They walked side-by-side, him matching his long strides to her shorter ones. He looked down at the top of her bobbing head and wondered if she would be different then the first three. The entrance to the castle was foreboding, two giant blood-red doors contrasted with his very stark; very blue beard.
“Honey your going to be late!” She was always the one that made me late, she never woke me up on time. It was snowing out like yesterday, and she was trying to shove a wool hat on my hand.
“Mom I’m fine, let me go!”
“Ok, but remember I’ll be picking you up today, if I’m a little late wait for me. And don’t you dare cut across lake on your way today.”
“Yes ma’am…”
She often wondered what was in the room at the end of the hallway. She had lived as his wife for almost a year now, and had seen every room in his grand castle save for that one. It was truly puzzling; he even failed to acknowledge it when she probed him. Late at night she would creep on tiptoe to the edge of the door and listen for any sort of sound on the other side of that door.
Mom was late to pick me up, and I was really nervous. There were no teachers in sight, and Tommy Mullan and his “friends” were looking at me every couple of seconds. Finally I caught the hint and spooked, they came after me. The winter air stung my lungs, it was like trying to breathe broken glass. I darted through the trees at the edge of school, the fastest route home.
He finally relented to her pestering and gave her the key to THAT room. When he handed the tiny key to her he felt the release of pressure that comes with letting go of a guilty secret. Would she succeed where the others failed? She was so innocent, and absolutely fearless. He told her he was leaving for business for a couple of weeks, of course he would know if she entered the room when he was gone.
Ten steps onto the frozen lake and I slipped and landed hard on my butt. I cried out when Tommy Mullan’s rock flew out of nowhere and snapped against my ankle.
“Later loser!” The shout came out of the falling snow, but it carried no threat. I tried to stand on my ankle, but the pain made my vision go black. I could do nothing but sit and slowly freeze.
They were mutilated, each of his previous wives. The room was a gory monument to their deadly curiosity, and she had no doubts that she would join them soon. Why did their loving husband treat them so? She heard the door crash, and the last thing she remembers was being pushed down into the pooling blood beneath the decaying feet of the first wife.
It was so hard to see now; it was a blizzard. Suddenly I heard,
“I’ve FOUND HIM! Yes…the frozen lake in the Blue Woods by the school, please hurry.” My Mom had made it…I wouldn’t die today.
“It’s ok I’m--” was all she managed to say before the lake cracked beneath her feet and she plunged four feet in half a second.
While reading the story it is hard to distinguish the difference between each separate story, it may have been good to make one different by bolding it or putting it in italics. The stories did work well together though each showing similar aspects. I liked that Ian did not put in a lot of detail of Bluebeard since we have already heard the story so many times it was nice that that section was short and sweet. I was not expecting the end to be the way it was. But it was a good parallel to the fact that the little girls not listening in the end made Bluebeard die, even thought it was supposed to be her. And the little boy not listening mad his mom die even though it should have been him. Also, I fell like in both cases the two who didn’t listen really loved the people who died because of them.
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