Cursed ✔️

22. The Willows - The meeting

After walking down the streets and meandering for a while, following the instructions which were given by the man, they found themselves standing in front of the doll store.

"The Maple's Doll Store." Emily read out loud and began to look for a burned down building. It wasn't long before it caught her eye. "There it is!" She said pointing her finger to what was left of the house after the fire.

Hannah and John turned to where she was pointing.

"C'mon. It's just a couple block away." John motioned for the girls to come.

"Hannah?" Emily stopped and turned back when she noticed that her best friend wasn't with them. " What happened? C'mon?"

"Emily, what will happen once we meet the Willows? What will we say to them? Or how will we start the conversation? It would be rude to be upfront though. What if it all goes wrong?"

"Don't worry, Hannah. We'll figure it out. Now, don't start preparing or rehearsing the conversations. It isn't a test or an interview. Relax. I'm here. Now c'mon!"

Hannah was a think-before-you-speak kind of girl. Even when she had to talk to someone in person or even on the phone, first, she would think in her head what she would say and then say it while on the other hand, her best friend, Emily was an on-the-spot, live-in-the-moment kind of girl. She agrees that one should think before they speak otherwise it would be awkward if they blurted out something embarrassing. Then people would think of them like a weirdo. But they should not think too much. The conversation should be like a flow - It shouldn't be like a test or a theory paper! Hannah always admired Emily's confidence and her ability to talk to even strangers with ease.

It was a short walk from the store when they reached Willow's house - or which used to be their house. The building had taken a lot of damage. It was covered with soot and ashes. The roof of the house was no more. The concrete walls were gone leaving behind only the bricks and the woods which were blackened and charred. One could see the burned furniture and all the stuff which lay there as an innocent victim. Hannah inhaled the air and coughed as the ashes drifting in the wind filled her lungs. The flora surrounding the house had also taken the damage. Everything was completely ruined. Nothing had escaped the blaze.

"So terrible. No one should ever suffer like this." Hannah's voice reflected sympathy towards the Willows as she thought what a horror it would have been for the whole family to watch all their savings, and all their memory go down in flames right in front of their eyes.

"Let's ask the neighbors. Maybe they know where we can find the Willows." Emily said looking around. " Let's split up."

The three of them trotted off to ask whoever they saw first.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Hannah asked a woman in a black dress, all dressed up as if she was going for a party. "Can you tell me where can I find the Willows?"

After hearing the name, she seemed like she was in a hurry. " I don't know." She was blunt and sounded rough and then Hannah saw her getting into her car and she drove off. Weird.

"Sir," Emily approached a guy who was sitting on the porch, reading the newspaper. "I'm looking for the Willows."

It took the guy no time to wrap up his paper and head inside his house after Emily inquired, leaving Emily all by herself. Well, that was strange.

John knocked on a newly painted door - twice - before it was opened up by a girl not older than 13 or 14. She half-opened the door and peered outside looking at a stranger whom she had never seen before in the area.

"Yes?" Her voice sounded sweet.

"Hi. Do you know anything about the Willows?"

"Who's there Lucy?" From what John heard, it sounded like it was her mother.