Haunted Nights, Chapter 25
by SIPort

 

Simone opened the door to the cottage and kissed Jonah on the cheek.

“ Lunch will be ready in a few minutes. Only have to make the dressing.”


” What are we having?”

“ Quiche, Salad, Popovers, and a strawberry cheesecake for dessert.”


” Sounds great. I brought over the next assignment from Mr. J.”

“ Thanks. You fix the table.”


Jonah arranged the table, and carried the food to the table. He and Simone had a leisurely lunch.

“ So, how did he like your latest assignment?”


” He loved it. Oh Jonah, how he wooed his wife.”


” Yeah?”

” With letters. Man, they don’t write like that anymore.”

 “ It was THAT romantic?”

” Do the words HELL and YES tell you anything?”  Jonah laughed. “ So, do you know when she arrives?”

” Mr. J said that she would be returning in about a week.”

“ Oy.”

“ She’s all that?”


” And the bag of chips. But, don’t let her run you off.”

” Oh, I won’t. I find it interesting that she has HIM come and see her for weeks at a time.”

” Well, she is a big-time journalist. She goes where her work takes her. And he follows her. He does love her.”

 ” Yeah, he does. So, you want to help me with my next assignment?”

” Sure.”

“ Can you clear off the table for me?”

Jonah cleared off the table, and Simone poured out the box of pictures. “ These are old pictures, from his childhood on. Let’s see if we can get a chronological order going here. You know, I don’t know why photo developers stopped putting the dates on pictures. Made it so much easier for referencing.”

“ Tell me about it.”

Jonah and Simone work at the picture project for awhile when a picture catches Simone’s eye. She picks it up and doesn’t let it down. She sits and stares at it. Jonah noticed.

“ What’s up with the picture.”

 ” Call me crazy, but I’ve seen this picture before.”

” Oh, it’s a duplicate?”

“ No. I mean, I’ve seen this picture before, and I can’t place it. It’s so familiar to me. Like I should know it right away. “

Jonah took the picture. “ It’s a picture of a little girl next to her horse. Why should that be so strange. Looks like a common picture to me. Maybe there’s another one in this pile, and that’s what you remember.”

Simone took the picture back. “ No. The shadow of the horse and the girl. Look how haunting this is. How beautiful. It just draws you in. Look at her eyes. There’s a sadness in her eyes. Why, when she should be happy to be there with her pony.”


” I don’t know. But, it’ll come to you. Put it down, and let’s look at some more.”

Simone shrugged, and put the picture away from the rest of the piles. They were going through even more photos when Simone came upon one that stopped her dead in her tracks. Jonah noticed the expression on her face.

“ Simone, what is it?”


” You might think I’m crazy, but I know this guy.”


” Simone, the picture says that it’s from  1920. You recognize the senior citizen from a picture way back when? You’re good.”


” I’m telling you. I know a guy that looks EXACTLY like this guy. But, this guy is no senior citizen. He’s in his 20’s. “

“ Well, they say that somewhere in the world, everyone has a double. “


” But, it skips 60 years?”

Jonah shrugged his shoulders.  “ It’s another mystery, that we can solve later.”

Simone took the picture, put it with the other one, and then completed the task. Jonah had to leave for a meeting, and spent the evening looking at these two pictures. She finally drifted to sleep, until she woke up with a start. Hastily putting on pajamas , she ran out of the cottage, to the garage, and got in the car Mr. J was letting her use.

Jonah was sound asleep when he heard the doorbell ring. He ran downstairs and opened the door.


” Simone? Is it Mr. J? Is he in trouble?”


” No. I REMEMBER.”


” You remember?”


Simone came into the house, and looked at Jonah.


” I remember where I’ve seen this picture before. I used to look at it all the time when I was a little girl. “


” How?”

” My mother. She had only, maybe five pictures of her life before she met my father, and THIS is one of those pictures.”


” Your mother? Simone, come on.”


” Jonah, I swear to you. When I was a little girl, there was a time I was around six or seven when I used to look at this picture everyday. That’s how I knew this picture. Jonah, look at the back of this picture. Look at what’s scribbled on it.”

Jonah turned it over, and clear as day, it was written:

 

 My darling daughter & her pony Shelby

 

Jonah stared at Simone.


” Jonah..am I crazy? Or could my mother be Mr. J’s missing daughter?”

 

 

Chapter 26
 Chapter 24
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