Aunt Lacy loved taking her niece, Felicity, on day trips. One of their favorite destinations was the beach. One summer day the air was particularly refreshing and the water a perfect temperature for wading. Aunt Lacy and Felicity became enamored with the little creatures they were finding in the tide pools, and all at once realized that not only was the sun setting, but it looked as if a very bad thunderstorm was coming. They quickly got in the car to head home.

The storm was worse than Lacy had thought and she was afraid to keep driving. She decided to pull off the road until the storm passed, but just as she was about to do so, Felicity declared, “Look! There’s a place we can stay.”

Sure enough, Lacy saw a sign on a large house, “Rest Haven – Rooms for Rent – Day, Week, Month.” Feeling relieved, Lacy pulled in, parked, and they both ran to the porch as quickly as possible. A white-haired woman answered the door before they could even knock. She said, “I have been expecting you.”

Although this seemed odd to Lacy, the woman had a pleasant smile, so she pushed her feeling of unease to the back of her mind and smiled back. The old woman gave them a hot meal and showed them to a warm, cozy room. The furniture was old and worn, but clean.

When they awoke in the morning, they were eager to head home. There was no cell phone reception at the old house and Lacy was sure Felicity’s mom must be frantic with worry. They wanted to thank the proprietor, but she was nowhere to be found. They left a note taped to the door-jam with some money for their stay and left.

A few miles down the road, Aunt Lacy’s phone beeped, indicating she had a message or call. She stopped at a country gas station to call Felicity’s mom and tell her they were on their way and okay. Lacy decided to fill her tank and buy some drinks. While paying for the gas and drinks, she made conversation with the attendant, telling him about their enjoyable stay at Rest Haven. Looking surprised, the man told Lacy and Felicity that the home had burned down years ago, killing the owner.

They could not believe what they had been told, so headed back to see. There was no house, but on the ground, lay their note and the money.