Year of 365

June 11

A Lost Key:

The bed had come with the house. The previous owners had claimed that it had been there when the house was created and had been attached to the wall with more than just the screws that were visible. They had tried removing the bed multiple times, each futile, and each leaving them more confused than before.

It was a rickety old thing with long wooden posts on all corners, a thin fabric stretching between the top of the frame. The fabric was an eerie mesh fabric that was starting to rip and fray in some places. There were no covers on the bed and only a thin mattress that was yellowing around the edges. The owners had told me that it wouldn't come up either.

So, I had left the room untouched, not trusting the odd feeling I would get whenever I entered the room. Whenever people came over, I would block the room off, as I had gotten a lock installed. The key I kept in a dresser next to my bed, as nobody ever went in there.

For the first few nights of living in the house, I had been unable to sleep and often found myself making some hot chocolate so that I could try and get some rest. Eventually, after nothing strange happened, I decided that whoever had installed the bed had done a poor job of an art project and had ended up getting some sticky substance on the bed. It made almost no sense to me of how people still couldn't get it up, but I left it at that.

But, one day, of course, something had to happen.

I was sitting at my kitchen table, trying to finish a paper that was due at the end of the week, when a cold gust of wind blew through the kitchen, rattling the blinds and the small bell trinkets that I had hung up around the window. I shivered and rubbed my arms. Looking around, I realized that none of the windows had been opened, so I wondered where the breeze was coming from. Besides my cat, I was the only person in the house.

I picked up my phone and shut my laptop, getting to my feet so that I could investigate what had created the sudden wind. It turned out to be the window in the hall next to the locked room. Apparently, I had left it open when I had watered the plants outside of it, and I hit myself in the forehead for forgetting to do such a simple task. I shut and locked it, double-checking before returning to the kitchen.

Nothing happened until an hour later, as I was finishing up the paper. The lights in my house suddenly went out and I huffed.

"Athena," I called, flicking the light switch to test if it was indeed a power outage. My black cat came running around the corner and jumped up into my arms, shivering like crazy. I chuckled and wrapped my shawl around both of us before heading into the living room, which was sure to be warmer than the kitchen with a marble floor. Setting Athena down on the couch, I went to open up the blinds, smiling when the sunlight hit my face.

Athena suddenly hissed and I whirled around just in time to see a black shadow disappear around the corner of the doorframe. I frowned and shut the blinds again, keeping my eyes on the spot where the shadow had appeared. With the blinds closed, the room was plunged into almost darkness, and I stared at the spot, waiting for whatever it was to reappear. Athena made no more noises and I decided that it would be safe to pick her up.

I stooped down and picked her up, rubbing her back in an attempt to help her relax. I could feel her muscles tensing beneath the fur and I frowned.

"What is it, Athena?"

She suddenly jumped out of my hands and darted through the door, hissing evily. "Athena," I shouted, chasing after her. I was surprised to see her move so fast, as she was usually quite a lazy cat, her only exercise being jumping up onto the table to pester me while I work.

I followed her as she darted around the corners of our house, eventually cornering her in my room.

"What is going on with you," I groaned.