Dead Roses

Kelly grew up in the swamps of Louisiana. She had a simple education matched with a simple life. sometimes her friends would take her into town, but for the most part Kelly liked it in her little swamp. There was just something here that was magic to a 15 year old girl. Swamp living wasn't that bad. Far from the absurdity Hollywood would portrays it as. Kelly had electricity and most everything any girl growing up in the United States had. The major difference was that she traveled by boat far more than by car.  Kelly's neighborhood was much like any other neighborhood as well. A Collection of houses dotted along the banks of the Atchafalaya River. It even had the mysterious house at the end of the road, or in this case, an old plantation house.

The plantation belonged to an old Creole family. The lore says it belonged to a wealthy slave owner name Delacroix. Delacroix was a very profitable tobacco farmer. He had many slaves that tended the house and the crops. But one in particular he always kept close. Her name was Lucy, or at least that was the name given to her when she became part of Delacroix's house. She was from Haiti and far more beautiful than any southern bell. Delacroix eventually freed her, but not before she gave him a son. It was looked down upon in those days for them to marry, however Lucy lived in the house for the duration of her years and despite never being able to take the name Delacroix herself.  Her children, however, inherited both the name and the house.

Many years have gone by since then. But small towns never forget good gossip. Over the years stories embellished and tales got taller. Legend that Lucy was a witch, that she seduced Delacroix, and now her children occupy the house as an homage to their Haitian god was common among the school yard.

The house now belonged to Aloysius Delacroix, the last in the family line. He lived in the house with his sister till about 5 years ago when she passed. Now Aloysius lives alone. The gardens she used to tend were now  overgrown and he was far to old to do any upkeep on the house himself. All in all, this made the house the perfect haunted house. This created the perfect test of bravery for the kids growing up along the Atchafalaya, and Kelly was no exception.

 The Friday night started like any other Friday night. Bored teenagers too young to get into the local bars trying to figure out what to do. Kelly always felt like she was trying to fit in. This constant threat of being an outcast often meant she was the brunt of the entertainment. That night they floated along the river; Kelly, Susan, Rick, and Steven. The boys were a year older and were doing their absolute best to entice the girls into sexual games. But Kelly and Susan were far smarter than the boys and rather enjoyed watching them get frustrated.

Frustration eventually turned to angst and Rick had revenge on his mind when the Delacroix Plantation floated into view. His dare was simple. In the back of the plantation was an old broken down green house supposedly over grown with roses. Snatch a rose and bring it back to the boat. Immediately Susan refused.  She was not one to be brave and had seen too many horror movies that started like this. Kelly on the other hand was always intrigued by the old house, so she agreed. Rick saw this as an opportunity and made Steven go with her.

The walk to the house was quiet as Steven did his very best not to show how nervous he was.  Kelly wasn't sure if it was the challenge or being alone with her that made him quiet and awkward. The house was dark, the only light they had came from the moon. They made their way around back. The broken glass of the greenhouse crunched under their feet as they approached. Kelly realized that Steven was a good 5 paces behind her. But something about he house kept her calm. Carefully she reached through a broken pain in the green house and plucked a white rose from the vines creeping up the wall. Proudly she turned around to show Steven, but he was slowly walking backwards, white as a ghost. Kelly walked up to him and he turned and broke into a sprint. Without looking back Kelly followed.

Back at the boat Susan was walking the levee while a very frustrated Rick sat in the boat. The panic in Steven's eyes when they got back lead to many questions. But Steven never responded. Finally Kelly produced her prize, a single white rose. She presented it to Susan as a gift, which Susan made a grand show of accepting. But even as Steven calmed down he refused to talk about what he saw.

It was now very late and Rick started dropping the kids off one at a time. Eventually, it was just Kelly and him in the boat together. When they reached her house Rick made one last attempt but Kelly wasn't interested.

"Hold up, I found this for you", he said holding out his hand.

Inside was a very old and rusted key.

"Where'd you get this", Kelly asked. 

"I found it on the levee while you and Steve were looking around."

Kelly took the present, although something felt very wrong about doing so.

"Thanks", she said.

 "No problem", said Rick leaning in for another attempt at a kiss.

Kelly just pushed him away and hopped out of the boat. That night she went about things as normal. She showered and got ready for bed. The key sat on her dresser. She dug through a jewelry box and  found an old chain. Slipping the end through the key she hung it up on her mirror. As she took her hand down she noticed the figure of a person behind her. Kelly turned and looked into the eyes of an old woman who was mostly transparent. Her out stretched hand pointed to the key. Kelly smiled.

"It's OK, I'll bring it back tomorrow", she said.

With those words the apparition vanished. This wan't the first ghost Kelly had seen. In fact she counted 3 on her way up to the old plantation alone. But they never wanted to hurt her, they just needed help. Something Kelly was willing to do.