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Walking through the gardens, Lucy's mind raced through what had happened in the short span of time since they set foot into the house. She wasn't a fool to brush off everything that happened as she was well versed with the same. Lucy was in fact, a devoted fan of paranormal, preternatural, supernatural phenomenon.

Even though she was a strict science lover; she was open-minded for the unexplained. Of course, she like- Katie and Emily who were disbelievers; had a logical explanation for everything but sometimes logics are to be defied.

Sighing loudly, Lucy focused on the early morning colors, the breeze, tiny bud of the sun somewhere on the horizon, the fragrance, dew, and every about the sweet time when the earth was sleeping but was also getting prepared to get up for the day.

Lucy removed her sneakers and held them in her hands while she walked barefoot through the fresh green grass. In the distance, she could see a bunny or two hopping about. Like a switch turned on, she smiled when she heard the birds started singing a different melody as the sun started to climb higher into the sky.

The tranquility and sweet earthy fragrance wrapped Lucy lovingly and she melted into the wetness just the same.

Suddenly, however, Lucy never noticed, the calmness was starting to get cacophonous with the rapid plague of black ravens. Their loud caws silenced the birds and their flapping of the wings numbed every sweet creature around Lucy. Noticing the difference, Lucy opened her eyes; her shoes fell down from her hands.

Surrounding her were thousands of ravens, with long pointed beaks and hollow black eyes that watched her with hunger. They were everywhere; on the ground, on the trees, in the sky, on the branches, simply everywhere. Gasping, Lucy felt uneasy to be surrounded by this many Ravens.

Lucy bends down to pick her shoes and walked hastily back to the house. She simply felt the Ravens following her. Lucy felt she was being followed; thus, she ran to her house only to feel steady footsteps behind her. It sounded as if thousands of people were chasing her.

Somewhere in the middle, she lost her shoes. But she never stopped running nor stopped to pick it up. Crying, and chanting few bible verses that Lucy remembered, she ran through the unperturbed nature, scared for her life.

Suddenly, something was near her.

She could see the house in the distance, growing in size as she was climbing up the small hill at an alarming speed. Nanny was there in the vegetable pad, Lucy can see her. But, just as the nanny was about to see her, Lucy felt a hand holding tight to her wrist.

Looking down to her wrist was a mistake.

Bluish wrinkled hands that looked like a lady's, was wrapped onto her wrist; tight, bruising her. As Lucy was still looking at her wrist fearfully, it made her trip and fall down the small hill. Although it was not a steep hill, she kept on rolling down at a frightening pace making her feel dizzy and close to losing her consciousness.

The rolling through the green meadow indeed knocked her unconscious for a while; only to get up inside the bridge mansion.

Lucy felt her heart beating strongly despite her futile attempts in calming it down. Just the thought of being inside bridge mansion scared and irritated her. Nonetheless, today as she stood inside the house, the aura was unusual. The light was different; a tone different from gloominess. It was dim, soft and almost like a halo.

She was standing in what seemed like the hallway in which she found Katie unconscious. But, now, the hallway was meticulous and ornate. The architecture and interior designing screamed luxuriousness; however, it also showed Lucy how important it all seemed, almost like this belonged to some aristocrat.

Afraid to move from her spot, she stood rooted to the spot and looked around. There was a mantelpiece with a hearth, actually crackling with orange life. Lucy was astonished to see the place in actuality. Out of the blue, there was a giggling from upstairs. Just as she turned to look, there came a bubbling figure with stunning golden locks in fine tendrils, bouncing on her white frilled frock with puffy half sleeves. Her stocking finely outlined her shaped long legs for a girl of four or five. Her eyes struck Lucy very much; a very beautiful piercing blue. Had she seen it before?

For a split second, Lucy saw the girl look at her but then she sat down very ladylike, folding the frock down her buttock as she sat down neatly placing her legs for support as she sat down to play with a rag doll which Lucy didn't notice before.

With the glaze of the fire, the girl looked striking. Lucy swooned to the little girl's beauty and almost awed when the girl looked at her father and said, "Daddy, I think there is someone in with us." Lucy roughly had a heart attack. She quickly looked back at the stairs and found a man in posh clothes with his hands draped on a woman looking as if she was the maid. He laughed, throwing his head back and said, "You are hallucinating for that ice cream you earlier mentioned, aren't you?"

"Huff, you are so boring, daddy. If I wanted an ice cream, you would buy me a whole factory; I needn't have to make up some imaginative person." Her 'as a matter of fact' voice that surpassed her father's really startled Lucy. She or her sisters have never talked to their father like this but the man only laughed and gleamed at his daughter.

Gradually, capturing the attention was the sound of a carriage outside. Quickly, the man stood rigid, removing his easiness like a tissue being discarded and waited with a straight posture. It surprised Lucy. She watched everyone attentively. The girl squealed and ran to the door. The man quickly kissed the servant for a minute and then rushed her away from the hall; who didn't look too pleased to be shooed away. But, she went anyway; the double doors were opened by a butler.

After a while, in came a woman who was one of the most beautiful women that Lucy had ever seen in her life. The woman wore fine silk in a sky blue color with matching satin gloves and a small tiara. Her earrings dangled like blue pearls highlighting her porcelain neck with the help of the chandelier above. In fact, she looked like a stunning art in front of Lucy.

