Sun Kissed Innsmouth
Part Sixty Eight
“What else could possibly qualify me for spending time out here?”
The old woman turned and looked down at the chicken nervously pecking at the ground near the extremity of the corral fence. “Well Nelly, what do you think?”
The chicken seemed to linger, to literally hen peck at the fence line and duck and weave its head curiously back and forth until it chose to walk slowly back over to Felecia. The simple animal began to prospect the dirt around one of Felecia’s shoes and that seemed enough of a sign for the old woman.
“Fine then. If old mum vouches for you, so be it. She was always kind, but simple. You can follow me, I know Nelly will too, until the corral gets too far afield for her that is.”
Felecia only just barely managed to hear the old woman murmur before her old yet steady feet began finding their way across the meadow. A quick jog back into the musty interior of the abandoned house and back had Felecia pulling her pack on and fast walking after the old woman to catch up to her. The chicken, Nelly, called and followed as well but it only took a few dozen paces before the animal slowed and seemed weary to continue on.
The old woman didn’t slow or turn her head but she spoke over her shoulder as she continued on, “See, old Nelly knows, the meadow has food, the woods though…”
Felecia wanted to respond to that, to find something profound or better yet poignant to add or counter with. Instead, all she could manage was a croaking sound followed by a dry throated cough that was loud enough to send the chicken running in a dead panic and have the old woman leaning and walking farther away from her.
A few more minutes of trudging through the meadow toward the woods beyond came and went before Felecia managed to speak up. “So, as I was saying before, are you, or well, were you a Conway?”
The old woman only scoffed for a moment and continued picking her way through the meadow using her lantern and her walking stick.
“I know you heard me back at that house before. It’s a perfectly understandable question, we look alike to some degree, you bear an uncanny resemblance to my grandmother. Why scoff when a simple yes or no will do?”
The old woman slowed and turned, looking down at the curious chicken that had begun following them once again only now clinging closer to the old woman than Felecia.
“Why ask a stupid question when a careful observation will do?”
Felecia found herself grimacing and feeling sour at such a miserly response to her genuine emotions. She needed someone to recognize her, to finally recognize and hopefully welcome who she was. Surely the old doppelganger could manage that much at the very least!
When no answer or immediate utterance erupted from Felecia as she stood staring blankly the old woman shrugged and continued on to the end of the meadow. She let her shoes rest in the suddenly wet and cooler earth and she took the time to acknowledge the sky above as she rested before she chose to break the silence and speak once more.
“Nelly is going to crap out, old mum knows what comes next, bless her old heart. What about you, girl?”
Felecia didn’t respond, at first. She chose her own version of silence, something more polite than the rustling of leaves and dismissive grunts given to honest questions. The old woman grunted and dismissed her once more before continuing on as Felecia examined the options. The directional lantern was already leering out at avenues Felecia knew nothing about, soon the light would disappear, soon the old woman and her trail would vanish in the woods beyond the edge of the meadow.
The old woman kept on marching until the weeds and the grasses suddenly gave way to the stands of tall trees with their lengths of barren earth that waited in between. The old woman only stopped at the edge of the meadow for a few moments, long after the chicken had come and gone and come again only to retreat once and for all to the relative safety of the roughly fenced corral.
“Is it all bad? Is there nothing to look forward to from here on?”
The old woman only scoffed and shrugged to boot. “Spoken like a true Nelly. Only thing to do is walk on, to come and see. So what say you?”