The Unsaid

“The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window, oooooohhhhh.” Nathan raised his arms and waved them in the air, causing giggles to escape his five-year-old.

“Come on, time for bed you two.” A soft voice said from the doorway.

“But mom!” The woman laughed at their response. They were always saying things at the same time, like father-like daughter.

“Moving day is tomorrow, Nathan, we have to get to bed, and someone,” The woman turned to her five-year-old daughter looking up at her with puppy eyes, “has already been read five stories tonight between mommy and daddy.”

Lyra pouted up at her mom but still laid down pulling the covers over herself.

Nathan smiled at his daughter’s reaction and stood up from the floor where he’d been sitting. “Your mom is right, Ly. Get some sleep, okay?” She just nodded and curled up with her favorite barbie.

They kissed her goodnight and went back to their room to finish packing. Boxes lined the walls, clothes scattered throughout suitcases. The small apartment had never felt more cramped than it did then.

“I can’t believe we finally get to leave this place, Em,” Nathan said, pulling his wife in for a peck. “Thank you for finding this house for us.”

“Of course,” she said, turning in his arms to deepen the kiss, “Anything for our family.”

They continued packing away their room until the early hours of the morning and finally, Nathan dragged her to the bed. “Sleep.” He whispered to her, and she went willingly. Unfortunately, a couple of hours in, she bolted out of bed, remembering she had almost forgotten to pack up the medicine cabinet. If she didn't do it right then, she'd forget, and she needed to grab her medicines.

Emily Jones was a woman of chaotic energy. She laughed loudly, talked a lot, and could make friends with just about anyone. She’d spent her whole life trying to find a way to calm down, and she had when she’d met her husband, but she still had her moments. Trying to toss all the contents of the medicine cabinet into the box at once she grabbed it all, her hands filled to the brim as she turned around, stumbling into a different box. This led to some things crashing to the floor and Emily froze. She waited to make sure her husband was still snoring and then quickly cleaned it all up. In her haste, she didn’t see the bottle of ‘Stay Awake’ pills that had rolled behind the toilet, completely out of view.

In the morning they loaded up the rental truck, attached their car, and began the journey. The last thing Emily remembered was leaving their apartment complex before she awoke again.

“Oh, Nate! You didn’t wake me up, we were supposed to switch off.”

“Were we?” His face scrunched up as he yawned. “I don’t remember saying that, but we’re here now, so it’s fine.”

She couldn’t believe he’d made the long drive by himself, but her husband had always been the dependable guy. It was why she married him. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, the moon high in the sky as they unloaded their car. A few food items, a blow-up mattress, and silverware were unloaded first and later they were all cuddled up under the blankets on the inflated bed.

“In the morning we’ll unload everything else,” Nathan said, eyes heavy-lidded.

“Sure thing, love,” Emily whispered to him as their daughter lay between them.

“Man, today seemed so long,” Nathan said to her as she nodded in his arm.

“Yes, yes it was.” She relaxed into the feeling of her body drifting off to sleep, and she was content.

By the time the sun was climbing above the clouds the next day, the moving truck was empty. Lyra had long given up on helping unload as she ran through their front yard, flying her barbie doll high in the sky. She wasn’t watching where she was going as she slammed into a tall stranger with blonde hair. Lyra’s doll fell from her hands and a girl around the same age picked it up and handed it back to her. Nathan and Emily stepped quickly to their daughter, confused by who was on their new lawn.

“Hi!” Emily said, finally coming into view of a family of four. There were two little girls, one who looked close to Lyra’s age and perhaps one a little older.

“Hi,” said the woman, who towered over the man next to her. “I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just-“ she shared a look with her partner and then looked back at them. “Well, we just didn’t realize we were getting neighbors and wanted to come to say hi. I’m Jane Asher. This is my husband Josh and our daughters Julia, the youngest, and Jamie.” She motioned to each person as she spoke and Emily outstretched her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Emily Jones. This is my husband Nathan and our daughter Lyra.” They shook hands and smiled at each other. Emily felt like they’d get along great and was excited to possibly have a friend here already. Someone who could help her navigate life in this new town.

They talked for a little bit longer and then said their goodbyes so the Joneses could begin unpacking.

