![]() “Yes, there’s quite a lot of that going around right now.” Tim nodded. ![]() “I’m sorry to hear that,” said Jeff, “A lot of the Catholic churches are closing too. We’re holding our last service at the end of March.” She just turned fifty this year.” He sighed, “It’s a crying shame.” “Well, I read that the church was built in the early sixties.” Well,” Scarlett closed the door behind them and then pulled a sketchbook and pen out of her bag, “I’ve got a few questions to start with.” “Yes, really,” the pastor chuckled, “I’m kind of a paranormal buff, myself.” “Please, come in,” he continued as he ushered them into the vestibule. I’m a big fan of your blog,” he said excitedly as he shook her hand. “Hi, Pastor Tim? Thanks for agreeing to meet us,” she said as she extended her hand. Scarlett knocked on the front doors and, after a moment, a man in his fifties poked his head out. Scarlett briefly contemplated taking time to sketch it, but decided not to keep Jeff waiting around in the cold winter air. It was a striking building, and with snow covering the lot, the whole scene had an mystical air. Constructed as a large A-frame building, the roof touched the ground on both sides. The Woods Church was nestled in a deep wooded lot in the middle of a sea of tidy, post-war, baby-boomer, planned-community houses. Scarlett smiled in return, “Thanks man, but even if I did go back to church, I’m not Catholic.” But if you did, you’re always welcome to come with Mary and me and the kids.” “Anyway, if you ever do decide to start believing again, and I’m not saying you should, of course. “I could kick your ass before then, too,” he said with a smile. “Oh, so that’s how you got so good at Halo. “I remember she was always talking about how she couldn’t wait to get to church on Sunday – that’s why I thought you went, too.” “I didn’t really make a big deal about it. “I didn’t know that.” Scarlett turned to look at her best friend. “Well, when Maggie was stillborn, I didn’t go to church for a whole year.” Sometimes things like that make you stop believing. She’d visited quite a few psychics and mediums over the past twelve years. Trying to find her, and then later, when her family had finally given up hope, trying to find out what had happened to her, was one of the reasons that Scarlett had been drawn to the paranormal in the first place. No trace of her had ever been found – her missing person case had never officially been closed. Scarlett’s younger sister, Samantha, had disappeared while walking home during her freshman year of high school. ![]() “I can’t…believe…in church,” she sighed, “Not since Sam disappeared.” I just don’t…” She stopped, and looked out the window of the car. ![]() “Well, it’s not like I burst into flames when I step inside one,” she said as she reached down to change the radio station, “I mean – I’ve been to weddings and stuff. “I thought you hated churches,” said Jeff as they turned off I-480 and sat on the exit ramp, waiting for the light. After the trouble she’d ran into on her last investigation, she appreciated the company. ![]() Scarlett had gotten wind of the possible existence of a holy relic less than fifteen minutes from downtown, and she instantly knew it would make a great story for her blog. “Fine, I’ll do this without your help,” she declared to her now absent mind.Įarlier that day, her best friend, Jeff, had picked her up so that the two of them could go investigate the Church in the Woods, just south of Cleveland. “Well, good luck with that,” her brain said in a huff, “I’m out of here.” “I really want to write this now, while the experience is still fresh,” she thought as she sat back in her chair, took a sip of green tea, and sighed. “No, I need to get this out of my head,” she argued with herself. Each time she thought she had the first sentence, she ended up deleting it. She’d been trying to figure out how to start the newest post for her blog, Things That Go Bump in the Night, for the better part of an hour. “The one thing that I never thought I’d find in church…” Scarlett paused, frowned, and deleted the text. ![]()
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