I walked outside into the Michigan air. I didn’t care much for this town. The reason I still stayed here was for two people: my boyfriend Michael and father Matthew. It was early in the morning and I was sitting on my porch thinking about my past. I sat there waiting on Michael I hadn’t seen him in a while. My mind started to wonder I had lost my sister Emma, just a few months ago. We looked so alike only difference between us is she had eyes green like grass on a rainy day and mine were as bright as a morning blue sky. Just as I got deep into my thoughts my thinking got cut short. I heard the gravel start rumbling. My eyes shifted from the ground to the drive to see Michaels truck coming my way. As he stepped out of his car I staggered over in his direction.
“Good afternoon. “He glowed of light when he approached me. I lunged my arms around his neck embracing the feeling of his touch. “What do you want to do this afternoon?” he asked me.
I responded “There’s a photo album that I felt like looking at. I found it in Emma’s bedroom last week”. He grinned and led the way toward my house. As we both sat there on the floor sweat started to drip off my fingertips. I never really had the chance to sit down and revisit old pictures of Emma. But before I could get too far into the album a rumpled old vanilla scented piece of paper fell out and landed on my lap. I gazed at it for the longest time before opening it.
Written in black the words said “The dark of the night was meant to hide the crunch of the leaves beginning to fall “.

My heart sank, my mind started to race. What sick person would play a twisted joke like this? Tears started to roll down my checks like a bad storm pouring with rain. I reached out for Michaels hand. He tried to comfort me but nothing seemed to help. My mind was dazed, all I could keeping thinking about was about was why had I let her leave the house my body swept of grief. It was beginning to get dark the sun was setting under the horizon. We stood there in the mist of the air and finally decided it would be best if we walked somewhere. I hated those deep, dark, and dangerous woods behind my house but at the moment I just wanted to be anywhere than where I ended up. I never had a good feeling about what could be larking in them. I stopped in mid thought and glanced at my hand. What if the note wasn’t a joke? What if something or someone had put it there for a reason?

“Michael I think we should go into the woods I feel like Emma is in there somewhere we just have to look.” I said pacing back and forth.

“Are you crazy she’s been gone for almost three months Emily there’s no way she could still be in there “. He said pulling at my arm.

“She is! I know it, I’ll go alone if I have to I don’t care” As I stomped away.

The Trees started to roar as I entered the woods with caution. I tried to remember some of the things Emma used to tell me about these woods she always fascinated by them. Emma had told me once there was this old oak tree that glimmered in the sun shine just about a mile in that she used to sit under it and think. Left. Right. Left. Right my feet began to race. I was crazy, but my world was gone it had disappeared into space. My feet were two paces ahead of me stumbling and sore. When happening right before my eyes I tripped. In an instant I landed face first in a pile of red autumn leaves. My nose twitched, my eyes watered, the aroma wasn’t very pleasant. I started to dig. Deeper and deeper the leafs but I stopped half way and tried to reached out trying to find something to help balance me. My sister was dead. Before me laid her body. Naked, cold, and red with the words “Your next “carved into her skin. I swore I could hear her cries. But I was wrong. All that was left was her cold, wet, lifeless body. With a note almost identical to the one I had discovered earlier in Emma’s room but instead this one said “The Dark of the night hides what could be right behind.”