“I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. Welcome to Darkwell.” Jane said as they headed back towards their house.

Nathan scooped up Lyra and twirled her around. “All right munchkin, what do you say we convince mom to order a pizza?”

“Pizza!” she yelled and Emily laughed, giving in to her family’s whims. She would do whatever they wanted, whenever. She loved them more than anything.

The next morning, Emily tossed and turned in their bed, lights beamed in through the windows that didn't yet have curtains up. Then a noise startled her. A faint beeping began, as if from a smoke detector. It sounded so close that she just assumed it was an alarm Nathan set.

“Nathan, turn that off please.” She grumbled, still not wanting to open her eyes. He said something incoherent and snored. She sighed, but sat up, realizing the beeping was gone. Laying back down she wondered if maybe their smoke detector was dying, it was an older house, but a knock kept her from going back to sleep.

“Nathan, will you go get the door please?” He only grunted in response and pulled the blanket further over his head.

With great reluctance she got back up, weaving her way through all the boxes everywhere. They lined the walls and covered the floor. Most were empty, but some were still filled with bouts of random things. The chaos ensued in the hallway and from the top of the stairs she saw the front door was wide open, her five-year-old standing there holding the door knob.

“Good morning, Lyra.” said a voice, and Emily bounded down the stairs, snatching her little girl up in her arms.

“Lyra! You know you’re not supposed to open the door.”

“But it’s just them, mommy.” Emily finally looked up to see their visitors and saw the neighbors they’d met the day before. Jane was holding a casserole dish, smiling at them, and Josh seemed stoic. His demeanor was a bit off for her, but their children clung to their parent’s legs.

“I apologize for intruding so early,” Jane started, an embarrassed look on her face, “but we wanted to bring over a breakfast casserole to welcome you properly since we didn’t get the chance yesterday.”

“Oh wow, that’s so thoughtful of you!” Emily smiled broadly at her new neighbors. She had never known anyone to do something like that in real life. “Come in, come in. Sorry, everything is still so messy, but you can set this on the kitchen island.” Emily set Lyra down. “Will you go wake your daddy for me please, munchkin?” They smiled at each other, knowing that when Lyra was sent to wake someone, it wasn't going to be a pleasant encounter. She bolted up the stairs as Emily attempted to find the box that held their plates.

She set the table the best she could. “It’s all right, Emily. I remember when we moved in it took us months to get rid of all our boxes. I think we might even still have some.” Jane chuckled, her blonde hair falling so neatly around her. Josh said nothing in response, just started eating.

Emily didn’t have to ignore his silence for long when Nathan finally came downstairs with Lyra. He always looked best in the mornings when his hair was wild. He kissed his wife on the cheek before setting him and Lyra up at the table.

“Lyra said you two brought a casket, but I assumed she meant casserole.” Jane laughed, a little too hard, and then looked back at them.

“We really appreciate this. We had hoped to talk more after yesterday.” Nathan started, moving on from Jane’s awkward laugh.

“Of course, it’s our pleasure.” Just then her youngest whispered something to her mother, and she nodded. “You know, Jamie and Julia are very excited to have someone a bit closer to their age here. Would it be all right if they played together?”

“Yeah, sure thing.” Lyra bounded from the table at her mother’s words. “Lyra, you need to get dressed first!”

Nathan shoveled his last few bites into his mouth, standing up. “I got her!” he said and kissed his wife on the top of her head. Josh stood abruptly too, not saying anything, before following after his daughters, who were also excited to hang out with a new friend. Emily smiled warmly at them.

“I’m glad the girls will have a friend at school,” Jane said, wistfully.

“Yeah. It’s Lyra’s first year. She’s beyond excited. Even picked out her backpack and lunch box.” Something flashed in Jane’s eyes, uncertainty? Pain? Emily didn’t know but could feel their conversation coming to an end.

“I remember those days,” Jane said, but then turned to her with a smile. “Well you guys can keep this dish, and if you liked it I can give you the recipe. It’s a family favorite.” Her smile was genuine and Emily nodded.

“I’d love that.” She smiled at her new friend, happy at how things were turning out. Nathan was just coming back in as Jane stepped out and he waved goodbye.

“Well, I guess it could be worse.” He said. “They could be total weirdos.” Emily smacked him playfully.

