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The Mysterious Mrs. Rust
"Come on, Sue! Hurry up, Lee!" Polly shouted to her friends as they walked slowly behind her. "We're going to be late for our Wildflower Girls meeting at Miss Brown's house! What are you waiting for?"
Sue and Lee stood perfectly still as they looked up at the large, dark house on the corner. "Maybe we should turn around and go another way," Sue whispered nervously.
"Why?" Polly asked. "We'll be late if we don't take this short cut. Why are you two so scared?"
"You mean, you haven't heard about Mrs. Rust?" Lee gasped, shivering as she said the name. "I thought everybody learned about her the moment they moved to North Creek."
Polly shook her head. "No, I don't know anything about her. She wasn't one of the neighbors that came over to meet my family when we moved in last month. But my mom said she knows that she’s an older woman and it's hard for her to get out much."
"Her age isn't the reason why nobody ever sees her leave her house," Lee said. "It's because she only leaves her house at night!" Sue almost shouted.
Polly scratched her head. "What? That's silly. Why are you scared of her just because she only leaves her house at night? Do you think she's a vampire or something?"
"She's a witch!" Sue and Lee told her in unison.
Polly laughed. "That can't be true. Witches are only in fairy tales."
"That's what you think because you're new in town," Lee said, putting her hands on her hips. "Sue and I know better because we've always lived here. Everybody knows Mrs. Rust is a witch."
"How do you know for sure?" Polly wondered.
Sue sighed. "Isn't it obvious? Just look at that scary house she lives in!"
Polly titled her head back and stared up at the large house hidden in the shadows, glancing at the cob webs that covered the windows and shutters, chipped black paint on the siding and the large tree limbs and dead leaves that covered the front yard. "I guess it is pretty creepy," she admitted weakly.
"And what about that strange smell?" Lee chimed in as she pressed her hands over her nose. "It's awful! I bet it's a potion from her spell books!"
Polly wrinkled her nose when she caught a whiff of the sour, nasty odor. "It is bad. But maybe she just burnt something on the stove, our house stinks for hours when my mom burns dinner."
"Polly," Sue groaned, her voice squeaking as she pinched her nostrils together, "when are you going to believe us? We're your best friends, we wouldn't lie to you about something this serious."
"Well, you are great friends," Polly agreed as she thought of how nice Sue and Lee had been to her since she moved into town, helping her get to know the other kids in the fifth grade and become a member of the North Creek Wildflower Girls.
"Oh, no!" Lee said suddenly, backing away as she pointed up at the house. "Look!" Polly felt her eyes growing wide as she looked up the driveway and saw a black cat walking toward them. "A black cat!" she whispered, too frightened to scream. "She really is a witch!"
"We told you!" Sue cried.
"Let's get out of here!" Polly said as the three girls joined hands and ran away, taking the long way to Miss Brown's house, too scared to care if they were late.
"These cards are beautiful, girls," Miss Brown told her troop as she collected their artwork at the end of meeting. "I know that the soldiers receiving these will love them."
"What are we going to be doing next time, Miss Brown?" Polly asked as she turned in her card. "Next time we'll be sharing our stories after we complete our community assignments."
Lee smiled. "Awesome! I love community assignments."
"Me too," Sue said, clapping her hands." I hope we're helping at the humane society again, I loved walking the dogs."
"Community assignment? What's that?” Polly wondered. “My troop back in Denver didn't do those."
"Community assignments are things we do to help out around North Creek," Miss Brown explained. "We've done lots of fun things like putting up decorations at Christmas and collecting new books for the library."
"So what are we doing this time?" Lee wondered curiously.
"Well, this time I thought we'd do things a little differently."
"What do you mean, Miss Brown?" one of the other Wildflower Girls asked.
"Normally, we work together as group," Miss Brown said as she sat down. "But this time, each of you will be paired with someone in town to help on your own. Sue, you're going to be helping Mrs. York down at her day care center."
"Thanks, Miss Brown," Sue replied. "That'll be a lot fun! I love reading stories to the little kids and helping them with crafts."
"Just make sure you don't get any glitter or glue on your uniform, Sue," Lee giggled. "What will I be doing, Miss Brown?"
"Lee, you've been assigned to help Mr. Pepper run a food drive at his grocery store."
Lee grinned. "Mr. Pepper is awesome. He always gives me the extra cookies he has in the bakery to take home."
"How about me?" Polly asked, growing excited to learn who she would be helping after hearing her friends' assignments.
"Polly, you're going to help your neighbor with a few things around her house she can’t do on her own anymore. Have you met Mrs. Rust?"
"Mrs. Rust?!" Polly mumbled, feeling her stomach ache as her fellow troop members gasped.
"The witch," Sue said softly.
"Be careful, Polly!" Lee warned in whisper. "Only do outside chores. If you go in her house, you may never come out!"
"Mom, I can't go!" Polly told her mother as they walked down the sidewalk. "My stomach hurts and I think I have a fever."
