The Ghost In My Room

Chapter 1: Unwanted Guest

A/N: I decided to try out a new story. Hope you enjoy reading it. Feel free to leave me a comment about what you think.
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Chapter One

Tendrils of thick ominous fog curled and clung to every delicate flower, every blade of grass, every stone within it's icy grasp as it slowly crawled up the steep, barren hill towards our house. The veil of fog was so thick it was impossible to make out the town that sat below us; not even the outline of the aged oak tree that rested at the end of our garden could be seen, no matter how much I squinted.

Thankfully the inside of the house was basked in warmth and soft light as the roaring fire ablaze on the hearth never once ceased to spread waves of warmth across our living room.

I sat on the wooden ledge, having nothing better to do than to stare out of the window towards the morbid weather we had been graced with this present evening.

If I strained my ears hard enough, I could hear the familiar rhythmic clinks coming from the old plumbing system we had in our new home and the soft scratch of pen gliding across paper as mum completed her paperwork in the kitchen; a large mug of tea beside her, I would imagine.

Plain brown boxes of all sizes were strewn across the floor, taking every available piece of space on the floor. We had yet to unpack and get settled into our new home. I suspected I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow. For now, I would do nothing but sit on the sill and daydream. The was nothing much that I could do at that given moment of time as nearly every room in the house was bare, aside from the kitchen and living room.

''Zei, have you picked out your new bedroom yet?'' Mum called from the kitchen, her voice laced with exhaustion.

I had a brief look around upstairs earlier in the afternoon and it was pretty much identical to the rooms downstairs aside the fact of beds replacing the furniture.

''Not yet.'' I called back, stifling a yawn that threatened to escape.

I turned my head from the window towards the slightly ajar door; where the hallway cloaked in inky darkness that awaited me. The corners of my mouth were pulled down with unease, for the dark had always been my childhood fear. Even at the age of seventeen, the fear hadn't diminished. It didn't help that mum didn't stand for wasting electricity.

''You may as well find a bedroom and go to sleep. We have a lot of unpacking to do tomorrow, and the more sleep you get, the better.'' She said, coming into the living room, her long pale fingers running through her unbound auburn hair which traveled in long cascading waves down her back.

She gave me a small, tired smile before assessing the small living room with her light brown eyes.

Having done her survey of the room, she strode towards the door and yanked it open before going into the hallway, where a second later it flooded with light. Mum knew about my fear but never said a word about it to me. It was like we had an small unsaid agreement between us: I never spoke about my fear and she pretended it didn't exist. It had always been like that for as long as I could remember.

''Close the light when you're in your bedroom.'' She said, reappearing into the room again. She ruffled my short hair affectionately, going in the kitchen again; but not before calling out a goodnight.

''Night mum.'' I replied, slipping of the ledge with an inaudible sigh and walking out of the room. The wooden floorboards in the hallway were at an arctic temperature, sending tides of chills up my bare feet. I slowly walked up the staircase, holding onto the banister. It seemed like the house was frozen for everything I had touched was cold.