Blogtober 2025, Day 21: Surrender

 

Lucy's Path: Chapter Twenty-One


The Hargrove house sat at the edge of town, its porch sagging under years of storms and silence. Curtains drawn, mailbox rusted shut. Sarah hesitated before knocking, half-expecting no answer. But after a long pause, the door opened.

Mrs. Hargrove looked smaller than Sarah remembered—thin, tired, eyes red from nights without sleep. “You’re one of Emily’s friends,” she said softly. It wasn’t a question. “Come in.”

Inside, the air smelled of dust and lavender. The living room was lined with framed photos: birthday cakes, fishing trips, a girl with two braids—Emily, smiling beside another child.

Sarah pointed. “That’s Lucy, isn’t it?”

Mrs. Hargrove nodded, sitting heavily on the sofa. “They were inseparable. But Lucy looked up to my sister more than anyone—Eleanor. She was… different. Said the woods had a voice, and that it liked her singing.” Her voice cracked. “The amulet was hers.”

Sarah’s stomach turned. “The one Emily found?”

“She wore it the day Lucy disappeared,” Mrs. Hargrove whispered. “I thought she’d just lost it. But sometimes, I still hear humming outside Emily’s window. The same tune Eleanor used to sing.”

Through the lace curtain, Sarah saw the treeline swaying in the windless dark.

Mrs. Hargrove gripped her hand, trembling. “If she’s out there, tell her to stop listening. That’s how it starts. You don’t hear the Lady—you surrender to her.”


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