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A Light Shines In The Window
The Green House by country ranch writer
The Green house in the Swamp contest entry
Artwork by TeamFreeWill at FanArtReview.com

I am thinking maybe I need my head examined because here I am up at the crack of dawn on another assignment.

The day is already hot and humid, it was going to be another hectic day down here on the bayou. We
pull in and park. Here we are launching from a deserted boat ramp, we now put our canoe into the narrow canal.
.
The boat ramp was off a deserted road leading to the swamp we had heard about from some hunters in the area.

We headed towards the swamp ahead my world is transformed. An ancient looking turtle pretends to be

a part of a stump and then plops as we approach. Alligators swim close to the banks watching us with

their beady eyes as we paddle by. Limbs hang overhead as we navigate our way around fallen logs and

those sticking out the water.

We beach our canoe and climb out at the edge of the swamp dragging our canoe up on the embankment.

Making sure our canoe was tied off safely so it wouldn't drift off. We head into the swamp where they

claim white men rarely go. Mosquitoes are heavy out here and huge buzzing around us looking for a nice meal.

Despite this discomfort, we trudged on to see what was ahead.

Swamps need very little to make them creepier than they already are. This forsaken place perfectly

lends itself to spooky tales and lore. They just seem to inspire dread in those who look upon them. We

were out here hacking away at the thorns and bushes keeping us from our destination. Here we are now

thigh high trekking through the swamp. Here I am wearing my Levis and hiking boots, wishing I had

remembered my waders. My guide was a long time friend who liked to hike with me into the unknown.

He looks like an outlaw with his rugged looks. He reminds you of Sam Elliot crossed with a country

singer. Way too sexy to be clomping and tromping through the swamps. As I wade and stumble through

the swamp the worse it gets. I begin to wish I never agreed to do this assignment, but I needed the

money. At times I thought someone was watching us. The moccasins we encountered we as big as our

thighs. I prayed we would not get bitten. I was glad they didn't think we were worth their time and trouble.

After seeming like hours we finally reached our destination, I'll never forget seeing this place for the first

time. It was one of the greatest moments of my life, it was a clearing! I couldn't believe my eyes. There

out in the middle of nowhere, was this beautiful green house! Here, right in the middle of the swamp, I

had to do a double take. Where did it come from? How in the world did it get here? All round it was

nothing but beauty, right here in the swamp. The lawn was lush green, flowers were in the window

boxes, a swing was hung in the nearby tree. It was like you'd read about in a fairy tale. Reaching the

house I discovered it was deserted, although a lantern was shining in the window. The place was

furnished in an old time style of somewhere in the nineteen hundreds. Everything was in pristine shape

and not a dust bunny to be seen anywhere.


My friend said he remembered reading somewhere in a journal of a place like this. Could it be the same

one? He said they called it the green house it was once owned by a young couple. They were known to

argue all the time, but he usually made up with her by showering her with the finest gifts money could

buy. She was known to be a stubborn as the day she was born and always had to have things her way.

Well, one year they had a terrible hurricane and he'd had gone to fetch supplies. He had told her to stay

inside and not get caught wandering around the bayou.

He was gone way too long, he was hours overdue and she was beside herself. He was delayed for a few

hours due to the storm.

Growing concerned, she took it upon herself to venture out into the storm to look for him. Well, she got

turned around in and wandered deeper into the swamp getting lost.

It was late when her husband got home, he went out looking for her with a lantern when he came upon

her buried up to her neck in quicksand. He just stood there looking at her dumbfounded. All he could say

was, "I warned you not to go wandering around but you didn't listen!" She begged and pleaded with him

but he just walked away leaving her to get out the best way she could.

"Stop!" I said, "You are creeping me out."

How could a man be so heartless as to do something as horrid as that?

They say she haunted him till the day he died making his life a living hell.

Suddenly my guide pointed to a green mist swirling by the rocking chair by the fireplace. It began to drift

towards the door, passing by us on the way to the front door. I lost it I screamed and ran out of the house

behind it. The mist was headed towards the swamp, so my guide and I followed out of curiosity. The green mist was met by another green mist holding a lantern, they turned and headed back to the house

together.

Heading back the way we came we made it back to the edge of the swamp before dark and headed

back the way we came never to return back to the swamp ever again we were done with the bayou forever.




     

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