.

  My step mom happily sent me to a psychiatrist, however, he said it was just a teen thing. Like teens often have inner struggles and think many things over as they gain more freedom. In other words, neither my parents nor the psychiatrist took me seriously.

  After the couple weeks with the psychiatrist, I pretended I didn't hear voices anymore. My dad believed me and still does. However, my step mom still is on to me.

  She thinks I have mental problems.

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  I finish cleaning up the living room, my step mom left an hour ago to the mall. She never has asked me to go shopping with her.

  I pull on my old sneakers and head out the screen door, into the backyard.

  Before I'm able to step foot outside, I read a note taped to the door.

  "Get back inside and vacuum all the rooms. Don't forget to dust before vacuuming. I'll be back in two hours, I expect everything to be done. -mom"

  Inwardly groaning, I roll my eyes and step back inside the house, slamming the old door shut behind me.

  Chapter 2-The Voices

  Wiping off my hands, I shut the cabinet door placing the duster on the lower wooden shelf. I slide the vacuum across the old tile floor, shutting the closet behind me. I glance out the window, looking out toward the mailbox at the far end of our never ending driveway. I can get the mail later...

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  Snipping the dead petals off the roses, I gather the dead browning leaves and put them into a plastic bag.

  I always tend to my mother's garden, especially since it's nearing the end of summer. Most of the plants are already starting to wither. It is a little unusual that they are starting to die this early, but I don't let it bother me.

  My mother's garden wraps around our backyard. Our backyard is fenced in. An old iron gate sits directly across from the backdoor of our house, the iron gate is the entrance to the garden. Over the recent years its been starting to rust really badly, a knew orange color crusts around the once smooth black iron.

  Some old vines enclose around the wooden fence, a month ago there were flowers of pinks and yellows in full blossom, but now that fall is drawing in, they have for the most part died.

  In the center of our back yard is a small pond, sitting beside it a bench. My grandpa had made the bench as a present for my parent's anniversary. The pond doesn't have any fish, just the occasional frogs.

  Despite the garden, we have a small shed in the very back of our yard. That's where I get my garden tools every afternoon. It is quite a walk to get there, but it doesn't really bother me.

  Some people might wander why people that have no neighbors might need a fence, my dad's excuse was it keeps the deer out of the garden and makes things look neater.

  Our yard without the fence would make the woods less intimidating, but since we have a fence it provides some comfort. At least when I was younger it did.

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  Slowly, I open my eyes, sitting up from the couch my phone reads 7 pm. It's almost dusk and I want to go outside to see the water lilies open in the pond.

  Mom and dad probably already ate dinner.

  I don't hear either of them so I sneak out the back door.

  I jog across the yard reaching the iron fence, gently I open the gate hearing it squeak in protest. Carefully shutting it behind me, I run up to the pond and sit at the bench.

&nbs
p; Shush I can't see! Move over!

  My heart skips a beat. It's been days since I've heard a voice.

  "Hello?" I ask into the empty air.

  But silence answers me.

  I must really be going crazy...maybe I'm just tired.

  Of course the voices have never responded back. I always try to talk to them if I hear them, always.

  As often as I've heard the random voices talked, I've never heard their names.

  Sometimes I swear I hear the same voice talk again, but for the most part its different voices.

  It can be even hard to differentiate between female and male voices, sometimes I'm unsure as ridiculous as that may sound.

  I sit back on the bench and watch as the sun starts lowering behind the treeline, the air suddenly feels colder.

  An icy chill slithers its way down my back, I jump up from the bench in terror.

  The air seems strangely thicker all of the sudden as the temperature of the evening air suddenly plummets.

  Before I'm able to think more about it more, a certain familiar annoying screechy voice shouts, " Come back inside, you have to eat! I'm not going to let you freeze to death out there! And you forgot to get the mail!" My step mom hollers from the back door.

  I rush back inside, not wanting to stay outside any longer.

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  "How was your day?" Dad asks with a half smile.

  "It was busy." I say watching my stepmom.

  We sit in the living room scrolling through channels, looking for something to watch. In situations like these, I'm forced to watch something with my parents, I can't escape to my room or outside.

  "You've been doing a good job of taking care of the garden." Dad says with a warm smile.

  My stepmom looks blankly at the TV I get up from my seat and head to the kitchen.

  "Where you going? Come sit and watch something with us." My stepmom says.

  "I'm tired." I reply. I grab some orange juice, pouring into a glass and turn towards the stairs.

  "Let her be. Surely she's a growing girl and needs some shut eye. Besides, I think she's done enough work today." My dad says, I'm relieved and quickly take my chance to escape to my room.

  I skip up the stairs and shut my bedroom door. I then get ready for my night watch.

  Every weekend, I watch out my window and patiently listen for voices. Most of the time I don't hear the voices, it seems they are going away. However, every once in a while I hear them and I must be ready if I find out whatever it is.

  I'm not really sure why, but I know deep down that I'm not crazy. Most of the time I hear the voices when I'm outside. So what better time to catch whoever is messing with my head then at night time, when they could potentially be sneaking around.

  I don't know if it's a person, animal or disease that's causing me to have these voices in my head, but I've put up with this for too long.

  I thought the voices would go away, but I still have them, for years now.

  So now I keep a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary, what better place than my room. It has the best view of not only my back yard, but the woods behind our house too.

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  I check my phone, 11:00 pm, it’s late already. I should probably turn the light out in my room or my parents will come.

  I quickly get into my pajamas and brush my teeth.

  I close my eyes trying to fall asleep quickly.

