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Storyteller's Cabin |
"You all right, Mister?" the Manager asked as he poured Joe a steaming cup of coffee. Joe shook his head and told him the story of the ghost he'd seen in the church. The Manager stared at him for a moment, then sat quietly beside him and said, "That weren't no ghost you saw. I think you saw Mary Ann Finch. And the Sheriff's been looking for her for days."
The Manager went on to explain that Mary Ann was a young woman who'd escaped from a nearby mental hospital. Seems she had delivered a baby girl out of wedlock a year or so ago. She was so scared that the townsfolk would shun her that she killed her baby, and buried it deep in the forest where no one would find her.
But her guilt only festered inside her, eventually making her crazy. So much so that her family put her in the hospital. But while she was in there, she cried out that she had had a change of heart, and wanted to dig up her baby, lying somewhere out there in those piney woods, cold and alone. Problem was, she couldn't remember where she had buried her.
One night the doctors went to Mary Ann's room to give her her nightly sedative, but she was gone. Most folks figured she had run off into the forest, but nobody was too eager about going in there and finding her.
After Joe told the Manager his story, the police went back to the old church, but all they found were a bunch of muddy footprints. But Joe didn't stick around long enough to find out what ever happened to Mary Ann Finch. He delivered his equipment as promised and rode back home, swearing never again to take a questionable short cut, no matter how much time it saved,
And he also learned that he shouldn't easily dismiss the tall tales that older folks might tell him. 'Cause there may be a germ of truth in them after all, if you listen hard enough.
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