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[AA] The Ghost in the Hayloft

The Ghost in the Hayloft by Catherine-Alistair Dorian Costanze

Deep inside a firebush lived a small family of mice. You had Bacco, the patriarch of the family. Then, there was his precious wife Orchid. Lily, the eldest one. And last but most certainly not least, there was Nettles, their only son. 

The family lived peacefully throughout the day. Rummaging the farmer’s crops and hauling their goodies back to the firebush. Drinking tea pressed with juniper berries inside the bush served with delicious blackberry scones. Without a doubt the most important attribute was how much they looked out after each other.

Especially at night, when things went bump in the night.

There was a rule in place for the family: NEVER, under any circumstance, should they enter the barn at night.

Why?

Because of The Ghost in the Hayloft. 

Every night, the creature lets out a terrifying screech. Enough to pierce the souls of anyone who heard this ghostly call. 

Lily heard the ghostly tales. 

“If you don’t behave, The Ghost in the Hayloft will get you!” Orchid would warn the misbehaving Nettles.

“Its eyes glow in the dark,” she remembered old Palmetto raving. “I also heard that it makes duplicates of itself!”

That’s not even going into the rumors of mice disappearing that were attributed to the Ghost.

However, Lily was a natural skeptic. She was never one to believe in stories of ghosts and goblins and other terrifying things that bumped in the night. Her family thought it was foolish of her to lack fear, but Lily saw it as courage.

“Lily, dear, why must you fill your head with nonsense?” Orchid reprimanded her as she was cutting the carrots.

“It’s not nonsense, mother. It’s called having a healthy dose of skepticism.” Lily fought back. 

“Well, whatever it is, it ends tonight,” Orchid rebutted. “Besides, you are giving Nettles too many bizarre ideas.”

The matriarch finished slicing the green onions  and set all of the vegetables into a pot. The vegetables hissed under the heat and the butter melted.

Lily sighed, annoyed over her mother’s continued delusion.

Dinner was served that evening. A hearty carrot, potato, and turnip stew topped with green onion and cream. Biscuits that were again served with elderberry jam. And lastly they were served with a refreshing yet fizzy drink consisting of blackberries. They called it the Blackberry Buzz.

The family chewed happily at their festive dinner. 

All, except for Lily. 

She simply had one elbow on her table, deep in thought.

“Lily, dear, no elbows on the table.” Orchid said.

“Sorry, mother,” she said, putting her elbow down.

“What’s eating you, sweetheart?” Bacco asked, noticing a shift in her behavior.

“Well, it’s just…I really want to know who the real Ghost in the Hayloft is,” Lily answered truthfully. “But, everyone seems to doubt or dismiss my curiosity.”

“Lily,” Orchid warned.

“Orchid, dearest, please let her speak,” He placed a hand around his wife’s arm, running circles with his thumb. “Continue, please, my dearest Lily.”

“Well, I want to ask you one thing. Mother, Father…will you let me go to the barn tonight and meet The Ghost in the Hayloft?”

The parents were too stunned to speak. They had been requested many things before, but this was beyond their comprehension.

Orchid’s temperament, however, changed.

It went from shock to neutral and then fury.

“Absolutely not!” Orchid shouted. “You will not be permitted to go anywhere near that farm! Not while other mice keep disappearing and leaving due to that blasted ghost!”

Lily was determined.

“Fine.” Was the only word she could muster up.

She went over to her room and quietly closed it.

**

Night fell and Orchid was putting all of her children to sleep. 

Lily was last.

“You know I love you, right, Lily dearest?” Orchid cooed, rubbing one of her daughter’s ears.

“Yes, Mother dearest.” Lily responded back.

She stopped rubbing and pressed her lips on her cheek.

“Goodnight, Lily dearest.” Orchid said.

“Goodnight, Mother dearest.” Lily answered back.”

And like that the door was closed.

Lily waited and waited and waited. She waited quite a while for the house to finish stirring before departing.

She left the safety of the firebush in favor of finding out who The Ghost in the Hayloft is. She snuck out using her dark green cloak and satchel. Hiding in the darkness, she dodged the lights that illuminated brightly around the house that the farmers lived in. 

She scurried past Goldie the flame colored cat. She never truly feared the cat as she knew she was far too old to catch her and her family.

 The fields of grain and other goods were on display, as if they were tempting her to pick up the delicious harvest. 

And the apple orchard…She took a minute to smell some of the fruit that had fallen from the tree.

Definitely fermented.

She finally made her way towards the barn, which was blanketed by a thick layer of darkness. The only source of light coming from a single LED lantern.

The cows in the barn were resting peacefully. She wondered how any of them could get some rest, especially with the alleged Ghost in the Hayloft wandering around.

She continued passing through the barn, climbing up the panels holding the place together. She made it to the top of another panel.

The smell of hay was overwhelming, even from up here. She let out a sneeze before panicking and covering her mouth.

Silence.

Followed by the sounds of the crickets chirping.

Maybe Mother was right. Maybe, there was truly a ghost here.

I really shouldn’t have done this, Lily thought to herself.

She continued moving across the panel until she made it to her destination. She had no lighting and was confronted by complete darkness. She could feel feathers all throughout the hayloft.

