Dan Poblocki - The Stone Child

Eddie felt his stomach turn to ice. What was going on here?

His mother was reading the story Harris had pulled from the hole in Nathaniel Olmstead’s basement earlier that week! She couldn’t have written these words, could she? The Dark Mistress’s Desire. The Wish of the Woman in Black. The titles were eerily similar, but the stories were exactly the same-the descriptions of the town, the main characters, the plot.

Harris reached out and grabbed Eddie’s arm. He mouthed the words, What is she doing?

Eddie shook his head and tried to ignore him. His heart pounded silently as his mother read the first chapter of her first book to her first audience. He wanted to stand up, to shout for her to stop, to explain herself, but he couldn’t do that, of course. Not only would he embarrass himself and his family, but it would bring attention to the fear he felt inside, and it was the fear that frightened him most. He was certain this was the work of the Woman in Black, that she was watching him even now. Was this merely one of the Woman’s illusions? Was it possible that Mom was currently reading a different story, but the Woman in Black was making him hear this one?

Eddie almost couldn’t stand to listen to the rest, but finally his mother finished. The audience slowly began to applaud. Eddie turned around. Though most of the crowd appeared to be enthusiastic, several people looked upset. He heard someone behind him say, “I think we’ve got another Nathaniel Olmstead in our midst…” Eddie couldn’t tell if it was meant to be a compliment.

The words echoed in his head.

Another Nathaniel Olmstead… Another Nathaniel Olmstead…

Slowly, the puzzle pieces started to fit together.

He leapt to his feet, stepping past Maggie and Harris into the aisle. Turning around, he waved to them and quietly said, “Follow me.” Without waiting for the audience to stop clapping, he made his way through the store, out the door, and onto the front porch. Harris and Maggie were close behind.

Harris shut the door and said, “What the heck is going on? Did you tell your mother about the book we found in Nathaniel’s basement? Is that why she wrote all that?”

“No,” said Eddie. “I didn’t tell her a thing.”

“Did she find the book? The Wish of the Woman in Black? Did she copy it?” said Harris.

Eddie shook his head.

“So how did she-” Maggie began, but then she interrupted herself, her realization dawning. “Oh my gosh…”

“Is someone going to tell me what’s happening here?” said Harris.

Eddie cleared his throat. “I think I know the real reason my family moved to Gatesweed.”

The door opened and Dad’s face appeared. He looked annoyed. “Edgar, come back inside and tell your mother what you thought of her story. She’s waiting for you.”

Eddie opened his mouth to speak, but words wouldn’t come out. He glanced at his friends. Harris nodded toward the door, and Eddie reluctantly followed his father back inside. Harris and Maggie trailed behind him. Mom and Frances stood chatting near the food table. As Eddie approached, Mom turned and smiled at him.

“So what did you think?” she said.

“I’ll let you two talk,” said Frances, ruffling his hair and wandering off to greet her other customers.

Eddie felt dizzy, but he managed to say, “It was really… creepy.”

“Thanks,” she said. She was hugging her notebook against her chest. “Coming from you, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Eddie reached out and touched the cover. “Can I see it?”

“Sure,” she said, “but don’t read ahead.”

Eddie took the notebook from her. He felt Maggie and Harris come up on either side of him. They looked over his shoulder as he opened the cover. What he saw there nearly caused him to drop the book on the floor. He looked again, this time more closely, to make sure he hadn’t imagined it.

He hadn’t. His mother had drawn the symbol in the middle of the front page, over the title, like Nathaniel Olmstead’s handwritten books in his basement.

“Eddie, what’s the matter?” said his mother. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Why did you draw this here on the first page?” said Eddie, pointing at the symbol. He knew she’d seen it before-in The Enigmatic Manuscript the night they’d moved to Gatesweed-but after everything that had happened, it horrified him to see that she had drawn it at the beginning of her notebook too.

“Oh, that thing?” said Mom, almost distracted. “I don’t know. It just sort of popped into my head when I picked up the…” She didn’t finish. She suddenly looked embarrassed.

“When you picked up the what?” said Harris.

Eddie’s mother blinked. “When I picked up my pen,” she said, “the symbol popped into my head. For some reason, I wrote it down. For luck or something. I didn’t really have a reason.”

“What kind of pen was it?” said Maggie.

Eddie’s mom took a step backward. “I don’t know. It was something I found in one of my husband’s boxes of antiques,” she said. “In fact, I think it was in there with that book I gave you at the beginning of the school year, Edgar.” She waved to her husband, who stood several feet behind Eddie. “Honey, didn’t we find that pen at the same antiques fair as Edgar’s book?”

“Yeah,” said Dad. “I think so.”

“The pen… What does it look like?” said Eddie, his voice rising. He knew he was starting to sound paranoid, but he could barely think, never mind speak.

“It looks like a… small silver dagger,” said Mom. “It’s very pretty. When I hold it, I just… want to write.” The three kids stared at her. “What’s this all about, Eddie?”

“It’s nothing,” he heard himself say. “Do you still have it?”

“Of course,” she said. “It’s at home.”

“Where?” said Eddie. “Can we see it?”

She looked at him like he was crazy. “Yes, I’ll show it to you tomorrow morning. When I’ve finished my book.”

“No!” shouted the three kids together. Mom was so startled she nearly fell backward into the food table.

“Sorry, Mom. Can we see it now?” said Eddie.

“You’re being very strange, Eddie,” said Dad. He moved a folding chair as he took a step toward his wife.

“I know I’m being strange,” said Eddie. “But it’s really important.”

“Fine,” said Mom, exasperated. “We’ll be heading out in a few minutes.”

After Eddie’s parents said goodbye to Frances, they all piled into the blue station wagon. Eddie, Harris, and Maggie squeezed into the backseat.

“I really wish you kids would tell me why you’re so upset,” said Eddie’s mother.

“We’re not upset,” said Maggie. “We loved your story. We’re just curious about… how you wrote it. That’s all.”

“You’re curious about a pen?” said Eddie’s dad.

Harris coughed. “We… really like pens.”

Eddie nudged Harris in the ribs. His parents weren’t stupid. Harris turned red and shrugged.

It was dark by the time they arrived at the Fennicks house. The kids scrambled out of the car and tried to wait patiently in the living room. Eddie’s mom brought her “pen” downstairs, and when she finally handed it to Eddie, he felt a jolt. It was freezing cold. The tip was sharp. And its chain seemed to shimmer like the tail of a comet. It looked and felt just as he imagined it would. The weight of its history was overwhelming.

“Satisfied?” asked Eddie’s mother.

“Sure,” said Eddie, trying to control the fear in his voice as he headed up the stairs to his bedroom. “Can we borrow it for a second? I want to try something.”