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  “I suppose. Though that means you’d have to put up with me creating a whole new itinerary. I might need to find some maps and floor space all over again which I’m sure you couldn’t physically stomach all over again”.

  Helen pointed across the diner to a small booth in the opposite corner of the one she had sat in, where an old native woman about the same age as the waitress sat cradling a large cup of steaming coffee.

  From the distance they could tell that the woman was frail and weathered in her late sixties or early seventies, wearing an old beige dress that must have been made when she was around the Tylers’ ages. On her neck sat many intricate gold necklaces that hung down across her clavicle and seemed to cling together when she moved.

  Helen retracted her finger in fear of being ruder than she already was being by pointing across the restaurant, “That’s Poyam. She doesn’t actually live here, but she does have a place here that is almost as old as the island itself. Lately she has been telling anyone who would listen about that old family house that she owns that she’s got no idea what to do with. She has been trying to sell it off but no one here wants that piece of trash. There is no guarantee she will let you use it if you try to cut some sort of deal, but perhaps she can help you out if you ask nicely and drive the right bargain. Just a thought”.

  Violet looked at her husband who was staring at the fork he had picked up at some point for no reason other than for something to play with, “I’m game if you are. Worst thing she could do is tell us to go to hell, right?”

  He nodded, “I suppose. You better lead the way though, I’m sure that my intimidating demeanour might scare her into having a heart attack”.

  “I’ve got a more intimidating demeanour than you do. But I’ll make the introduction just the same”.

  Both of the Tylers got up from their seats and headed over to the corner of the room with nervous shuffling. Even by the time they found themselves standing over the old woman they had yet to formulate any sort of game plan. They weren’t sure if it was their intention to just ask to stay there or if they were to make an offer to buy it? It’s not like it would cost much if they did by the sounds of it.

  “Excuse me...” Violet started, “I’m sorry to disturb your coffee. But we were wondering if we could have a moment of your time?”

  The old woman barely acknowledged their presence with a slight tilt of her head, “What do you want from me?”

  Violet was the first to sit down, sliding herself into the seat across from the woman. Riley barely noticed by the time that he sat down that his wife’s mouth was slightly ajar. When he was able to actually look at Poyam properly he could see why. Her face was ragged and worn, as if she had been patched together without much care. There were bold white remnants of old scars that slept on her face in streaks. In her skin were small but noticeable dents where her facial bones had previously been cracked inward. The old woman had almost completely grey eyes that must have been a result of cataracts or some sort of accident that had damaged her sight. She clearly couldn’t see them which is why she hadn’t bothered to look up when they came over.

  “Um, sorry. But, the waitress mentioned that you might be able to help us,” Violet answered, squinting slightly at the woman’s eyes, as if that would help the woman be able to see them any better.

  “And how would I be able to help you?” she asked with the emphasis on the fact that she didn’t know whoever was approaching her, “I’m not exactly in any position to help anyone”.

  “She said that you had yourself a house somewhere on the island that you didn’t know what to do with. Well, we’re looking for a place to stay. Due to some unforeseen circumstances we’re kind of stranded here without a roof over our heads,” Riley replied.

  Poyam crumpled up her face, the many scars amplifying the effect of her wrinkles, “Do I look like a hotel to you, boy? The nosey witch should know that I’m not running a bed and breakfast for every Romeo and Juliet that comes through those doors. Why don’t you just go to the city to get a hotel like normal people and leave the little old ladies alone?”

  Riley reached into his pocket and took out his wallet, riffling through it as he talked, “We can pay. I don’t have much cash on me unless you take credit cards. But whatever I’ve got you can have. We’d only need it for a week”.

  “I said no!” Poyam yelled, a splash of coffee hitting the table from the shaking cup in her hand.

  “Please,” Violet started, “we really need a place to stay. If you’re not using it, why not help us and make a bit of money off of it, too?”

  “Because,” she said in a way that sounded like that was all she needed to say on the topic.

  “Besides, the house isn’t inhabitable. No one has even lived in that hellhole for decades. I’m sure for your money you people would prefer a place that has proper plumbing”.

  Violet shook her head out of habit as if the woman could see her reaction, “We don’t need anything at this point. We just need a roof and four walls to hold it up”.

  Riley was quick to correct her, “Well we would prefer running water and electricity”.

  It was so slight, but it was apparent in the swinging necklaces that Poyam was shaking, “There is water and power. The...the municipality came along back when it belonged to my...father...and they wanted all of the buildings on the island up to some sort of code. But the truth is my father barely bothered to meet it. He didn’t care about anything. But he did it. He fixed it up. The water is barely a trickle and you’ll blow a fuse if you do more than plug in a hairdryer. How many times do I need to tell you that you can’t stay in the house?”

  “That’ll do us just fine!” Violet proclaimed a little too loud, eager that the woman seemed to be opening up to the idea enough to present reasons why they wouldn’t like it instead of just telling them that they couldn’t have it.

  “It isn’t safe! It’s no place for children!” the woman growled.

  Riley sniggered, “With all due respect, but we aren’t teenagers looking to get away from our parents for the weekend to do some heavy petting”.

