Missing Thoughts

Chapter One

Standing there before me was a house, but not just any house, this was the place I would be living in until I graduate from high school. It towers over me, and I watch as the loose window shutters bang angrily against the walls, which aren't looking too good themselves. 

Shingles are missing, creating an uneven pattern. Not that you can see much of anything, thanks to the green vegetation that covers a majority of everything in sight. It's definitely been left unoccupied for a while. 

The porch covers the entire front of the house; the wood panels look rotten and are filled with various holes. Well that's going to be treacherous to walk on. 

One of the windows on the third floor is broken and the curtains fly wildly in the wind, giving it an ominous look. 

All together, the house looks beyond creepy. Something you would definitely see on one of those paranormal television shows on the syfy channel. 

Please be friendly to me casper.  I send up a silent pray, before taking my first step onto the porch. of course my assumptions are proven correct as one of the wooden planks gives away under my weight, which is hardly 110 pounds, thank you very much. Way to make a girl feel fat. I silently scold the wood. 

"Dang Dad, you sure know how to pick 'em" I say mockingly.

"you wouldn't believe the deal I got on this place" he exclaims, joining me at the front door.

"I can see why" I say, rolling my eyes.

Ignoring his daughters side comment, dad wrestles in his pocket and finally pulls out an impressive set of keys. How the heck are you supposed to remember what opens what?

"Are you ready?" he says excitedly, shoving one of the keys in to the rusty lock.

 Im fairly certain I could just kick this thing and it would fall open, lock or no lock. I don't mention this to dad though.

"As ready as I'll ever be" I say, not nearly an enthusiastic as him. 

He doesn't notice, just takes a step forward as the door swings open, letting out the most unpleasant squeaking sound I think I've ever heard. 

I cringe. 

Clouds of dust greet us as our own private butler. I let out a dramatic wheeze to get my point across, but dad just grins. 

"Now let's get a better look, huh?" he shuffles forward through the dark towards was I'm assuming he hopes is some sort of light switch. 

A click echoes throughout the foyer of the giant house, but no light comes on. 

"Great, no power" I say, dropping my bags on the floor causing a new cloud of dust to greet us. 

"The fuse box must be off, I'll go have a look. How about you light some candles?" dad suggests, grabbing a flashlight from his duffle bag and heading back out the door. 

Honestly, I really had no intention of roaming aimlessly around in search of these alleged candles, but somehow that's exactly what I end up doing. 

Uncertain of what direction the kitchen is, I take a lucky guess and head left. Within a few short minutes I stumble through the kitchen door and remind myself to thank my lucky stars tonight. 

The only light is coming from the moon, which hardly illuminates half the room. I make do with it, and begin rummaging through the drawers anyways. Somehow, I'm able to find a single candle stick and a pack of matches amongst the random things that have been left behind. Once I have the candle lit, its a little easier to see my way back to the foyer. Thankfully no Caspers in sight. 

When I get there, I notice that dad isn't back yet. 

Way to take your time old man. 

Looking around, I see the large staircase the splits the room in half. Curiosity bursts through me.

I quick little peek won't hurt anyone. 

The railings are covered in a thick layer of dust, so I refrain from touching them. God, this place sure is a dump. 

At the top of the stairs there is a long hallway with doors lining the wall. I swear this house looks more like a hotel if anything. 

Looking both to the left and right, I try and decide which way to explore first. The door that catches my attention the most is at the end of the hallway to the right, so I begin heading that way. 

It begins to feel a bit creepy, the further down I go, probably because the only light I have is coming from the dinky candle. 

My being afraid of the dark and all, probably should have told me that this was a bad idea, but hey, you know what they say, "curiosity killed the cat." Stupid cat. 

I gulp. 

But it seems as though all my efforts of fear facing were in vein, because as soon as I get to the door, I'm immediately engulfed by disappointment. 

Of course it's locked. 

The key must be one of the millions that dad was carrying. ugh, thanks for nothing lucky stars.

I guess curiosity is going to have to wait. 

"Grae, where are you?" dad yells from downstairs. Hmm maybe I don't have to wait long after all. 

I mentally apologize to the stars for ever thinking bad about them. 

"Up here!" I call out, giving the door a nasty look. Enemy number one, prepare to be eliminated. I've barely refrained from sticking my tongue out at it, just as dad approaches.

"I fixed the power" he says, obviously very proud of the fact he was able to handle it on his own. 

He's never been much of a handy man, though not for the lack of trying. I couldn't tell you the amount of times he's accidentally made a small problem turn disastrous.

 Like the time he tried to fix a simple leaky faucet in the kitchen, instead of tightening the pipe like he should have, he ended up breaking the whole thing off! 

Let me tell you, the look on the plumbers face (whom I inevitably had to call) was priceless. By the time he had showed up, the entire kitchen was flooded and dad and I were in full panic mode. lets just say, I had that plumber on speed dial ever since. 

I'm surprised I didn't notice that the lights were on, I must have been to busy giving the locked door my oh so famous death stare. 

Which reminds me!

"Hey Dad, do you have the key to this?" I ask, jiggling the handle to show him it's locked.

"Yeah sure" he reaches into his pocket whipping out that handy dandy keychain. 

Sadly, after struggling for a couple minutes trying to find the right key, he admits defeat. 

"Sorry kiddo, none of these seem to fit. I'll have to contact the relators office at some point." he pats me on the head, like the sad little puppy I am. 

More disappointment washes over me and I shoot the door another nasty look. You might have won the battle, but i'll definitely win the war.