  But something still tugs at the back of my mind. The chill I got when I was sitting at the pond.

  Shaking the feeling off I turn off my lamp on the nightstand and fall asleep.

  Chapter 3-Dust?

  Groaning, I roll over on my side and glare at the blinding sun peaking in through my bedroom window. I thought I closed that curtain last night? I slowly sit up in bed, glancing at the clock it reads 7:00 am, how did I wake up this early?

  I silently listen to see if I can hear mom and dad downstairs. I wait another minute and hear nothing.

  I never wake up this early.

  I lean against the wall and shut my eyes. I know I can fall back asleep if I just close my eyes, its like an internal struggle. Half of me wants to sleep the other part is waking up. I think the sleepy part is winning...

  I feel my head get heavy and slide down back under the covers. I turn away on my side from the chilly morning window as it sits to the right of me.

  Click...swish...

  What was that?! I jolt and turn toward the window on the wall next me. I'm wide awake now as I see the latch on the window unlocked...on it's own.

  It must be the window outside, I probably left it unlocked last night.

  With a scowl on my face, I practically sleep walk the three foot distance to the window and slam it shut it annoyance.

  Even if it did open on its own, would it really open up all the way?

  I didn't feel a very strong wind before I shut it.

  I'm too tired to think about it any longer, so I fall back into bed and try to sleep.

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  "Elaine! You awake?!" My stepmom screeches from downstairs while pounding the wall.

  "I am now..." I mumble.

  "Elaine time to get up!" She yells even more impatiently, if that's even possible.

  Is it just my mom who does that?

  I glare at my small blue alarm clock sitting on my nightstand, 10:00 a.m. , well I did get a couple hours in after I woke up.

  "Elaine you better get down here or I won't take you shopping!" She says in a softer voice.

  "I'm coming!" I manage to holler.

  Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I feel...dust? My eyes aren't really irritated though. I sit up in bed and yank the covers off me, walking towards my mirror. Then I look at my face and see gray-white shiny things all over my face.

  What the...

  I don't remember having any glitter make up...since I was like seven?

  Let alone why on earth would I put so much make up on before I went to bed. I don't even remember putting any on before bed last night! Then again I didn't close the curtains or shut the window right.

  I open up the small drawer on my dresser that contains my make up and hair ties.

  I don't see any glitter, none.

  However, I notice that it is all over my hands, I must of touched something. Maybe it wasn't even make up.

  Oh I know! It probably came off of one of my shirts last night, I probably touched something and all this glitter or whatever it is came off on me!

  "Elaine what are you doing up there let's go!" mom yells.

  "Coming!" I say.

  I quickly brush my hair and get dressed into plain jeans and my favorite tee shirt. I slide on my orange socks and head downstairs.

  "Morning Mom, where are we going shopping at?" I yawn.

  Of course I washed all the glitter off my hands and face before going downstairs, who knows what she would have thought about me if she saw all the gray glitter on my face.

  "Oh we're going to go to the shopping center down town. They opened up a nice little boutique. I told you I'm getting a job right?" She says with a gleam in her eye.

  "Oh yeah, I remember now." I say while gobbling down cereal.

  So in other words we are going shopping for her, not me.

  I need clothes, I've grown out of most of them. I however keep quiet. I know she's never in a good mood in the morning.

  "Now I told your father I'm taking you shopping, so I will let you buy one shirt and that's it. Not a whole wardrobe. I know you have the basic clothes you need so don't complain." She sneers while turning off the coffee maker.

  I silently smile. Dad must have realized I only have basically two outfits I wear and told her to take me shopping.

  "I'll be out in the car." She tells me, snatching up her keys from the counter. She heaves her big brown leather purse over her shoulder, walking out the garage door.

  I run up to my room and grab
my babysitting money. I have eighty in total, so maybe I can buy a couple other things myself. I don't get to go shopping that much.

  I run back downstairs and out the door.

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  "Alright here we are." Mom says parking the car.

  We both walk up to the fancy white shop, the boutique has a nice big porch with a lush garden in front of it.

  "I read about this place in the clipper's magazine." Mom whispers as she open the door to the shop.

  I actually thought this place would have teacher clothes, but it does have some really nice stuff.

  Mom walks ahead and dives into the into the jewelry section, probably the most expensive section of the entire store.

  I make my away around the clothing and try to look for something nice. I end up deciding on a light pink blouse that is embroidered with small yellow flowers. It also has no glitter or anything shiny, I laugh inwardly.

  I head over to Mom who is now looking over the jean section and ask her if she can buy the shirt for me.

  "Can you get me this one Mom?" I ask.

  I hand her the shirt and she reads it's twenty seven dollars.

  "You sure you want this one? It seems a little "kiddy" for you...but if that's what you want." she says with a small smile.

  I blush furiously in embarrassment. I don't think it is, at least I didn't when I chose it. The flowers on it got my attention the most.

  "I really want it." I say avoiding looking at her in the eye.

  "Ah I see, well then I will get it for you. I'm going to go back to the jewelry section. Meet me at the register when you're done looking around." She says walking away.

  I grab a purple sweater I spotted on the way in and a pair of pants that will go with my other shirts.

  I'm about to walk over to mom when I spot the sales section.

  I might as well take a quick look, I peek around the corner of the store and see Mom's still looking at the jewelry.

  I head back to the sales section and look through the clothes, not finding anything I would really wear.

  I spot a old bookshelf with dusty looking books, the shelves are mostly empty, except for the bottom one. I lean over and bend down scanning over the titles. They are all random books and I can see why no one bought them.