The Charmer

I. A Long Drive

"It's going to be a long day, I tell you," Violet whined as they both stared blankly under the hood of their car. "We should have stayed in the cabin and demanded for our friends to drop everything they are doing and get their asses down here as they promised."

"Your friends," Valerie corrected, squinting against the sunlight. The storm had passed and the weather was back to its summer glory.

The black-haired twins jumped back when a hissing sound came from under the hood.

"We're going to die! We're going to die!" Violet started screaming.

"Shut up!" Valerie said. They had been staring at their car for almost an hour now with unreliable reception and no food. It was about time to give up, so Valerie walked to the side of the road and waited.

"What are you doing?" Violet asked.

"Waiting for a kind soul."

"Kind soul. Yeah, right. You mean psychopaths who feed on young ladies stuck in the middle of a lone road."

"I'd rather risk it than be stuck here without food. We've been stuck in grandma's cabin long enough."

"Reading her stories and eating canned goods. I want to eat a burger," Violet said with longing.

"I see a truck," Valerie said, jumping up and down, waving her arms over her head.

"Don't!" Violet said.

"Why not?"

"Have you not been watching the news? There are a lot of killers who-"

"You mean gray-haired couples driving a truck?"

Violet frowned as she placed her hand over her eyes. "Well, if they are a couple of old people, I don't see why we can't ask for help."

The truck stopped. The old woman in the passenger seat rolled down her window with a smile. "What are you two young ladies doing in the middle of the road?"

Her husband leaned over and asked, "You girls having trouble?"

"It's our car," Violet said. "We can't get a reception and-"

"It must be because of the storm," said the old woman. "There's a great stop not far from here. If you want, we can drop you there."

Violet and Valerie jumped. They have passed by that stop on their way to the cabin two days ago. "That would be great, thank you!"

They rushed to the back of the car and grabbed their things. Valerie carried the other bag full of their grandmother's books.

The old woman smiled at them as they struggled to get the books inside.

"Sorry," Valerie murmured. "I'm Valerie, by the way. And this is my twin, Violet."

"Patricia and Dave at your service," the old lady offered with a smile, looking at their bags. "It's the first to see someone on a trip with so many books."

"Oh, we did not arrive here with these books. We found them, actually," Violet explained.

"It seems our grandmother had a perk for writing stories. She wrote them," Valerie explained.

Patricia's smile widened. "It is interesting that young people are quite surprised to discover their grandparents can actually do something other than being...well, old."

"They are interesting, actually," Violet said. "And she has a memoir too, but we are saving that for last."

Patricia looked over her shoulder. "Will it be rude if we ask about them?"

Valerie turned to look at Violet. Her twin sister shrugged.

"It is kind of a weird set of stories, really," Valerie said. "So far they all take place in this place called The Town."