"I hope you had a pleasant trip." The man said standing by the staircase with his hands looped behind his back.

"Hello," she greeted him with a nod and walked to kiss him on the cheeks. Then she proceeded to a room as the man and the child looped onto her right hand, followed. Unconsciously Lucy followed too.

"I wish I can tell you how tiresome it was the stay there. The weather was a pain for my mother who coughed all night long. I haven't got a decent wink of an eye in the past week. I want to have a nice bath and sleep for a few hours before dinner. The travel was fine. However, the stay was not. How was your time here little Rose?"

"Oh mother, it was so boring with you. I wasn't even allowed to your rose garden. However, Saiorse kept me company in here from tea time until bedtime."

"Oh, that is so kind of her. Oh, do ring the bell Rose; I want her to prepare my bath."

Rose galloped through the room to somewhere Lucy didn't notice as she was busy watching the man was on the woman's face as if he was one loyal husband waiting for his wife's return.

"How was your stay without me, dear?" the woman asked the man as he kissed her an answer, most ardently.

"It was like a spring without flowers." They continued kissing.

"You charm me, love. You always do. Oh, you have no idea how colorless was my stay there without you."

"I am here now, that's all that matters. I am here." They kissed again.

Lucy was finding it hard to stare at their intimate reunion. Thus, she turned her gaze to the doorway where a fuming Saiorse was standing looking at the woman in fury. Luckily the woman saw her and blushed to an alarming shade of red, as she welcomed the maid into the room. The man just regarded her with cold eyes but behind the woman's back, he looked at the maid and made kissing gestures to her.

Lucy was confused now.

The woman ordered her to do something and the maid was dismissed. Lucy never heard what.

Unexpectedly, it was like a wild wind started to blow from every direction around Lucy, taking her to different places at once. Just as quickly it started, it ended; and she fell down unconscious. Before falling down, Saiorse walked towards her and said something incoherent. But it vaguely felt something about an active omen. It confused Lucy to her bones. What omen?

Unable to understand if what she saw was a dream or not, she looked around to see herself placed in her own room but it was dark outside and dim lighted. She got up abruptly looking here and there. Lucy saw Emily and Katie lying on the foot of her bed. Unfortunately, it looked like they fell asleep in between a game of cards.

"How long have I been out?" Lucy asked herself as she prepared to get out of the bed.

As Katie being a really attentive, always wakes up from any deep slumber if heard a slight change in the room. Now that she heard Lucy's voice, she woke up giving Lucy a start.

"Gosh, you scared me," Lucy said chuckling. She then stretched to take a glass of water. However, Lucy was stopped dead in her tracks as Katie suddenly slapped her face, only then to hug her firmly. As Lucy was struck unexpectedly, her hands stretched to take the glass of water slapped Emily by mistake and Em woke up, jumpily; making Katie and Lucy jump in fright.

After a good round of laughter, continued in rounds as they thought about it. The girls calmed down after fifteen minutes of laughter. As it was three in the night, and the parent's room was far away from the girl's bedroom, no one was notified of Lucy's wakefulness.

"You scared us, you silly old brat," Emily said.

"I have no idea what happened. I went for a walk and I was dreaming..." Lucy started to explain but was stopped by Katie who scolded her for being irresponsible.

"You could have asked one of us to accompany you, you know,"

"No..."

"You could have written a note to us,"

"Umm, I..."

"You could have said to one of us,"

"Katie, listen..."

"You could have, or you could have..."

"Katie! Stop... for a light talker, you speak unnaturally fast and blabber when nervous. I thought you were awake when I said; I was going for a walk. I didn't..."

"That's it?" Em asked surprised.

"Umm, what do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"You went for a walk? Up there?" Katie asked, mirroring Em's surprise.

"You guys are scaring me, what are you talking about?"

When Lucy was away, Emily woke up to find Lucy's bed unmade and Lucy nowhere to be found. She woke Katie up but she said Lucy might have gone to take a walk. Thus, they waited for Lucy to have breakfast but she never showed up. Although the girls were scared, they didn't let their parents know about Lucy is missing.

When Lucy was not present for lunch, parents inquired about her absence. While Em stammered for a lie; Katie came clean, unable to conjure a clean lie. They asked Katie and Em to go check for her and even though they did, she wasn't in the Livinggood estate or anywhere near to it.

Scared and confused, the girls let their fathers know about the issue and quickly a search party was organized. Hours later, as night was crawling faster, a group walked to the most frightened and not to be ever mentioned bridge estate. Joseph was leading the group. Although everyone else was scared to go there, Joseph doubted to find her there.

Just as expected, Lucy was found unconscious and rolled in dirt, by the forest entrance. They brought her in quickly. By then, the word had been spread; that the bridge mansion has started to wake people of its existence.

"And I was unconscious all the while? I... was found where?"

"Uh uh..." Em said rubbing her eyes.

Lucy said her experiences. After she explained, Em and Katie shared a look.

"I am telling you, something is wrong. There is something about that house and we did a grave mistake by just walking in there."

"Luce, we will talk about it in the morning, now, take some rest," Katie said, unable to protest or argue from the shock of it all.

Lucy realized it has something to do with the denial and getting angry, she huffed and said, "You will regret it once it's too late."

Lucy never realized her own advice was nearer than she expected.

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Ho y'all! Hope you are doing well! :)

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