As a young girl, there was a time when my brother had enticed me with the tale of a woman in white. It was an old ghost story told at bedtime, meant to terrify the younger ones before sleep, in a horrid fashion. My brother was mischievous in his ways but loved to tell a good deserved ghost story to us, because he loved being a storyteller as much as he enjoyed scaring us, but I didn’t mind. As a young girl, I loved the intrigue and the mystery that would one day inspire me to write my own novels, of similar tales of horror and intrigue. On a dreary winter night, surrounded by the flickering candlelight in our shared bedroom, my brother began the tale of the woman in white, settling into an weathered armchair as my younger siblings and I sat on the edge of our beds, listening intently.

“Long before our little town thrived and was built, there was an old castle several leagues from here. It was grand and stoic, the kind of legends. Within the castle lived a young woman, who had been married to a rich lord with their two enchanting children. That all seemed to change when one dreary stormy night an old woman had come to the castle begging for shelter. The family being the benefactors they were, allowed the woman into their home with open arms, and gave her shelter for the night.” Hushed gasps fluttered around me from my siblings and myself, we all could feel that this would end in potential tragedy as they eagerly inched forward, holding onto my brother’s words.

“However,” continued my brother in a hushed tone, “little did they know the old woman happened to be a powerful enchantress who wanted to usurp the castle from their rightful inheritors from a longstanding feud involving her family and the lord’s from long ago. In a fiery rage, the old woman showed no mercy as she murdered the lord and children in cold blood. The young woman tried to help her children escape but the old woman murdered them in front of her.It was the last thing she saw before the old woman killed her too and cursed her. The tragic young woman would never be able to go home again, to return to the resting place of her family.” My brother stopped to look at the awe and shock painted on our faces and released a long sigh before giving us the end.

“It has been rumoured that the people who travel through the woods near the ruins of where the castle once stood, see her, as the weeping woman in white, dressed in the same white nightgown as she wore when her family was murdered before her eyes. She pleads to travelers to take her to her home to see her children and her husband, but she will never be able to rest in peace until she is with her family again.” I remember the precise moment that my heart stuttered softly in my chest, vowing that night that I would make it my duty to uncover this untethered spirit of the woman in white and help her find her way home to be reunited with her family once more. My younger siblings and my Mother tried to discourage me, saying it was just a bedtime story, that there was no possible way that it could be true, but my brother stood idly, hiding a small grin, as we readied ourselves for bed that night. But, I knew that first and foremost I would be able to be the one to find her.

Years sped by, and I found myself working at an town Inn, alongside my brother, who had given me the job. It may have been boring in some of its tasks, but I didn’t mind, because I was able to interact with patrons who came from all around to tell queer stories of their travels, which often inspired me to jot them down for novel ideas when I was able to. However, it was one rainy April afternoon, when I heard whispers of the bedtime story I remembered as a young girl, about a woman in white haunting the woods. Although I was in the midst of my duties as hostess, helping a couple to their room, I couldn’t help but ask the gentlemen what they had seen.

“Excuse me, sir, but I heard you mention something about a woman in white. Have you actually...seen her?” I asked, hesitancy seeping into my voice, knowing that I may not even get an full answer, A few of the gentlemen looked at me and shrugged, but the younger one gave me a smile, leaving behind his group of friends, approaching me with a curious grin, yet there was a waning dark look in his irises. He introduced his portion of the tale to me, and continued.

“Well, my friends and I were traveling along at night, with only little light to guide us, but I knew what I saw, while my friends deny it. It was a blustery night, and the wind was howling ferociously, and the rain wouldn’t relent, when we were on our way into town when my friend heard the distinct sounds of a woman weeping. We got out of the carriage and searched around for the source, but I saw her, plain as day in front of me. She appeared to be a misty, translucent figure, shrouded in mist, despondent about going home.” The other gentlemen shrugged off his theory, saying that with the rain and little light, he couldn’t have known what he had seen, but the young man stood by his opinion, knowing what he saw was true.

“Couldn’t you take her home?” I inquired, but he shook his head.

“Ma’am, if you know anything about the story of a woman in white, you know that she’ll never be able to get home, because of the curse. Besides, no one has lived to tell the tale of helping a woman in white. Some folk say that she brings uncertain doom to any who help her,” I bit my lip, a simple no was not good enough for me, remembering the vow I made to my younger self that I would help her, no matter the cost.

“Then I will go to help her and reunite her with her family,” I said resolutely. The young gentleman raised his eyebrows with surprise, and shook my hand.

“Well, I shall accompany you then, miss, on your quest. I’m Theodore, by the way.”

“Call me Katrina. Perhaps you think I’m mad going on a hunt for a spirit, but I do want to help her.I doubt she would kill anyone, she’s just...sorrowful.” Theodore gave a thoughtful smile, but his blue cheery eyes remained dark.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Katrina. Sometimes, things change after death that should remain hidden. The story of the woman in white that was told to you, may be very different from what you may experience.”

The bleak bitter darkness of the woods enveloped Theodore and I as we journeyed on well into the night. The ruins of the castle were coming near and I couldn’t let go of the feeling that we were being watched by unfamiliar eyes. The wind howled through the trees as we tried to quiet the horses, who seem spooked, on the rocky trail. I breathed deeply trying to let go of the unsettling thoughts of entering a potential paranormal world.