“Don’t be mean, Nate. They seem nice. I’m glad Lyra can make friends before school starts.” He nodded.

“Yeah their house was decorated pretty minimally, but there were toys everywhere. I guess having an additional kid makes a difference.” He poked her sides and went to kiss her neck. “You want to find out?” She chuckled, turning to face him.

“Perhaps.” Then he chased her up the stairs, both of them feeling excited about the future.

That night, Emily finally realized that a certain bottle of pills was missing.

“You’re sure you haven’t seen them, Nate?” He shook his head, reading a book on the bed. “Shit!” Emily exclaimed. She usually wasn't one for cursing, but she needed that medicine. “What am I going to do?”

Sensing his wife’s incoming panic he put the book down and beckoned her to come to sit next to him.

“Honestly, Em. You’ve been doing really well these last few days. Maybe you can start weaning yourself off? The doctor said they weren’t a permanent fix.”

“Nothing is a permanent fix, Nate, but I can’t take the risk. What if I were to fall asleep behind the wheel with Lyra, or you? Or while I was cooking or something? I-“

“Shhhhh.” He pulled his wife in close, stroking her short auburn hair. “I understand, love. I’ll look around some more. It might have just gotten mixed up in the boxes.”

“I hate that I have narcolepsy. I feel like I’m a risk to our family.”

“No, no, no. You are not. Now let’s get some sleep, okay?” He kissed her firmly, leaving no room for arguments as she turned out all the lights. Uncertainty crept within her, ruining her good mood from earlier. She looked around noticing that a lot of the boxes had been cleared out, and she wondered when Nathan had the time to take care of it. She was grateful for her husband nonetheless. She would just get a refill on her medication, and things would go back to being on the right track.

In the morning, Emily decided to cook breakfast for her family. She hardly got the opportunity because of work, and soon they’d have to return to that old schedule, but she enjoyed getting to be around her family more.

Lyra ran in squealing with delight. “Mommy! Mommy! Mommmmyyyyyy!!”

“What is it, Ly?” She asked with a chuckle, getting a plate ready for her daughter.

“Julie and Jamie are sooo cool! They have so many cool toys and they can make things go poof!”

“Go, poof?” Her mom asked incredulously, setting the food in front of her and pouring Lyra a glass of orange juice. “Like a magic trick?”

She nodded her head with vigor, “Yes, but it’s not magic, it’s real! They said I can do it too!”

Emily rolled her eyes playfully as she made herself a plate, her back to her daughter. “I’m sure, Lyra, and did you know I saw a flying pig yesterday?” Her daughter was silent, and when Emily didn’t get a response to her poor joke, she turned around to see the glass of orange juice was in fact, gone.

Lyra just smiled triumphantly. “I told you so.”

Emily was not in the mood. Her head was feeling woozy as if she might have an episode soon, and she had just wanted to have breakfast with her family.

“That’s not funny, Lyra. Where’s the glass?”

“I don’t know. Maybe their house?” She was so confused. Why would it have gone to their house? Seeing her mom’s anger she shovels the breakfast into her mouth but then spits it back out. “Ew! Yuck mommy! I prefer Julie’s mom’s cooking!”

Emily glares at her daughter and points to the stairs. If she wanted to act like a brat she would spend the day in her room. “Go unpack or something Ly.”

“Fine.” Her daughter says angrily, pushing her plate away and hopping down from her chair. For someone so small, she did hold a lot of sass.

Emily watched as she stormed out of the kitchen and taste-tested her food. The flavors burst into her mouth. Lyra was clearly mistaken; the breakfast was amazing. From the window, she could see the Asher’s house. She hadn’t given it much thought yet, but staring at the dark exterior she noticed heavy curtains hanging from every window. Its black siding seemed old, older than their house, and she wondered how long they had lived there. Unease crawled into her bones as that beeping from the other morning began to emanate from their house. Maybe it was their smoke detector that was dying?

Nathan entered the kitchen then, going straight for the dish she’d made. He went to shove a bit in his mouth but recoiled the second it touched his tongue.

“Gah Em! Are you trying to kill us?”

“No,” she said defensively, “It tastes fine to me.”

He shook his head at her in disgust, moving toward the fridge, but stopped when he saw what was inside. “What’s with this glass?”