"Polly," her mother said with a sigh, "you're fine. I took your temperature and it was normal."
"That doesn't mean my stomach doesn't hurt."
"Those are just nervous butterflies. If you had a serious tummy ache, you wouldn't have had two slices of pizza for lunch."
Polly rubbed her stomach. "These butterflies are more like bats.”
"There's nothing to be scared of. This isn't like you; you weren't scared on your first day in a new school."
"That was different."
"Why?"
"Because the kids at my school aren't witches!" Polly answered.
Mom fought a smile. "A witch? You’re being silly."
"I am not! I'm serious! Sue and Lee told me. How could you not know? Everyone in North Creek is supposed to know."
"Well, I haven't heard anything about it."
"That's because you're an adult. Adults don't have to worry about witches. Witches only pick on kids."
"Polly, you know better than that. Mean witches are only in storybooks."
"That's what I thought, too!" Polly sighed. "But she is a witch, Mom, I even have proof."
"What kind of proof?"
"Well, there's that creepy house she lives in. A normal person wouldn't live in a dark, old house like that."
"That house only looks creepy because it's rundown and shadowed by a lot of trees, Mrs. Rust is too old to care for it properly. Besides, lots of people have dark, spooky basements- does that make them witches?" Mom asked.
"No, but basements are different. Most basements are creepy. And it's not just her house. Yesterday there was a really gross smell coming from her home!"
"There are lots of foods that smell bad. You and I are always holding our noses when your dad brings home those stinky cheeses he likes."
Polly groaned. "This was worse than cheese! Dad's cheese is bad, but not so bad that It would leak out of the house and bother our neighbors. Only a potion could be that bad!”
“Polly, you’re getting upset over nothing, just calm down.”
“I can’t, Mom!” Polly cried, standing frozen on the sidewalk when they reached Mrs. Rust’s house. “I just know she’s a witch. At first, I thought it was silly, too. But it’s got to be true. I mean, a creepy house, gross smells and she has a black cat! Every witch has a black cat.”
“Your Aunt June has a black cat,” Mom reminded Polly. “And how about you? Billy is black, does that make you a witch?”
“Mom, Billy’s a bunny. Bunnies don’t count. And if you make me go in there and see her, I’ll probably never come out and never see Billy again!” Polly told her in a whisper.
“Polly,” her mother said as she stroked her hair, “do you really think I would let you go visit Mrs. Rust if I thought she might hurt you?”
“No.”
“That’s right. Now, I’ve met Mrs. Rust and she was very nice and very excited about meeting you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, she’s looking forward to the company. Do you think it’s fair to judge her before you’ve even met her? Just imagine how hard moving here would’ve been if our neighbors thought things like that about us before we even said ‘hello’ to them.”
Polly bit her lip nervously and thought about how lonely she would be if the kids in school had all believed she was a witch and stayed away from her like they did with Mrs. Rust. “It would make me really sad,” she said quietly.
“Me too. So, don’t you think you should give Mrs. Rust a chance?”
“I-I guess,” Polly answered uneasily.
“That’s my girl. Now go on up and knock to let her know you’re here.”
“You’re not coming with me?!”
Mom shook her head. “No, you need to do this on your own. I’ll wait out here until you’re inside.”
With a deep breath, Polly walked up the driveway, dragging out each step as slowly as she could. When she reached the door, she straightened her hair and smoothed the wrinkles in her uniform. But eventually, she ran out of ideas to keep herself outside and broke down and knocked with a trembling hand. She heard footsteps shuffling inside and loud creaks on the floor. Polly gritted her teeth as the door knob turned, preparing herself to come face-to-face with the witch and she gasped when the Mrs. Rust appeared. To afraid to speak, Polly only stared at the woman’s wrinkled face, dark eyes, bushy white hair and black robe as Mrs. Rust stood in front of her, leaning heavily on her wooden cane.
“May I help you?” the woman asked in a deep, raspy voice.
“I-I-“
“Speak up, child.”
“I’m Polly,” she squeaked out. “I’m with the Wildflower Girls I’m supposed to help you today.”
“Oh,” the woman said with a crooked smile, “of course. Come inside.” Polly stepped forward into the dark house as her legs wobbled and her stomach churned. Then, Mrs. Rust slowly shut the door behind them and Polly gulped as Lee’s warning echoed in her ears.
“If you go in her house, you may never come out!” Polly’s eyes darted around nervously as she followed Mrs. Rust into her living room. She was surprised to see the old lady’s house didn’t look much different from hers’ on the inside even though the furniture was older and dusty. Could it be a trick to fool her guests into thinking she was normal?
“Are you cold, Polly? I can get you a sweater.”
“No,” Polly answered quickly, afraid to admit she was trembling from fear and that she would never borrow a witch’s sweater, no matter how cold she was. “So, what do you need me to do?” she asked, anxious to hurry and begin her assignment so she could leave soon.
“Well, I was hoping you would help me make a scrapbook.”
