to us if you keep doing that. He will know you are trying to find her and he will find us and take our memories. Then we will be lost just like them. You can’t do that anymore, Papa! You can’t!”
I reached for her, pulled her close and tried to soothe her. “I did not know, Emma. I will not allow that to happen anymore.”
After a few moments had passed I pushed her slowly backwards so that I was able to look into her eyes when I spoke. “Emma, you mentioned that you know how to hide? Teach me how it is done.”
She wiped a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand and hesitated for a moment before she spoke. “You must keep yourself happy. You must not allow sorrow or fear into your mind. You cannot allow memories to guide you. The tall man can feel your fear and your sorrow. He will come to you and take your fear and make it bigger than you know. He will learn everything that worries you and he will create a world where you are surrounded by your fears and worries. We cannot let the tall man find us, Papa.”
“How can we find Mama and your sisters?”
“I don’t know. The little girl didn’t tell me. She only told me how to hide from the tall man. She said there are more frightening creatures, but she only knew how to hide from one. That was all she could teach me.”
“Why do you refer to him as the tall man?"
She hesitated to respond. Terror covers her face and a shiver rattles through her body.
"Are you afraid of him?"
She nodded her head and hesitated before speaking. "If we search for Mama, Clara and Anna we will find many like him. They might take us too. It’s not safe to search for her.”
“We have to try. We cannot leave them out there. You would want me to search for you if you had gotten lost, would you not?”
She nods her head in response.
I had many questions to ask, but I was weary to ask them of such a young girl. To my surprise, she suggested, “we could ask Miss Hattie.”
“Miss Hattie? The servant of the Marshall family? What would she know of this?”
“I saw her behind a tree when the tall man chased Mama, Clara and Anna off. She knows everything that happened.”
“Is Miss Hattie here now?” I asked confusedly.
“She may be. We can look for her, I suppose.”
Emma grabbed my hand and led me outdoors. It was no longer daylight. Darkness had taken over the sky. The sounds of the afternoon were gone, replaced by more frightening unseen noises of the night. The familiar, yet terrifying screech of the resident barn owl ripped through the sky and pierced my ears. “Don’t be scared Papa.”
How could my daughter of only five be so fearless?
As we passed the barn she stopped me and commanded me to grab a lantern. As I reached for one resting on a small bench, a light ignited within it, and illuminated the path that lead from our home to the road.
We treaded lightly down the rocky, dirt path. The air was very still and felt very heavy. Breaths were hard to come by. I put every ounce of effort I could into emanating happiness in order to keep all evil beings away from us. I fought off fearful thoughts, memories, and images with every ounce of strength I had in me.
When we reached the road, we made a right turn and headed toward the Marshall home. Emma held my hand and led the way as if she was the adult.
When we were deep into the thick blackness of the empty road, a distant coyote made his presence known with a deafening howl at the full moon. It was enough of a surprise to stop me in my tracks. I was scolded by Emma and reminded of how to keep us safe on our journey.
As we approached the Marshall family land, it was evident that we were not alone in our sleeping travels. Through the trees I could see a warm, flickering light that radiated from behind the large white house. The murmur of voices gradually came into my range of hearing. I stopped Emma. “We cannot just walk into whatever it is that is taking place back there. We don’t know if it’s safe.”
“Papa, it’s just Miss Hattie and the other good witches. They can help us.”