Gloria

She didn’t realize how much she’d been holding out hope that this woman was some distant relative, like the mother’s mother of a second cousin twice removed, until the lawyer burst her bubble with a quick answer.

“I thought I explained in the letter I wrote. Patti… Patricia Hammond, she was your father’s aunt. She grew up in Hamlet with her younger sister Penelope—”

“My Nana,” breathed out Gloria.

“That’s right. The Hammonds were one of the first families who settled in the village back in the ’40’s. Penelope left Hamlet, obviously, but Patti lived here her whole life.” Sadie waved her hand around the cabin. “Literally here. This cabin was one of the first built. It might not be much, but it’s history. There’s a lot of people in Hamlet who would pay nicely for this property.”

“If that’s so, then there’s something I don’t get.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ve never even met my great aunt before,” admitted Gloria. “Why didn’t she just leave the cabin to someone in town who’d want it? I mean, she went to a lot of trouble with the will, right? Setting up a… like, an allowance, and making it so that I have to actually live here for the whole next year. Why? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh, sweetie. I thought you understood. Your aunt set her will up like this on purpose because she wanted you to keep the cabin. She wanted her family to come back to Hamlet, to love the town and the family home as much as she did. And as sweet as Patti was, she was a shrewd woman. She knew what to use to get people to do what she wanted.”

Sadie got that right. Great Aunt Patti was using the money in the bank like a carrot on a stick. If Gloria did what she wanted—if she gave the cabin and the town a year’s chance—then she would get the whole she-bang. And if she made it the whole year, she could sell the cabin, earn the cash, and start her dream business.

It seemed too good to be true. In Gloria’s experience, that usually meant that it probably was.

The lawyer said the cabin was hers. No take-backs or anything like that. She could arrange for it to sell, walk away with a very decent sum, and go on her merry way. Sure, she’d be missing out on the rest of the money, but was it worth it to have to live in the small town for a year?

“I don’t know. I—”

“Hang on.” Sadie held up her hands, gesturing for Gloria to wait before she jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Before you make any decisions, I’ve got one more thing for you.”

“Um. Sure. Okay.”

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

After placing her massive bag on the couch, Sadie strode down the hall, turning into an alcove that was just out of Gloria’s sight. She could hear the squeak of a door being pulled open, then a soft, muffled grunt. A few seconds later, Sadie reappeared, weighed down by a large white box.

Not large.

Huge.

About two and a half feet wide, a foot deep at least, the sucker was awkward to hold, and clearly heavy. Gloria rushed forward to help Sadie, accepting the box as the lawyer tipped it into her arms.

“It’s okay. I got it.”

“Thanks, dear. I didn’t expect it to weigh as much as it did.”

“No problem. Where do you want me to put it?”

“Wherever you like,” Sadie said. “It’s yours.”

“This, too?” Another gift from a woman she never met—and that her Nana never told her about. “It’s mine?”

“Mm-hmm. Your aunt made me promise that, no matter your decision, I would give this to you first. She always hoped she’d give it to you herself one day. But, well, time passes for us all, doesn’t it? At least you’ll have it now.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure. She left very firm instructions that this box be left for her great-niece. No one’s even peeked inside.”

Gloria wasn’t so sure she wanted to be the first. It was still October, after all, not to mention Halloween—

Halloween.

With its ghosts and its goblins and its scares.