All the Colors of the Dark — Chapter 241

241

The Bleached House lay a mile out of town.

Shadblow leaned over a half mile of winding fence beside woodland trails and cross vine. A river cut its way, and Patch stepped near and saw the silvers and golds of crappie.

He walked slow, like he knew it was the last stop on a railroad long since forgotten.

And as he drew nearer to the ornate gates, with each step he shed a year from his life, till he was nothing but thirteen again.

He found the rusted metal parted enough to let him through.

And just like she said, the trees curved above him, their arms linked in prayer as he noted the grass too green. So when the house came to view just like she had painted it, he knew he had found her.

A mirror of the Mad House, only hers had long since caved to the elements. There were signs of a restoration that might take a lifetime, the timber framed windows rotted, the stucco broke, and the pathway cracked and uneven.

He walked the last steps in something like a dream, too tired to smile, to do anything but press his head lightly to the heavy wood. Grand pillars of peeling white rose on either side. The arch above carried glass stained in midnight gray.

He raised his hand and knocked and took a step back.

OceanofPDF.com