I had never even heard of Sleepy Hollow until a few weeks ago, it was all because of a mysterious letter that I had received. There was no writing on the yellowing envelope, so I guessed it must have been hand delivered and it smelt old and musty so it hadn't been written recently. I didn't know what to think, but all I knew was why had I been sent it? I was still in the dark when I read the contents of the letter, it too was yellowing through age.
The penmanship of its author was beautiful, the graceful sweep of ink across paper was something I could not take my gaze from. It was almost distracting me from the sentences formed but not quite.

Dear Miss Darham,
I would like to inform you that we have found your father. Unfortunately, he passed away many years ago and had not left a will. All of his belongings have seemingly been destroyed or removed, all apart from a lapis lazuli incrusted necklace which I have inclosed with this letter.
I am sorry that I could not help you any further, but I pray that you will get some answers. I bid you all the best in your search. 
Sincerely
Mr. Johnson.
Detective

The letter was dated 1843 and part of Miss Darham's address said 'Sleepy Hollow', the rest seemed unimportant right this minute.
Who were Mr. Johnson and Miss Darham? What happened to her father? Many different questions floated around in my head, each one feeding my appetite to know more.
Being someone who loved adventure and new experiences, I was eager to leave straight away. Being a writer, I pretty much could but I knew I would be in major trouble if I just upped and left, so I sent my boss the quickest, most vague but believable email before I packed up some essentials into a large holdall and jumped in my car and was on my way. Goodbye Philly, hello Sleepy Hollow.