  Almost as if Poyam could see him she turned in his direction and stared into his eyes, “And what do you know about needing to get away from your parents?”

  Riley didn’t bother answering her. He figured that the question was rhetorical and there wasn’t a point in him replying.

  Sensing the tension Violet spoke up, “Please. This is our vacation. And honestly, it’s more than just that to us. We’re here trying to save our marriage from collapsing in on itself and this is just another hit to the support beams in a series of even bigger hits that we’ve put up with. We really need this”.

  Poyam clenched her coffee cup and grumbled, “I’ve only been hoping to permanently unload that house before I fall to my desire to just burn it into the dirt. I’ll tell you now that the house I have is not the place to save your marriage. It’s not the place to save anything”.

  Violet reached out across the table and gently placed her hand on the woman’s wrist, “Please”.

  At first Poyam seemed to jump in her seat a little, startled by the sudden touch on her hand. Violet had expected a more livid reaction, but after a moment it seemed the woman was just calmly enjoying the physical contact that she was apparently starved for. But as that plea hung in the air Helen approached from the kitchen with a tray full of goodies.

  “How we doin’ y’all?” asked the waitress as she placed the world’s greasiest burger and runniest poutine in front of the couple.

  “Helen!” shrieked Poyam as she pulled her arm away from Violet’s touch, “Why are you going around telling strangers my business?”

  Helen sneered, “Hush you coot, you’re giving us old gals a bad name. These are good kids as far as I can tell, just you cut them a break. You don’t have a single reason not to let them use it. It’s not like they can do any more damage to the place”.

  Poyam huffed and shook her head, “You people. You never know
when to leave well enough alone, do you?”

  Riley went to speak up and was quickly shut down by Violet, who had the sensation in the pit of her stomach that nothing more needed to be said to get what they wanted.

  Poyam sat in silence for a few moments as she held her coffee underneath her nose, “Fine...how much do you have?”

  That moment was the happiest Riley had ever been where someone was requesting his money, “I’ve got $200 on me in cash. I realize that it isn’t much, but that’s all I’ve got right now. Is that enough for you?” He gently folded up the cash and placed it in the palm of her hand with a gentle shake.

  After a moment of hesitation the woman placed the money into her purse beside her.

  “You need to keep driving up the main road out west. You need to find Killarney Lake. Just ask around if you need to. The house itself is a bit hard to miss once you’re there; it’s the one by the docks that looks like it should be torn down. There’s a key hidden on the ground against the mailbox that you’ll have to find”.

  Violet reached out in a flash and grabbed the woman’s hand to shake it, which startled her yet again.

  “Thank you” Violet said, “You don’t know how much this means to us”.

  Poyam forced the tiniest smile out of the corner of her mouth as she squeezed Violet’s hand back in return, “Sure. When you’re done with it, we’ll see if you still want to thank me”.

  Chapter 3

  Through the winding hills and scenic views they travelled upwards. It was an hour ride from the Red Wolf’s Choice before the Tylers found the lake. The rest of the island was still tinted in its natural jade, but the trees surrounding the lake were of a different sort. The trees were dressed in a wide array of its finest brilliant reds and delicate yellows. The lake was as picturesque as the fall season could possibly be, with its ever changing colours, bursts of nippy wind and the fallen leaves swimming along the surface of the water.

  There were a few houses and cabins along the route to the lake, all of which looked like the typical vacation houses that you’d expect in that sort of area. They were immense, fancy and equipped for a family of four to get away from the rest of the world, much like the couple were looking to do themselves. Surrounding the lake were a few more houses that seemed uninhabited, seemingly the vacationers chose to use them on long weekends only. Killarney wasn’t a place that people who lived on the island frequented; it had become a paradise exclusive to visitors only.

  This was as close to wilderness as they had seen since landing on the island. The foliage was dense enough that wildlife could actually manage to go about its routine undisturbed by the intrusion of man. Occasionally the couple would spot a darting deer, but more frequently the rustling of bushes would reveal small rodents scampering and birds fluttering about. Within minutes of arriving the sun started down and the air became cooler. The crystal clear lake reflected the dusk sky with passion, coating the landscape in a faint blue and orange glow.

  “I honestly don’t know how to put this place into words. It looks like we just stepped into a watercolour painting,” Riley said as they stepped out of their cramped rental car. Violet had thrown on a light black windbreaker but Riley was still only in his sweater, quickly getting cold even after only a few seconds in the fresh air.

  “For once I’m speechless, too. This place makes it almost all worth it, doesn’t it? I might even be willing to ride that ferry again if we ever want to come back here” Violet said with her mouth agape.

  The couple scanned their surroundings, looking for the worst looking house they could see. With so little light, it was hard to tell the houses apart. In the cover of shadow an empty house looks just as derelict as an abandoned one.

  “I think I can actually make it out from here,” Violet said as she changed her footing direction, “There’s a small dock in front by that house over there. And unless I need to have my eyes checked and it’s a deer with a really weird neck, I’m sure that’s the mailbox the woman had mentioned”.

