“That is its name.” Harris trotted off down the hill and across the pasture. He called over his shoulder to Eddie, who stood frozen like a statue. “And that’s where we’re going.”
Once over the small ridge, they came to a green carpet of plants stretching under a flat expanse of trees. They continued their hike in silence. Under the dense canopy of leaves, the light filtered dimly, almost green. The forest was surprisingly dark. The smaller trees twisted toward the rare rays of sunlight. Fighting for space in the rocky soil, some of the bigger tree roots bulged like the swollen tentacles of deep-ocean creatures. As Harris led Eddie into the woods, they waded through a shallow sea of ankle-high plants. There was no path, only dead leaves and prickly brush. Eddie hoped he didn’t end up with poison ivy.
Finally, they reached a place where the trees did not obscure the sky. A circular clearing stretched out in front of them. It was approximately twenty feet in diameter. No greenery grew here. The ground was covered with small rocks. Dust hung in the air.
From the edge of the clearing, Eddie could see a white figure standing just off the center of the circle, closer to the other side. It looked like a ghost.
“What is that?” Eddie whispered.
“A statue,” Harris whispered back. “Come on.”
They slowly made their way across the clearing. A raven heckled them from a nearby tree, but Eddie couldn’t take his eyes off the figure. Standing in front of her, he could make out more details. The statue was gleaming white-a girl about his own height. She wore a simple robe that bunched at her shoulders, draped at the waist, and fell, pleated all the way to her feet, like something out of a painting he’d seen in an art history book. Her hair was draped in simple wavy ringlets past her shoulders. Her arms were bare and her toes peeked out from the bottom of the robe. The small-domed base on which she stood was carved with all sorts of beasts, dragons, sphinxes, and other strange creatures Eddie did not recognize. Her smile was almost undetectable as her milky eyes stared at Eddie and sent chills up his spine. Her arms were extended, and in her hands she held an open book tilted toward herself.
“What does the book say?” said Eddie.
“See for yourself,” said Harris, staying back.
Feeling almost nauseated, Eddie stepped forward, stood on his toes, and peered over the edge of the stone pages.
“It’s blank.” Feeling a little too close to her gaze, Eddie stepped away from the statue. “She sort of looks familiar…”
Harris smiled, raising an eyebrow. Eddie felt like he was missing something. Then it hit him.
“Isn’t she from…?”
“The Haunted Nunnery” said Harris. “Yup.”
“Whoa,” Eddie whispered. He’d found another of Nathaniel’s inspirations. Up close, it looked exactly as he’d imagined.
Something small crunched through the brush outside of the clearing, and the raven cawed again. The noises made Eddie’s skin prickle, but he told himself that these woods were filled with squirrels, chipmunks, and mice, all harmless creatures that were very good at making crunching sounds. Trying not to sound as freaked out as he felt, he nonchalantly asked, “This is cool and everything, but what does a statue have to do with my book?”
“I didn’t bring you here to look at a statue. I brought you here to look at this statue. And I don’t think you’ve looked close enough.”
“What do you mean?”
Harris crept close to the statue and leaned underneath her book. “Here.”
Eddie ducked under the book too. There was something carved there. Eddie leaned closer to see what it was. The symbol from the first page of The Enigmatic Manuscript was engraved clearly into the book’s stone cover.
A cool rush crept underneath Eddie’s clothes, tickling his skin. “What the heck is going on here?” he said.
Harris didn’t say anything for a moment. He stood next to Eddie and stared at him. Finally, he said, “Creepy, huh? I know the feeling.”
Eddie reached out and ran his finger along the cold stone spine of the book. “How did you hear about this place?”
“After Nathaniel Olmstead disappeared,” said Harris, “the town sent out a search party. They came across this clearing. It’s sort of become a local legend in Gatesweed. Nobody knows for sure who this statue is supposed to be, who carved it, or why it’s here.”
“Really?” said Eddie. “Hasn’t anyone even tried to guess?”
“I’ve heard some of the high school students say it’s a gravestone,” Harris said, shoving his hands into his pants pockets.
“A gravestone out here in the middle of the woods?” The thought gave Eddie goose bumps again. “Who does it belong to?”
Harris shook his head. “No one knows. There’s no name on the stone,” he whispered. “But they also say… its ghost haunts these woods.”
“A ghost?” said Eddie, glancing over his shoulder. “What kind of ghost?”
“Some people say they’ve seen the ghost of an old woman wandering around Nathaniel Olmstead’s estate.”
“Really?” said Eddie. He looked up at the statue. She stared at him blankly.
“That’s not the only thing people have seen up here,” said Harris. “People tell stories of strange animals. Weird noises. Stuff like that.”
Strange animals? Eddie’s stomach squelched. “The thing that totaled my dad’s car on Black Ribbon Road was pretty weird looking,” he said. He still didn’t mention that he’d thought it was a monster. The accident had happened so fast, he wasn’t sure what he’d seen anymore. “Did you see anything strange the last time you came up here?”
Harris laughed. “If I had, do you think I’d be wandering around in these woods with you?”
Eddie chuckled too. “I guess not.”
“I mean, yeah, I heard some noises I couldn’t explain,” said Harris. “And once or twice I thought I saw a shadow move, but when I turned to look, nothing was there. Then again, I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to stuff like this. Sure, I like Olmstead’s books, but I know the difference between what’s real and what’s made up.” Eddie didn’t quite believe him. Harris continued, “People in town are pretty serious about the legend of the statue, though. They talk. Some people think that if you stay up here too long, the ghost of the woman will follow you home. She’ll haunt you until you go crazy. That’s probably why the librarian freaked out when you showed her your book. Mrs. Singh’s definitely heard about the statue’s symbol. When she saw it on the first page of your book, she must have thought you’d already been up here. She didn’t want the ghost to follow her too.”
“That’s dumb,” said Eddie, forcing a laugh. “People in Gatesweed really believe that?”
Harris scoffed. “Yeah, actually. Some of them really do. But then again, a few of them are crazy, if you ask me.”
“Seems like someone’s crazy enough to graffiti that statue in town.” When Harris gave him a knowing look, Eddie continued, “So weird. Someone had painted this awful face onto the pedestal, with swirling black squiggles for eyes.”
Harris smiled reluctantly and crossed his arms. “Once, someone spray-painted it on the side of my mother’s store,” he said. “The Woman Is Watching. In big black letters. It took forever to clean it off.”
“Someone graffitied your store because of the Olmstead Curse?” Eddie asked. “They don’t want her selling his books?”
“Exactly.” Harris nodded. “They think the less people who come through town, the less… trouble there will be here. To them, Gatesweed is filled with dirty little secrets, Nathaniel Olmstead’s disappearance being number one. But my mother was friends with him. And she’ll never stop selling his books in her store-no matter how many times people paint nasty things on her front porch… or how many people believe his monsters are real.”