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(My first to be submitted to Literotica and an entry into the Literotica Winter Holidays Contest 2024 list. There will be more stories featuring the main characters in this one eventually)
Kate stood in the farmhouse kitchen, staring out at the farmyard and the moor beyond. Snow had fallen deep and crisp and… well DEEP, and some farms all across Exmoor had been cut off for days. At the moment, the access to the main road was still clear, but that could change very quickly if the wind got up again!
With Christmas fast approaching, there were worried phone conversations between Kate and Sam and their friends to decide the best course of action to get supplies and everything ready to celebrate the season. Sam and Kate had invited Laura and Mark from the next farm to spend the holiday with them and Sam had made sure that there was plenty of firewood stacked conveniently in the nearest barn. Enough to feed the wood burner for at least three months. Sam REALLY was into wood chopping, Kate smiled to herself.
Their businesses were already closed for the season. All orders had been despatched well before the snow set in and payment would be made by bank transfer, so there was no need to visit customers in person this time. Now it was just down to making a list of groceries and consumables needed before a last trip into town and they could settle in for the holiday.
The Christmas tree was glittering beside the wood burner and festive lights flickered around the beams. This year, they had bought new, solar powered decorations, so that a power cut which was likely wouldn’t stop the party.
The list complete, Kate called Sam on his mobile. The signal wasn’t good, but they could still talk, with a few repetitions to clarify things when the signal dropped.
“Hi!, I’ve got the goodies list finished, when do you think you’ll be back to take me to the shops?” Kate asked.
“Mark and I are out checking their livestock, as the weather forecast is pretty dire. We won’t be back much before dark, I’m afraid,” Mark sounded a little worried.
Being out on the moor in the snow could be a dangerous business, even for people who knew their stuff.
“Tell you what, we are more than half way to town now, so why not send the list over to me and we will get the stuff before we come back.”
“Will do Sam,” Kate yelled over a burst of static, “But don’t take chances on getting back. We can live without a full larder, but I can’t live without you, y’know!” It sounded like a joke, but Kate was also aware of the dangers of driving on the snowy moor.
The phone clicked and Sam was gone. Kate did as he suggested, emailed the shopping list over to him and went off to start getting the spare bedroom ready for guests.
Like a lot of these old farmhouses, their home had several bedrooms, a legacy from the days when farmers had huge families to help run the farms. Kate made the beds up and cleared away some things that had been stored on them. When she had finished, the room looked warm and inviting. Just the thing for friends who had come through a cold night to be there!
~
Laura was busy too. She had closed down the barns and made sure that the sheep that were in out of the cold for early lambing had plenty of food. They would be OK for a few days at least. Now she was clearing up the kitchen and packing any foodstuffs that would go off into bags to take with them to Kate and Sam’s. They should only be gone for two days at most, before one of them would be back to feed the animals and cast an eye around for anything that might need attention. The dogs were coming with them, as their needs were more demanding, but they got on with everyone, so they wouldn’t be a problem.
Mark and Sam had been in touch to say that they were shopping and would pick her up on their way back, so she busied herself to be ready when they arrived.
It was getting dark early these days and the sky held the threat of more snow, so Laura packed extra clothing for them both. When she had finished, a large pile of bags, suitcases and boxes stood by the door, ready to be loaded into the pickup. Mark had fitted the removable awning onto the flat bed of the truck, so they could just pile it all up in the back and go.
All done! Laura sat at the table with a well deserved coffee and waited for the boys to get back.
She let her eyes drift across the farmyard, mentally ticking off anything that she might have previously forgotten. Something out of place caught her eye. There was a small figure standing in the snow, right in the middle of the yard! Laura blinked and rubbed her eyes, but the figure stubbornly stayed put. It looked like a young girl, but surely not in this weather? Laura grabbed a torch, put on a coat and went out to investigate. The child was tiny and clad in just a light dress. She shrank from the light of the torch. Laura half thought she was just a figment of her imagination, but her natural responses denied that.
“Hello, lovely,” Laura said softly, “What are you doin’ here?”
There was no reply, but the girl moved a couple of slow paces backwards in the deep snow.
Laura moved towards the girl, taking off her coat as she went. She didn’t want to frighten the poor thing! Reaching out, Laura enveloped the child in her coat and pulled her into her arms. The child hardly fought at all and Laura was already wondering how she would get any required medical attention out to the remote farm on a snowy Winter’s night like this. Turning back, Laura carried the shivering bundle into the house and sat her on the kitchen table.
