June 1, 2020
Sarah unpacked several boxes full of flower pots, vases, soil, and other gardening utilities. Lillian followed behind her, talking to her little sheep that she called Reggy. She loved her little sheep -taking it to bed with her - having tea parties with it - even bathing with it. They were inseparable.
"Lily, honey, why don't you and Reggy go and pick some flowers so we can put them in a vase," Sarah said.
Lillian gave Sarah her wide smile. "C'mon Reggy, let's go!" She said gleefully.
Sarah smiled at her as she ran off further into the yard, scouring the ground for flowers.
"Don't leave my sight!" Sarah shouted at her.
The yard, itself, was massive. A large, circular pavilion laid in the center of the field with a marvelous stone path leading to it. Surrounding the pavilion was a large garden area that already had several flowers growing in it and a large hedge that bordered it. The main stone path that lead to the pavilion split into several other paths to little garden areas that had bushes growing in them, patches of rocks for decoration, and even a little stone pond in another. Outside the main garden and the several other garden areas, the yard was one big open field with a large fence that wrapped around the property, with the trees of the forest just outside it. The fence closed off at the sides of the house and, in front of the building, was a large shed, where Edward would be keeping his various tools and equipment.
Sarah couldn't believe how lucky they were to have such an amazing new home. The house was very cheap for how lovely it was. Of course, the drive was less favorable but Matthewsville wasn't more than a little over half an hour away. Edward's new job was even closer, just about ten minutes away. The only other downside that Sarah could think of was all the folktales that the realtor kept telling her and Edward. Edward, of course, chose to ignore the realtor all together but Sarah listened. The realtor told them how people would claim to see mannequins in the forest and how numerous people had gone missing in the last few years. The most famous person to go missing, of course, was Jacob Matthews. He built numerous hotels and motels around and in the forests, bringing thousands of tourists to Idaho. One day, he simply vanished and no one has seen him since. It was chilling but Sarah had to choose to not believe them. She knew that God would protect her from any evil that could be lurking in the forest.
She looked into the forest, where she saw Edward and Isaac entered. A little struck of sadness hit her before she heard her daughter giggling again. Sarah wanted her children to be happy and to feel loved but sometimes she struggled to feel that same way. Sarah knew that she was to blame, however.
Looking at her daughter, she felt sadness again. If only things could have been different.
Grabbing the hedge trimmers, she walked around the hedge by the main garden and trimmed back the protruding branches. She gave it a more angled and squared look. She wasn't an expert gardener but she knew how to make it look nice and presentable. Plus, it took her mind off everything.
"Mommy, mommy!" Sarah heard Lillian yelling. "Look what we found!"
Her daughter, breathing heavily, handed Sarah a little wood carved animal. She looked it over, noticing burn marks and scratches on it. It also had some little symbol on it that, to the best of her knowledge, looked like some kind of bird.
"It's a sheep, mommy!" Lillian chirped.
Sarah looked it over again. In fact, it did look much like a sheep. Only, this little wood carved sheep looked very disfigured and sinister. "Where did you find this, sweetie?" Sarah asked,
Lillian pointed towards one of the corners of the fence. "Over there! Come on, I'll show you!" Lillian said cheerfully.
Sarah followed her to the corner of the fence. There was nothing unusual about it aside from some dig marks that she assumed Lucy made.
"I found it here, mommy." Lillian said, pointing at the ground.
Sarah stood there, giving a faint smile to her daughter. She scanned along the trees, seeing nothing but sun glimmering through the leaves and pine needles. The sound of a twig snapping caught her attention but she still saw nothing.
"Whoever lived here before us must have left it here," Sarah said quietly.
"Do you think they also liked sheep?" Lillian asked.
Sarah smiled at her. "Oh I bet you they did, Lily. I bet they loved sheep and had probably even had a few sheep living here.
Lillian just couldn't help but smile. Sarah was thankful to have such a lovely and adorable daughter. She saw herself in Lillian. The problem, however, was that Edward also saw Lillian as a replica of Sarah, unlike Isaac who was looking more like Edward every day. Lillian would never look like Edward.
"Can I keep it, mommy?" Lillian said, her eyes wider than before.
Sarah inspected the little wood figure once more. It looked ominous but she didn't see the harm it could pose.
"Alright but don't let your dad see it, okay?" Sarah said.
Lillian nodded her head and quickly and ran off with both her stuffed sheep and the little wooden sheep. If she had any more sheep in her hands, she wouldn't be able to pick up any flowers.
Another twig snapped in the forest. Sarah quickly turned her head, peering into the woods again. This time she felt a shiver run down her spine.
"Hello?"
She was met with silence.
"Is anyone there?"
The birds kept chirping and the sound of Lillian giggling and talking to her sheep could be heard but Sarah tuned them out. She stepped closer to the fence, feeling her heart pounding faster.
"Edward? Isaac? Are you in there?" The forest darkened as a cloud covered the sun. She felt tense, feeling as if the bird's chirping was getting louder. Leaning over the fence, she felt that she could hear something. It sounded like wind but also like a whisper. Her arms felt cold and her head felt fuzzy. Her breathing became heavier and her teeth clenched.
The whisper sound became louder and the sound of bushes rustling came from somewhere nearby. She began lifting one leg, feeling compelled to walk into the forest.
"Mommy!" Lillian shouted.
Sarah jumped and backed away from the fence. The sun glimmered through the pines once again and everything sounded normal again. She let out a large sigh before turning back to see her daughter pointing to the other side of the fence where Edward and Isaac were coming back. They were both pulling a sled that held several logs.
She looked back at the forest once more, not seeing anything. Sarah turned back to see her husband and son entering the yard. Walking to greet them, she forced a smile.
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