Inside the fridge was Lyra’s glass of orange juice. Emily just sighed.

“So that’s where she put it. Jamie and Julie taught Lyra ‘magic tricks’ which are just pranks. I told her to go unpack since she didn’t want to fess up.”

“Oh…” he said closing the fridge. He looked at his hands and began picking at his nails. His only nervous habit that Emily knew of. “Well, I maybe, sort of, told her that she could go play next door. I didn’t think it’d be a bad idea.”

Emily took a deep breath, the stress making her feel even weaker. “I just… don’t want her learning any bad habits.”

Nathan looked up from his hands and moved them towards his wife. “She’ll be okay. The Ashers seem like good people, you even said so yourself.”

“I know, I know. I just have this feeling, is all.” The room was starting to spin, and her knuckles were white from gripping the counter. “I think I need to take a nap, though. Any luck finding my medicine?” Nathan just shook his head and kissed her cheek.

“Do you need any help?”

She held in her sigh, trying to force her mind to stay coherent. “No, but thank you, love.”

“Okay, I’ll go check on Lyra and tell her to come home soon so she can unpack, sound good?”

With a nod, he left the room and Emily looked back out the window. Jane was suddenly looking out one of the windows of her house, staring at her, and it startled Emily enough that she lost her grip on the counter. Stumbling she looked back up and Jane was gone.

She had no idea what that was about, but the concerned look in Jane’s eyes made her hair stand on end.

Then the beeping sounded off again, but she could tell it was coming from inside her house, not Jane’s. Groggy and exhausted Emily searched all over for the source of the noise. Checking the smoke detectors, the microwave, the alarm system, whatever she thought might make that infernal beeping. After a bit, the noise went away and she collapsed on the couch, fed up with the day already.

She woke up after some time and could hear Nathan upstairs reading a story to Lyra, her giggles echoing throughout their home. It made her smile and she took the stairs two at a time wanting to say goodnight, but her husband had just shut the door as she reached the top stair. He put his finger to his lips and pointed to their bedroom. She followed quietly and then nearly tripped at the angry look on his face.

“Jane told me that you were spying on her today.”

“What? I was just looking out the window when she saw me from her window. If I was spying I would have been trying to be more discreet.”

He looked at her suspiciously.

“Why do you not believe me?”

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you. It’s just that-“ Her husband looked away from her, towards the bathroom, towards the medicine cabinet. “I’m just saying if you weren’t off your medicine then maybe-“

“Excuse you, but it only keeps me awake, nothing else.” He didn’t respond, and she felt like throwing a pillow at him. “So you, think because I’m not on my medicine I’m making things up?! This isn’t medicine for a mental problem it’s just to keep me awake! That’s it! You were the one who said I should try to wean off of them!” She hated raising her voice at him, but why was he making her feel this way? She hated the thought of waking Lyra, but how dare he make these baseless accusations. Perhaps she had been wrong about Jane, very wrong.

He then sighed, rubbing his face. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be a dick, but let’s just sleep it off. I’m sure it’ll be better in the morning.” The bags under his eyes were growing exponentially as the week had progressed, and Emily would be a bad partner if she said she hadn’t noticed.

“Fine.” They started to get ready for bed, thick tension filling the spaces between them, and just as she was about to turn the lights off, the beeping returned.

“Jesus, do you hear that?”

“Hear what, Em?” The beeping grew the tiniest bit louder, and it did seem to be coming from the Asher’s house now. So it HAD been them. She felt a little less crazy as she climbed out of bed. “Where are you going?” He asked, throwing his shirt back on.

“I’m going to go tell Jane to turn that noise down! Whatever it is, I don’t care.”

Nathan stared at her, concerned and annoyed. “I don’t hear any noise, Em. Besides it's late, they’re probably asleep!”

“Then I’ll wake them!” she shouted. She was fed up with him thinking she was making this up. As they finished getting their shoes on Lyra appeared in the doorway, already in her slippers and jacket.

“Can I come with you guys?” She asked softly. “I left my barbie doll…” Emily sighed, but Nathan smiled gingerly.

“Of course, munchkin.” He scooped her up, and he followed after his angry wife. The volume of the beeping was increasing, giving her a headache, unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.

