Home for the Holidays: A Short Story (3 page)
Read Home for the Holidays: A Short Story Online
Authors: James A. Moore
Crowley looked back at the house, a frown on his features, and studied the structure carefully.
Silence greeted him, complete and eternal. The dead that had been in the house were gone and so too the man who had summoned them to visit and paid them in blood to stay away every year.
Laura charged past him, screaming her uncle’s name. He let her go, knowing full well what she would find inside.
The house was as empty as his own; devoid of family or loved ones. Once upon a time he’d lost his family too; the difference was he knew better than to try to call them back.
The wind called out, blasting past the empty house, drowning the sounds of a woman in mourning. Her losses were bad, but could have been worse. In the end, she still had her husband and her children waiting for her.
That would have to be enough.
THE END