“A scrapbook? You mean, you don’t want me to rake leaves or clean dishes?”
“No, dear, I couldn’t ask you to do my chores. I know this house isn’t as well-kept as it should be, but that’s my responsibility, not yours’. But I could use some help, you see the boxes with all my pictures are in the bottom of that cabinet,” she explained as she pointed to the corner, “and they’re very hard for me to reach. Could you get them out for me?”
“Sure I can,” Polly told her as she walked over and opened the bottom drawer. She peeked inside curiously; but only saw a few shoeboxes, just as Mrs. Rust had said, no bottles of potions or spell books.
“Thank you, Polly. Just sit them on the table and we can get started.” Polly carried over the boxes and set them down beside the glue and scissors.
“I thought my grandma was the only person who kept pictures in shoeboxes.” Mrs. Rust smiled. “Glad to know I’m not the only one. But thanks to you, I’ll be able to stop. Do you want to look with me? I’m looking for pictures of my son, Rich.”
“You have a son?” Polly had never heard of a witch with a child before, she thought witches hated children.
“Yes, he’s all grown up now. I see him a few nights a week when he takes me to the grocery store after he gets off work and sometimes we have dinner together.” So that’s why she only went out at night.
“Oh, here’s a photo of him when he was about your age,” Mrs. Rust said as she handed Polly a picture.
“Is that you with him?” Polly asked as she looked at the woman standing beside the boy with long, wavy brown hair.
“Yes.”
“You look so pretty,” Polly whispered. Mrs. Rust blushed. “Thank you, but that was a very long time ago and beauty fades.”
“That’s not true, Mrs. Rust. My grandma may not be young anymore, but she’s still pretty.”
“You’re wise young lady, you’re right someone doesn’t lose their beauty just because they grow older. I guess I let myself go a bit,” Mrs. Rust said, running her hand over her wild hair slowly. “I’d like to go the beauty parlor, but with Rich only being able to help me at night, I’ve never been able to make an appointment.”
“Well, my mom works at the hair salon downtown, maybe some day she could stop by and give you a haircut.”
Mrs. Rust grinned. “That would be nice, maybe I’ll ask her.”
Polly smiled back, no longer frightened by Mrs. Rust’s crooked grin.
“Oh, and here’s a picture of Rich when he graduated from-” Mrs. Rust said, sighing as the photo slipped from her fingers. “Oops.” “Don’t worry, I’ll get it,” Polly volunteered. As she leaned over and grabbed the old picture, she felt something warm and fuzzy suddenly brush across her legs and she screamed when she saw the black cat she had seen in the yard with Sue and Lee staring up at her.
“That’s just Sam, Polly, don’t be afraid,” Mrs. Rust said calmly as she guided the cat to her lap. “He won’t hurt you, he’s very gentle. Sam’s just excited to see a new face, I haven’t had company in years besides my son.”
Polly petted Sam’s head. “He is sweet,” she agreed. “Sorry if I scared him. How long have you had him?”
“Three years. I found him on my doorstep one night, hungry for food. When I saw his black fur, I just knew we were meant for each other.”
“Why would you say that?” Polly asked nervously.
After spending time with Mrs. Rust, she had begun to think that she wasn’t really a witch, but now she didn’t know what to think. “Well, many people around here believe I’m a witch. If I was going to have a cat, it just seemed right to have a black one.”
“You know about that?”
Mrs. Rust chuckled and nodded her head. “Oh, yes, I’ve known for years. My son and I are always laughing about it. You know, you’re the first girl brave enough to come here. I had asked Miss Brown to send someone to help me from your troop for years, but you’re the only one who ever came.”
“Well, I was pretty scared at first,” Polly admitted. “But I’m not now. Why do you let people think you’re a witch?”
“I’m not sure. I guess I thought it really didn’t matter. Most people probably wouldn’t want to visit with an old lady like me even if they knew the truth.”
“Sure they would,” Polly told her with a grin. “I’ve had fun meeting you, I bet other people would, too.”
“You really think so?”
“Yeah, actually, I would like my best friends Lee and Sue to meet you, so they can find out the truth about you for themselves.”
“Oh, were they the ones who shared the old rumor with you?”
Polly nodded. “Yes. And I guess it was pretty silly to believe it, but it did seem kind of weird that you only came out at night, there was a weird smell coming from your house and you had a black cat. But now it all makes sense because your son works during the day and Sam has black fur. The only mystery left is that weird smell coming from your house a few days ago.”
“That has a simple answer, too,” Mrs. Rust said with a laugh. “Split pea soup.”
Polly wrinkled her nose. “That green stuff that looks like baby food?”
“Yes, I had a window cracked open while I was cooking. It may stink a little, but it’s tasty. Maybe some day you could come back and try some.”
“I’ll pass on the green soup, but I would like to visit again,” Polly said as she looked around the old house. “Maybe I could help you with some cleaning.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“Because we’re friends now and helping each other is what friends do.”
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