When I arrived in Sleepy Hollow, the wind whistled sharply around the car and the sun had sunk further down towards the horizon, leaving the town in a vague gloom. I was so happy to actually be here as I felt tired and cranky and I had used all my spare change on my way up, it was so good to get to my destination.
I drove through the streets looking for a motel or a B&B, somewhere where I could stay for a few nights to figure what I was going to do exactly in this town. I seriously needed to have been a little bit thorough in my plans to come here as now I was here, I didn't know where I was going to start. Maybe a lay down would clear my head.
I parked my car outside an old looking cottage, where dull green vines trailed up it's cream walls and the single chimney bellowed with smoke. There was a sign reading 'Vacancies' situated by the shallow hedge which edged the boundaries of the garden. I took out the letter from the glove compartment and placed it in my coat pocket for safe keeping. I then walked on up, making my way with my holdall along the winding stone pathway which led to the front door. I pushed it open where I was greeted by the enticing smell of roses and lily of the valley. Inside was a small room covered with darkened wood and a single desk at the furthest wall to the door. I made my way up before pressing the bell to call someone over. I waited for a few minutes before an old lady, looking crippled by possible arthritis came walking out from a door to the left. She had a soft scowl upon her face, but she greeted me in a fairly polite manner as she flicked through the guestbook, looking for the right page.
"Have you a room for the night?" I asked as I moved my gaze between the book and the old woman, her cold blue eyes pinned to me as I spoke. I had mild chills rolling down my spine.
The woman looked down at the book before she did a quick sweep across the page. When she looked back up at me, she closed the book, ready to speak again. "I have. Room Four is free. Just the one night?"
"Thank you. I don't know. If I did want to stay another day, could I?" I was relieved that I could at least stay here for a night.
The woman glared at me like I had said the worst thing imaginable, I felt she would almost not reply to my query but with an awkward pause, she started to speak once more. "The room's free until next Monday. If you want to stay until then, ring the bell in the morning and we can sort it from there." I was about to thank her, when she continued to carry on speaking. "Breakfast is at seven and finishes at ten but we don't like anyone after nine is that understood?" I simply nodded in compliance. I didn't feel like I wanted to get on the wrong side of this woman and anyway, I was an early riser so it didn't make that much difference to me.
I simply followed her up to the top of the house before settling into my small, old fashioned but comfortable room where the first thing I did was lay down for a brief nap. When I awoke, I started to unpack what I needed before heading over to the bathroom for a quick wash, which was on the other side of the hallway, outside the bedroom.
When I came back, shivering from the lack of heating in this place, I decided that an early night would be best for me. I folded all my clothes from the day onto an empty seat, I drew the curtains across the deep set window which over looked the front of the house before quickly getting into bed and snuggled under the sheets. I switched off the bedside lamp which had already been on when I first arrived in the room before I let the night sweep over me and my dreams slowly slip inside my head. I suddenly remembered that I left the letter in my coat pocket which jolted me that little bit further away from sleep, but that didn't matter, it was safe there and I felt I couldn't move out of tiredness and the soft haze of dreams in the horizon. It wasn't long until I was asleep.
When morning came around, I quickly got myself ready, putting on a clean jumper which was the color of moss and some jeans and boots before heading down for breakfast. When I made my way into the breakfast room , I was immediately shown to a table by a skinny acne covered teenager who, when pulling out my chair for me to sit, firstly didn't pull it hard enough so it simply stayed in its position mostly hidden under the table cover but then realizing he didn't use enough of his presumingly lack of strength, pulled it so hard he nearly knocked into the middle aged couple's table who were dining behind. I couldn't help but stifle a laugh.
"Thank you." I said kindly to him and smiled to let him know I was grateful for his service. He smiled back sheepishly at me but he carried on with what he had been told to do, I guessed for each guest here and in a stilted, monotone sort of way, asked me what I wanted for breakfast with which I replied. One serving of pancakes with strawberry jam, a side of bacon rashers, a fruit salad and a large glass of orange juice. Yum for me!
While I waited, I took my time to take in my surroundings and the people around me. The room wasn't exceptionally large, but with the amount of tables which had been fitted inside and the fact that there was actually a decent amount of space between each table, it felt much bigger. Also, a room shaped the way it was - it was a sort of 'L' shape as it curved around the inner boundaries of the house helped give the same result. The people, however, seemed to be few and far between. There was only the couple who nearly had their breakfast on their laps from before, a mother and daughter duo, the daughter seemed to be about my age and a lone man, of perhaps mid forties eating at a table furthest from anyone in the left hand corner of the room under the belly of the winding stairs. I wondered what all their stories were, why they were staying here; have they stayed here before? Also I wondered if they were visiting anybody and if so, who? This was all part of my usual dissection of situations I was currently in, this interest was kind of the reason why I become a writer, to delve into stories and such in a certain way. It got me my job anyway, this interest of mine. My English Grandfather used to call me a 'nosy bugger', which as a teenager I simply ignored, but now, I can kind of see he was right. I smiled at the memory. Then my food arrived which I quickly devoured.
Once I was done, I headed back to my room to collect my bag and coat and to make sure that the letter was still in my coat before touching my makeup up quickly before I was ready to face the town of Sleepy Hollow. When I arrived back in the lobby, I walked over to the desk and rang the bell once more. It was a fairly pleasant place to stay and I needed somewhere as I was staying a while longer in town. I waited again for a few minutes before someone arrived to greet me. This time it wasn't the old lady who came, instead a youngish dark haired woman, her age seemed to be undecided, I couldn't pin point it. She smiled at me kindly, a different greeting to the old lady before she placed her hands on the book and said to me a friendly. "Hello, how may I help?"
I told her that I wanted to stay a little longer and that I was told that the room I was in was vacant until Monday. She nodded before putting my name down for the room until Monday. I payed for the nights before we both said a goodbye to one another. I then headed towards my car which was parked outside and turned the heating on as soon as I got in. I pulled out the letter and started to look at it again and again, turning it over and reading the words again and again. Where to start? I thought. This was extremely adventurous of me to simply come here on a whim and not have any information to help me with my search. I looked again and again at the words before a ping went off in my head and of course, I should start off at the library. I instantly turned my engine onto full before I eagerly drove, looking for the library. It would be around her somewhere, I just had to find it.