The girl was cold as ice and shaking tremendously. Putting her next to the fire would really be cruel at the moment, so Laura wrapped her up in a clean blanket and gave her some orange squash made with warm water to drink.
The child took the sweet liquid and drank a little. As Laura looked at her, she could see that her dress was a thin cotton one, in a bright yellow. The sort of thing a little girl would wear to a summer fete or party, perhaps? What the hell was she doing out here in the wilds, in two feet of snow?
After a bit, Laura moved the girl closer to the fire and was pleased to see that her shivering was already easing. “She must be made of stern stuff,” she thought!
“What’s your name lover?” Laura asked, “Have you been outside for long?”
Still no answer, but the girl suddenly threw her arms around Laura’s neck and hugged her close.
Laura was taken aback by the sudden affection. She pulled the girl gently away and gave her a reassuring smile.
“Are your Mum and Dad close by? Do they need some help?” Laura could only imagine that there had been an accident and that the girl had managed to get to the farm, which would have been the only source of light in the area.
The girl put down her glass and climbed off of the chair. She looked at photographs placed along the mantle piece, the log pile in the hearth and touched the horse brasses hanging on their leather straps.
“Mum’s OK. Dad’s not here.” She said abruptly.
The girl’s voice was light and musical. Almost tinkling at the high points. Her accent was very ‘local’, almost like the chatter of the old chaps who sat in the pub in it’s cadences. Laura opened her mouth, but before she could speak, the girl continued.
“Everything’s OK now though.” The girl turned to Laura and smiled. It was like the sun came out from behind a cloud.
“Well, we need to let someone know that you are safe and sound first, then get you collected and taken home.” Laura said firmly.
She had been married to a farmer for a few years now and had become intensely practical when life threw a curve ball at her.
“I feel quite at home now.” smiled the girl.
Laura was floored. What did she mean? Where was she from? Too many questions!
The girl had once again settled into the chair next to the fire, looking at a book she had found on the floor. Laura took a moment to look at her properly. Very thin and pale skinned, but not sickly. Small for her age How old was she? Eight maybe? Ten at a stretch. Shoulder length light coloured hair and fine features. Laura thought she was pretty and somehow familiar. Was she the child of one of the new families who had moved into the area with the advent of better internet access? There were a lot of them now, working from home and only visiting their offices when they really had to. It was maddening! Laura felt that she almost knew who the girl was, but every time she thought she had an idea, it slipped away from her again.
Another hot drink was made. Tea this time, with biscuits which were quickly consumed. Laura made a cheese sandwich and put this and some more biscuits onto a plate and offered it to the child. The girl ate her way through it all.
Now fully dry, with food in her belly and no longer shivering at all, the girl looked around her with more interest.
“This is a good place to live.” She said, in a very matter of fact voice. “I could be very happy here.”
“We love it,” said Laura, “Mark and I are very happy.”
“Are there any other children here?” The girl looked around.
“Not yet.” Laura answered, “We hope they’ll come along one day though.”
“I think so.” The girl smiled again and jumped up to place her hand straight onto Laura’s stomach. Her smile widened to become one of those cloudbusters again.
Laura took a step backwards and found herself to be a bit hot and feeling red in the face.
“Maybe.” was all she could manage.
The girl went back to her chair and looked at a magazine about farming. Finding nothing of interest to her, she sat back and just watched the fire.
“I must go and ring Mark. I want to know where he is and how much longer he will be.” She said, “And we need to get you sorted out too! We are going away for Christmas and perhaps we could drop you back at your home on the way?”
The girl smiled warmly and Laura got the sunny day treatment all over again.
Laura went out into tack room. Partly to get a better phone signal and partly to get some privacy to talk about their mystery guest.
“Mark? Where the hell are you?” Laura asked, “I’ve got a little problem here and really need you to be at home right now.”
“We got delayed by the weather, but should be with you in a few minutes,” Mark replied, “Is everything OK there? Is everything ready to load?”
“Yes, I think so, but we may have another tiny complication. If you are literally going to be a few minutes, I’ll explain when you get here.”
“We are just turning into our track now, so you should see the headlights against the barn”. Mark said and hung up.
Sure enough, the lights flickered against the farm buildings and Laura went back to the kitchen to check on her visitor. The kitchen was empty. Just the plate with a few crumbs left on it and the mug with a spoon in it.
Laura looked under the table and in every nook and cranny, but there was no sign of the girl.
