Charlie's Encounter

Charlie was in his Grandparent's home. He didn't see them very often and when he did they almost never talked to him. He was at their house because his Parents thought that he should get to know his Grandparents a little more. Even though Charlie didn't want too and his Grandparents didn't sound so thrilled about it either. All the same they agreed for some reason.

Charlie had just arrived at the old mansion where his grandparents lived. It was really early and was still dark. No lights were on in the house but the door was

unlocked. Charlie let himself in and went into the front hallway.

"Grandma? Grandpa? Is anyone home?" called Charlie when he saw that the front hallway and parlor was empty. No response. When he walked into the dark living room he tried to look for a light switch. When he found one he flipped it up but nothing happened. No lights. Then he went over to a second door and tried to open it. It was open and led into his Grandpa's study and library. No one was there either. All of a sudden he felt a cold sensation down his neck that gave him the chills.

Right after that the door leading out into the hallway slammed shut. Charlie ran over to it. He tried to open it but the door was locked. Then the study door slammed shut too. He ran over to that. Locked. When he turned around he noticed a small window. He briskly walked over to it, and tried to open it. He was unsurprised, when he found that it too was locked. No way out. He felt the cold again. He thought he heard a click coming from the study door. He turned around. His heart was pounding. He was sure he had seen the doorknob turn. It seemed to Charlie that the room was growing smaller around him. He was exposed, big, and clumsy and rooted to the spot with fear. He couldn't even yell out for help.

The door suddenly swung open. Fear released its bonds on Charlie for a bit longer, enough for him to walk over to see if anyone had opened the door. He stared through the open door. Absolutely no one was there. No lights, no person. The chills came to him again.

"Charlie…Charlie," whispered a women's vise from behind him. As the voice came to his ears so did a soft music that sounded like a lute. He turned around and

what he saw sent shivers down his spine.

"Who…who are you?" Charlie asked, "What do you want?"

"We are White Women*. Come with us, we want to show you our castle. It's wonderful. Come with us, Charlie. Please, we want you," said one of the two female

ghosts, with long exuberant dresses. The one that had spoken was making a beckoning motion with her hand. The other was playing a lute.

"Why do you want me? There's nothing special about me," Charlie said trying to convince them that they didn't really want him.

Charlie had heard of White Women. When they call you name it's time for you to die. Sometimes people can escape from them by not listening to their calls. Other times people convince the White Women that it's not their time to be called. That's what Charlie was going to try, for he was not ready to die. But no matter what Charlie said, the White Women were stubborn. And the more Charlie looked at them the more beautiful they got and the more he actually wanted to go with them to their perfect castle high up in the heavens.

"Well…. I, I don't know. I really shouldn't go with you, I would need to say goodbye to my parents and all my friends. And I'm scared," Charlie said hesitantly.

"Oh, just don't you worry about the other people. They would never let you go. Even if you explained to them. They would never understand. And there's no need

to be scared. It doesn't hurt and we'll be with you the whole journey," speaking for the first time the Women playing the lute said quietly.

"Well, if you say…." Charlie started but was interrupted by a huge crashing sound behind him.

"Don't listen to them, Sonny! And you! Get away from my Grandson! You do this to all my guests. Lock the wife and me up, then try and take the guests away to you dreadful castle! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! NOW!" yelled Charlie's grandfather, who had just kicked down the door leading out into the hallway. Charlie being quite confused looked back at the Women. But they had vanished. It was then, that he noticed that the room was cold while the White Women were standing in front of him. A rush of warm air came through the busted down

door.

"Aw. Sorry about that Charlie boy. That's a very bad way to show some hospitality. As I said before, those While Women do that a lot. It prevents us from having any guests. That's why we didn't sound too happy when your parents said you would be spending the day with us. If it wasn't for those meddlesome ghosts we would have had you come over a long time go. Now let's get out of here and get into the kitchen. I think your grandmother is making some hot chocolate," Charlie's grandfather explained.

"Okay. Why do they do that? Is it the house? Or is it you and Grandma?" Charlie wondered out loud.

"I think it's the house really. It's a very old house you see and who knows who was living here last," Charlie grandfather said with a shrug.

"Charlie! Oh, it's such a relief that you're okay. How did you ever manage to keep those horrible White Women away for so long? I thought for sure we would find you long gone by the time we got out of that closet we were trapped in," Charlie's grandmother fussed. She gave him a cup of hot chocolate. It was delicious. And it made him feel a lot better inside.

"Wow! This is really good hot chocolate, Grandma!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Well, I've always had a reputation for it being the best hot chocolate around. And it helps to get rid of the awful feeling that those White Women give you."

"She likes to brag about her hot chocolate," Charlie's grandfather whispered to him.

"Well actually the White Women made me feel relaxed and calm. But it all seemed too good to be true," Charlie confessed.

"Yes, yes. The feeling those ghosts give you is evil bliss. It's too perfect, too good to be try, it's only false feelings, dear. And you remember that,"

"I definitely will."

The next few hours went by quickly. Charlie had a great time getting a tour of the mansion with his grandparents. It started to rain so they didn't get to go to see the gardens.

"You'll have to come again to see the gardens. They are absolutely beautiful around this time of years. Talk to your parents about it. We'd really love to have you back," Charlie's grandmother said as Charlie's parents pulled up into the long circular drive.

"Yeah, I'd love to come back here. Maybe while I'm away I can look up on how to get rid of your ghosts."

"Yes, yes you go and do that. Just make sure your parents don't find out about them. Otherwise they won't let you back here," Charlie's grandfather said.

"You mean they don't know? Well, then I'll be extra careful," Charlie, exclaimed, as he walked towards the car.

"How did your day go, sweetie?" Charlie's mom asked from the passenger seat.

"It was really fun. Grandma and Grandpa want me to come back soon. It started to rain so we couldn't go out into the gardens. Grandma said they are really pretty."

"Well, that's good that they want you to come back again. But do you want to come back?" Charlie's dad asked as he put the car into gear.

"Of course I want to come back!" Charlie said, while he waved at his grandparents. He waved until he couldn't see them anymore.

* White Women: Fictional ghosts from the book Inkspell written by Cornelia Funk