As I walked up the driveway to the large run down old house, I was thinking, how lovely it must have been, at one time. I felt a little frightened of the lady sitting alone on the front porch, she was rocking back and forth. as if she didn't see me, I had heard stories in town, that she is a witch. I was here to interview her for a story, to be printed in the town magazine.

Hello , I said, My name is Mary, I am here to interview you for the story. She did not speak for a moment, then, she said, my name is Elaine. How many children do you have Elaine, I asked her. I had three children, she said, I also had a stepson. Where are your children, I asked? My children are dead, she said, my three lovely girls are dead. What happened to them, I asked? I'm tired, Elaine said, I don't want to talk anymore today. now, go away, you can come back tomorrow. Alright, I said, I'll see you tomorrow Elaine. I walked down the driveway, thinking of Elaine, I turned to wave, but she had gone inside.

The next day I was at Elaine's at eight am, she was on the porch, waiting. Hello Elaine, I said. She did not speak, just nodded hello. Shall we get started, I asked her? she simply said, I had a lot of money, when I married my husband, he did not have a dime, he married me for my money, he did not love me, he let me know right away, We had three lovely girls, he wanted them kept out of his way, he treated them awful. His son was all he cared about, he got away with murder, I went crazy for a while, screaming like a loon, talking to myself.

My girls are buried out back, by the old well, my step- son killed them, all three , I could not believe what I was hearing, Elaine, what are you saying? yes, he did, one by one, I could not stop him, I had to listen to their cries of pain, I tried to help, my husband locked me in the cellar, he left me there for two days, when he let me out, my babies were gone, I wished he had killed me also.

My husband and his son were evil, evil as they come, the step-son wanted my money, he ended up getting a lot of it, didn't do him any good though, what happened, I asked? I killed him, just like he killed my girls, I hit him over the head with a shovel and pushed him into the well, you could say, I killed his father to, he had a heart attack, when he saw what I had done, I through him in the well also. Since then, I have been alone, everyone thinks I'm crazy.

I don't know what to say, I can't print this. Lets just leave things the way they were, no one will ever suspect. I will tell them, you would not talk. Elaine, could I please come back to visit you, Yes I would like that, she said. As I got up to leave, I had to ask, why didn't you turn them in Elaine. I wanted my revenge, she said. I turned and walked away.

Copyright © 2004 lois thurman