Bloody Mary

I can't remember when I first heard the story of Bloody Mary..you know, that cute little kid tale where if you gaze into your bathroom mirror and say her name three times in a row, you'll see Bloody Mary right behind you. All I remember is...

trying it.

Bathroom dimly lit, I bit my lip, took a deep breath and decided I was going to make some magic. I crossed my arms, stared directly into the mirror and said, "Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary..."

Nothing.

I did it again.

Still...nothing.

I remember feeling eyes at the back of my head but chalked it up to realizing that I was standing in the dark talking to a mirror. Nothing particularly scary about it. it was just...just stupid.

And then it was bedtime.

Midnight.

I don't know why I woke up, I just did. I lay in bed listening to the sounds of our house for a while. The downstairs cuckoo clock ticked away. In another minute the bird jumped out and gave his 12 cuckoo salute. I couldn't hear anyone else in the whole family stir.

Except for downstairs, I could hear the rocking chair creak. I knew the sound well. Old wooden rocker, my dad sat in it at night. Back and forth. Heard it every night. Except...there were no other sounds of movement. No murmuring TV, no hushed discussions...nothing..except the steady creak of the chair...At one point I gathered the courage to make sure of what I was hearing.
Oh, no...I didn't have the guts to go all the way downstairs, but I could find out if someone was awake very easy. I crept to the top of the steps where I could see even the smallest light glow from around the corner.

Quietly, carefully I peeked around the top of the stairs and saw...darkness. The bottom of the steps vanished into a pool of blackness and shadows. And out of the darkness just the continuing...creak...creak..creak...of the chair.

I felt my jaw drop, I could barely breathe. It seemed impossible, but in that moment, I knew what had happened...Bloody Mary had come to stay...