Red Eyes

By LaFrance Davis

It’s hard to make grown-ups listen to you, especially when you’re just eight years old. We had just moved into this very old house. It looked pretty good. I guess it could have used some paint, but who cares? We have been traveling for seven and a half days. We left Apple Blossom, Colorado, before the snow started. Apple Blossom is a beautiful valley covered with the sweet smell of blossom from the apple trees. I kept looking out the back window of the station wagon. I just could not stop looking at the place that had been my home since birth till this very minute. I just kept looking at the rocky road that led down the side of the mountain and over the little wooden bridge that kept the sheep from going into town. I turned my head for one last look at the old mountain goats that always stood just about on top of the mountain as if they owned it. I just kept on looking until everything that reminded me of home was out of sight. We stopped by a river or creek late every afternoon, just long enough to put the large tent up so everyone could get fed, rest, and bathe. After traveling like this for seven and a half days, believe me, anything would look good, even this big old house that needed a couple of coats of paint. At least it has a roof, floor, and thank goodness, a bathroom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781546257233

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© 2018 LaFrance Davis. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  08/24/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-5724-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-5723-3 (e)

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Its hard to make grown ups listen to you, especially when your just eight years old. We had just moved into this very old house it looked pretty good, I guess it could have used some paint. But who cares, we have been traveling for seven and half days. We left Apple Blossom Colorado, before the snow started. Apple Blossom is a beautiful valley covered with the sweet smell of blossom from the apple trees. I kept looking out the back window of the station wagon. I just could not stop, looking at the place that had been my home since birth till this very minute, I just kept looking at the rocky road that led down the side of the mountain and over the little wooden bridge that kept the sheep from going into town. I turned my head for one last look at the old mountain goat’s, that always stood just about on top of the mountain as if they owned it, I just kept on looking, until ever thing was out sight that reminded me of home. We stopped by a river or creek late every afternoon, just long enough to put the large tent up, so everyone could get feed, rest and a bath. After traveling like this for seven and half days believe me, any thing would look good, even this big old house that needed a couple of coats of paint looked good, at lest it has a roof, floor and thank goodness a bathroom.

As we drove up the driveway we could see that the moving van had already been here and unloaded all our things. Everyone was in a hurry to get out of the old station wagon to look the old house over. It was a two story house that had a porch, that was all the way across the front and went around one side to the back, we already knew that there were four bedrooms upstairs and a bathroom, it was the first time that we all had our very on bedroom just for us kids, Dad and Mom’s was down stairs with there own bathroom, which made Mom very happy she said for the first time just maybe she would have little pit of privies. The living room and dinning rooms were large, Mom’s favorite room was the kitchen, and Ma-ma said it was every woman’s dream, all the cabinets and counter space anyone could ask for. Everyone seemed to be happy with this big old house, with its big yard and the barn in the back. I was at first but was not prepared for what happen, when I stepped into the inside of the old house, it had been several months since, every hair on the back of my neck stood up, my legs began shaking in pure fear. I looked from Mama too Daddy, to see if they acted like they had felt anything. They both looked so tried I guess not, may be after they had got some rest they would realize some thing was not right, but right now they looked really happy, about the move they had made, I sure was not happy, I was already missing, my beautiful valley that we had left behind. This state was flat and swampy looking, with real tall trees and a lot of under bush growth. Daddy called it a small town, were there was nice warm weather and just good old county living. My Daddy was raised just a few miles from here, so of course he was happy, he was back in Florida were he was raised, this was home to him.

Daddy finally noticed that I was staying on the front porch, and was not going in the house any more, but after the first trip in and up those stairs. I knew it was going to be hard staying on the inside of this old house. There was a very cold strange feeling in the rooms up stairs. I was so scared I thought my heart would jump right out of my chest. I really tried to tell Dad about how I felt when I went inside the house and even more so when I went up the stairs.

Daddy tried too tell me it was just my imagination, working over time and that I would just have too get over being scared of my own shadow. Then Dad told me that it was about time that I grow up and stop using my wild imagination; I always had it working over time, he said. Then he said it was time to get to work and help get the small boxes in the right room. I knew after Dad told me all that he was through talking, so there was nothing to do but get busy like I was told to.

Finally it was time, to get our baths and go to bed. As I turned the bath water on I thought that I was going to throw up, the water smelled like rotten eggs just like the Easter eggs that Bud, Dan and I found about three weeks after Easter, there was nothing for us to do but bust them, after wards we all wished that we had did any thing but, the smell was all most unbearable, was they’re going to be any thing about this place to like? Even the terrible smell of the water could not take my mind off this feeling, as we all took our bath. I still had a very strange feeling, like some thing terrible was going to happen.

