Fictional Horror Story || Contest
I was constantly staring out of the window, trying to keep up the count of trees as the train sped forward. I was feeling home-sick since the time I left my parents' home. I had to move to another town for my first job. Counting trees seemed like the best distraction. But as it grew darker outside, it was impossible to count. So my thoughts again shifted to the current state of my life.
It wasn't a promising job but I accepted the offer because I needed money. I didn't want to live off my parents' money anymore. I wanted a career of my own. So here I was leaving. My plan was to move into the old house of my grandparents in the beginning to save myself from the rent of a flat. I couldn't recall the house much except that it was very big and beautiful according to my childhood memories. After the grandparents' demise, we never visited here again. The property was transferred to my Dad so he suggested I should live there.
The train was slowing down and I realized that my destination had arrived. I quickly gathered my stuff and hopped out of the train. I booked a cab and hit the road. The house was on the outskirts of the city so it took almost an hour to reach there.
I paid the driver and he helped me unload my luggage. I only brought two suitcases as I planned to buy rest of the essentials from here.
I dragged suitcases on the wobbly cobblestone pavement of the house and soon was standing in front of it. The huge oak trees had covered the front of the house so it wasn't visible from the distance.
The house still looked gigantic and magnificent. It had huge oak doors and a large rustic lock was hanging, complementing the size of the door. I shuffled in my purse and quickly found the key. As I was trying to unlock the jammed padlock, it felt I had broken all the silence.
Finally, I managed to unlock it and pushed open the giant doors. At the same time, I saw a light flicked on in the upper storey through my peripheral vision. But when I looked up, it was dark as before. Ignoring it, I stepped into the house.
I switched on the lights, half suspecting that they won't work. But to my surprise, all lights turned on. There was a long hallway leading into a huge living area. The living area had a wall length window which faced the back of the house. I couldn't see through the window because it was dark. There was Victorian style furniture in the living room which surprisingly wasn't dusty. To the right was a TV and a shelf along the wall was decorated with an old radio, VCR and a tape. A media wall to be precise. Towards the right was a magnificent fireplace and a door to the kitchen.
There was another door along the kitchen as well which was a bedroom and along that stairs going up. I decided to check upper storey in the morning.
I left my stuff in the living area and walked to the kitchen. Kitchen was all clean and it looked functional too. There were a lot of options in the pantry. Dad must have asked someone to clean the house and make it functional for me. I thought to call him later and say thanks.
I was feeling hungry so decided to put up pasta on the stove. Then I went to the bathroom in the living area to freshun up myself. As I turned on the tap, I heard some foot steps. I turned off the water and tried to listen but it was silence everywhere. I'm a brave person so I don't get easily scared so I ignored it thinking that I just misheard.
After washing my face, I got out and went to the kitchen again. And all my bravery went in the drain when I saw an empty stove. I clearly remember about pasta but it wasn't there. I thought maybe I forgot to put it up but then I could smell it as well. The aroma was in the kitchen and that was giving me goosebumps. At that moment, door bell rang and I jumped up.
With great difficulty, I took the courage and walked towards the door. I checked through a peephole and there was a young boy standing out. He looked completely harmless so I opened the door.
We pleasantly exchanged greetings. He didn't look older than fifteen. I asked, "Who are you"?
He said, "I'm the son of old man who lives in the quarters on the backside."
I was surprised to find that out. He said, "My father used to work for the owner of this house and he was friend of him as well. After the owner's death, he shifted to the quarters and decided to take care of the house. For many years, he maintained the house but five years ago he got an accident and got paralyzed. Since then he's lying in the quarters. I come here twice a day and take care of his needs. I would like you to visit him with me."
I felt sympathetic towards the boy and his father, so immediately accompanied him towards the quarters. On the way, I noticed that big window in the living area was directly facing towards the quarters. There used to be a garden in between but it was not there anymore.
The boy opened the door and I walked in behind him. An oldman was lying in the bed and blankly staring at the wall. He didn't even notice us coming. I felt really bad for his state considering he was an old friend of grandpa.
His room was a mess and there was a familiar smell coming. I couldn't pin point what was it. The boy went in the other room to sort out the mess. I was trying to take in the room and suddenly spotted a familiar pot on the corner table.
IT WAS THE PASTA POT, I PUT UP ON THE STOVE FEW MINUTES AGO. The smell was of pasta in the room. I glanced back at the oldman and I could swear he was staring at me. But when I turned towards him, his face was blank like before. I wanted to run from the quarters. My legs couldn't move at first. It took me a great effort to open the door and before stepping out, I saw that the oldman was again staring at me and there was a faint smile on his face. Or I was just imagining things, my brain wasn't working. Once outside, I ran back with all the speed and strength to the house. I immediately locked up myself in the bedroom downstairs.
I wanted to call my dad but it was past midnight. There was no noise later on but I couldn't sleep the whole night. When the first rays of sun hit the room, I called a cab and slowly sneaked out of the room. I grabbed my stuff and ran away from the house. Got in the cab and went to a friend's home.
I was literally starving by that point. I had my breakfast their. Once, I came to my senses, I called my Dad. Told him about the oldman and boy. He said their whole family died five years ago in a car crash. Moreover, he didn't ask anybody to clean and set up the house for me. He wantetd to do that but forgot.
I hung up the phone and it felt like I couldn't breathe as the cold shiver run down my spine. Thinking about those people, I met last night was giving me major shivers. Did I just meet ghosts for the first time in my life.
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