Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

?Mother.?
?Mother ?s pr efer a mixtur e. We?ll save the dozen r oses for the young ladies, eh??
she said, plucking a colour ful spr ay fr om her selection. As Adam w r angled the
change fr om a deep coat pocket and began counting it out in his palm she
consider ed him, per haps felt a little sor r y for him, then lifted a second bunch and
held it out, saying: ?Tw o for a fiver today. Special offer for good sons?.
?I don?t know I?m that,? he mumbled, accepting the char ity, ?but thanks.? Making
his way to his mother was a little like playing hide and seek w ith déjà vu. It had
been just over four year s since he?d last been her e, and in that time new shops
amongst old buildings blur r ed the familiar just enough to keep him uneasy. Good
son. Those w or ds made him uncomfor table. He?d been thinking of visiting for a
w hile now but in all honesty, it had been Cassy w ho?d given enough gentle
encour agement to tur n thoughts into action. Once he?d finally opened up to her ,
shar ed a little of his r egr ets, told her about some of his childhood, she?d simply
said:
?Why not just go?? And he couldn?t come up w ith a r easonable answ er as to w hy
not. Maybe he?d get Cassy some flow er s too, on the way back, if the stall was still
ther e.
The fur ther he walked fr om the station the mor e the bustle and tr affic was
r eplaced by quieter str eets. Houses instead of shops. Eventually, he was walking
w ith mor e cer tainty. His memor ies of this tow n hadn?t been as vague as he?d
thought; they?d just needed a little dusting. Cassy had been r ight about this; it
w ould be good for him. He decided that he?d call her on his way back; per haps she
could meet him at the station and they could go out for a dr ink. He could see the
steeple betw een the houses now and he clutched his thinly w r apped flow er s a little
tighter. At the end of the str eet, he tur ned left, slipping into the shadow of a gr and
oak tr ee, taking the slight incline at a steady pace.
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