Ominous Winter: Ominous Winter, #1

By P.L.Andre

The peaceful life of Mallorie Jordan becomes interrupted when ominous signs and frightening encounters make her believe that something bad is about to happen in her village. Between the rumors she has heard, the help of a powerful retired lady, and her perseverance to find the truth, Mallorie will pave her way to understand the evil past of her town.

• Language: English
• Publisher: P.L.Andre
• Release date: Jun 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519993588

Book preview

OMINOUS WINTER

by

P.L. Andre

COPYRIGHT

© 2015 P.L. Andre

Published Internationally

Terms and Conditions:

The purchaser of this book is subject to the condition that he/she shall in no way resell it, nor any part of it, nor make copies of it to distribute freely.

All Persons Fictitious Disclaimer:

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.

CONTENTS

THE FIRST FALL

FROZEN STEPS

THE BARN

MR. ELLINDSON

A STRANGE TALE

THE FIRST FALL

The first snow of the winter had fallen during the night. When I woke up, a heavy white layer of it had covered the entire expanse of land behind my house. It was a huge parcel, where I spent all my free time running, playing hide-and-seek with my cat, and lying around in the grass during the summertime; a forest that seemed to never end bordered it. My house faced the forest, as if it guarded it—or maybe waited for answers. Answers that never came, especially with those trees that never spoke.

No one would venture into the woods and next to the river, except me. Sometimes I would drag along my best friend, but she would never go to the forest on her own. She always felt funny at times while walking among the intimidating trees that hid the entire sky in the spring with their newly grown leaves. Even on vibrant sunny days—when the ground of the little prairie, right at the border of the forest, was full of multicolored flowers—she never felt completely at ease. The vivid array and the heavy smell of the flowers came all the way to my bedroom and appeared to be calling me all the time. The peaceful scenery should have been enough to make my friend forget her incessant worry about the forest, but it never did.

I found, a few years back, an old, old sign next to the river. I had decided to walk along the riverbank as far as I could. That’s when I found it, broken and chipped on the sides. I couldn’t read what it said, because of all the time that had gone by, not to mention the moss covering it had eroded the carving. I picked it up and curiously inspected the back of it with its three dark silhouettes. I thought it was weird. It appeared that whoever had made the sign had burned the wood to carve the three silhouettes, making it like a white-on-black etching. I left it where it was without really paying attention to it. I told my friend, Annie, though, and she got even more worried.

It’s probably a sign to warn people about crossing the river, she said.

I laughed at her, while, in the back of my mind, I was really curious about the three dark silhouettes on the backside.

Later this morning when I opened my window, it was freezing cold out; a strong wind engulfed my room, stinging my face, and took me out of my sleepy mode right away. Even though it was still dark, the moon reflected enough light for me to see, as if I were staring at a million tiny snow crystals in front of me. My eyes and nose were burning, as I admired the magnificent scene I would see for months to come.

I was the first one to get up today. The house was cold after such a night. Usually my dad would feed the wood stove in the living room one last time before we went to bed, and we would be good for the entire night, but, in the winter, the heat would barely last the full night. So this morning I went to put more wood in it, knowing it would be easier for everybody else to get out of bed.

Right behind our big living room is the back porch. It overlooks the giant rear garden and the forest that can be seen for miles and miles across the horizon. Another wood stove sits in the left corner, when facing the outside. I also put more wood in it to be sure I would be warm all morning. A really soft green two-person couch and three big chairs with plush black pillows make this my favorite section of the house. The shiny wooden floor is almost completely covered by really thick, soft brown carpets. The back wall has a painting of the forest and different portraits of my family. I do most of my studies, relaxing, reading books, and taking naps here. My cat, Henri, who is all black with a white spot on his chin, loves the back area too. He can watch the birds, raccoons, and many other animals without even going outside. And it’s from that room that I was excited to see the start of the season, marked with the delicate white powder that would last forever from now on.

I was lying on the couch when Henri jumped on me and started purring right away. He loved the heated room as much as I did. I looked at the forest. It was pitch black outside, so I could only see the outline of the faraway trees. I have spent hours of fun and playtime in that forest. I even have a wood cabin of sorts in one of the trees; it’s pretty high off the ground. In the winter, even with the leaves gone and when the trees seem depleted of any life, the cabin can’t be seen. I didn’t build it. I rather discovered it, in one of the most tortuous trees I have ever seen. The tree is located almost straight ahead of my back porch and is right next to a river. The trunk is huge with strong and thick branches. Some branches go really far out to the side; others go upward high in the sky. It almost looks like two different kinds of trees in one. The texture of some branches is so smooth that it feels like silk; others are rough and knotted. Inside the midsection of the tree, there’s a huge space. It’s at the top of the trunk, when the branches start going in all directions from its base and out. I would have never imagined such a big space could exist at the center of a tree.

On a really hot day I finally became more curious about this odd tree. That was about five years ago. It all started when I wanted to cool off. I was sitting on the edge of the river, and my feet were in the cold water. I heard the branches and the leaves of the tree shake really hard, but there was no wind. I turned around, but nothing was moving. I heard it again, right behind me. I turned my head around really fast but still saw nothing.

So I decided to climb it and see for myself. I thought for a second that someone might be behind the hundreds of leaves, making a perfect hiding place. The