In the previous chapter, John and Mel hired the service of a crane to remove the old trees.

*****

After they had the dead trees removed, Mel wanted to give the empty places, where those trees had been, a new and decent look.

She made her way to the place near the pond, and when she got there, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

There was a gnome pointing at the grave and he had a piece of paper in his hand. With trembling hands she took the paper and read the one line written on it:
“Meet me at the graveyard. ‘W’

Mel’s lips and throat had gone dry. She looked at the grave again, but she didn’t see the gnome anymore…; only a bony hand rising from the water. But before she could faint she saw the gnome again. He was farther away this time, but looking at her and pointing out that he wanted her to follow him.

Her first impulse was to do so, but then she thought: ‘No, I shouldn’t… First I’ll make a phone call to John and tell him what I’m planning to do…; You just never know.’

On the other end John listened to his wife, and thought: ‘My wife is alone… Her mind must be playing tricks on her. I will take her out tonight to the theater. I should take her out more often; perhaps she has a mid-life crisis…’ He said: – “Alright honey…; take a walk. Be careful. I’ll be home in a few hours.

After that Mel started walking in the direction where the gnome had pointed at, trying to understand the things that were going on.
No wonder that the people were telling her to be careful with this house! Could those sounds and the breathing during the night have come from this tomb’s ghost?

She found herself on the graveyard after some walking. She hadn’t noticed before that there was one so close to the house.

She didn’t have the slightest idea what she was here for, but she could as well look at the graves and the names on it and she didn’t like the looks of this cemetery.

All of a sudden she heard the sound of slow footsteps on the gravel. She turned around and then she saw the most remarkable, colorful woman she had even seen; it was a woman with dark hair and vivid, light-grey eyes. Mel couldn’t stop staring at her. She was startled when the woman started to talk. Her voice sounded harsh…, like rough sandpaper: – “Come and follow me, girl!”
Mel looked around but there was nobody else. She pointed at herself and asked: – “Me…? A girl…? I’m not a …”

The woman raised her voice: “Damn! Don’t you dare to contradict me! I told you to follow me!”

Mel felt like 6 years old again in an instant, and followed the woman.

After a walk, which seemed like an eternity to Mel but only lasted about 15 minutes, they arrived at an open spot in the forest.

There were 2 gypsy wagons and a camp fire. The woman told her to wait a moment and she went to free the horse that had been locked in during her absence.

With every minute passing, Mel felt more insecure. The woman continued looking at her in silence. After a while she asked: – “Family?” Mel answered: – “Well…, yes…, my husband. We don’t have any children. I have some cousins but they are very busy with their own lives.”
– “As usual”, mumbled the woman.

Then the woman took a deep breath and started talking: – “I’m Wolfspryte. No, it’s not my family name… It’s my warrior name.”
Mel said: – “That name sounds familiar to me. Isn’t there some designer named Wolfspryte?”

The woman seemed annoyed when she answered: – “Could be…; I’ve had 16 children and they, most probably had their own children. I don’t know. I can’t see anything concerning myself and my family. They accused me to be a very harsh mother and they left home from the moment they could stand on their own two feet. Never heard of any of them since then. So… there’s at least one who admires me enough to use my warrior name, huh! But… what am I telling you?! It’s none of your business!

There was another one of these awkward silences. Then the woman said: – “I hear you have been inquiring about the house you live in right now. I can tell you more about it.”
Mel got excited: – “Oh really? Oh…, you’re a gypsy! Do you have a crystal ball where you can see the past and the future?”

