Old Man Willow

• Amy James
• Short Story
• 2005

Some people would say this little town of ours was a hellhole. Others would say they have nowhere else to go, but here in Kempsey, places will surprise you. One little girl found that out the hard way. Sarah Mancy was a good girl, most the time, but she had a problem. She was a storyteller. Always telling little fids and tall tales. She had so many tales and stories that her friends didn’t know what was truth or tale.
Sarah was sitting with her friends one day in the schoolyard, when she started telling this tale.
“Hey, girls guess what.” Sarah chimed.
“What?” Mandy asked rolling her eyes.
“My brother went missing last night,” Sarah pulled them close. “And they found him up a tree. The farmer that found him said it was Old man Willow, he was callen’ him to where they found him. It’s said Old man Willow eats the souls of the young.”
“Old man Willow.” Mandy sneered.
“Hey, isn’t that the weird old guy that lives down the road?” asked a wide eyed Cindy
“Yes, so you had best be careful walking home.” Teased Jessy
“He can only get you on a full moon.” said Sarah
“Tonight is a full moon!” wailed Cindy. The bell rang and the girls went to class.
At the end of the day Sarah went home but what she didn’t know was Cindy really believed her and was scared out of her wits. So scared she was sick the next day.
“I told you, Old man Willow got poor Cindy.” Sarah cried
“Nonsense! Cindy is just sick. You’ll see.” Mandy Snapped
But week after week passed and Cindy wasn’t seen. On the 5th week Mandy gave in.
“You were right Sarah. Poor Cindy, Old man Willow got her.”
“What happened to me?” They turned around and there stood Cindy.
“Cindy, are you okay? What happened? Did Old man Willow get you?” Jessy asked hugging her.
“No, chicken pocks got me.” Cindy replied. Mandy turned on Sarah.
“We’ve had enough of your lies! We’re through being friends!” The girls all stormed off. Poor Sarah no one spoke to her. Her lonely days started.
After two weeks it was a new moon and Sarah was going to show them. That night she planned to run away, but as she was packing she heard this eerie music that made her feel like footing. She disappeared.
At school Cindy told the girls what she had heard. Sarah was missing.
“She is just up to her old tricks again!” scold Mandy, but Mrs Mancy was there and asked them if they knew where Sarah was. They didn’t know.
All this time Sarah thought she was dancing, without a care in the world. She forgot everything, nothing mattered.
She was never found, neither was the old man who took her and to this day it is a mystery, but if you go to old man creek and listen on the night of the new moon before the New Year you can still hear a distant humming. “Old man Willow, Old man Willow.” The song of the forever-dancing girl that told a lie that came true, for her.