never changing

This is a story that I heard all the time growing up..Forgive me if it runs a little long

It takes place in a quiet little southern town.

They were in their 70's and everyone in town knew them. Everyone thought they were 2 of the sweetest people you would ever want to meet. They had been married over 50 years, but had no children and no other family to speak of, so they had kind of adopted their neighbors as family. They would have big 'family dinners' and invite 1/2 the town. Everyone said that their kindness was in part what was to be their downfall.

After more then 50 years together, they had become very set in their ways. They always did their shopping and errands on Saturday mornings, you would see them in the local market at 9:00 every other Saturday like clock work. Another of there little things that had to be just so was dinner. Every night at 6:00 she would set the table using their best dishes and silver and the linen napkins they had gotten as a 25th anniversary gift.

They lived a bit off the beaten path, so the only person to see them on a daily basis was the mailman. When he would come to deliver the mail, he would see the husband doing things in the yard and working in the field and they would always wave to one another and exchange pleasantries as people in small towns do.

After about a week of not seeing the husband out, the mail carrier noticed that the couples mailbox was getting full, which never happened. He grew concerned, so he went closer to the house and started realizing that things just didn't look right and the front door was slightly ajar. After seeing this, he decided to go call for the police, fearing the worst.

When the authorities arrived, their fears were confirmed. The couple was laying face down in the living room each with a single gunshot to the head. The house was only a little out of order, even to the dining room where the table was set and everything was in place, even the napkins folded by the settings.

As the investigation continued, the best the cops could figure, someone had came to the house, asking for help or something and being the trusting people they were, they invited them into their home, where they were robbed and murdered. The police found the coffee can in the kitchen that the couple had kept their extra cash in...the top off and the can tipped with nothing remaining but the yellowed slip of paper that they had used to keep a running balance. It became obvious that the couple had lost their lives for 47.00 and the silver wedding rings that they had worn for over 50 years...you could see the marks that the rings had left on their fingers over the years.

Being that they had no family to speak of, the house was left in the hands of time and nature. Over the years as the house began to run down and look creepier it was said that it was haunted. People said you could see lights off and on in the evenings in the area of the dining room. As time passed and the stories grew, eventually people had the idea that they should go in and check it out.

They went in and found the house as you would expect after years of abandonment..broken windows, dust and dirt. Everything was really run down...Until they reached the dining room. Everything was in place as if it had just been set. The glasses were upright, the napkins in their place by the settings and everything was spotless on the table. The floor around the table was covered in dust, as was everything else in the room..with the exception of the table. Some versions of the story even say their were foot prints in front of the chair at the head of the table.