Chapter 2: Shadows Over Willow Creek

Uncle Wayne broke down, insisting the rice-borrowing stranger had taken Grandma’s life. "I swear, he took her!"

He sat on the porch steps, head in his hands. Rocking back and forth. His voice was hoarse from crying out. "That man—he took her! He took her soul with those damn grains!" he kept saying, over and over, like if he just said it enough times, maybe she’d walk back through the door. The rest of us stood in a circle, not sure whether to comfort him or keep our distance. The whole town was buzzing with whispers, and the air felt heavy, like a storm was coming.

The family searched for three days. On the first day, Aunt Linda broke her leg. Uncle Travis busted his head open.

It felt like the world itself had turned against us. Aunt Linda slipped on the back steps, her leg twisting at a sickening angle. Uncle Travis, stubborn as a mule, fell off the old ladder trying to check the roof for clues. The blood ran down his forehead, and he cursed up a storm, refusing to go to the ER. The mood in the house got darker with every mishap, like something was watching us, waiting for the next thing to go wrong.

On the second day, my mom burned her hand while cooking mac and cheese. The kitchen smelled like burnt cheese and fear.

She yelped, dropping the pot, noodles scattering across the linoleum. She pressed a cold rag to her hand, eyes glassy with pain and exhaustion. I wanted to help, but she just shook her head and told me to stay back, her voice trembling. Even the simplest things felt dangerous now, like we were cursed.

Old Mrs. Ramsey—she was the sixth-oldest in Willow Creek, or so she said—told us Grandma Carol was no longer among the living, but couldn’t be laid to rest, so we descendants would suffer for it. Folks said she could see things nobody else could.

Mrs. Ramsey always seemed to know things nobody else did. Folks whispered she could see beyond the veil, that she’d been born with a caul and never quite let go of the other side. I wasn’t sure if I believed it, but I never wanted to find out. She sat on her porch swing, fanning herself, eyes sharp as ever. "She’s caught between worlds," she declared, her voice carrying across the yard. "And until you set her right, the family’s gonna pay the price."

Uncle Wayne was scared out of his mind and begged Mrs. Ramsey to help find the body.