Knocks

Chapter 12

The morning light streams through my bedroom window as I rub the sleep from my eyes. I had been up all night thinking about Dad and how he was the one haunting us this whole time. Of course, I'm alone on this idea because Mom will never believe it. But I'm still unsure about this house. Something tried to kill me. Would Dad do that?

I wake up today without Mom's help and I swing my legs over the bed's side. My feet hit the cold floor, but instead of feeling a nervous shiver, I feel excited. I feel as if the whole world is a snow globe and it has been shaken up, making me feel curious and determined.

I run downstairs, get ready, grab everything I need for school, and leave as soon as possible. Mom is in charge of dropping Lucy off at school so I'm set free early. I practically jump on my bike, standing up on the pedaling as I speed down the hill, swerving left to right across the smooth road. I search for adventure as I near school. I figure if I want to solve this mystery alone, I have to take part in it alone. I haven't passed the library yet and I still have around fifteen minutes before school starts. I veer off to the left on the sidewalk and lock my bike up as quickly as I can.

***

The library has the scent of old pages and coffee. It smells the same as yesterday, not that I expected it to have any other smell. Although, even when libraries are supposed to be quiet, it seems as if this one is more silent than most.

I step up to the librarian's desk once again, not seeing anyone in the chair this time. I wait for a minute or two before giving up and treating myself to the newspaper piles behind it. I crouch down, pick one up, flip through the flaky pages, then set it down. I don't spot any that look like the one the librarian gave me before. It would be helpful if people actually worked here, I think to myself with a dramatic sigh.

I glance at the time on my watch. I still have a few minutes for searching but I'm not sure I'll find anything anyway. I stand up and turn around quickly to face an old lady in a dress staring at me with curious eyes. I swallow.

"Can I help you?" I ask, those being the only words I can think of at the moment. The lady holds up a red book in her hand and sets it on the desk.

"My book is overdue. Sorry," she apologizes, giving me a small smile. I take the book and examine it. Does she think I'm the librarian?

"Oh, I don't work here," I reply, giving it back to her as quickly as she came in. She raises an eyebrow, narrowing her eyes. Her finger waggles at me.

"Are you some thief?" She peeks out from behind her glasses and puts her hands on her hips.

"No, of course not," I say, almost laughing out loud. I'm not one for books, unless they help me find out the truth about my dad. The woman squints at me once more before turning back into the regular old lady she was.

"Well... if you're not robbing the library, what exactly are you doing?" She marches around the side of the desk and goes to the phone. "I can easily call the police department."

My hands grow sweaty even when I've done nothing wrong. I feel as if I'm on a stage and the limelight is stuck on only me. Mom would probably die if I was sent to the police department. I glance down at my toes for a second. "I live in the house on the hill. I just moved here and I was hoping I could get some information on it," I finally explain, sighing and looking up to see the eyes of the woman fill with a strange light.

"Did you just say the house on the hill?" She counters, taking a step forward which causes me to take a step back. "I lived there right before you," she exclaims, trailing off as if she forgot what happened her whole life. She continues, "May I ask how it's going?"

A snake constricts my throat from the inside when this woman asks this. I don't know how to respond so all I say is, "Fine."

The woman comes closer and I can see her eye color now. It's a deep blue and her skin looks as if it were stretched across her skull. Her white hair is curly and her clothes smell of mothballs. I cringe a tiny bit. "Did you know that some spirits possess the living to communicate with humans?" She asks me out of nowhere, glaring. Then she immediately switches to another fact. "That house isn't safe."

"I know," I agree, nodding as the woman continues to stare mysteriously. I want to back away again but I figure she'll realize I'm going to run. I glance at my watch once again. "I have to go to school," I say quickly, half of my words true but half of them as a way to leave.

The lady seems to snap out of her trance and goes back to being a normal old woman. I drop all the newspapers on the floor again and leave the library as if nothing happened. As soon as the door swings back behind me I hop on my bike, unlock everything as fast as I can and speed away, afraid that the lady might follow me. I don't know what she was trying to accomplish by scaring me away but whatever it was, it had something to do with the house.

I pedal my thoughts away and reach school quickly, wanting nothing more than to be back in Boston right now.

***

I sit with my head on my hand as I watch the teacher, bored to death. None of what he teaches makes sense.

I decide to pull out a sheet of paper and doodle something, trying anything to keep my mind off the old woman incident. I put the pencil down and first draw a line. I don't plan on drawing anything particular but soon enough, as if something is forcing me, my hand takes control and I start to draw littler lines that cross inside rectangles and long strokes near the bottom. I don't realize that other people are watching me do this, Erica included.

After awhile, the drawing resembles a house. It isn't just any house though. It's two-story, white, rusty, and is meant to have green shutters. The cellar door is open with a hand sticking out, beckoning me to jump into the picture. And at the bottom of the page is a signature. The drawing is signed as Us.