Deception

By: Rachel Wang (age 12)

Chapter 1

            

I awoke to the sound of a knock on the door and then a thump. I lay there for a split second and quickly descended the stairs. I looked around to see if the owner of the house was around, and when I made sure she wasn’t around, I opened the door.

           

Nothing. Nobody.

             

I walked out and realized that there was a real estate magazine on the ground. It was flipped to the middle of the magazine, right on the page that advertised a mansion.

            

I picked it up and quickly closed the front door, and went back to my bedroom of the house I had rented.

            

I settled down into my bed and skimmed over the page. The mansion was set in the middle of nowhere, on a twenty acre chunk of land. It was old with the paint peeling off, and a rusty old gate that I didn’t even need to see to know that it was old and probably creaked. A cracked road with a few trees along it led to the front door of the mansion. I could just identify a swamp in the backyard, and a couple of gargoyle sculptures.

            

I laid down the magazine and closed my eyes. Who had brought this magazine to me? And how come it was flipped to this page? Was I meant to receive it or was it for the house owner?

             

I opened my eyes again and then looked for the price of the mansion. My eyes widened. It was right in my budget, and way too cheap for a mansion this size. That mansion was just what I needed.

           

After graduating, I had rented this house since there were no other places to go, but now, I seriously needed a new house.

             

I quickly found the real estate agent's number and punched it into my cell phone.

             

"Jack Campbell speaking. Can I help you?" came a voice from my cell.

            

"Oh um, hi I'm Evermore Price. I was wondering about the mansion on the real estate magazine that's on sale?" I replied.

             

There was a pause on the other end of the phone and then a throat clearing.

           

"Do you want to buy this mansion Ms. Price?" The agent questioned me.

           

"Well, yes. I was wondering if you could tell me more about it. Is there a reason as to why it's so cheap?" I answered.

             

Another pause.

            

"Meet me by the café and I'll tell you more about the mansion. It's not as good as you think it is Ms. Price." He answered stiffly.

             

"Oh um-"

             

The phone clicked, leaving my mouth hanging open.

             

Who did this Jack Campbell think he was? How dare he just hang up on me? Did he really possibly think that I was going to meet him by the café like he told me to?

           

I slammed the magazine down on the bed and decided that I needed to know more about the mansion and so I started to get ready.

             

Angry and dissatisfied, I exited the house and set off towards the café, which was a twenty minute walk from the house.

            

Once I got there, I ordered a smoothie and sat down to wait for that stupid Jack Campbell.                  

             

After a while, a man probably in his mid forties, wearing professional business clothing, entered the café, looking worried and anxious for some reason. When he spotted me, he looked around and then started towards me.

             

"You are Ms. Price, right?" he said, sitting down across from me.

           

"Yes," I replied. Not wanting to waste any time, I got straight to my point. “Now will you tell me more about the mansion?" I snapped.

             

He didn’t look surprised at all, only worried. "Ok, well the mansion isn't exactly something that people like. It has been vacant for over ten years now, owned by the government, but now they are deciding to sell it. As you could probably tell from the magazine, it is a pretty old house, and not the prettiest. But I'm guessing you still like it?" He raised his eyebrows at me.

            

"Well yes, but is there a history to this house?" I questioned, getting more and more curious about this mansion the agent seemed so worried about.

            

"It's a long story so you better get comfortable. And if you decide you don’t want to buy the house anymore, I won’t blame you. Personally I think they should just run it down and never build anything over it again. " he muttered.

             

"I'm comfortable right now so how about you start on that little story of yours already?" I snapped, running out of patience.

            

He shook his head slightly and then started talking. "Ok, well you asked for it… The house was originally owned by the Earn family. Mrs. and Mr. Earn had four children, and they were very rich.  However, their wealth went downhill after a couple of years.  By then, the two older kids had moved away from the mansion but were never to be found again. A few years later, Mr. Earn died, leaving a very devastated Mrs. Earn and two devastated kids.  One of the kids caught a mysterious disease and died painfully. At that time, the youngest kid started to turn mentally ill and killed her mother. The mansion was then turned into an asylum and the youngest daughter was also there. However, the kids in the asylum were not to be controlled and soon much unfortunate stuff happened to the nurses there. The youngest daughter was said to be 'sent from the devil' and so she suffered a painful death. The other kids went absolutely crazy and it was like as if they were possessed by some spirit, so they too suffered a painful death. By that time, word had gotten around that the mansion was haunted so nobody came near it. But after awhile, another couple came along and bought the mansion. And again, these innocent people were cursed. The wife died, leaving a crazy husband who ran away and was never to be found again. The house has been vacant ever since." The agent took a deep breath and then added," Personally, I feel bad for that little girl. She might have been not right in the mind, but chopping her head off probably added onto the curse of the mansion."

