The woods around the house had been 'strange' lately. The trees moved without reason. Objects that had an ordered place by the well were discovered the next day no longer by the well but on the edge of the pine forest. He had heard from his forefathers that strange things happened in these woods every 300 years, and this coming October, right on the thirty-first, Halloween, would be the 300th day.
He'd already gotten his mask to protect himself from spirits who wanted to enter his body and take it over. He'd made sure the mask covered his entire face. Any opening at all would allow the spirits to enter his body and take it over. He knew the rules for all hallows eve. He'd already placed talisman around his property to protect it from whatever lurked in the woods at night. He had no fear for his wife and daughter's safety. These spirits were only attracted to men. All he could do now was wait.
Time seemed to pass slowly. The dying sun crept behind the clouds like an old dog searching for his buried bones. Everyone he saw that day was wearing a mask for protection. No one wanted to be used by the spirits for anything. In some cases, he'd heard about, death happened if you were still possessed by morning.
Just as the moon passed by the sun on its way to bed, he arrived home. He rushed his horse into the barn and took off the saddle. His wife and child would already be in bed by now. He'd stayed out later then he'd planned searching for seeds for the up-coming season. He'd stopped by the old walker place on his way home and helped John with some repairs to his wagon in exchange for a few quarts of fresh goat milk. That was always a real treat come winter, when he could line the cup with snow and add salt and pepper to taste. He licked his lips just thinking about that winter-time-treat. It made his stomach tremble. He felt it was just like eating ice cream.
He patted the horse's nose with the palm of his hand; then he walked towards the barn doors as he yawned. It was long past his bedtime, and he was glad nothing seemed to be happening. All was still in the air around him. He started walking towards the house as he added up the bills, in his head that, he'd be making while getting ready for the summer harvest. He felt assured that they could handle them. A twig snapping in the distance intruded into his thoughts; his head jerked up.
What was that? He glanced towards the well. In the distance, he saw a pure white lady standing by the old well before it went dry. It had been torn completely down. In his youth, a new well was dug in a different location closer to the house. He never knew why. In her hands he saw the tools that were always left by the well. She'd been using the cup to get a drink of water. Who was she?
He started walking in her direction and she dropped the cup into the well. Now he knew how all the equipment got left by the pine forest. She started walking towards him. He couldn't help himself, his feet walked towards her as well. He glanced back at the house, but the house had vanished. He was alone in the woods. The white figure started to change. Reality seemed to be setting in. Where she was white color started to appear. Her hair changed from white to a long, long black. Her skin faded into a pale whitish color and her long, totally, white dress faded into a country girl's gown filled with holes, dirt and stains. It was his neighbor's wife from down the lane. She was possessed!
The talisman he'd placed around the house wasn't helping him and neither was his mask. The house he'd built no longer existed. The yard was gone. The barn was gone. His fields of corn and wheat were gone. Nothing existed except the well and the woman. Images flooded his mind. The days of long ago took possession of him. An argument stirred in his memory about house and family.
