Chapter 2: Going Crazy
Late that night Caroline showered and head to bed. All the lights were off upstairs. The bathroom door was open and she could see what looked like dancing lights faintly outside the window.
"Just a car turning the corner down the road," she thought, staring at the lights.
She walked into the bathroom and shut the door. She wanted to see what the lights were because they became brighter, then dimmed. They moved unlike any car lights she had ever seen out of all the times she saw headlights shining through the window. She walked to the window and looked out.
"Hmm, no cars. That's strange," she thought.
She turned to flip the light on. As soon as she touched the light switch, the room lit up as bright as day. She spun around, eyes wide, heart racing faster than it was earlier in the day. The house shook as if there was an earthquake happening. The light shined for what seemed like several minutes. She froze with her back against the door. All she could do was stare into the light. She felt around for the doorknob, finally finding it. She flung the door open and ran out and down the stairs.
"MOMMA!" she yelled, running through the house.
No one was there. They were all gone.
She searched every room calling out for her family, "MOMMA, DADDY, COLE!! Where are you!?!? HEEEELP!!"
The light poured in from every window in the house, and the loud hum of the vibration from the lights pierced her eardrums. She heard the back doorknob rattle, and she ran to the kitchen, praying it was one of them. She stood there hesitant to run to the door. She could only stare at the doorknob. Sweat beaded down her forehead. Her hands shook and her breathing was ragged. Suddenly the free swinging kitchen door opened.
"Caroline," Momma said, standing there staring with a confused expression.
"Momma," Caroline exclaimed.
"Did you see the lights? Where were you guys? I called out for you and you weren't' there! None of you were there," Caroline cried.
"Honey, we are all in the living room. What's wrong? Are you ok? You look like you've seen a ghost," Momma asked.
"Momma, the lights!" she shouted.
Tears streamed down her face as she fell to her knees on the floor.
"Oh my word, Caroline! Baby, come here. Sit down. Let me get you a washrag," momma said.
She grabbed the rag on the sink and ran it under cool water and rang it out. She folded it and laid it across Caroline's neck, then got another and laid it across her forehead.
Momma sat down in the chair next to Caroline and patted her hand and asked, "Baby, tell me what happened. I can't help if you don't tell me. Did you fall and hit your head? Let me see. Come here."
Caroline leaned her head down and let her mother check for bumps, but she could find none. Caroline sat there with her head in her hands, crying.
"Momma, there were lights in the bathroom window, then everything lit up like it was day. Please, tell me you saw it too," she begged, "tell me you felt the house shake and heard the loud humming!"
"Honey, we didn't hear or see anything except the crickets and the moonlight," momma said.
She was becoming concerned for her daughter.
"Maybe she has spent too much time out in the sun and heat," momma thought.
She looked Caroline up and down, examining her for anything out of the ordinary. She could see nothing, so she stood up and helped Caroline to bed. She tucked her in and checked on her before she and Buck went to bed.
The next morning, Caroline awoke, startled by daddy firing up the tractor and yelling to Cole over the loud tractor engine. She was drenched in sweat and breathless.
"What happened last night? Was that just a bad dream? It had to have been," she thought to herself, staring at the ceiling.
She sat up and looked around. Everything was normal. She looked out the window at daddy and Cole. Her father saw her in the window and he smiled and waved. She waved back. She could see the breeze blowing the wheat around in the field just beyond them. The sun shined on her face and she relaxed a little. She turned around and looked at her closet. The door was cracked open. It's never cracked, and she remembered shutting it last night.
"Oh my gosh, no, no, no! Please no," she whispered to herself. She jumped out of bed, rushed over and swung the door open, dropped to her knees and dug for her box.
It was right where she put it. She opened it, and the lingerie was still folded neatly inside the box.
"Why was the door open," she thought, sitting there with her arms holding her knees to her chest, staring into the closet then back into her room.