           

I raised my eyebrows, not believing the story that I just heard. Does this so called agent seriously think that I'm going to believe this crazy absurd story that maybe he just made up?

            

I huffed and replied, "Well, that's an interesting story."

             

"If you don't believe me, you could ask anybody else if they know that the mansion is haunted. In fact, I'm surprised that you never heard of the haunting happening in the house," he replied.

             

"No, no, no, I will definitely not ask anybody else about the mansion because I really don’t believe that little story of yours. In fact, I really don’t get why you are so reluctant to sell the house to me." I said, angry.

             

"Not my fault. I'll sell the house to you but don't say I didn't warn you. That mansion is haunted and no one would buy it but you."

             

He shrugged and took out the papers that I had to sign, and handed it to me.

           

“Here, sign these papers and the mansion is yours." He smiled grimly and waited for me to scan and sign the papers.

           

I took the papers and then started skimming over them.

             

After what felt like an eternity of signing and asking questions, I was done. The mansion was mine.

Chapter 2

             

The first thing I did once I got out of the café, was call my best friend, Eva. She's  crazy, but we've been friends for over ten years now. Ever since middle school. It's actually pretty surprising how we remained friends for all these years. She's the exact opposite of me. She likes loud, I like quiet.

             

Once I got on my cell, I screamed, “I just bought a house."

            

There was a pause and then "AHH! Seriously?! Oh, my gosh I must see it! How does it look? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Where is it? How much was it? Ohhh, who sold it to you? What-"

             

"Slow down Ev! How about you come over to the café right now and we will go to my new house together?" I asked.

             

"Sounds like a plan! I'm coming right over now!" She yelled excitedly and hang up.

           

After a quick five minutes, Eva arrived. She was beaming and practically screamed "Let's go!"

            

She pulled me up and pulled me out the door and towards her car.

           

She let me drive since I knew the directions and she kept on pestering me with questions about my new house.

             

After a while, she started to calm and actually started to look worried. "Um… not to ruin the mood or anything but how come we are still not there? It's been like half an hour already. And based on all of these trees around the road, I have a feeling the house that you bought isn't exactly located somewhere where there's people."

           

"Well, you see it's actually located in the middle of nowhere and the closest neighbor is located two miles away. You should seriously see it; it's huge and super cheap. The agent told me some stupid scary story about the mansion but seriously, how old does he think I am? I do not believe that story about the history of the mansion." I said nonchalantly.

             

Realization dawned on her, and suddenly her face turned dark.

             

"Don't tell me you bought that freak of a house." She said, suddenly grim and unhappy.

           

I turned towards and asked "What?"

           

“The mansion. It's that one where it was once owned by the Earn family and then they went poor and then the two older sons disappeared and then the father died and then the kid died and then the smaller girl killed the mom and then-"

             

"Ughh, I get your point Ev! And yes it is that mansion. Why does everyone let that little story get to them? It's just a story Ev, nothing to worry about." I told her.

            

She stared at me for a moment and then sternly said, " As your best friend, I will not let you live in a haunted mansion - especially a haunted mansion where many people died. Trust me Evermore, you do not want to live in that creepy mansion; you will get cursed by it. And I don't want you to turn crazy or something, so please sell that house and never go there."

            

I pulled over and told her “You don't want to go to my new house? Ok, how about I dump you out right here." I pointed towards the side of the road.

           

Eva sighed. “Fine, fine, fine. I'll go with you. I always was going to go with you, it's just…oh never mind. Let's just get going already."

             

We didn’t talk for the rest of the way, and once we got there, Eva let out a deep breath

             

"Wow, it's…nice."

            

"Uh huh. Now will you help me unpack?" I asked her. We had stopped off on the way here to pick up a few things from my old place.

             

"Oh, right, ok" she replied and helped me unpack all of my stuff.

          

Once we put all of my stuff in where I wanted it, Eva told me, "Ok, I got to go now. As much as I want to sleep over, I can't cause this place is already creeping me out."

          

She pulled me in for a hug, and then left the mansion. Now it was just me. And I swear once the door closed, there was a creepy laugh that came from upstairs.

