Inspired by the Nancy Drew series
It was a sunny afternoon, as Sarah drove down the dusty road to her Aunt's house. She was helping them move out of their house, as they were moving to a city. Sarah Brook was turning the car into the driveway of her Aunt's house, when she heard a call, "Hey! Get ye car off me's property!" Sarah turned the car engine off, and turned around in her seat.
There was no one there. She thought for a moment, and then pulled the key out of the ignition. She got out of the car, and stepped back several paces. There was no doubt that Sarah was on her Aunt's property. She walked over to the trunk of her sunny yellow convertable, and pulled her bags out. Sarah had a purse, a suitcase and a daybag. She walked up the grand front steps of her Aunt's house, and opened the door.
"Aunt Alice? I'm here? It's me, Sarah!" she called into the house. Sarah stepped in, and closed the door behind herself, being that the house was well lit.
"Ooh, Sarah!" Aunt Alice came rushing to her from upstairs, "I'm so glad you are here! And just look at you, driving and traveling out here by yourself! What lovely clothes, darling! Now how old are you, dear?" she got right down to business on her question.
"I'm seventeen, Aunt Alice. And may I say that I absolutely love you house?" Sarah returned the polite comments.
"Thank you dear, but I promise you, you won't say that tonight."
Sarah took her bags up to her room and got settled in. She then came downstairs for dinner, and talked to Aunt Alice about the house.
"But Aunt Alice," she argued, "why on earth would you want to sell such a beautiful house like this? And to whom?"
"Deary, I am only selling it because of the whispered curse I hear every night when the clock chimes midnight. And to whom? I am selling it to the nice farmer who has his yard a few meters across to the right," Aunt Alice said casually, as she ate her dinner.
Sarah's mind clicked. She knew who it was. "Tell me, Aunt Alice, does this 'man' like to yell at you about where you park on you land?"
"No dear, he is so nice - he brought me a nice box of chocolates once. Of course, they were all marzipan, and you know I absolutely cannot stand marzipan," she smiled up at Sarah.
That night, Sarah lay in her bed until midnight, awaiting the chime of the clock, followed by the sound of the whispered curse. Chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime. Sarah lay still after the twelve chimes, awaiting the curse. She soon had it.
"If ye does not clear off me's land, then ye will be finished for ye's life-ife-fe."
Hoping up, Sarah grabbed a pad of paper and a pen. She wrote down the threat she got when she parked on Aunt Alice's driveway, and the the whispered curse she had just heard. After doing so, Sarah sat down and studied them.
"Yes! I have it!" she said. Sarah headed back to bed, and got a few hours of good sleep, knowing what was going on.
The next morning, Sarah ran downstairs to see Aunt Alice. "Aunt Alice! I know what is going on!"
"Good morning, and what, deary?" She turned around in the kitchen.
"Ok, so you said that the man wants this property, right?" Sarah asked, a little out of breath.
"Yes - he said he wants to have it so he can move family in here." Aunt Alice said, clearly not understanding.
"No, he doesn't. I compared the whispered curse and the threat that I got when I parked in your driveway. They have the same voice, and they use the same language - ye and me's. And I heard the curse coming from the man's barn. He is the whispered curse. And come, I think I found what makes the curse happen."
The two of them - Sarah and Aunt Alice - headed upstairs to the main hallway. Sarah walked over to the hallway table, and searched it.
"Sarah dear, I honestly don't understand," Aunt Alice said.
"Not yet, but you will. Do you have the key that fits in this drawer?"
Aunt Alice pulled a key ring out of her pocket. "This was missing a while ago, and then I found it. This is the key you want."
Sarah fit the key in the drawer, and pulled it open. Inside lay a tape recorder. Aunt Alice gasped as Sarah pulled it out. "Explain to me, dear."
"The whispered curse and the threat I recieved use the same language and have the same voice - they are by the same person. And I heard the threat coming from your buyer's barn. You also said that this key ring was missing. He recorded the curse, timed it for midnight, put it in the drawer, locked it, and then said he found the key ring and gave it back to you. Your buyer wants this land, and he is afraid that if you are not scared, then you will stay. You see, he wants the land for other purposes, and he is scaring you off of it! And here, I will prove it to you," Sarah clicked the button on the recorder. It played the curse again.
"Ahh...Dear, I do not know how to thank you!" Aunt Alice said.
"That is simple: cancel the deal. Keep your house, that is all," Sarah said.
The two of them went to enjoy their breakfast in the house in peace.