Not Spoiled by Water – Rain on the Roof

This is the third part of a horror series called Not Spoiled by Water. The parts can be read in any order. The other parts so far are The Supper and Play by the Lake. 

Mari lay in her bed watching the heavy rain hit the roof outside her window. She couldn’t sleep tonight either. Daylight was already emerging, the nights were short at this time of year.

She heard voices downstairs. Loud, angry voices. Her mother and her uncle. She got out of bed, wanting to know what they were saying. What they were hiding.

She heard a strange thump sound. Then there was silence. She looked through the fence poles of the staircase. Her mum was lying on the floor. A pool of blood was growing underneath her, soaking the wooden floor. Hans was holding a fireplace hook in his hand.

He looked up. Their eyes locked. A smile spread on his face.

-Hello, Mari! Shouldn’t you be in bed?

She ran up. Hard footsteps were coming up the stairs behind her. She blocked the door to her room with a chair. Uncle Hans crashed into the door.

-Open up, Mari, or you’ll be in big trouble!

She opened her window, climbed out in the rain. The door broke open behind her. She slipped. Fell. Grabbed a metal stick stuck between the roof tiles. Climbed up towards the ridge, away from the window.

-You’re not allowed to play on the roof, young lady! Hans said with a mockingly serious tone. -Listen to your father and come back here!

She reached the ridge. She could see her grandma standing by the wood shelter. A shadow came running out of the forest on the other side. A shadow Mari had seen before, lurking in the forest.

-Don’t make me come out there! Uncle Hans’ sinister, horrible laugh mixed with the tapping rain, got broken in the wind. She crept over the ridge, reached the far end. The fall was high. The rocks sharp.

-Grandma! Help me!

Her gandmother just stood there, under her umbrella, watching.

Hans climbed up towards the rooftop. He staggered slowly towards her. He had the hook in his hand.

-Grandma! Heeeelp! Help me! Mari was crying, screaming.

The shadow came out of the window. Jumped out on the roof, slid. Got up again, started climbing. She could see him now. He was wearing a bearskin over his shoulders, worn pants full of holes. A long beard hung from his face, dirty hair over his shoulders. Hans turned around.

–You! He lifted the hook. The man threw himself at him, grabbed his arm. The wrestled for a moment. Hans’ foot slid on the wet tiles. They fell. Down the wet roof, flew out over the edge, into the open. Brutally they hit the rocks underneath.

Mari’s grandmother was no longer standing by the trees. She was staring at her from the window.

 

 

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