By now, Mark and Sam had arrived and Laura shouted to them,
“Have you seen any sign of a small girl out here?”
The men looked at her strangely.
“Out here in the snow?” Mark asked, “Nope. Are you OK?”
Laura was grabbing her coat and heading out into the farmyard. Apart from her footprints and the mess made by the truck coming in, there were no tracks at all. Not a single tiny footprint showed in the virgin, smooth snow.
“Split up and search,” Laura yelled, “You’re looking for a little girl in a yellow dress with blonde hair.”
The men looked puzzled, but as Laura was so agitated, Mark took control and told Laura to go back into the house to search. He and Sam would split up and explore the farm.
“See if there are any footprints going out of the yard at all” said Laura, “She’s got to be somewhere!”
The search took about an hour. Nothing had been found and Laura was beside herself. Laura quickly told her tale and Mark and Sam went out to search again while Laura loaded the pickup. Mark called the police and reported the incident and also checked the local hospital, in case there had been an accident in the area. All was clear, nothing untoward had happened anywhere close by. The dogs were milling about, sniffing the snow and chasing each other around as usual.
The dogs! Laura remembered with a jolt of surprise. When the girl showed up, they hadn’t barked at all and hadn’t shown any interest in her while she was in the kitchen either. Normally they would be all over a visitor, checking them out to see if they were welcome guests or had any treats about their person. The girl hadn’t seemed to worry them at all. It was like she wasn’t even registering on their doggy senses.
Laura sat down heavily. The tea mug was still on the table with the plate of crumbs and she absently turned the spoon in her hand, lost in her thoughts. She was still sitting there when the boys returned from another search.
“We’ve found nothing, Laura,” Mark said gently, “Are you sure you didn’t dream it all or something?”
“Then I’m dreaming this cup and plate too!” She replied.
The two men took another look around the house, checking under beds and into every hiding place they could think of. Nothing!
“There’s nothing more we can do now,” said Mark, “And we need to get everything over to Sam and Kate’s before it’s too late.”
“But what if she’s still here, hiding?” Laura moaned, “She’ll be frightened and lonely.”
“I don’t think there’s anybody here,” said Mark, “But Sam can take the pickup back to his place, unload and then collect us in the morning. We’ll keep a watch for this girl of yours…”
“I suppose, but I won’t sleep a wink tonight!” Laura replied.
After checking that everything was loaded and Mark had the fire stoked up, Sam bade them goodnight and drove off into the darkness.
Kate was relieved to see him and the two of them set about unloading and storing away everything that Mark and Laura had packed.
Sam told her everything that had happened and they agreed that it was a strange business and that tomorrow, they would go and help search the farm again. The police knew that they would all be at Sam and Kate’s over Christmas if they needed them so there was nothing to be done apart from getting settled in for the night.
There was no more snow that night, so at first light, Sam and Kate returned to their friend’s farm and began a new search. The two men went right out into the fields looking for traces of a human passing that way, but nothing was evident. Mark and Sam also went off to double check the livestock and left the two women searching the house and smaller buildings once again. It really was as if Laura had dreamed the whole incident, apart from that plate and cup and her feeling that something too strange for words had happened. In the end, they rang the police again, just to check in and say that they’d been back for another search and then they all headed back to the other house.
It was Christmas eve and they had eaten a very nice meal, watched some old films on the TV and played some games board and card variety! It was late when they eventually settled down and sleep took them all very quickly. It had been a tiring couple of days. Laura dreamt of a mystery girl in a snow globe and woke up early. She felt very odd indeed. Had she eaten something bad the night before? Not likely, but she definitely felt very sick indeed. She literally jumped out of bed and just made it to the toilet before bringing up most of what she had eaten the night before. Mark was all worries, but Kate sent him to the kitchen to drink coffee with Sam, while she comforted her friend.
“So. How are you feeling now?” She asked
“Not so bad,” Laura replied. “It came on so sudden though!”
“I’ll get you a drink of water,” said Kate, “Don’t go away!”
“Haha,” Laura rolled her eyes, which made her feel sick again…
They sat around the kitchen table. Laura had eaten a bit of toast and had a cup of tea while the others tucked into a full Christmas morning breakfast.
“Happy Christmas!”, They all toasted each other, while Laura tried not to respond to her churning stomach and aching breasts.
Her breasts were aching? She was feeling sick? UhOh… She thought. It was shaping up to be a Christmas to remember!
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