“A crystal ball? Fiddlesticks! I don’t need that stuff for inspiration! Now sit down…, be quiet and don’t drag me out of the trance I’m going into!”
Mel was impressed when she looked at the colorful gypsy woman in front of her. Then the woman with the warrior name ‘Wolfspryte’ started to talk:
“I will tell you what happened in the Tumbledowns house. Many, many years ago, Jonas and Doris Tumbeldor lived there. Mrs. Tumbeldor was rumored to be a garden witch. And, during the most terrible droughts, or in the coldest winters, her plants grew like no-one else’s. The reflecting pond out back was always crystal clear and inviting. Mr. and Mrs. Tumbledor didn’t have any children, but they were kind and generous people…; they were loved and respected by all. They would never turn their backs on loved ones or strangers in a time of need. That’s how HE came to stay with them… Mr. Tehther. He was evil… and unkind.
And, one day, he snapped. He struck Mr. Tumbeldor, right there in the once beautiful gazebo, while Mrs. Tumbeldor came running out of the house to try and stop the horrible fight.”

Mel didn’t dare to speak but she was shivering all over and had goose bumps while she listened.

“She was running towards the beautiful statue by the reflecting pool, beseeching the Goddess to intervene… she made it to the edge of the pool before Tehther caught her. From that time on nobody has seen them again. Neither bodies nor graves have been found on the property.
To this day, a very special plant grows beside the now ruined pool from, what is believed to be, Mrs. Tumbeldor’s tears. There’s also a rare plant that grows in honor of her love for Mr. Tumbeldor, and there are rare seeds scattered about the house. The secrets of her garden plants are hidden in the bookcase.
The house and grounds have laid in ruin for decades… That’s why people changed the ‘Tumbeldor’ to ’Tumbledowns House’. Perhaps restoring the reflecting pool and gazebo…, the house and the gardens…; perhaps if the graves are found and if the butterflies that appeared that dreadful day are released…, perhaps then Jonas and Doris Tumbeldor can finally find peace….”

Wolfspryte came out of her trance. Then Mel asked her if she knew what the future would bring her.
– “Haven’t you had enough information? I’ve told you what has happened and I don’t think that I would do you a favor by telling you what lies ahead. That is your destiny. You cannot escape it. We all walk on a pre-set path, tied to it with a very long invisible, elastic rope that allows you to wander off to the left and to the right… but you always have to come back to your destiny. The only thing I can warn you about, lies behind the bench and I warn you: don’t trust your own love for nature. That should be enough!” The woman went inside considering her task as completed.

Mel tried to find her way back to the main road and when she doubted which way to choose, there was always that gnome showing her the way out.
While walking, an idea started to form in her mind; she wanted to find the other tomb stone. When she arrived home, she prepared lunch and waited for John to come home from work. After lunch, she showed him the piece of paper and the tomb stone. He really was stunned, and he thought: ’Thank God that it was full daylight when this story was told to her’.

It was something very odd… a gnome had that piece of paper and…. who on earth was Wolfspryte? And how was she able to relate what happened? If though she had witnessed those moments? For Mel it was very difficult to estimate that woman’s age. She didn’t look much older than she herself… or did she? Anyway she gave the impression being older.
Where would that man  ‘Tehther’ have gone afterwards? There were so many questions!

Mel didn’t have the patience to go to the theater as John had planned. In the beginning he had thought that she was stressed and that those things were only in her imagination but now that he had seen the grave and the paper, he became nervous as well. He decided to take some days off from work to help Mel in the garden, and to help finding the other tomb stone.

As you can imagine, they didn’t sleep much that night because the sound of the breathing became more meaningful to them. They only had naps and lay on the bed completely dressed. Mel didn’t dare to take one step alone; John took care that he was always with her and she was really grateful for that. Now she felt ‘observed’ as she said to her husband. If though there was something ‘chilly’ looking at them but they didn’t see anybody.

Next day, they did quite a job digging near the gazebo and near the place where the other dead tree had been. But they didn’t find the other tomb. John had only been able to rescue the first tombstone from the water. He buried the skeleton hand; because he knew the impression it would have on his wife having to see that over and over again. The weed and rumble grew faster than Mel could remove it. The gnome was gone. It was all so mysterious… but at least they were doing something that maybe could change it all for the best. They only had to find the other tomb stone, and give them both a decent funeral.

To be continued….