Ray # Something

I headed out the back door of Hillbilly Heaven to take a walk. It was July 17th and we were out there to eat food and get fat. My mind was turning ever thing over and over-- pulpwood trucks, Ray, my family's belief that I just made it all up. Not far down the road, I heard footfalls behind me. Just what I thought: Zane spied me slipping out the door and followed. 

"Where ya goin', Poppy?"

"Just walking."

"Wanna look for Ray?"

His question brought tears to my eyes. He was the only one who believed me when I told the story of Ray.

"Sure," I responded. ""Let's check the old house," I said since we were already headed that way.

The old house is a log one that probably dates back to the 1800s. When I married Penny, it was the only house on the place and was the main hangout. Now it was slowly rotting down and no one came down here anymore except I like to walk there sometimes and just look around. This time I had to pretend we were looking for Ray. So when we got there, I peeked through one of the windows. Something inside moved, and it gave me a fright.

Crap, I thought. Somebody is inside.

We walked around to the back and I peeked through the clear window of what used to be the kitchen. Then something moved in the living room and I startled.

"What's wrong, Poppy?" my grandson asked seeing my reaction.

"Something moved inside."

"A person?"

"I'm not sure."

We walked back around to the front and I told Zane to stand by the gate. "If I holler, you run. You hear me?"

"Yes Sir," he answered and moved towards the gate, but not all the way.

The house had a dog trot, but Ellis Roberts closed in the walls years ago. So now the area between kitchen/living room on one side and bedrooms on the other was storage space. An ancient screen door gives access to the former dog trot. Nervously, I peeked through the rusty, dusty, screen into the dark space inside. I don't know why I didn't just go right in, but I was antsy, suspecting someone who wasn't supposed to be there was inside waiting on who knows what.

I saw an old couch, a coat rack, and then something else I couldn't make out. I gazed awhile and then looked elsewhere. I was able to discern saw horses with saddles on top, a pie safe against a wall, hoes and shovels in a corner. My eyes instinctively went back to the mysterious item I could not make out. I looked and looked and then slowly it came into focus. When it did, I almost jumped out of my skin because there was a face staring right back at me!