I'm not lying! It's what she said, "it's only the wind".
I'll remember those words for as long as I live. I'd heard them repeated for over twenty-three years. As a child mom would tell my brother and I "it's only the wind", as if it covered every little fear or explained away any little sound we heard. I suppose in some way it did ease our childish concerns. If mom said it was the wind, then it was the wind.
Sam looked at me with such disbelief. I couldn't blame him, he wasn't ready to hear what I had to say. Mom was missing and that was his main concern.
"Wendy I'm not doubting she said that, but it doesn't explain her disappearance. What kind of message could, it's only the wind be? For pete's sake help me out here!"
To me it made sense, those last words held the key to her disappearance. It was the last thing she said to me, before she vanished. Shaking the thoughts from my head, I realized Sam was talking again.
"It's been over a week since you came over and told me your mom vanished. I searched her home from top to bottom. There was no evidence of foul play. I've notified the police, they can't find her. We've contacted your brother, friends and family, no one has seen her or has heard from her"!
Sam, I am aware of that. How would I be able to make him understand her disappearance, wasn't at the hands of any human. He wasn't ready to hear those words. Who really was ready to hear those words?
After Sam left I called James. I knew full well he wouldn't say anything to Sam about mom. He knew as I did, Sam wouldn't believe either of us.
"Wendy, is Sam gone"? James voice sounded a bit anxious.
Yes, he's gone. You know Sam isn't going to believe either of us. People refuse to see beyond what they can't conceive. Sam has no reason to believe us. It was hard to wrap my mind around it. Chills ran up and down my arm as the wind started to pick up.
"Sis, I know Sam is having a hard time, right now, he loves mom. If I didn't know the truth, I'd be finding it hard to believe myself."
James you need to get over here as soon as possible, it doesn't feel right. This house is...I'm scared. The wind is picking up, hurry up would ya!
"Wendy Sue, calm down, I'm on my way over right now. Give me ten minutes and I should be there."
Okay, but hurry James, something doesn't feel right. Hanging up the phone, I glanced at the clock, it was ten minutes till ten. The ticks from the clock had the hairs on my arms standing on end. Okay, so maybe the ticking of the clock was only part of it. It didn't help the wind blowing was causing the tree branches to scrape the side of the house.
Holy cow! The sound of the shutters hitting the sides of the house had me cowering in the corner of the living-room. "Watcher In The Woods" played in my mind as I prayed James would get here quickly. Something was going to happen, I could feel it.
In those few moments of panic stricken terror, I tried to find comfort in mom's words, I tried to understand why mom would tell us it's only the wind, when she knew better. Was she trying to protect us, was she waiting until we were ready and able to understand? I just didn't know.
BAM! BAM! The shutters banging against the house sounded like roman candles going off on the fourth of July. James where are you I chanted in my head. All I could do was rock back and forth and cower in the corner.
Finally, the lights from James car flashed across the wall. I was to scared to get up and let him in. Thank goodness I hadn't locked the door when Sam left earlier.
"Wendy where are you"?
Here in the living-room James. The air in the house and the howling wind outside started to crackle, like electricity.
As James was stepping into the living-room doors blew open, windows blew out and we were caught up in a tempest of raging wind and something more, a familiar voice.
We both heard it at the same time. Our fear swallowed by the recognition of the voice. "It's okay kids, I'm here. It's only the wind."...
Sam just shook his head. What had happened here? He'd came back for his wallet he'd purposely left behind and found the doors all open, the windows were blown out. Where was Wendy and James? James car was parked outside. Neither had answered when he'd hollered for them.
Turning to go to the basement, Sam felt the hairs on his arm stiffen. There on the floor, in the dust, were the words "IT'S ONLY THE WIND SAM".