Chapter 3

             

I was sitting on the bed in the bedroom that I liked the most, when I saw a black and white photograph hanging on the wall across from the bed. It showed a whole family that included a mom, a dad and four children.

             

Okay, well maybe there was an Earn family but the rest is probably just a silly story. I thought.

            

I looked at it more carefully and the girl in the very front caught my attention. While the rest of the family was smiling happily, she wasn’t smiling at all. In fact, it looked as if she was mad.

            

Probably that youngest girl in the Earn family. She was probably always not right in the head. I thought.

             

The family looked like it was at the very peak of their wealth.

             

I looked away and then decided to go to check out the backyard.

           

The backyard was not a surprise to me. It looked just like any mansion's backyard would look like, with a river going through the whole yard.

             

It took me a while to tidy it up and rearrange the backyard table and chairs into a position that was satisfying. I wiped my hands on my Jeans and went back inside.

            

Just as I was opening the door, I saw a black flash out of the corner of my eye. Then there was a small giggle that sounded like it came from a little girl. I turned around but nothing was there. Nothing.

             

So where had the giggle come from?

             

I felt a shiver go through my body, as I quickly opened the back door and slipped inside the house.

          

I ascended the stairs and quickly went into my bedroom and shut the door. By then, I was a little freaked out. Where were these creepy giggles coming from?

             

No, that was probably just a trick of my mind, I thought.

           

Just as I was calming down, I saw something. There, right there on the wall where the photo of the Earn family was suppose to be.

           

In its place, was another photo. This time it was another photo but two of the kids were missing. They all looked sad except for that youngest daughter, who was starting to look satisfied. With what, I did not know, but surely because of something.

             

Just as I was about to touch the photo, it suddenly morphed into another photo.

          

Frightened, I backed away so fast that I tripped and fell on my bottom. How had the photo just changed?

           

I went closer to the photo and looked at it carefully. This time, it was a photo of only Mrs. Earn and the youngest daughter.

             

It was probably taken when Mr. Earn and their other daughter had died already, I thought.

          

Mrs. Earn looked sad, but this time, I was absolutely sure that the youngest daughter was happy. She had a crazy gleam in her eye, and a secret smile dancing across her face.

             

I was fed up with all these crazy things so I decided to go out for lunch.

            

It was a fifty minute drive to town and then, once I finished eating, it was another fifty minutes to drive back home.

             

By that time, night had come around the corner and I got ready for sleep.

             

Just when I was coming in the bathroom, I saw a girl behind me. She looked like she was about ten years old and I was fairly sure that this was the youngest daughter of the Earn family.

             

The girl whispered, "Help me." And then vanished.

           

I looked around me but there were no signs of the girl anymore. She had just vanished. I ran towards my bedroom and once I got in, I locked the door and jumped into the bed.

             

Now, I was seriously starting to get scared.

             

Maybe this house really is haunted, I thought.

          

No, no, no, this is not possible these are just mind tricks, I said to myself trying to calm down. And just as I was drifting off to sleep, I caught a glimpse of the photo on the wall but I wish I hadn't. This time, the photo had changed again. It was only the girl. Her eyes were wild and she was smiling wickedly. She was wearing one of those old fashioned uniforms, probably during her time in the asylum.

      

I fell asleep hearing a sweet little voice whisper evilly, "I'm coming!"

Chapter 4

                       

           

Then everything erupted at once.

          

The girl in the photo just slipped out of the photo and came towards me with a creepy smile. She held a knife in her hand that was stained with old blood. Who knows from who or what.

           

She whispered, "There's no reason to worry Evermore, it will just be a little prick and you will be gone…just a little prick with this knife and you will be freed, I will no longer haunt you…just a little prick.."

          

"N-n-no, don't come near me!" I shouted at the crazy little girl.

            

She smiled and said, "Why are you so scared of me Evermore? I don't want to hurt you, I want to free you."

             

"No, y-y-you don't know what you're talking about. You just want to kill me." I whispered as I quickly got up and backed away from the crazy mental ill girl.    

             

Questions swirled around in my head. Why does this girl want to kill me? What have I done wrong? What does she mean she will free me?

             

The girl slowly walked towards me and lifted the knife.

             

Before she could make another move, I ran towards the door and ran down stairs. Just when I got down the stairs, there she was, right in front of me. Somehow she must have done one of those impossible ghost transporting things.

