31 North Hill Street

It was dark, it was late and the road was empty. The headlights on Henry’s car illuminated the road ahead of him and the stars above and ahead danced in his weary eyes. Henry was just now returning from a business trip and was eager to get home. Much to his surprise there was a sudden sparkle in his head lights and he came upon a young girl by the side of the road. She was walking backwards, apparently struggling from fatigue. The young woman didn’t look more than nineteen and yet she was dressed in what looked to be a wedding dress.

Henry’s foot lifted then came down hard upon the breaks of his car, bringing it to a sudden and screeching halt. The front passenger seat was stacked with maps, street directories and files spilling out of an open brief case. As such Henry signalled for the girl to climb in the back seat. She gave him a grateful smile and did so, greeting him politely and thanking him profusely.
“Please, can you take me to 32 North Hill street?” She asked, her voice showing evidently her tiredness.
“Sure thing.” Henry said, equally tired and sipped at his diminishing coffee. He knew the street and knew it was not far out of his way.
“Oh thank you! Thank you so much!” She said and buckled her seat belt. Henry just nodded and gave something of a grunt before accelerating and continuing on his way.

The night was cold and as the night went on, the road seemed to Henry endless. Even as he left the highway and travelled the streets of quiet suburbia it was like a spider web to the tired business man. His mind and body cried out for sleep and he not once thought it odd his passenger said nothing. The black ash felt faded into the dark gutters and the houses lined the streets with empty windows and casting shadows in the moon light. All the while a deafening silence plagued Henry’s car. When at last he reached the house of his hitch-hiker he would once again slam on the breaks hard. Henry took a moment to gather himself and remember where he was. He turned his head to bid the girl good-bye, only to find she was no longer there.
“What the…” Henry looked around and turned his gaze to the house, no lights were on and the girl was not there. The girl was not anywhere and Henry was left in a state of confusion.

Forgetting the hour and forgetting how tired he was he turned the car off and got out. The cold air whipped against him as eh opened the door and sent a chill down his spine. He stretched his arms and his legs and turned his eyes to the sky. Clouds had moved in and now there were stars to be seen and even the brilliant glow of the moon was gone. The world around him was now in shadow and Henry made his way up the path to the door. The garden around him was minimalist and the roses that grew along the house were weak and dying. Henry reached out and knocked on the door. He waited a moment to find that nothing came of it. He knocked again and waited, finding still only the silence to answer him. Then he saw a button on the door frame and pressed it, a bell rang out through the house and now a light came on in an upstairs window.

Within seconds the door was open and a tired, aging grey haired man opened the door. Henry noted with curiosity that the man was dressed casually but as if he had been so the entire time. He knew there was not enough time between the light coming on upstairs and the man answering the door for him to get dressed and come down the stairs to answer the door. But before Henry could pursue the matter his train of though was abruptly interrupted.
“What is it!” Demanded the grey haired man.
“Well you see I…” Henry paused, realising how stupid he was about to sound. “My name is Henry and-”
“And why should I care?” Asked the man, interrupting him.
“And I picked up a hitch hiker who said she lived here.”
“So where is she?”
“That’s the thing… When I got here she had disappeared and I’d have heard if she got out at any time in the trip.” Henry explained, knowing full well how unbelievable it sounded.
“Boy, do you have any idea what time it is?” The man asked, seeming to be getting angry. Before Henry could respond there came another voice from behind the man.
“Thomas!” This time a woman. The door was pulled open fully and the man pulled back. Now before Henry stood a middle aged woman in a long white night gown. “Come in, dear.” She said and stood a side, motioning for Henry to enter. Henry had forgotten how tired he was and was stuck in confusion and slight shock. Politely he accepted, wiping his feet on the door mat and entering.

Before he could grasp the situation Henry found himself standing in the living room, drinking tea and staring at a picture of the young girl he picked up. From the small wood and glass from looked back a girl he knew. It was unmistakable, her flowing blonde hair and bright smile. Even the wedding dress was the same.
“That’s out daughter.” Said the woman as she sat down. She seemed somehow older and tireder now. At first she had been able to pull her husband aside and was willing and with enough energy to make tea and go upstairs to wrap herself in something of a bath robe. While she did this Thomas, the man who greeted Henry at the door, had found himself a jumper and started a wood fire. Now they both took their seats and drank their tea. But they were not the people they were no half an hour ago. Henry assumed the night had caught up with them and they were tired as he was but they even seemed to be more wrinkled than when he first arrived.
“She died in a car crash the day of her wedding. We lived out of the city in a small town. After the wedding her and her husband were going to move into this house. She died in the crash and on hearing the news her husband poisoned himself. This was five years ago.” Explained the man. Henry took his seat and reflected on the story.
“But this can’t be. I did see her and I picked her up.”
“Yes. And so have four other drivers this month.” He answered and took another sip of his drink. It seems she’s been haunting the high way. Every so often another person shows up and we tell them her story.
“Her and her husband are buried in the back garden. We moved here to take care of the house. We wanted them to live here in this nice house even if they did die.” Added the woman.

Henry looked around the house, it was well furnished and many paintings were hung on the walls. However it was also collecting a lot of dust everywhere and some of the lights had not been working. To Henry it was almost as if the house had aged with the two owners. The wooden floor of the kitchen creaked as the woman walked on it and the carpet around the fire place had gathered much ash and soot.
“I’m sorry to have woken you.” Said Henry after he had looked around his environment.
“That’s ok.” Thomas started to explain. “I was already up waiting for you.”
“Waiting for me?” Henry’s grip tightened on his mug and he started to feel slightly nervous.
“She said she’d be bringing you home tonight.” Answered the woman as she set down her tea and smiled. The woman’s smile was haunting as if the cackle of an old witch was to follow. She watched him with eyes that gleamed like a devil’s. The man stood and wandered behind Henry.
“Five years ago we were driving to the city from our home in the small town. It was the day of our daughter’s wedding and we were all very excited. I was driving, my wife in the seat beside me and our daughter in the back. There was rain the night before and the roads were still slippery. Suddenly our car was run off the road by a trucker. His truck slid and he tried to break and swerve. However, in the end he only ran his truck into the same ditch we did. He came down on top of us and crushed our car. He survived to crawl from the wreckage and call an ambulance. However my daughter, my wife and I never had a chance.” As the man spoke Henry’s confusion, fatigue, anxiety and shock all gave way to fear. He slowly placed his mug on the coffee table and stood up. The man and woman now moved towards him with an aura of malice but Henry wasted no time. He ran quickly from the living room towards the front door but to his horror was confronted by the same malicious gaze, this time coming from a young girl with long blonde hair and wearing a wedding dress.

“Please!” Henry pleaded. “This has nothing to do with me.” He spun around and found that the man and woman were still coming towards him from one direction and now the girl he found hitch hiking was moving in on him from the other direction. “I want to live!” He cried out and dropped to the ground, his body now struck with fear and his legs refusing to support him.
“So did we.” Thomas answered coldly.