Mystery Valley Arizona
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I had just finished a long day of work and was heading home when I decided to stop at the grocery store for some beer. As I entered through the automatic doors, something in my peripheral vision caught my attention; it appeared to be an old woman sitting on a bench against one wall near the door.
She didn’t seem to notice me as she looked off into space with her hands folded together and leaning back on the seat; she seemed lost in thought.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there were more than three or four people seated around this woman – they all appeared to be staring at her. As I walked over toward them, I realized that some of these individuals looked like they had been crying; their faces were wet with tears.
They all wore serious expressions and seemed to share a common bond; they were all looking at the old woman who sat motionless on the bench. One man stood up from his chair and approached the bench, he knelt down beside the old lady’s head and bent close to speak softly to her ear before getting up and walking away.
Another young man followed suit, kneeling down next to the bench and speaking quietly to the old woman. At this point, I decided to sit down and take a look myself.
When I first saw the old woman lying there, I wondered what could have possibly happened to bring such despair upon her face. Her skin was pale and translucent; it almost looked like she might be dead. The wrinkles around her eyes were deep and pronounced; they formed dark circles that surrounded her once bright blue irises.
As I got closer, I made out the words “Old Woman” written in shaky handwriting on her forehead in bold black letters.
As I continued watching her, I became curious about what these other people were doing; they seemed so intent on whatever the old woman was saying. After studying them for several minutes, I noticed that each person seemed to be wearing a strange outfit; they all wore the same color of clothing which consisted primarily of white.
Most of them wore plain shirts and pants but many others wore dresses and hats. There were men and women among those seated around the elderly woman, but no children; instead, there appeared to be infants wrapped in blankets being held by various adults. Several of these babies cried continuously as if they were frightened or sick.
All the adults were quiet and seemed afraid to touch these babies except for the ones who cradled them in their arms. A couple of them even tried to feed bottles of milk to one infant who only refused the bottle, causing the mother to hold the baby tightly. Other adults took turns holding this child, hoping that it would drink its milk.
It was obvious that they shared a common bond with each other; they all seemed to know each other well. Yet, despite all these similarities, they all behaved differently; they did not appear to be related to one another. For instance, while most of the adults cared for the babies, some of the men simply stared off into space, seemingly unaware of what was going on.
Some of the women leaned forward in chairs, trying hard to hear what the old woman was saying; however, the volume of her voice was barely audible. The only adult male who spoke was the one who knelt down by the bench; he seemed to have a special connection with her. He touched her hand gently and whispered soothing words in her ear.
When the old woman finally stopped whispering, he continued talking to her with great intensity until she suddenly put her hands over his mouth and moved him away. Two more men approached her, both of whom seemed to be quite distraught. One of them said something to her in a language I couldn’t understand.
The old woman shook her head slowly and pointed at the floor; the two men fell to their knees and bowed their heads. Finally, the old woman turned to the last man who sat closest to her. He was tall and thin and wore a strange-looking hat. She handed him an envelope and he took it without saying anything.
Then, she began to whisper again; this time, I couldn’t make out any words. Soon, all the adults disappeared, leaving the old woman alone. After a few minutes, she got up, picked up the envelopes they all left behind, and walked away.
It wasn’t long after this that I felt compelled to leave the grocery store and go back to work. As I walked through the parking lot, I noticed the old woman leaning against the hood of her car. She appeared to be resting, as she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. The sun shone brightly overhead and the temperature was pleasant; it hadn’t rained in a while and the sky was clear.
As I watched her, I wondered what had brought her here. Before I could come up with an answer, I heard a loud bang that startled me. Without thinking, I ran to the woman’s side. Her head rolled back violently and blood trickled from her nose. With great concern, I reached out to touch her shoulder. Suddenly, she jerked awake and screamed.
She let out a terrible scream, unlike anything I had ever heard before. This time, her cries were filled with tears and pain. “Help!” she shouted as her body convulsed uncontrollably. “Please! Help!”
The next day, I called the police to report the incident. They went to the scene and interviewed the old woman. Apparently, when she woke up, she found herself in a bizarre situation—the exact location where the old woman now lay dead.
Despite the fact that the woman had lived nearby for years and had never seen her before, the police believed that the old woman must have been the old woman from my dream.
Even though they could find no reason why the woman should have died, the coroner determined that she had died of natural causes; her heart had stopped beating as a result of the shock of finding herself in her own grave. However, I knew that the old woman’s death was no accident.
***
A year later, my wife and I moved to a new town. Once there, we bought a house in a nice neighborhood and planned to start a family. We hoped that once our child was born, the old woman would stop haunting us. But unfortunately, the old woman didn’t seem to care whether our child was alive or dead.
Instead, she continued to haunt us wherever we lived. Every night, I awoke to the sound of screaming; it always came from right outside the bedroom window. Each time, my wife and I rushed to the living room and peered out the front door. On those occasions, we saw a dark figure standing near the gate.
