Riches of the Past

I walked slowly through the field, the long grass brushing against my legs. I had a flashlight with me that I took everywhere but tonight was bright enough I didn’t have to turn it on. The nearly full moon was covered by clouds at the moment but enough light filtered through that I could see the surroundings and, in the distance, my destination. It was a cool night but not cold. My cutoff denim shorts and cute pink custom-cut tee were enough. The wind picked up and gave me goose pimples on my neck and arms. I loved that feeling.

Sometimes in life you are handed a pretty raw deal and in my life sometimes was more like all the time. I was in the middle of a divorce, basically homeless and had barely two twenty dollar bills to rub together. Some people I knew kept trying to get me back into the dope game but I wanted to put that behind me. It led to too much shit and drama and more than a few people I knew ending up behind bars. I didn’t want that in my life anymore. Not because it was illegal. That part didn’t bother me at all. Everything I was doing right now was illegal. Some laws are just stupid.

So here I was in the countryside of Louisiana, in some forgotten field where a family used to live and play. I didn’t know what happened to this family, didn’t really care why no one lives here anymore, but I did care that they were wealthy and left all their belongings behind. A few other people knew where this place was, my asshole husband for one, but he only wanted the scrap metal and whatever rusty old tools he could find. I knew there were far more valuable things inside the rotten old house and surrounding buildings.

We’ve been out here a few times, me and my I guess you could call them friends, but mostly during the day. They were too chicken shit to come out here during the night, especially on a night like this where the air felt mystical and the wind seemed to whisper you directions. I got to the old, dilapidated house. It was a monstrous thing, built for a whole family and another generation of grand babies but everyone died off or got out of there long before that ever happened. It was quality construction though. If it was any more poorly built, it would have already come crashing to the ground.

I went around to the side. I knew the front room was too packed with garbage to move through. I heard something then, like that sound when wind comes gushing through a crack, like someone whistling almost. I spun around and looked towards the old barn. The night grew darker suddenly and I turned on my flashlight. I scanned the grasses between me and the barn and then heard the noise again. I lifted my light and saw two large glowing orbs in the loft window of the barn. They blinked off and then were there again. I’ve seen barn owls before but this one seemed huge. I turned off my light and tried to pick it out with my eyes. I never saw or heard it again.

I turned back around and went into the big old house. I poked around in drawers and shelves and creaky cabinets for a while and found a few interesting things, an old bell, some cast iron pans, plenty of old trinkets an older couple would have lying around. I set them by the door and then went carefully up the noisy stairs that were somehow still together. Every step made the whole house groan and shift and for a minute I thought I was going to fall through to some unknown space under the stairs, lost to the world of the living. But I made it up to the second floor and found the master bedroom.

The sheets were still on the bed like it was just made. Old wardrobes and chest-o-drawers lined the walls along with an armoire, the kind you don’t see anymore, complete with ornate moulding, intricate carvings, claw feet, inlaid metals and other fancy forms of plants and creatures that I didn’t know. This furniture was dirty but almost in perfect shape. If I could get them out of here I could sell them for a good price, but they were probably heavy as hell. Quality old furniture like this wasn’t light. Besides, I was looking for smaller stuff, stuff I could put in my bag or maybe even wear. Most of the things were empty except for a few shirts and belts, but I noticed a strange rattle when I tried to open a few locked drawers. I felt around slowly with my hands and, yes, found a hidden drawer on the side.

I don’t know why but I stopped to look around before I opened it. It almost felt like someone was watching me even though I knew I was alone. I shone the light around and sure enough there was no one to be seen. The place was dead quiet. I slid the small drawer open and exclaimed in excitement when I saw what was in there. A tennis bracelet with what looked like diamonds set in gold and a few rings that all looked like they had diamonds in them. Hell yeah! I could pawn these off and get back on my feet and stop squatting in people’s trailers. I needed a way out and this was it. Maybe I would keep one of them, the bracelet did look good on me.

I crept out of the house quickly not really caring what else was in there. Rich old women didn’t hide fake costume jewelry in hidden drawers like that. No. These were worth real money, money I could use to fix my truck, leave my abusive husband and get my own place to stay. Lord knows I deserved it. It’s been too long since I could just sit in my own place and not worry about a damn thing. I went out the same way I came in. I closed the door as best I could and turned to make the miles-long walk back to town. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw the old man standing not six feet away from me.

“You can take whatever you want, missy.” The old man said.

I was frozen. My flashlight was pointed more or less at him and he seemed real enough. Where did he come from? Why was the grass undisturbed around him? Did he still live there somewhere? The barn? His beard was short and trimmed neatly. He wore nice, black clothes like he was going to church or something and his glasses seemed of another age. He reached into his pocket and I regretted not bringing my 9mm. This dude was about to murder me. Instead he held out a pearl necklace. It gleamed in the light like little angels dancing in the darkness.

“Go ahead, take it. It would look good on you. Sell whatever you find too if you want.” He said calmly as the offered the necklace again.

I took the necklace from him and dropped it in my bag. I looked down for just a second but when I looked back to make sure he wasn’t lunging at me or anything he was gone. He didn’t walk off or anything like that. He just vanished..disappeared. Was that the old man that used to live here? Why did he want me to have all this stuff? I wondered about these things as I walked back and I also wondered if I should come out during the day from now on. My mother used to tell me stories about ghosts and spirits but I never experienced anything like that, not until that night. I slipped on the pearl necklace and admired it as the clouds parted and the moon shone down brightly. Yeah, I might hang onto this jewelry for a little while. It looked so good on me and I deserved to have some nice things.