October Veil Chapter One

When I left work that day, the cripst air stung my skin worse than the days before. Adding more layers everyday, leaving the house was again becoming a task not always worth the effort. My usual walk to work brought me by the 3 most historic homes in town, full of tourists flocking on the front lawns. Living in Salem was not easy, esspecially around Halloween, but I've lived here my whole life, and I could never seem to get away. I tried moving to California, but something in me missed the veil of mystery that cloaked this town and its rich history. It was almost like gravity.

I moved back in 1972 and have since lived right next to 3 very important homes in the neighborhood, once owned by very infamous witches in the 17th century. Two years later and the flocks of witch fanatics still come in waves like clockwork. December through June is very slow, but once August arrives, there is not an open hotel room within 100 miles of the town. I try to live my life as normally as possible, being a resident and not a tourist, but even me, someon who's lived through 34 Salem Halloween's, still feels strange once October first hits. The wind begins to sing, and the skies are a grey you could never match with a paintbrush.

That day, I had to take a detour to drop something off at my childhood home, where my mother still lives, and where my father passed away 8 years ago. I work for the local newspaper, and my mother sometimes takes pictures for the paper, being a gifted photographer. I was to drop a camera off at her house that was so graciously lended to my mother and I by the chief editor while my mother's was being cleaned. On this day, I noticed a woman standing in front of The Witch House, one of the more famous buildings in town. This would be normal, knowing that there is always at least one tourist surrounding this home, even in the off season, but this woman was alone, dressed in colonial garb, and looked pale, like she had just walked out of a damp basement and seen the sun for the first time in years.