笔友马杰富（Jeff Mahoney), 在Tellwell上发表了他的第一部科幻小说《星球》（The Planet) 之后，正在创作第二部小说The Wolf Advocate。没有想到，他还在创作短篇小说，而且“撞车”温哥华天空专栏作者涛雅的《BC省的怪谈之一：肥姐与温哥华“鬼屋”》和《BC省神谈之二--被诅咒的鬼屋“Gabrioa House”》。记得，几年前在《温哥华太阳报》上读到过一篇关于温哥华市中心一家旧剧院闹鬼的故事，感觉温哥华“鬼屋”倒是一个不衰的话题。
下面请读者们欣赏马杰富短篇小说的《莫莉的鬼屋》的前面部分。这篇短篇小说，通俗易懂，我想再附中文翻译就有些画蛇添足，多此一举了。还是让读者朋友们读英文原文，原汁原味，营养丰富。
Please enjoy this short story that I wrote. I enjoy writing in various genres, in order to stay creative and sharp. I hope you dig it!!
Molly’s House
---- by Jeff Mahoney 2018
Feeling somewhat overjoyed, she hung up the phone, radiating. She had never known this “Great Aunt” and certainly did not expect to inherit such a beautiful Victorian home. The home was located in the country and without hesitation, she began to pack her bags to meet with the lawyers at the old home, where the documents of release would be signed.
The drive was long and consisted of windy roads, that snaked their seemingly endless way through an endless supply of trees and brush. It was a beautiful journey and she was grateful for having this land in her lap. It had been a long time since she had been to this part of the world and in light of this recent development, she would be able to retire from that job that she had grown to despise in the city. Perhaps, she would open a bed or breakfast, as this home was a large seven bedroom mansion that was built in the days when this road was navigated in horse and carriage. As a child, she had heard of this great Aunt, that remained a distant figure within the Family, paranoid and bitter. She believed that everyone was after money and riches and Molly never realized that she was her “favourite niece.”
Approaching the large iron gate, she marvelled at the intricacy of the dark iron that had been forged and shaped into an array of leaves and vines. As she stepped out of the car, she stood at the gate, looking into the wonderful property that would soon belong to her. The gardens were over-grown, but remnants of a lush period in time still remained and her heart warmed. How wonderful this will be! I will open this to the public and host parties and open a website and…….
From behind, a car horn sounded that gave her a fright. Turning around, gasping for breath, Molly came face to face with a large black Mercedes sedan. Emerging from this dark chariot, was a tall, well-groomed man in his early 40’s. “Hello, you must be Molly, sorry if I gave you a start there. My name is Richard and I am the attorney that you spoke with on the phone.” Composing herself, she extended her hand and the two of them entered the gardens.
（to be continued)
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