The Girl At The Overlook (standard:mystery, 1881 words)
Author: crowdog	Added: Nov 30 2001	Views/Reads: 1379/729	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A specter continues to haunt a sea-side hotel, and has an unexpected encounter with a guest.

THE GIRL AT THE OVERLOOK 

Richard walked carefully down the dimly lit pathway. The summer night
was warm, but dark due to the absence of the moon and the thick mist 
that had blown in from the ocean. The echo of the breaking waves at the 
bottom of the Overlook rumbled in the air. 

He stopped suddenly and shot an undecided look back at he hotel, the
soft glow from the windows now barely visible through the mist. He knew 
he should turn back. He half turned to retreat to the safety of his 
room when the feeling gripped him again. He knew it was a terrible 
place. There was something about it, something that played on the edge 
of his memory that warned him to stay away. He struggled for only a 
moment before surrendering to the invisible pull of the Overlook. 

He rounded the corner of the path and there it was before him. Built in
the grand Victorian style that was so popular in the 1930s, the 
Overlook was beautifully impressive. It was more than just a huge 
gazebo. It’s grand pillars and finely handcrafted wooden trim was truly 
a work of art. It sat majestically atop the cliffs that towered above 
the ocean below. Billows of flowers cradled the structure, and Richard 
could smell their sweet-smelling fragrance carried on the salty breeze. 


He turned to look again in the direction of the hotel. The trees along
the winding path now hid the building from view. He knew he should get 
back before everyone missed him, but he still could not shake the 
unknown force that seemed to beckon him to this place. Yet, still there 
was the uneasy feeling of danger that stayed just outside the light of 
his mind, like a beast threatening to attack from the darkness. 

He tried to force it into the front of his mind. Was it something he had
heard, something he had been told or seen? He knew there were many 
stories about the Overlook. Why then could he not bring one to mind? 
Just when he thought he might be able to grasp the memory it would 
retreat back into the darkness of his mind. He could feel it, waiting 
to show itself, but waiting for what? He did not know. 

He climbed the three steps that led to the platform covered on top, but
open on all sides to allow the gentle breeze to skim through the 
sculptured pillars that supported the roof.  The wooden, waist high 
railing that surrounded the structure also served as the backrest of 
several wooden benches that faced the open center of the platform. 
Standing in the center he could look back at the courtyard that spread 
itself out before the entrance. 

“How many bands had played here,” he thought, “how many dances in that
courtyard?” 

He turned and walked slowly to the railing on the seaward side of the
structure. The railing was the only thing that separated him from the 
several hundred-foot drop to the ocean below. He glanced down into the 
darkness. The sound of the waves breaking on the rocky shore below 
drifted up through the mist. He stared, unable to see waves. He could 
only listen to their battle with the face of the cliffs below. 

Fear suddenly gripped him. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt very
afraid. The uneasy feeling that had been buried in the back of his mind 
suddenly reached out to strike. He backed away from the railing, and 
tried to pinpoint in his mind what he feared, but again, it stayed just 
out of reach of his consciousness. 

He had backed away several feet before he noticed the young woman
standing to his right. The sudden realization that he wasn’t alone had 
taken him quite off guard. He could have sworn that when he walked up 
the steps the Overlook had been deserted. It was as though she had 
appeared out of the darkness of his mind along with that unknown fear 
that still hid there. 

She was a young woman, Richard would guess in her early twenties. She
wore a somewhat formal dress, and although Richard was not schooled in 
the matter, he could tell the dress seemed out of place. At any rate, 
it was not in keeping with the fashions of the time. Equally as 
strange, was the young woman’s reaction to Richard. She too, seemed 
only to discover his presence at that moment. She was clearly startled. 


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