When a worldwide pandemic breaks out, nineteen year old Zahara finds herself torn out from her usual carefree life and thrown amidst family politics. What was supposed to be a weekend family dinner in an isolated location soon turns out to be a ni...
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One hour and thirty minutes later, Zahara was out of breath. Blackhouse was too big to be explored in one day. With one hand on her hip and the other on marbled balustrade, she stood motionless trying to catch her breath. The house was like a maze with doors and corridors leading to a new room at every corner.
Removing the perspiration from her temple, Zahara sighed. It was a mistake to explore the house alone. She glanced at the landscape painting that hung across the wall behind her. While Zahara liked the painting and admired it the first time she saw it, it was now her fourth time crossing the same one.
In her excitement to venture into the new house, she forgot to tag along with a servant who actually knew the layout of the house better than her. With her poor sense of direction, it was safe to admit that she was lost. As Zahara tried to backtrack her steps, she noticed a dark shadow in the distance.
"Hello, is anyone there?" Zahara called out in hopes of finally meeting a face that was not made of marble or stone. The sound from her nude heels echoed through the corridor as she approached the moving shadow.
When she finally reached the place, she saw nothing but a piano in the middle of the room along with some old boxes stacked at the far end of the wall. The piano looked old and rusted, dust covering every niche of it. There was also a huge chandelier on the ceiling sparkling under whatever little light came through the cracks in the curtain.
As compared to the rest of the house, this room looked older. There was no touch of renovation, not even the smell of fresh paint. It looked more like a storeroom if not anything else. A storeroom with a piano! Zahara thought as she imagined even the storerooms in the house were grand.
Her eyes gazed around in search of the shadow she saw earlier. "Can anyone hear me?" her voice came out relatively softer than she intended. Much to her dismay, the room looked devoid of human touch. The paintings on the wall looked a century old, covered in cobwebs from head to toe.
Taking a few steps gingerly, Zahara made her way towards the windows and pulled the curtains apart. Tiny particles of dust floated in the air making her sneeze. With a hand covering her mouth and nose, Zahara noticed a green area which seemed to be the backyard of the house.
Outside the window, the rest of the land was clearly visible. It looked like something straight out of the garden of Eden. Old fountains, swings, rose bushes, there was even a small stream of water. Zahara imagined dipping her toes in the freshwater and stacking her phone with selfies.
A satisfied smile stretched across her lips as she thought how her friends would react upon seeing the pictures. As Zahara lost herself in her daydream, something stirred in one of the boxes. Even before she could register what was happening, one of them dropped on the floor making her jump.
"What the fuck," she cursed under her breath as she eyed the old piece of cardboard. "Is someone here?" she asked seriously which was again met with nothing but silence. "Hey, I don't know if someone is here but if this is your idea of a joke, then haha, very funny!" Zahara added, quickly giving the room a once over.
However, everything looked perfectly normal. While Zahara half expected something to pop out from the dark any minute now, nothing happened. The only footprints on the dust covered floor were hers confirming the fact she was alone and still lost.
Feeling stupid for getting spooked over a stupid box, Zahara knew it was time to kindly exit the room before thoughts of supernatural cloud her mind. As her feet dragged her towards the door, another box stirred. The sound of cardboard scraping against cardboard was hard to miss. This time purely creeped out, she kept her eyes on the box.
It can be rats. She comforted herself but that didn't help calm her beating heart which was getting louder by the minute. With one eye on the wall full of boxes and the other on the door, she quickly stepped backwards. Zahara had seen enough horror movies in her lifetime to know when you see something unusual, you should walk away instead of walking towards it (unlike those foolish protagonists).
Scared from the fact that something might jump if she took her eyes off, Zahara kept her sight trained on the room even after she was out and a good distance away. Only when that familiar painting registered back in her sight did she exhale a breath of relief.
Till now her steps were slow and careful but the moment she was back in her familiar surroundings, as if on impulse, she started walking faster. She didn't look back or even spared a breath until she located the staircase that would take her back to the safety of her bed.
Who knew exploring the house by herself would turn out into such a nightmare. It was hard to say whether what she felt moments ago was real or not because for all she knew, the house was old and her grandfather remodeled the majority of it. There was every possibility of some kind of rodent or insect moving in those boxes.
As Zahara contemplated whether to tell anyone or not, she decided on the latter. It was not like she was going to go back there. And even if she did tell anyone, what was she supposed to say - that a pair of boxes moved by themselves.
Even she would deem herself crazy if those words ever left her mouth. However in the days that were to come, Zahara would soon come to regret this decision.
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A/N: Hey everyone! I am back with another chapter. If you like it, please let me know in the comments.
