Sleepy Hollow: Odd Darkness

Francisco Perez-Salamero                                                                   Perez-Salamero 1    Mrs. Meadows
English G/H
25 October 201
 
                                                         Sleepy Hollow
 

             "Well, Mrs. Tassel thanks for the food and the shelter. Make sure Katrina studies her novels so her marks rise." I looked back as I closed the old wooden door behind me.
 
             "I'll make sure she does, Mr. Crane. Thank you for staying. I hope you found our land affable," Mrs. Tassel answered coldly; I think she took my words amiss... but, boy   did they have a lot of land and riches.
 
            Feeling quite despondent of myself, thoughts from my failures to attract Katrina last night at the dinner table with the Tassels haunted me as I made my way through the interminable passage leading back to center and most populated part of Tarry Town... Unlike the reclusive farmland the Tassels own, the only other place you’ll ever find sage is at the border of the Hudson. As easy as it was to spot the sun in the sky, it was as easy to hear Brom Bones’ horse galloping behind me a few yards away, what does he want now? I wondered.  

             “Hey! Crane! ” He yelled at me impelling his horse to get in my way. Even though he seemed quite tidy and appealing, he was somewhat irascible to me. “I saw you leaving Katrina’s house! Didn’t I make it clear enough that it’s going to be me and her? Not you,”

            “Can we please do this another time? Please? You interrupted my profound moment of thought,” I entreated.

            “Ok, just this once,” He spat at me and fled. His manners are just so abhorrent to me.

            Finally reaching the schoolhouse, I prepare my plans for the students to study and be quizzed on Thursday… Knock… Knock…

            “Yes? Who is it?” I curiously asked from inside.

            “Mail,” the voice outside answered.

            “Slip it under the door please,” I earnestly said.

            Deliver to Ichabod Crane. It said on the front flap of the cream envelope written with good dark handwriting. An invitation maybe, from who may this be? Without any care at all I ripped open the cream envelope to find a cordial and formal invitation to the Tassel’s house on Saturday evening. They didn’t mention any of this at the house.

            It was now Saturday and I had a place to be at, a party. With high expectations of the upcoming evening I was meant to be at, I picked out the most appropriate clothes for me to wear. I borrowed a horse to serve me as transport to Katrina’s house whose name was Gunpowder, he was blind of one eye and quite old to still be alive. Even though they tried to make him look strong and resistant, his tremulous hind legs looked a bit skinny for a horse and quite right for a deer.

            I arrived at the party to find myself surrounded by men looking far worse than I did; I guess I’m the better man. As I tried to make an approach at Katrina, she turns around and unmistakably rejects me and possibly even my being there. I hurry out the door and untie Gunpowder from the wooden stable.

            “Well, so much for an invitation I was probably not even meant to receive by the looks of it,” I talk to myself and go into a tirade.

            Pacing slowly through the somewhat odd darkness of the night, I find things to be a bit quieter than I expected, but that’s probably me just being crazy. Trying to ignore myself through what’s left of the way back home, I reach Major Andre’s tree which is said to be haunted but it’s not the tree what got me so scared, behind the tree and looming around was a large and dark figure… It can’t be! Those are just legends and myths! I didn’t even have a single drink at the party! But it was now true what was now chasing me through the pitch-black woods of the Sleepy Hollow, the headless horseman. After having reverberated the simple question of “who goes there” the dark figure sped towards me in the intents of who knows what. The last thing I remember before I was hit by a flying head torn from its body was a headless horseman throwing me one. Lucky me he only haunts those at Sleepy Hollow since that is just a place I’ll never be at again.