the house by the lake

it was the dead of fall the leaves under my feet making a satisfying crunch when I walked the air cold and bitter I could hear the sound of the small waves in the lake crashing upon the shore it all seemed so peaceful it made me wonder why the house had such a bad name I mean yes it was a fixer-upper but I only got it for a couple thousand which is a drop in the water of what it should have been even for its age you would think it would at least be in the millions and that’s without talking about all the land surrounding it.

the only thing that stood out to me would be the rummers that peopled would tell me after finding out where I was moving they always seemed to want to steer me away from the house wanting me to leave at first I thought it was just going to be only one person that would not like me but the more time I spend it this town I’m starting to think no one will like me. maybe it’s because I have lots of land or that I have this beautiful lake all to myself? well no matter what it is I should not waste my breath and time thinking about it I’m sure they will stop talking and it will all pass over and it will be like it never even happened I just hope what they said was not true. I know I can be gullible but still, I don't think anyone would not be creeped out if they were told someone died in their house only twenty years before. It was chilling to think about I mean what if whoever killed that poor woman comes back to kill me! No, I can’t think like this it was just a lie to get me to move out I can’t let them win I need this house if I leave now my family will only poke fun at me even more than they already do so I can’t back down now I’ve come too far. I just need to not think about it any longer and finish unpacking my things I just hope that I can get some sleep after hearing all of this.

As I make my way to my new home I start to think about ways to decorate maybe I can ask my sister for help she was always the one with better taste whether it was with men or clothes she always knew what was best that’s one thing I had always envied of her I remember as kids I would always try to one-up her to get our parents attention but I would always be second place back then I was angry at her but over the years I have learned to accept that she was our parents favorite. sometimes it still can hurt but no matter what I say they will always push it aside but nows my chance to for once be number one in their eyes I know it might be childish but I just need them to see me for me for once in my life and not as the backup sister even though I’m older by three years. Oh, it appears I have been too lost in thought to see that I have made it home well I better hed inside then and not waste any more time out here in the cold fall air I might catch a cold. Opening the door I’m hit with the smell of mold and old cigarettes, not the best thing to be greeted by when coming home but with some work, I’m sure the smell will come out one day...hopefully. Walking towards the mountain of boxes I start to look for the box that was filled with my clothes that now smell of mold and wet dog which is odd since I dont own a dog.

maybe when I was packing my parent’s dog Micky got in here but besides that, I think I might just need to get new clothes since it’s colder here than back at home in California all I have is tank tops and shorts what was I thinking packing this I should have just sold them and gotten new clothes before I left but I guess its too late now I’ll just have to go clothes shopping tomorrow after job hunting. Maybe mom was right when she said I was crazy for moving before getting a job out in a small town but I never was the smartest person in the world in fact I’m far from it one time when I was in high school I managed to get lost on a school field trip to the movie theater and another time I got so lost in my own school that I had to ask a freshman the way to my class that I had been going to for the past 9 months so needless to say im a bit of an airhead as my parents like to call me cherly the air head but it was true I was always so caught up in my own world that I would run into polls on the side walk and would have to ask the dumbest of questions because I couldn’t keep anything in my head since it was too full with the dreams of my future and impressing my parents it’s sad really even when I would talk to the teachers I would never know what to say or do so, of course, i failed hell I dont even know how I graduated maybe that just felt bad or maybe they didn’t want me around anymore. Maybe I should take a break from packing and just go to bed and get all these thoughts out of my head it can’t be good for my health.

Getting up from where I was I started to make my way over to the master bedroom on the top floor.

Going up the steps and hearing the old floorboards creak under my weight maybe I should get some new wood for the stairs if they are squeaking this bad and I dont even weigh a lot I think at most I have weighed 232 pounds and that was when I was still in school and I’ve lost a lot of weight since then as I’m now 157 pounds so I shouldn’t be creaking this bad right I mean I know it’s old but still. Man, the people in town weren’t kidding when they said that the upstairs looks cursed it gives me the chills just being up here even as an adult even though I know nothing is wrong but I guess its just my old childhood fears coming back to bite me but still I wouldn’t be surprised if this place is hunted even though I know it’s not but somehow the look of the haunted house fits it maybe that’s, why people were telling me about all things horror stories about people, dying here it must have just been some fake stories to scare kids that just got out of control. Knowing this now brings some clam to me knowing that they were just stories about murder and monsters to scare kids. Opening the door leading into the bedroom I was stunned by how beautiful it looked even without decore. The big bay window allowing the moonlight to shine through into the room making the bed have a glow to it the sheer white curtains waving in the cool night breeze and the bed frame with carved designs of what looks to be the faces of animals and the calming feeling it gives when you step inside making you feel like all your troubles are washed away.

Closing my eyes I take in a big breath of air to try and soak up this feeling of peace that I rarely ever get to have. Opening my eyes I suddenly feel my exhaustion from the day wash over me making the thought of sleep oh so sweeter so without even taking my clothes off to change into better clothes I jump on my new bed and start to dose off. But once I fall asleep a feeling of dreed seeps over me crushing me making it hard to breathe I open my eyes to see that i am no longer in bed but instead I am at the small lake by my house my eyes widened in fear and confusion how did I get here? Am I dreaming? I try to pinch my self but I can’t move it’s like something is pulling me down. I start to look around with my eyes when suddenly I see something move in the water my eyes snap to the movement the feeling of dreed only increasing my gut twisting telling me to run but I can’t. Then again a ripple in the water my eyes grow in size my eyes starting to water with tears a scream getting ready to be let out. Before my eyes, I see a monster that looks to be some kind of mix of fish and man its eyes only slits the little fat that they have on their body is on their face but even that is not much they look to be skin and bone their face sinking into it’s self their eyes hollow making them have this feeling of hunger the thought of dying enters my head is this really how I will die? I ask myself the feeling of regret and sadness overtaking me then finally I start to cry and let out choked sobs the monster starts to move closer only making me cry harder I start to beg and pray that I will wake up I even try to talk to the thing to get them to not hurt me than a thought pass through my brain just as I give up trying. Is this how that woman died she was killed by this thing I wish I had listened and ran away and left this house this place but it's too late now I can't do anything now. The monster is going to kill me and I can’t do anything to stop it.