            

"All I need is to kill you Evermore. Once you are dead, I will be freed, and you will be freed from this horrible curse" The girl whispered desperately.

For a split second, I could see a flash of sadness go through the little girl's eyes. For a moment I actually felt bad for this little girl, but just as quickly as it appeared, the sorrow disappeared from the girl's eyes. Her eyes turned back to the crazy stillness as she raised the knife and plunged it toward my heart.

            

At the last moment, I yanked my body away from the girl and ran in the opposite direction. I felt a pang of pain at my collarbone and looked down. There was a big scrape along my collarbone which was trickling blood already.

             

I quickly wiped the blood away and locked myself into the first room I saw. What I saw amazed me.

           

It was the Earn family. Flesh and real, right in front of me. They were all playing a game of cards and they all looked happy.

             

Except for the youngest daughter. She looked sad and pained.

           

None of them seemed to notice me and then the scene started to change, but at the last moment the youngest daughter saw me and her eyes widened. She just opened her mouth when the scene fully changed and settled into another one.

          

This one was Mr. and Mrs. Earn counting their money with sad faces. I was just going to exit the room when the scene again changed.

            

I saw two children leaving the house and the rest of the family crying.

             

Images swirled around me and I saw everything.

            

The other daughter dying from a mysterious disease, the younger daughter crouched over the mother that she just killed, and the younger daughter suffering a painful death. Just before the girl died, her gaze locks onto mine, and then her body stopped moving and she passed away.

           

Suddenly the images all disappeared at once, and the door to the room was slowly swung open. Standing in the doorway, was the girl, looking even creepier in the dim light of the moon coming from the window.

             

I was so stunned by what had just happened that I stood there and waited for my death.

         

"I was born with a curse. Whenever someone passed away in my family, it broke a little bit of the curse that surrounded me. Now, the last step to breaking the curse is to kill you. Once the curse is broken, I will be free. If it is not broken...we will both suffer the consequences!" The girl whispered, coming closer and closer to me.

             

I backed away, confused, and waited for the girl to make her move.

             

The girl came closer and closer, until she was right in front of me.

             

Then the house collapsed and I felt a falling sensation.

             

Falling, falling, falling.

Chapter 5

                       

              

I woke up drenched in sweat.

              

I looked around; it was morning, with the sunshine seeping through the battered curtains. I was back in the house, but all of that was a dream.

            

I lay back down and suddenly I felt a prick by my ear. I turned my head around and nearly blacked out.

             

Right there beside my pillow was a blood-stained knife: the exact one that the crazy girl in my dream had been using. Tucked under the knife was a note written with red sharpie: I will follow you, the note read.

             

I shook my head. How is this possible? It was all a dream, wasn’t it? I picked up the knife and the note and throw it into the trash can. I feel a shiver along my spine as I quickly get dressed.

            

I've had enough of this craziness and strangeness, I decided. I picked up my bag and ran down the stairs and out the front door. I quickly got into my car and drive towards town.

             

This was the first time that a crowd comforted me. The morning sun sent warmth through me and I immediately calmed down.

             

I called Eva and told her to meet me by the café.

         

After a while, an unrecognizable lady that resembled Eva came towards me smiling. No, this isn't right, I decided.

             

I quickly checked the date on my phone and what it said totally knocked me out of my mind: Four years had passed since yesterday.

             

Eva pulls me in for a hug and says, " Whatcha want to do today?"

             

"Umm, well, let's see. How come four years passed already? I just moved into my house yesterday, it's been one night, and suddenly four years have passed! We haven't seen each other for four years Ev!" I yelled.

             

Eva looks at me weirdly and said, "Uh, no, we have seen each other in these four years, and I'm actually getting used to that mansion of yours already. It’s not that scary. And in case you're wondering, you moved into that mansion four years ago, not yesterday."

             

Questions swirled in my brain and I reply, "Whatever is happening, I don’t get it. But one thing's for sure, I'm selling my house."

           

Eva sighed and said, "Ok fine, I'll get a sales agent for you. I'll see you back here in two hours?"

             

I thought about it for a moment a muttered, "Yea, see you later."

            

Eva left the café, leaving me alone and dumbstruck.

         

I decided to visit my previous house's owner one last time to see if she was still there after these four years, and so I got into my car and set off.

            

I looked into the mirror and there sitting in the back seat was the little girl from my dream. She smiled evilly and whispered in a hollow voice, "I will follow you. Forever," and then disappeared.