Like the first time, I immediately ran to the phone and called the police. They arrived within minutes and searched the entire area thoroughly, but found nothing unusual. However, I knew that this was not just a coincidence; the old woman had been following us. In fact, it seemed like she was searching for us.
One day, my wife decided to take a pregnancy test. She was surprised to discover that she was pregnant. While many people told us how happy they were for us, others appeared to worry about us. Our doctor suggested that we move somewhere else, where we wouldn’t be bothered by the old woman.
So, we sold the house and started making plans to relocate to a different state. My wife was excited at the prospect of having a baby. Although she didn’t want to admit it, she had always wanted to have children.
But when my wife’s first trimester ended, the old woman followed us. It happened one evening around midnight; my wife and I were lying in bed looking at each other when the screams of terror began. At first, we assumed someone was playing a prank on us—maybe even a friend or neighbor.
As we listened carefully, we realized that the shrieks were coming from our bedroom window. When we looked out the window, we saw a black shape just outside the fence.
My wife and I rushed to get dressed; then we opened the front door and hurried outside. However, when we approached the gate, the old woman disappeared. I asked my wife if she had seen where the woman had gone. She replied, “She’s hiding behind the bushes.”
I stepped toward the bush and said, “Old lady, can you hear me?”
Suddenly, the old woman emerged from the shadows. She appeared to be older than the last time, perhaps fifty-five years old. Her hair had long since turned gray, and her skin was wrinkled and leathery. And yet, despite her advanced age, the old woman looked fit and healthy.
She wore a white dress and stood tall and proud. With a look of absolute terror on her face, she raised her hand as if she was going to strike me. Then, suddenly, she vanished.
“What do you mean? Where did she go?” I asked.
In reply, my wife stepped forward and said, “Don’t be afraid, honey. She won’t hurt us.”
Despite my wife’s reassurances, I still felt uneasy. The old woman terrified me; she was cold and emotionless, with an icy stare that pierced through my soul. To make matters worse, I noticed something strange about the place where she had disappeared.
There was a small hole in the ground; it was just big enough to allow me to put both feet inside. Did the old woman dig that pit just to scare me? Or was it some kind of trap for me? Something bad is going to happen to me, I thought.
We spent the rest of the night watching television. Afterward, we went to sleep. During the early morning hours, my wife woke me up; she whispered, “Honey, I think I’m in labor.”
When I got to the hospital, I waited nervously until the doctors told me that everything was okay. However, once we left the room, my fears returned. We walked down the hall, and I could see a shadow moving just beyond the light. I stopped and watched the darkness, but nothing was visible. I knew it was the old woman again.
The next day, we heard that our baby was born. Doctors told us he was doing well. So far, the old woman hadn’t shown herself to us. This gave us hope that she had finally given up on us. We thought we had escaped the old woman’s curse.
But our hopes were soon dashed. One afternoon, my wife suddenly burst into tears. “Oh, honey,” she cried. “Why did you leave me alone in there?”
I asked what was wrong, but my wife refused to answer.
“Mommy, why are you crying? What happened?” my son asked.
My wife looked at him and said, “Baby, your father died today.”
***
My mother-in-law was not a nice person. I remember the first time I met her; she smiled politely and offered me a glass of lemonade. But after giving birth to my son, we couldn’t afford to live anywhere near my family. So, we moved in with my wife’s parents to save money.
Unfortunately, her parents had a negative influence on our lives. They were constantly nagging us, saying things like, ‘You should buy this’ or ‘That would look good over here.’ Soon, I became fed up with them.
One day, I came home from work and found my wife sitting on the sofa, staring at the wall. She seemed lost in thought, and I decided to sit beside her. I placed my arm around her shoulder and said, “Hey, honey, how was your day?”
She didn’t respond. I tried again, saying, “How was your boss?”
Again, my wife remained silent. I held her tighter, hoping my presence might comfort her. However, as the minutes passed, my wife grew more distant. By now, she was completely ignoring me. In fact, she was acting so strangely that I started to wonder if she was sick.
Then, all of a sudden, my wife screamed. She jumped up from the couch and ran into her mother’s bedroom. My wife slammed the door shut and leaned against it. She looked pale and frightened. As I approached my wife, I noticed that she had drawn the blinds to cover the window.
I could also hear my mother-in-law shouting from within the room. At that point, I realized that my wife must have been lying about being sick. In reality, my wife had gone crazy.
My wife shouted, “Go away! Just go away!”
I wanted to run to my wife and try to calm her down, but instead, I grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter. I crept toward the bedroom, ready to defend my wife. I pushed open the door to find my mother-in-law standing in front of the bed; the old woman was smiling at me. There were tears streaming down my wife’s face.
The End