The Solstice (a folk horror short story)
“The Silence of the Grave is more Comforting than the Noise of the Living.”
It was late when we reached the house. Meona was already irritated with needing to rescue me again from a mishap that, in her words, “was completely unavoidable and unnecessary.” She filled my ears with a lecture on how she needed to work early and how she should be in bed already. Not to mention, this night was one that I definitely should not have been out late on. “What if you were taken? You know the rules for this night,” she firmly asserted.
I feigned listening by giving nods and “oks” when necessary, and was quickly overrun with a yawn. I was beyond tired. It had been a long day that was even longer thanks to the autumn solstice. Every year, the town shuts everything down early as if it’s Christmas Eve; however, instead of holly jolly joy, the townspeople peer around with guarded expressions and hurried to hide away. A couple of friends thought it would be fun to sneak out to an abandoned house, and of course, we ended up stuck there for hours until well after dark. This is when I called my sister, who was now wrapping up her lecture as we pulled into the driveway.
Strolling in through the door, the house was dark. I glanced around, feeling a flutter in my stomach. Something was off. Meona paused and glared at me. “Why’d you stop?”
I bit my lip, trying to figure out what was gnawing within me. I vaguely answered, “It’s dark.”
Meona’s level of agitation grew to a few higher levels. “Of course it is. It’s 3 o’clock in the morning!”
I shook my head. “No, it’s too dark! Where’d mom go?”
Meona rolled her eyes before starting, “She probably is already asleep…” Before she could finish, I ran into the garage. Her car was there… I dashed through the house and went straight into her room. It was dark and empty. There was no sign she even came in here.
“Meona!” I yelled, panic setting in. My older sister grumbled under her breath as she walked down the hall. She stood in the doorway, and I turned to her, my voice weak, “They took her.”
Meona pushed past me and turned the light on. She paced around the room, wanting to find proof that our mother had been here. She opened her closet and fumbled through her clothes. She scoured her desk area to look at her planners. She looked through her nightstand and then became still. Slowly, she reached down between her bed and nightstand to pull out a cellphone. It was hers, and she never left the house without it. The realization set in on her face, and she stepped toward me, a look of pure determination etched on her face. She declared, “We have to go get her back.”
Something cold washed over me. “You know the rules, Meona…” I whispered.
She shook her head, “Fuck them rules!” She grabbed my hand and pulled me along with her. “I’m not letting her be taken by them! Not this year or any other.”
‿̩͙⊱༒︎༻♱༺༒︎⊰‿̩͙
We sat in the car driving for hours, not even letting the radio play. Meona’s eyes were locked on the ever-darkened road illuminated by only the overhead moon and the car’s headlights. The only company around us was a thicket of trees, forest animals, and them. This alone sent my nerves spinning, along with a faint, distant memory of distorted prayers and praises being bellowed from shadows. I stared at my phone screen, trying to distract myself from the memories that should have been long forgotten. Also, from the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere, more than likely in the center of the den.
Eventually, the car came to a stop, and Meona silently put the car into park and climbed out. I slowly made my way out of the car, and by this time, she had fished a flashlight and a bat from her trunk. “Totally useful, Mimi,” I sarcastically remarked. In return, she flipped me off, then handed me the flashlight.
“Stay close to me, and if you hear anything, stay as silent as possible,” Meona reminded me. She attempted to keep the fear she felt hidden; however, her trembling hands and lack of a well-thought-out plan gave it away. She was desperate, though, and I could admit I was too.
We started our trek through the woods, continuing for what felt like hours. The whole time, my sister was silent as she surveyed our surroundings. Eventually, she spoke, “We’re getting nowhere. Maybe we should go off path?”
I shot her a look of disbelief before retorting, “Then how will we find our way back?! What good will that do if we find mom and they get us because we’re lost?”
That made her upset. “If?”
A soft rustle, then a shadow whizzing past followed. Instinctively, I tried to follow where it went, but nothing. I looked back at Meona, but she was gone. I did not dare to speak louder than a whisper, “Mimi?” I waved the flashlight back and forth frantically trying to locate her. “Mimi!” I yelled and instantly regretted it when the rustling came back. Fear settled into my stomach, and I bolted. To where, that was the afterthought. However, the faster I ran, the louder the rustling grew, steadily staying behind me, if not inches from me. I mustered all I could, pulling from my adrenaline to quicken my pace, only to be met with a slam directly into a tree.
Scattered stars filled my vision as a metallic taste entered my mouth. As I tried to fix my blurry vision, the shadow stood over me and gave a guttural snarl before everything went black.
‿̩͙⊱༒︎༻♱༺༒︎⊰‿̩͙
When I awoke, my vision was blurry still, and the grogginess weighed over me. I sat up, squinting my eyes, attempting to make out my surroundings. This was difficult since the only light source came from a small lantern. Looking to my left, I saw Meona lying extremely still. My body turned to ice as I slid closer to her. I murmured, “Mimi,” as I nudged her. Her body was warm to the touch, and it brought an instant flush of relief. Now that my vision was clear, I looked around, studying where we were. I found that we were in a run-down cabin home… This meant we were now in their home.
I looked back at my sister and gently shook her. It took a few tries, but she frantically jumped up. I quickly covered her mouth and removed my hand when she fully sat up. She calmed herself and stealthily whispered, “Did you see what grabbed us?”
I shook my head and stood up. I continued to study the layout of the cabin, and the only things besides dust, cobwebs, and us were the lonely lantern. There was nothing else, not even furniture in sight. My sister groaned with discomfort as she struggled to stand. I moved to help her up and noticed the open wound on her leg. As much as I didn’t want to admit this, I suggested to her, “Forget about finding mom. We need to get out of here before they come back…”
Meona winced and bit her lip to prevent herself from being too loud. She was hesitant, but she nodded her head in agreement. She leaned on me and we worked to hobble over to the front door in unison. At least as in sync as we could manage. Opening the door, we were met with an astounding shock.
Our mother stood, towering over us.
At least it seemed like her at first glance. She was taller. Skinner. Had this off-putting odor where it was her signature honeysuckle sweetness intermingled with a wretched, bitter, sourness. She wore this uncanny smile that if she let it go, I’m sure her face would crack. Her skin was so incredibly grey that she could be made of translucent marble.
We were too late.
Not only to save her, but also to save ourselves. Behind her, several lanky figures creaked to their full height before jaggedly stepping forward. My heart began to pound harder than ever. My sister’s grip on me tightened with a boa constrictor’s strength. We stepped back, and “our mother” strode forward, matching our steps. The emptiness caused my already unsteady stomach to turn into knots. My mouth went dry, and I could feel the back of my throat begin to burn.
“The silence of the grave will comfort you, my dear and precious girls. Once you complete your transition, the noise of the living will no longer corrupt you. You will be made clean again.” Her voice was hollow and shrill as she spoke.
The sounds of skittering and clicks began to grow as if the creatures behind us were singing their rejoices. She continued, “I grant you your blessings, my children. You will be born again. Oh, how beautiful you will become.” With this, she reached out her arm. I desperately looked around for any way out, but we were surrounded. As our mother reached towards us, the others entered the cabin. One of them knocked over the lonesome lantern, and the darkness grew around us.
✮₊⊹₊⋆ ☠︎︎ ⋆₊ ⊹✮
This short story was written by me as a way to
Get back into the habit of writing regularly
Create art and designs based on the story → the book cover was designed & created by me <3
Have fun participating in a group writing challenge with fellow writers
Thank you for reading!
。゚゚・。・゚゚。
゚。 Skelly ۶ৎ
゚・。・゚
The Prompt:
This is so wonderfully creepy! Great job!