The Haunted Past

Last night I looked out my window and saw a house. What was unusual about this house was that it wasn’t my neighbor’s house. This house looked like it had been abandoned for a while. Shutters were hanging off of every window, on all three stories. The once white paint was weather worn and peeling. Windows were broken, and the front door was blowing in the wind.
Pulling on my coat and tennis shoes, I walked outside and headed towards the mysterious house. As I approached it a wolf started to howl in the distance. The closer I got the more I noticed the grander of the place. It had a wrap around porch, with big windows, and smoke stacks of chimneys that were in the house. As I approached the porch cautiously, the wind died down, and everything became still. Then I heard a laughing noise from behind me. I jerked around in time to see a little brunette girl run behind a tree. As I ran over to the tree and looked behind it, I saw her out of the corner of my eye. She disappeared into the house.

Running back up to the house, I once again began to cautiously cross the front porch. When I safely entered the house, I stared around in awe. I was looking at an enormous staircase that branched off in the middle and went to the right and left sides of the house. To my right were two doorways, and I could see a library through one of them. On my left were also two doorways, which led into a kitchen and a parlor. The floors and staircases were made out of marble, and the doorways had an accent of a deep mahogany.

I had a feeling of déjà vu, although I couldn’t remember why. Casually walking forward, I started to head up the stairs. With each step my anticipation began to grow, as each step brought about an eerie creaking noise. I decided to go to the right side of the staircase, and I came upon a dark hallway, that had a staircase leading down at the end. I quickly retraced my steps and went the other way to see if the staircase led to the same hallway. It did.

Feeling a little more comfortable, I decided to do some exploring. The first room I came upon was a grand bedroom, with a comfortable bathroom next to it. The next room I came upon was a study, with a desk cluttered with papers, and a comfy looking armchair. The next two doors I tried to open, I ended up discovering I couldn’t open them because they were looked. Disappointedly I turned around and was face to face with a small brunette girl.

She was in a simple blue dress that came down to her knees, and she had black stockings and plain black shoes. She had shoulder length brown hair, and a circular porcelain face with big brown eyes. She looked at me and turned and stood next to another staircase that I had failed to notice earlier. She smiled and laughed and gestured for me to follow her, as she quickly bounded up the stairs. I followed her and came upon the final floor, which was an attic.

The girl was waiting patiently and in a hollow voice she said “You are slower than what you used to be, sis.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t have a sister!” I cried.

The girl only smiled and handed me a worn out photograph. On the photograph was a group of people gathered around a couch, in stiff clothing, from the 1800’s. There were three male people, two teenagers, and a taller male. There were also three girls. A taller female was holding a baby, and next to her in the picture was a girl that looked exactly like me. I gasped in surprise and looked up at the young girl in front of me. She looked like the baby in the photo.

I followed her to a dusty cover that looked like it was covering a large picture. In one quick movement, she removed the cover sending large dust specks into the air.
Coughing and sputtering from inhaling the dust, I looked at the large portrait in front of me.

The picture was of me. I looked to be about 23 with long hair in tight curls, and a happy smile on my face. I reached out and touched the fingers and felt cool oil on the bottom of them.

I turned and looked at the girl who smiled at me. I reached out a hand to touch her. But what my hand touched was cold and dead. She turned and removed several other covers revealing more pictures of me, all through different decades. I stepped back and covered my mouth to muffle my screaming.

I looked at the girl who reached out a hand, and led me to a window with a balcony. Her grip was iron, as I tried to resist going with her. I had a feeling of regret and dread, as she dragged me to the balcony. She led me next to a corner part of the balcony that had parts of the railing missing.

“Do you remember this, this is where you jumped. I asked you not to, but you did. Then you didn’t stay with mom and dad and Julie, and George, and Jimmy, and me, your sister Elizabeth. Now you have a debt to pay.” Then she suddenly pushed me over the edge of the balcony.
I seemed to fall through the air in slow motion. I turned over onto my back during the fall, and the last thing I remember seeing was Elizabeth. She smiled and waved. Then my world went black.