[Eerie music]

Jordan: Welcome to "Where is Araminta Green?" where I, Jordan Thompson, investigate the disappearance of my classmate and neighbor. Two years ago, I was the last person to see Araminta, and the mystery of her whereabouts just won't leave my mind. This episode, the sixth installment of the series, will give you testimony from the only person in the world who may know how to find her: Jane Underwood. Because Jane did exactly what I'm trying to do—find some who seemingly vanished into thin air—about eighty years ago when she found the missing sisters Araminta and Esmeralda Lee.

***

[Gravel crunches under car wheels]

Derek: Relax, Jordan. It's just an old lady. I'm sure she won't be dangerous.

Jordan (narrating): I wish I was as sure as Derek—who was the one who found Jane and offered to tag along to the interview—but there is no turning back now. An old house can be hinted at the end of the driveway. Moss paints the roof dark green and brown vines grip the walls. Perhaps the whole house would crumble if nature released its grip.

[Wind chimes]

Jordan (narrating): A woman stands in the driveway, ready to greet us. In a colorful white dress with red polka dots, she looks oddly misplaced in this environment.

[Car door closing]

Woman: Hi, I'm Susan. Jane's daughter. We've been expecting you.

Jordan: Sorry, we had a bit of trouble finding our way but we're here now. I'm Jordan, and this is my friend Derek, who I believe you spoke to on the phone earlier.

Susan: You're welcome, both of you. We don't get many guests out here. We're trying to sell the place since my mom is moving with me to Arizona but the remoteness and the repairs needed scare most people off. I'll give you a short tour before I take you to my Mom.

Jordan (narrating): Susan's welcoming and carefree demeanor sweeps away my qualms about the spooky-looking place. She appears to be in her mid-60s, with a pep to her step and hair coifed into an impressively high bun. Both Derek and I have to almost jog as we try to keep up with her while she shows us the grounds.

Susan (from far away): That's the gazebo. And over there are the stables. Then there is a path over there that leads to the lake.

[Gravel crunches]

Susan: And here, on the patio, my dear mother is waiting for you. Mom, the boys who wanted to talk to you are here!

Jordan (narrating): Susan has led us to the garden behind the house, which appears to be the only part of the grounds that is properly tended to. Neat rows of rose bushes and intricately shaped juniper bushes are planted around a patio paved with round stones where a woman with long gray hair sits. She smiles as we approach but her milky eyes appear to not quite see us.

Old woman: Welcome to my simple abode [snickers]. It's a bit rickety now but my eyes can't see the cracks anyway. But I can still smell the roses.

Jordan: Thank you! It is beautiful out here. You're Jane, I assume.

Old woman: I've forgotten a lot of names but I do remember that one. I suppose one never forgets their own name.

Derek: I have... after a lot of tequila.

Jane: Well, my daughter no longer allows me to indulge in strong liquor so I wouldn't be able to blame any lapses in memory on that.

Susan: [sighs] It's the doctors who say alcohol isn't good for your heart, mom. It's not just me trying to be mean.

Jordan (narrating): Jane at this point sticks her tongue out toward her daughter, who snickers in reply.

Jane: Now, come here, boys, so we can talk. I can't see you very well but I can still tell you're both handsome. Just like my dearly departed husband Thomas, who left me this ridiculous mansion. It's way too big for me and impossible to take care of properly, but it's still close to my heart.

Jordan: You didn't grow up here yourself?

Jane: Oh god, no. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. My mother was a maid and my father, well... I'm not quite sure who he was. It was my mother who brought me here when she started a new position. I was about twelve at the time, I believe, and the son of the house was a year older. And we came to grow fond of each other. It was a scandal at the time, of course, but it's all water under the bridge now.

Jordan: But you remember that time well? Do you remember Esmeralda and Araminta then too?

Jane: Well, those are names I'll never forget...

[Wind chimes]

Jordan (narrating): Jane looks off in the distance, almost as if her blind eyes can see something no one else can. Perhaps she's peering into the past.

[Wind chimes]

Jordan: I read in an old article that you found them many years after they went missing. And I'm currently trying to find someone who is missing as well. So I was hoping that you could tell me about how you found them, because that may help me in my search.

Jane: They were never really missing. They were there all along, I just needed to call on them.

Jordan: How?

Jane: The cards... I had the cards. Their mother's cards. I found them.

[Wind howls]

Derek: Maybe it'll be easier for us to understand if you start from the beginning. How did you know the girls?

Jane: My mother worked in town then and the girls lived nearby. Their family was only passing through but then they all started to get sick, so they couldn't leave. So they all lived in a small temporary apartment. There were so many children. That's why the girls preferred to be in the woods. We played in the creek and picked flowers in the fields.

Jordan: Lilies of the valley?

Jane: How did you know? They were their mother's favorite flowers. They always picked them for her.

Jordan: I saw the flowers in the woods. And on the grave of Araminta Lee.

Jane: I heard she died. I couldn't make it to the funeral, unfortunately.

Jordan: You were still in contact with them when she died?

Jane: I was always in touch with them. Even when they were gone. The winds and the waters tell me where they are. My mother and I moved away from town soon after they went into the woods when their mother passed but I knew they weren't gone. I saw them sometimes, in the corner of my eye. But I couldn't get to them. Not until I went back.

Jordan: What do you mean?

Jane: I was passing through town again while traveling to this place, and I heard them. They called for me from the woods. They were safe there but they didn't want to stay. They wanted to join the world again. So I went to the woods. I brought the cards that had belonged to their mother. After Benedicta passed, I looked for the girls where they had lived. I couldn't find them but I found the cards. We liked to look at them together. So many pretty pictures. For some reason, I picked them up and brought them with me.

Jordan: You mean like tarot cards?

Jane: Probably. When you're young, things just are, so I didn't think of what they were for except for playing games. There were pictures of people, animals, and nature.

Jordan: So what did you do with the cards?

Jane: I flipped one over, and it told me where to look. It was that easy. The right card somehow appeared.

Jordan: And what was the right card?

Jane: That, I can't tell you. The cards won't allow me to reveal their tricks. Then they may lose their magic.

Jordan: So magic is real, you believe in it?

Jane: I don't need to believe in it, it's here regardless. It's like saying I believe in rocks. Their presence isn't dependent on my belief in them. They are constant and real no matter what I think.

Jordan: Can you tell me what the card told you to do?

Jane: It didn't tell me anything. I just knew. The knowledge was inside me.

Jordan (narrating): Jane takes my hand as she says this, her unseeing eyes seemingly looking right at me.

Jane: Just like the knowledge is in you, boy. You are the only one who can call on her, to undo what was done.

Jordan: Araminta?

Jane: I've seen her. She is out there. And she wants to come back. But she doesn't know how. Only you know. Only you can find her.

Jordan: Can you tell me more? Tell me what I should do next.

Jane: I've said enough. Faith will do the rest. My guidance will only hinder you.

[Eerie music]

***

Jordan: Soon after this, Jane excuses herself, telling us she is tired. She won't tell me anything else and I'm not quite sure what to make of the information I have. But I will try to make sense of it and give you one more episode which hopefully will conclude everything, even though I don't know how yet. Because regardless of whether I find Araminta or not, this project is running to its end. I only have one more week to focus on this before my course ends. And I will make sure to make the most of that time. I will turn every rock and look at the case from every angle. I can't promise I will find her but I do promise to do my best to at least present a theory of what happened.

So stay tuned for episode seven, the concluding episode, whenever it drops!

[Eerie music starts]

Jordan: Subscribe to follow along as new episodes drop.

[Crow caws]