“We should be there soon,” Theodore stated. The calming confidence of his voice soothes my nerves slightly, yet I can still sense the uncertain fear in his tone. The full moon illuminates through the thin branches of the trees; their tiny buds of newborn flowers portraying silhouettes against the midnight blue sky. A cold breeze settles over us, sending a raw chill down my spine. The horses whine in worry just as we spot the haunting castle sitting in the silver moonlight before us. The ruins of the ancient building seemed as brooding and mysterious the closer we got to it. A dark feeling grew deeper in my being every step we took.

“Well, we’re here,” Theodore says, trying to break the haunting silence with his sense of humor. I smile at him and nod as I gaze at the castle, inhaling a shaky breath as we walked forward, our footsteps crunching against the dead leaves on the ground.

“Last time I was here, she was among the pillars over there,” he said, pointing to empty shell of the castle.

“What did she do?”

“She just cried,” he spoke, looking at me with a great sadness overwhelming his blue eyes.

I couldn’t help but look at him with the same sorrow, tinged with feelings of terror, because of the events that had occurred so long ago, and the knowledge that the woman in white could appear at any moment without warning.

“I wish she didn’t have to go through what she went through,” I whispered.

As if she heard my sympathy for her, the woman in white seemed to appear before our very eyes. I could hear the gasps of breath leaving our lungs, as we stared in awe before her, unblinkingly. Her bright figure radiates a beautiful flowing nightgown, as if she appeared as a weeping angel; a pale aura of beaming light surrounds her mystified spirit.

“What do we do?” I spoke quietly to Theodore, as she floats slowly around the front yard of the castle, coming close to us, as I tried to catch my breath in disbelief that she was there before us. Her weeping is as clear yet soft as a small, towing bell.

“Miss?” I ask gently. “We want to help you.”

She continues to cry, unaware of my voice and asking her.

“Miss?” I looked down at her pale arm that is raised up to her face. I take the bravery to reach my hand and dare to touch a body from another world. Once my fingers meet her transparent skin, the sensation of ice burns right through my fingertips. She pulls away immediately, her hands fall from her face.

“I want to go home. Can you please take me home?” her voice pleading a soft whimper. I looked to Theodore imploringly, gesturing to help her.

“Of course we can,” he reassured her. Though I can see in his eyes he doesn’t know how this will be possible for us, the sound of growing courage in his voice reminds me that nothing is impossible, that we are able to do what we came to accomplish..

She leisurely lowers her hands down from her face, and once we saw what she truly looks like, my heart stops beating entirely. Her eyes are saturated with a torment that burdened her for numerous years. They stare at me, unmoving a slight inch. Though she seems unharmful, her dead irises feel like they’re penetrating my own soul.

“You look like one of my daughters.” She then peers over to Theodore, staring at him with the same obscure intensity. “You...you look like the old woman who cursed me and destroyed my family!” The light shining around the woman sparks with anger, almost blinding us. We take slow steps away from her, fearfully as I look at him in confusion.

“But I’m not her. I may be related to her, but I’m not her.”

My mind couldn’t comprehend to the words that just left his mouth, that my trusted companion was related to the horrid murderer of the woman in white. Theodore walked up to her unafraid, as he knew what had to be done in order to help this wandering spirit receive the peace that she deserved.

“I am not her. Her actions were uncalled for and wrong, but I do wish to make peace with you, in order for you to return to your family once more, and leave this world of the living.”

She looks at him with a ghostly, blank stare. “How...how can you do that?” The light of her aura dims down as well as her frustration, carefully trusting him.

He gives her a warm smile. Seeing that grin of his even made me feel the radiation of hope during this cold, dreary night. “I’ll show you.” He holds out his arms and opens his palms to her as she glances down at them hesitantly. I can see the questioning decision in her eyes. What seems like almost an eternity to pass, she finally places her thin ghostly hands into Theodore’s warm, living hands. He continues to illuminate his brave smile towards her, all traces of fear wiped away from his face. “Trust me,” he says to her.

She carefully nods and he closes his eyes. As wind whispers through the sleeping trees, I can hear the steady sound of Theodore and my breathing as the woman in white lets go of Theodore’s hands, suddenly floats up to the door of the castle, and calls out to her family. She looks at us one last time, her eyes filled tears of happiness that she had longed for, says in the most gentle tone my ears have ever heard, “Thank you.” She turns arounds, opens her arms wide and a small ghostly child runs into her arms, laughing into her shoulder. Tears fall down my face as I watch the daughter embrace her mother for the first time in many years. The realization of her similar face to mine almost fills my spirit with never-ending joy. They both disappear into the castle, the last trail of white mist vanishes into the ancient wall. Their laughter diminishes into the night air.

Theodore and I look at each other in amazement. “My god, I can’t believe you did that.”

He smiles widely and tips his hat like the gentleman he is. “It’s a good thing I came along, did I?”

We gaze at castle as a new dawn peeks up into the horizon of the sky, the colors of soft pink and orange from the rising sun break away the frightful shade of night, as we peer upon a new day, my duty to the woman in white finally completed.

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