  “You’re not a zoologist, babe. Maybe the deer in Canada are a lot different than they are back home. They could possibly all have mailbox shaped heads here”.

  Violet turned back and smiled with her face mostly hidden in the dark, “The only thing with a mailbox shaped head here is you”.

  Violet approached the otherwise plain looking mailbox, which was nothing more than a normal tin on a post. She bent down and started to search the grass around the wooden stake, first casually and then more urgently.

  “I can’t find anything,” she said as she brushed the dirt away roughly with her fingers, hoping to reveal something hidden that she had missed.

  “Maybe it fell deeper against the post inside of the hole. Put your finger in there and feel around,” Riley suggested.

  Violet groaned as she stood back up, brushing her hands against her pants, “You’re the expert at putting your finger in things and feeling around, so why don’t you do it?”

  Riley huffed and dropped his luggage to the ground beside him, “Let the man go to work. And step back just in case it gets dangerous”.

  Violet stood wide eyed and wiggled her fingers in front of her face to mock her husband’s perilous mission.

  Riley bent down and thrust his fingers into the dirt beside the pillar, which was a lot tougher to do than he expected it to be. The cold fall temperature made the ground rigid which made it hard for him to move it around in the slightest to enable his search.

  “I’m not finding anything,” he said, forcing his hand to the other side of the wood.

  “The woman said that it had been years since anyone has been up here. Maybe the key was lost. It rains a lot here. Then you have the snow. Maybe the key was washed away or something,” Violet theorized as she stared out into the lake where any of the run off would have headed.

  He finally gave up on his futile attempt and stood up, “If that’s the case, we’re screwed. It would really be our luck to get all the way up here and not have the key to get in the damn place”. Riley gave the mailbox a quick kick with the bottom of his foot, which barely shook the unwavering post.

  “If you’ve got any ideas, please, feel free to share them before we start freezing to death,” she mentioned aloud.

  “It’s not even below zero yet so quit worrying about it. At the most we get really, really cold out here. Though, we will probably lose feeling in our fingers and toes pretty quickly. And in a few hours, then we can expect to start drifting off. But one way or another I say that we’re getting in there. We’ve come too far to be put off from a little ole door now”.

  Violet smirked, “It sounds like you’re going to break into the place or something”.

  Riley smirked back.

  With purpose Riley walked towards the house, dragging his luggage behind him.

  “What are you exactly planning on doing? Unless you know how to pick a lock...” Violet questioned, dragging her own collection of luggage along the ground.

  Riley didn’t bother answering as he dropped his stuff and stepped onto the wooden deck.

  The house was two floors of old world wood with an attic and a basement. It was nearly perfectly square in shape about thirty feet in each direction in terms of size. The roof was angled slightly to the left, which gave it an almost modern look as if it were stylized instead of just poorly built. The windows were filthy with accumulated grime and grit from countless seasons of storms. To the back of the abode was what looked like an outhouse. To the front was a pile of wood and a rusted axe for chopping. There wasn’t a garden or a garage to the property. And if there was any bit of contemporary living built into the house, it was well and truly hidden from sight.

  Riley walked up to the wooden front door, twisted the knob and gave it a push with his foot.

  Nothing.

  He twisted again and gave it a harder push just in case it was jammed shut.

  Still nothing.

  With the walk of a deflated cartoon character he proce
eded to patrol the perimeter, eyeing every inch of the exterior as he walked along. His wife dropped her own luggage and decided to follow him along with her arms crossed over her chest in attempt to keep warm in the quickly chilling air.

  Finally Riley found something that looked workable, a torso high window frame that already looked halfway broken into. “I need something to pry this open. You think the rental car has some sort of crowbar or something?” Riley asked as he tried to slide the window upwards using the friction from the palms of his hands.

  “Do you think they normally rent cars to burglars? Why would there be a crowbar in the car?” she replied.

  He turned back to her, “Then how about you find me a thick stick? Something that won’t snap with a little bit of pressure”.

  Violet shook her head as she turned around and headed back towards the front of the house. It was only then that she realized how eerie Killarney Lake was as she looked out towards the serene waters.

  The hint of sun that had been resting in the sky had fallen into the night and the beautiful hues that had impressed so greatly before had given way to nearly complete darkness. The many trees and plants became large and looming shadows that hide many sounds from unknown sources. Each unidentified rustle raised the hair on Violet’s neck. With an odd sense of danger around her she rushed forward to one of the bags that she had dropped on the ground and started rummaging through the compartments.

  Common sense told her that nothing was out there. Nothing but animals, fuzzy and cute with big googly eyes like stuffed toys filled with fluff. There hadn’t been anyone that they saw on the way up to the lake and there certainly wouldn’t be anyone out there now simply because it had suddenly gotten dark. But when fear takes hold it’s not common sense that grips you, it’s the many horror stories that were told around the camp fires. It’s the horror stories that actually ring true in the news at eleven o’clock with its gruesome details too violent for the showing at six. And with those thoughts in mind Violet had the sudden desperate need to get inside where she wasn’t so exposed to the world of darkness that lived before her.