Shadow Box

"Oh, hello there! I'm so glad you could come to visit. It's been such a long time since I've had...company," Mrs. Throckmorton said cheerfully, with a slightly eerie smile.

Right off, I had a feeling of mistrust about the old woman. My mind warred with itself. Part of me wanted to leave immediately. The other part chastised me for being irrational. Besides, I certainly didn't want to hurt her feelings.

So, putting my gut instincts on hold, I bravely followed her to the kitchen where coffee awaited us.

"Hasn't the weather been absolutely fantastic?" she asked as we sat at the old dinette set. "I simply adore this time of year. The flowers are coming up, the birds are returning, and the fairies come out of hiding."

I started at her last statement. Instead of asking her if she'd really seen any fairies, I kept my thoughts to myself. Surely she was just a lonely old woman who was given to flights of fancy now and then. She seemed harmless enough.

"Cream? Sugar?"

I came back to myself to focus on what she was asking.

"Both please," I replied.

She rattled on as she added both to my coffee.

"You're new to this neighborhood, aren't you? Yes, I believe I saw you moving into the old Craiger house a couple of weeks ago. They were such a nice couple at first. Tragic thing to happen to Betsy Craiger though."

I tilted my head in question and the old woman needed no more prompting.

"She went and got herself put away in the state hospital. Her husband came home one evening and found her dancing like crazy in the back yard. He had a devil of a time getting her to quit. She was going around in circles and telling him she couldn't stop. Kept babbling about something forcing her to dance. I think she might've been possessed or something myself. In the end, he called an ambulance and they took her away. Her mind went funny after that."

The feeling of dread crept back from the place it'd been hiding. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"So Mr. Craiger sold the house not too long after that?" I asked.

"No, dear. The strangest part about the whole ordeal was the day he just up and disappeared."

"That is strange," I murmured. I had no idea my new house had such a disturbing past. It was unsettling, like some sort of bad movie plot.

Mrs. Throckmorton must have noticed my discomfort at last. She reached over with a wrinkled hand, disfigured with arthritis, and patted my arm. On my bare skin, her hand was surprisingly warm and soft. Somehow, the gesture made me feel a bit better.

"Oh, listen to me rattle on. I get so lonesome for company sometimes. You'll have to excuse this old biddy," she said with a chuckle.

I couldn't help but smile then.

She tipped her head and asked, "Would you like to see my collection?"

"Sure. That'd be nice. What do you collect?"

"Come with me to the den, dear. I've got most of them stored there."

I followed her slow amble down the hallway. Her house was neat and tidy. Not a thing seemed out of place. I found that to be amazing, given her obviously arthritic condition.

She turned on the Tiffany-style floor lamp in the den, effectively chasing away the shadows and casting a warm glow about the room. I looked around and saw several wooden shadow boxes mounted to the walls.

"Oh pretty," I said politely, not entirely sure what I was looking at.

"Aren't they lovely? I caught them all by myself. In my younger days, mind you," she replied with a chuckle.

I stepped over to the mantle to get a better look, not that I really wanted to. I didn't want her to think I was being rude or anything. That was when I realized what the contents of her collection really were. My mouth hung open in shock and I let out a small scream.

The thin gossamer-like wings were held in place by wickedly sharp-looking straight pins. Little arms and legs were bent in unnatural positions. Their bodies were dried out and greyish, now mere husks of their former glory. And the tortured expressions on their faces made my heart ache for them.

"You know, I haven't seen any of these in a long time. That's another reason I don't have any new ones," the old woman said sadly. She seemed to ignore the fact that I was freaking out over her disturbing "collection".

"They're-they're-fairies!" My mouth finally remembered how to work.

"Of course they are, dear. Aren't they pretty?" she asked with a proud smile.

I stared at Mrs. Throckmorton for a moment. She seemed so harmless and innocent. I didn't think she was aware of the wrong she'd inflicted on these hapless creatures. All I'd ever read about fairies was sweetness and innocence. I simply couldn't understand why she caught and killed so many. My mind was reeling. I had to get out of there so I could clear my mind.


So, instead of berating her for the senseless violence, I bit back the angry outburst I was going to let loose on her. I don't think she had a clue. Besides, if she could so easily catch and kill harmless fairies, what would she do to me? She was a virtual stranger, after all.

"S-sure. They're -uh- very pretty, Mrs. Throckmorton," I stammered. I didn't want to let on how shaken I really was.

"Thank you, hon." She turned off the lamp and led me back to the kitchen area, blissfully unaware that I was trembling slightly.

"Would you like another cup of coffee?" she asked, refilling her own mug.

"Um, no thanks. In fact, I just remembered. I have to pick up the children from school. It's their first day and all...." I trailed off, hoping she'd take the hint.

Her face fell.

"I understand, dear. I do hope you'll stop by again for another visit. I love having company over, you know," she said. "Maybe next time you could bring your children over."

It was definitely NOT on my to-do list but I wasn't going to hurt her feelings by saying so.

"That sounds great. I had a wonderful time, Mrs. Throckmorton. Don't bother getting up, I'll see myself out," I said, walking over to the door.

"All right, dear. Take care, Mrs. Nelson."

"You too, hon," I replied, closing the door behind me. It was all I could do to keep from racing back home across the street. She definitely gave me the creeps now. I silently vowed to keep the children away from her house in the future.

Visions of evil elderly women from old fairy tales were racing through my mind just then and I almost missed the flutter of iridescent purple wings. I caught a glimpse of a small cheerful face and a shimmery twinkle from the corner of my eye. It was gone just as quickly as it appeared.

My heart lifted at that briefest glimpse and gave me hope.

"I guess she didn't catch all of them," I murmured as I went inside, feeling better already.