The Barn Inside

Edson S. Conn

“Come on Lilly! Stop being a baby and let’s go.”

“I don’t want to go in there,” the little Lilly cried.

The two sisters were standing staring at an old dilapidated barn. The windows on the right side were broken and the doors were barely hanging on the hinges. A small light shined through the small window, maybe a candle. The grass- or weeds- were growing on the side of the barn like untamed vines nobody can cut down to a manageable length. The path leading to the door was jagged though long ago it may have been even. But over the years of being left alone, the ground had taken its toll on the rocks. Any signs of it have been covered by overgrown weeds and other plants that found refuge there.

“See Lilly. Look around you. No one has been here in forever. Come on,” the oldest sister said.

“You can go alone,” the girl said.

“I’ll tell your crush you like him,” the oldest teased.

“That’s mean Mary,”

“Then don’t make me tell him.”

“I’ll only go if you don’t tell him.”

They both walked to the doors of the barn. Little Lilly kept to the back, behind her older sister. When they got to within five feet of the door, both of them shaking, the door creaked and began to open very slowly. From inside came a sharp deep voice,

“Come on girls. No need to be afraid. I don’t bite.”

“Let’s go home now,” Lilly tugged on her older sister, “I’m scared!”

Mary was shaking. Truthfully, she was now afraid of the barn that she so badly wanted to take her sister into. The door had opened by itself and someone INSIDE had welcomed them in. How could you not be scared if the whole time you thought the barn was uninhabited.

The voice spoke again, “Mary, you want to come in, don’t you? Then come and rest awhile. I’m going nowhere.”

“Who are you?” Lilly bravely asked.

“Come on in and I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you who I am and so much more. Come to me, Lilly.” the deep voice from inside the barn said.

For some unknown reason, both Mary and Lilly felt compelled to go inside, Like a force was pulling them inside. Below them, it was as if the ground was moving them inside. They could hear it. A soft rumbling. A groan. A creek. Like the ground was splitting. They both screamed.

That didn’t stop the barn from pulling them in.

“Help me, Mary,” Lilly cried.

The voice spoke, “The more you struggle, the worse it gets. Please don’t ruin my first visit in 20 years. It’s really lonely out here.”

“MARY,” the little girl cried, “what do we do”

“I’m not going to hurt you girls. Welcome to my humble home. Inside is your every desire you ever wish. From deep in your hearts, I follow through with your desires,” the voice said, “Dear Mary, you go first.”

“Who are you?” Mary asked, fearfully.

“Sorry, Mary. That’s a question. Not a desire. Or wish. Try again.”

“Fine,” Mary hissed, “I wish to know who you are.”

“Stubborn little girl!” came the voice with a sigh, “My name is Barn. I’m the barn you are in. The land around us is me. I’m the wood, grass, weeds, Earth, and everything else you see. In fact, welcome INSIDE me.”

“Let us go,” Mary cried.

“Now Mary. That won’t be fair. You just showed up. Stay for a while. We have some wheat left. she’ll go make us some bread and let us have a meal.”

“Not hungry” both girls cried.

“Yes, you are. I am too.”

The girls now felt hungry. Their bellies trembled. They tried to remember the last time they ate. Not too long ago. But yet, they felt like it had been forever. The two girls must have been standing in the living room because just on the other side of the walls- if that was what they were- they heard the sound of pans and kitchen appliances clanking and banging. The voice invited them to come in.

“You can’t keep her waiting forever, as she has been doing,” it said.

As they stepped through the kitchen door, a figure stood. Dissolved and hunched over the counter, still human though. A dry skin wrapped around the bones and the eyes were so far into the skull, you would have wondered if they were there. Little Lilly let out a small loud shrike. Mary tried so hard to hold it in but even she screamed.

“Welcome girls,” the figure said, giving a sweet-looking smile.

“Grandma,” both girls screamed.

“So you have found me at last girls. Long time no see. Don’t you think so?”

“What happened to you, grandma?” Mary asked, watching her grandma as she made the dough.

“This is what happens when people forget you. You become insane and bake bread for unexpected guests,” the woman said, waving her hand around the kitchen revealing all the many shelves of bread that were but long hardened, or moldy.

“What is this place?” Lilly asked.

“My dear Mary, this is my home. It has and will always be my humble home.”

“You said you were in the barn,” Mary said, “ what does that mean?”

“That is my butler. Ignore him. Buttler on your toast girls?”

“Yes please!”

She found the butter and scrapped something on the bread. Then she said,

“Your desire, Mary. I can sense it. What is it dear?

“I want you to come back home with us.” the older sister replied, “everyone says you are dead. But you aren’t. You can come back home.”

“Mary, there is a truth you don’t want to know. I am dead, my girls. I died long ago. People don’t want a dead spirit among them. I can’t go back. This is my home now.”

“Can we go and tell mom that you live?” the little girl asked

“No!” grandma responded, “since you have seen me and talked to me, you cannot return to the living. You both will die and become one of me. A Ghost. In a dilapidated barn.”

The two girls hugged each other and began to cry. Their tears suddenly feel cold. The blood in their veins became ice cold.

“Please grandma, let us go,” they both cried

“You have to stay here with me. I can’t handle being left alone for much longer.” the granny cried, standing up straight

“What happened to you, grandma?” Mary asked, now having trouble breathing.

“I died!” the grandma said calmly, “And today, the fate that fell to me will fall on you. And just as I was forgotten, you also will be. Nobody is here to save you.”

“Please take me and not Lilly,” Mary cried, “I lead her here. Let her go.”

“Sorry, Mary but that isn’t how death works. One person dies, everybody dies. You both will die tonight.” the grandma said, tears showing in the eye sockets.

The two girls cried in each other’s arms. As they screamed together...

Their very breath left them.

The room got dark.

They both died…!