When I tried to explain this weird feeling, about how I felt to both Mama and Daddy once again they told me, it was just the move to a strange place. That once we were all unpacked and ever thing was put in there right place, that the feeling would leave, but I knew these feelings that I have has a big meaning behind them. My Granny told me when I was six years old, after I told her about some of my strange feeling that I would have, and then it was always happening, that’s when Granny said, child that is what we call the six since, you always pay attention to that feeling, it will always guide you in the right direction.

It started that first night, after Daddy read our story to us and tucked us all in. By all of us I mean my two brothers that are older than me, the oldest is Bud, then Dan, I am the oldest girl my name is Fran, the baby girl her name is Ann, she is only six months old and very spoiled. Ann’s bedroom is straight across from mine. All the bedrooms were the same size, except mine has two windows. I was put across from her’ just in case Ann woke up I could check on her But, Ann had always been a good baby, after she was two weeks old she had started sleeping all night.

Like I said it started that very first night I thought I would never go to sleep. When I finally went to sleep I had a horrible dreams. It was like I could not wake up, to make the dreams stop no matter how hard I tried. At times I felt as if I was flying high in the air in a circle, I would land in the front yard and try to run up the front steps to get back on the porch.

When I got up the next morning, I noticed my feet were real dirty and so was the bottom of my gown. This really scared me. How did my gown and my feet get so dirty? I was trying hard to think just how did I get so dirty, As I reached the bottom of the stairs, Mama took one look at me then said, look at you! I told you not to go out side to play, after your bath.

Well this had shocked me I knew I had it gone out side, but I had not gotten off the porch, could it have been the old porch was that dirty? I just did not know. I had to go take a bath before breakfast. I still did not believe I got that dirty on the porch. I don’t remember seeing all the dirt on my feet or my nightclothes before I went to bed, surely if I had I would have washed up.

As I set eating my late breakfast, that weird feeling started creeping over me I could feel some thing staring at my back. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck, begin to rise I just knew some thing awful was about to happen at any time; when the feeling was this strong, some thing awful always happens.

It was at this time that Bud started screaming at the top of his lungs. I knew it was bad, real bad. By the time I reached the door I could see that the old lawn mower, that Bud had been trying to fix had almost cut his arm off.

I stood inside the door screaming, it looked like the ground was drinking up Buds blood, as it hit there was not the first drop of blood on the ground and it was pouring out of Bud’s arm where it had been almost cut off. Why was I watching this I did not know, it seemed there should have been a big puddle of blood where Dan was standing holding on to Bud.

Before I could think on this to long, I heard Daddy screaming for all of us to get in the car. It seemed like we would never get to the hospital. They took Bud away as soon as we all got throw the doors. All of us kids were sent to a room with books and toys, Dad and Mom went to the floor were they took Bud. We were at the hospital all day, and most of the night. By the time we had returned back to the old house, we still did not know if they could save Buds arm, or not. Daddy said if they could save his arm, he could get some leeches to pull the blood down to his fingertips.

As I stepped out of the car once more, I got this scary weird strange feeling. After we had been fed and bathed we all started up the stairs for bed. The closer I got to the top of the stairs the stronger, that scary weird feeling got. I just knew what ever that it was, it had to live up these stairs.

It was the middle of the night, when Ann’s laughter and giggles woke me up from my nightmares. Just as I sat up to go see what was wrong with her, I seen a big black shadow go across her room. Ann’s little hands were reaching out like she does, when she’s about to be picked up, as I got to the door, and went in her room, I started looking around to see what could have made that shadow. There was nothing but Ann’s furniture and toys.

As I went to leave her room, I looked at the opened door of her closet, that’s when I saw it, two big bright red eyes staring at me. I started screaming at the top of my lungs, and that scared Ann so she went to crying and screaming too. Bud and Dan was beside me in a flask I was too scared to tell them any thing.

When Mama and Daddy, got up to the room I was still too upset to talk, Mama gave me a good shake to stop me from screaming. After a few minutes I could tell them it was a big black shadow, with the biggest red eyes, that had went in the closet.

I told them it was fixing to take Ann out of the crib, but I could not make them believe me, it just didn’t matter how hard I tried. Mama and Daddy finally got us all clamed down and back into bed, but Dan had to sleep with me, just for tonight. There was just no way I could stay in that room, not by my self.

We both set on the side of the bed watching, for what ever it was with those big red eyes, to see if it would creep back out of Ann’s closet. Even though Daddy had checked the closet and