Then…

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

As if it were a choir of them!

It was accompanied by the sound of knocking.

Lily was knocked back, yelping in fear.

The screaming and knocking stopped for a moment.

She curled into a little ball, cowering in fear.

“A mouse,” the silhouette spoke. “That’s a first.”

“F-First?” Lily repeated, stammering as she got up. “Who…Who are you?”

“...Cata.” It answered.

Lily produced a small lantern in her hand. She lit it with a tiny match.

When she opened the hatch of the lantern, it soaked up the fire from that match. The match was extinguished by shaking it a few times. The lantern glowed upon talons.

Lily gasped.

She looked up with the lantern.

She was met with a mixture of cream and brown feathers. 

She went further up.

She saw the heart shaped disk, the round, seemingly void eyes, and beak.

Lily yelped, jumping in her skin.

“It’s The Ghost of the Hayloft!” Lily announced.

“The Ghost of the Hayloft?” Cata repeated. “That is a new one.”

“W-What do you mean?” Lily stammered.

“I have been called many things: Banshee, Nightstalker, Mouse-Killer…”

Lily took a few steps back.

“Oh, dear,” Cata remarked. “That one always seems to do it…But The Ghost of the Hayloft?...I quite like that name. What brings you to my domain?”

“I wanted to know who The Ghost was,” Lily confessed. “To know if it was real.”

“Well, did I satisfy your curiosity?"  Cata asked.

“I have a question…” Lily stated. “What is up with the creepy screeching and knocking sounds?”

“It’s how I and my children ward off danger.” Cata answered. 

“Children?” Lily repeated. “You have children?”

“Yes. I named them Hiver, Lorchad, Clive, and Barker.” she introduced her children to the mouse.

“Those are…quite the lovely children that you have.” Lily awkwardly complimented.

“Can we keep her?” Clive asked.

“Clive…” Lorchad sighed. “We can’t just keep a visitor that waltzes into the hayloft, let alone a mouse.”

“Keep me?” Lily scratched her head in confusion.

“Excuse my children, they are quite inquisitive.” Cata said.

“Oh no, it’s quite alright,” Lily retorted. “But, I do have another question…well, actually it’s more of a rumor I heard. I heard that you are responsible for mice going missing in the area. Is…is it true?”

Cata sighed. Not out of annoyance, but more of someone who is hesitant to tell the truth.

“You wish to know the truth about the missing mice?” Cata asked.

Lily nodded her head.

“Are you sure?” Cata prodded.

“As I will be.” 

“Little one, my first duty is to my children,” she started. “I have to make sure they and I are fed. But in doing so, I ensure the farmer's harvest.”

Lily sat there in silence, the ambience of the crickets filling the night.

“I do what is in my nature,” Cata said. “I understand why you would object, but it is survival to me and my children.”

Lily continued standing there.

“I understand it must be difficult for a mouse to hear.” Cata remarked.

Lily looked over to the owlets. They were all huddled together in the mixture of hay and down feathers.

They weren’t monsters, just simply hungry.

But, she also thought about her family residing in the firebush.

She finally understood why her mother feared the barn at night.

“I may not understand it, in fact I think I ended up with more than what I bargained for.” Lily confessed. “Here I was, thinking I was going to see a ghost and I ended up talking about the ethics of eating my kind. My family will not believe this...”

“Oh yes, it is truly a strange night for you, Little One.” Cata retorted. “They do say never to ask questions if you’re not prepared for the answer.” 

“No, I’m glad I asked,” Lily responded. “It’s just…I feel like I’m wrestling with myself. One part of me wants to accept the answer but another part of me is furious. I understand why, but…why?”

“Little One, that is the unspoken truth of Nature. You can never remove the fangs of an alligator for he needs them to eat.”

Silence.

“Do you have any other questions for me, Little One?” Cata questioned.

“I have no further questions.” Lily answered. “I’d best be getting soon. My mother will start having her head spinning if I don’t arrive by dawn.”

“Very well then,” Cata retorted. “Farewell, Little One. I hope to see you again.”

“Likewise.” Lily shot back.

**
Dawn had arrived and it was a beautiful shade of teal. The moon was still present, overlooking the skies until the sun arrived.

Lily had made it home on time, but not on time to be caught by her mother.

“Oh, my!” Orchid accidentally dropped an apple slice. “Where have you been?!”

“At the barn,” Lily responded. “There was an owl living there with her babies. Her name is Cata and-”

“‘After I explicitly told you not to enter the barn?” she could feel her fury boil up.

“Yes…” Lily sheepishly answered. “B-But I discovered the truth.”

“Well, I’m glad you found your truth.” Orchid retorted. “Doesn’t make the barn any less dangerous. Promise you’ll never go to that barn, okay?”

“Okay,” Lily compromised. “But…can I tell you what Cata is?”
“What is she?” she asked.

“A mother. Like you.” Lily responded.

From that night onward, The Ghost in the Hayloft was known to the mice as Cata. The barn was still dangerous after dusk and Lily kept her promise to her mother.

Cata’s ghostly wails still penetrated the night sky, but Lily knew it was the sound of a mother crying out to her babies.

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