The Haunting of the Lime Tree
Upon moving to Volcano, Hawaii in 2012, my wife and I settled into a charming cottage behind a main house, surrounded by lush gardens and fruit trees. Among them, a particularly fragrant and fruitful lime tree stood out, captivating us with its abundance. However, this idyllic setting soon took a sinister turn.
One evening, as I lay in bed, a strange humming sound from outside caught my attention. Peeking through the window, I saw a shadowy figure resembling a small child standing beside the lime tree. Assuming it was a neighborhood kid out past bedtime, I went outside to investigate, only to find the figure had vanished without a trace.
This unsettling event repeated itself several times, always at night and always with the same fleeting silhouette. On one occasion, I managed to catch a glimpse of the figure in the brief illumination of the porch light – a small Hawaiian girl with long black hair, dressed in white pajamas. However, she vanished before my eyes, leaving me shaken and bewildered.
My wife, initially skeptical, witnessed the fear in my eyes and acknowledged the possibility of a ghostly encounter. Soon after, the once-delightful lime tree began emitting a foul odor, reminiscent of a decaying animal. Despite searching, we found no source for the stench, and the tree ceased to bear fruit.
Driven by a growing sense of unease, I reached out to a local historian and then to law enforcement, seeking answers. While the historian mentioned vague rumors of a missing child, the police revealed an open case from the 1960s involving a young girl who vanished from the neighborhood.
A detective visited our property, but strangely, he couldn't detect the foul smell emanating from the lime tree. Feeling frustrated and increasingly disturbed, I was determined to uncover the truth. When our neighbor's dog reacted aggressively towards the lime tree, barking and yelping as if threatened, I knew something was hidden beneath it.
With the landlord's permission, we obtained a search warrant, and a team from the Honolulu Police Department arrived to investigate. Excavating the area around the lime tree, they unearthed a decaying burlap sack containing human remains – the skeletal remains of a young girl.
Forensic analysis confirmed the age of the victim to be between 6 and 8 years old, with evidence suggesting violence. However, due to the lack of dental records and the time that had passed, the case remained inconclusive, leaving us with a haunting mystery and a profound sense of sadness.
Two months later, we moved away, forever marked by the experience. The memory of the little girl and the chilling events surrounding the lime tree continue to haunt me, leaving me with a lingering hope that her family found some form of closure and that she finally rests in peace.