“God, it’s so infuriating! This noise is killing me!”

Nathan only gave his wife a look of concern before they crossed into their neighbor’s yard and knocked on the door. “Hello? Jane? Josh?” Nathan called out, but only silence greeted them.

Their front door was unlocked and swung open, a dark inky blackness gathering on the other side. The beeping was still gradually getting louder and louder, so much so that Emily raised her voice to be able to hear herself think. “How can you not hear that?!”

“Why are you yelling?” He demanded, but then his anger faded as they stepped into the house. A thick layer of dust covered old furniture, cobwebs hung from every open corner of the living room.

“Wow,” Emily stated, “I know you said they had minimally decorum, but I wasn’t expecting this.”

“No… something isn’t right.” He looked back to the door, but the night seemed normal outside. Was it the house? Goosebumps raised along Emily’s arms, and then Nathan set Lyra down only for her to sprint down the hallway.

“Lyra!” Emily shouted, running after her. The beeping quieted for a moment as she saw Lyra standing in the middle of an empty room. Tears pooled in her little blue eyes.

“But… this was their room! There were toys and beds! I’m not making it up!” Lyra was crying, hiccupping on her tears. She didn’t know what was going on. None of them did.

“It’s okay, baby. I believe you. Let’s get out of here.” Emily grabbed her little girl by the hand, tugging her out of the room. They went back towards Nathan when Jane suddenly stepped in front of her.

“Jane? What is going on? What is that noise?”

“You have a choice, Emily. I can give you recipes. I can show you how to take care of them.” Her voice was wistful, full of an emotion Emily didn’t understand.

“What are you saying?” The beeping was beginning to grow loud again, a constant noise that flooded her eardrums.

“It’s always sad when someone moves in next door. It’s always sad when they have children.” Jane’s voice was desperate as if she hated having to speak the words aloud.

“Jane, get out of the way. We are leaving now!” She was shouting over the beeping noise, unable to hear much else at that point. Her neighbor's face became one of anguish as she opened her mouth to beg Emily for, well for something. Every time she spoke the beeping covered up her words, and tears filled Jane’s eyes. “Enough!” Emily yelled as she shoved past the person she thought would end up her friend.

“Emily!” Nathan shouted for her as she made her way back into the living room, wanting to run right outside the door, but the look on her husband's face stopped her. He was mortified, holding a small square in his hand. She had noticed it on the mantle when they’d walked in, but just assumed it was a part of their paltry décor. He shakily held up the photo, and Emily’s face fell.

She had felt like something seemed strange about this couple. The photo seemed to be from the eighteen hundreds. In it was the family they had just had breakfast with the other morning, but in older clothing that she’d only ever seen in movies or museums. Ghosts? No way. There was no way any of this was real. It had to be a dream.

“No.” She whispered but the beeping drowned it out. It drowned everything as it was suddenly blaring from everywhere as if the air itself was making the noise. “No!” She screamed and threw the photo at the wall, the glass shattering louder than the beeps. The room went quiet. Too quiet. Why could she not hear the breaths of her daughter and husband?

Emily looked down to see the tiny hand she was holding was now translucent. Her daughter was just staring up at her as she started to fade away, the room beginning to spin dangerously fast.

“Lyra!” She screamed, but her voice sounded more like a whisper.

She turned to Nathan who was already disappearing, a sad smile on his face. He mouthed three words to her. Three words she would know from anywhere. ‘I love you.’

As they both faded away with a heart-wrenching finality, Emily collapsed, her eyes fluttering wildly until they were met with bright white lights above her.

She attempted to move her arm above her face, wanting to shield herself from the brightness, but her arm wouldn't move very far. An IV was sticking out of her wrist, her fingers were all bandaged. The noise she had been hearing startled her and she saw it was a heart monitor, attached to her. Emily was confused, unsure of what terrible nightmare she’d been having, or currently was having when a familiar-looking doctor entered the room.

Her long blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and she looked down at Emily, checking the monitors before realizing that her eyes were barely open.

“Oh my god! You’re awake!” She hit the button that would call for more nurses and bent down to get close to Emily. “Ma’am... I’m Dr. Asher. I’m afraid to tell you that you and your family have been in a terrible accident. The others didn’t make it.”