“Poor thing,” Ruby said. “This never happened at my old house.” I didn’t especially want to touch it, but I knew Ruby didn’t, either, so I gingerly picked the owl up by its leg. The creature was stiff with rigour Mortis, but clumps of feathers came away as I moved it. “Where did you want to bury it?”
“Uh…” Ruby scanned the yard. Only a handful of plants grew there, and they were all crooked or gnarled. “What about by the big tree up the back?” “Perfect.” I held the dead owl at arm’s length as I carried it towards its resting place. A small shed was nestled in the yard’s corner, so I placed the owl on the dirt beside the tree and went in search of a shovel. The hut was locked with a rusty padlock. With Ruby’s permission, I found a big rock and bashed it against the lock, which came off on the third try. Inside smelt mildewy and musty. Long-dormant cobwebs crusted the benches and shelves, and the windows were so dirty that very little natural light got through. It was apparent none of the recent families had spent much
time in the shed. I found a shovel and used my sleeve to knock the cobwebs off before picking it up. “Here?” I asked, digging the shovel’s tip into the dirt below the tree.
Ruby nodded, so I applied my boot and dug out a chunk of earth. I flipped it aside and went back for more. I didn’t know how deep an owl’s grave should be, so I decided to dig as far as I could.
“Jo.” Ruby’s voice was soft and filled with confused wonder. I tipped another shovel of dirt aside and looked back at her. “What’s up?”
“There are bones. Look.” I turned to the freshly dug soil, where off-white lumps were mixed with the brown earth. Horrified, I used the shovel’s blade to knock some of them free. We’d accidentally dug up a grave. The tiny skull looked as though it belonged to a rat. But other bones must have come from larger animals, too: cats, possibly even dogs. I looked back at my hole. More white protrusions poked out of the earth. “There are so many,” I muttered. This wasn’t a grave for a single, loved animal. It was a mass burial.
Ruby’s cheeks had blanched white. She rubbed her hands over the back of her neck, looking nauseous. “Why? Why would… who would…” “Hey, it’s all right.” I wished my voice would carry the reassurance I tried to project into it. “This is a nice corner of the garden. It’s not surprising other people decided to bury their pets here.” Ruby shuddered. “This was a bad idea. We shouldn’t have dug it up. Bad idea.” “No, hey, it’s fine.” I picked up the owl and dropped it into the hole. It landed on the white-flecked dirt with a thud. “It’s fine. We’ll bury them all back. It’s fine.” I scooped shovelfuls of soil over the owl as Ruby hung back, arms wrapped around her torso and her blue eyes wide. She didn’t move or look away until all of the soil was ago in the hole—raised into a small mound, thanks to the owl’s bulk—and I’d patted the surface over.
“I’m sorry,” she said at last. “I shouldn’t have asked you to do that.”
“It’s fine.” That was going to be my new mantra if I wasn’t careful.
Anxiety had made my skin pucker into goosebumps, and a trickle of cold sweat ran down between my shoulder blades. I resolutely kept my smile in place. “Not a problem. All dealt with.” We both stared at the lump of dark, freshly turned soil. I wouldn’t say I liked any of the questions it presented: not the who, and especially not the why. What I’d
said earlier was right—it was a nice corner, under the tree. Probably the most excellent part of the yard. But from what I’d seen, there were at least a dozen animals buried there… and no hints on how much deeper the hole went.
And somehow the day ended it was a busy day after coming back to my room I decided to read ruby’s diary to know what she is hiding from all of us. There is something mysterious about this house that she knows, and she doesn’t want us to know. I didn’t look like a horror house other than it’s the giant look and no people living here. After closing the gate of my room, I started reading her diary- where it was written
“To read my past,
Not only you could know
About the brighter side, but
You should have known more
About my darker side
Which, if you understand it;
Can realize,
How difficult and painful
My entire life was,
In order to enjoy
For a lot of things
I loved a lot.”
The dark side of what??? What she was trying to say with this poetry??