Lullaby and goodnight.
My flesh turned cold from the metal kissing my palms as I turned the brass knob. With a push, the deep wooden door swung smoothly open, allowing shadows to scurry away from the light flooding in. The air was so thick I could practically taste the dust as it danced around in the rays of light. Inside was a sweep of wood floor, thick rugs, and a staircase climbing. Old looking furniture lay spread out and a few animal heads hung on the wall.
"I apologize again for the long drive up here." The realtor woman, Charlotte I think her name was, said shadowing my footsteps up to the door. Her fluffy red hair bounced with every step she took. "But I promise you Miss Danielle, It is worth it." I bit my lip "Danny." I corrected her as politely as I could. I turned my attention back to the house and stepped into the parlor without invitation.
I had been looking at houses with this Charlotte woman all day, and this home that had once belonged to the Heelshires was by far the biggest. And the cheapest.
"So." I began turning to Charlotte, my voice bouncing off the walls. "What is the catch? This house is amazing. Why can I afford it?" Charlotte's positive expression never faltered and she began to say what I imagine she had practiced to say over and over. "Actually this home has a dark history. There was a very tragic accident about twen..." An upbeat piano tune suddenly broke her sentence. Her positive expression shattered into a nervous one. I don't think that she had ever rehearsed this happening. She pulled a large phone from her pocket and looked at the number on the buzzing screen. Her red brows shot upward and she quickly looked at me. "Pardon me um... Danny, but I must take this call. Um..." Her brown eyes searched the walls trying to think of a way to distract me from her conversation. "I'll only be a few moments, please just wait in the parlor until I am finished." She said sliding the screen and lifting the silver rectangle to her ear. She quickly disappeared around the corner, her voice muffled by the large walls.
I thought about listening to her for about 3.5 seconds and then totally discarded the idea. I took a few steps deeper into the house toward the grand stair case. I began to climb, making sure that my steps were soft so she wouldn't catch me breaking her rules. The deep brown walls were still fully lavished as if the Heelshire family wanted to leave this place entirely.
At the top of the stairs there lay a large rectangular object that was covered by a white sheet. I stepped closer, curious as to what was underneath. A mirror? A picture? A door to a magical land? I figured that in this house, anything was possible. I pinched the cloth between my fingers ready to peak underneath, But Charlottes voice echoed from below and I jumped. Not wanting her to catch me being a creep, I let go of the sheet and proceeded up another set of stairs. I found a small hall of rooms on the top floor.
All of the doors were closed except one at the far end of the hall. It hung open like a reaching hand beckoning me to enter. I kept my steps swift and soft as if not to alarm anything lurking about.
I turned the corner and peaked into the room. I was shocked to find the room fully decorated. Toys filled the shelves, Blankets lie made on the bed. It was strange, but I decided not to dwell on it. I shrugged off the thought and was about to step into the room, when suddenly the sound of muffled footsteps played out behind me. I cringed knowing that I had been caught breaking the rules. "I'm really sorry Charlotte." I began to explain turning around. I expected to see her standing in the hall crossing her arms and tapping her toe.
But all I found was an empty hallway.
Confused, I looked around the silent hall and to my surprise, there was a door on the opposite side of me that was open. I could have sworn that it was shut earlier. I lightly stepped over to the door and peered inside.
A shadow sat on the bed staring at me.
I had to choke down a scream to keep myself quiet. My heart was beating like a fast moving machine. Blood pumped in my ears. I took another look at the shadow to make sure I wasn't seeing things.
It was a doll.
I slipped into the room to get a better look.
It was a boy.
A life size doll of a boy.
Its lifeless hazel eyes stared sadly at me.
There was a sinking feeling in my chest as I looked at the state that the doll was in. Its face had been shattered into pieces and very carefully had been put back together. Veins of black were spread across its pale face like some scary virus. It was a little frightening to look at, but there was something about it that was... cute. It was dressed in a dapper blue sweater and navy blue dress pants.
As I looked at it, I had the strangest urge to pick it up. I had always loved dolls. I had a million when I was a little girl and I would always play with them. I leaned closer to its face and with a strange sympathy whispered "I'm sorry."
I lifted a finger to touch its face but stopped short when I heard "Miss Danielle?" from down stairs. I quickly woke up my feet and rushed out of the room. I could feel the doll staring at me the whole time.
I found Charlotte standing in the parlor crossing her arms. "Sorry!" I bit my lip and rushed down the stairs. "I guess that I couldn't control my curiosity." Charlotte shook her red head and smiled "It's fine, I should be the one apologizing for answering my cell phone during a house tour." We stared at each other for an awkward five seconds until she cleared her throat and smiled.
"Where were we?"
~*~
"This is Brahms?" I stood with Charlotte at the object that had been covered. She had pulled the sheet away and had revealed that the object beneath was a painting of the Heelshires.
I shook my head as I gazed down at the little smiling boy. "Sadly it is. Such a tragic story. He was only eight years old." Charlotte's words were soft and respectful. I couldn't do anything but shake my head at the brush stroked face of the sweet boy. "That's... t... terrible." I managed to choke out after a few moments of silence.
"Indeed." Charlotte nodded. "The Heelshires stayed in this house for years. Cooped up. They never really went out. The accident was so traumatizing."
I glanced at the painted faces of Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire. "I can't even imagine what it must be like." I crossed my arms to suppress a shiver and looked around the house. "It makes sense why they would want to leave this place behind. Where did they end up going?" I questioned, turning to charlotte
A haunting look crossed her face. "Now that is the spooky part." She quickly lifted the sheet and covered the painting as if to keep the Heelshires from listening to us. "Last year Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire left for a holiday and never returned. Three months later their bodies were discovered in a lake. Their pockets were full of heavy rocks."
My heart rate jumped at her words. I rubbed the chills away from my arms.
The feeling of being watched washed over me like a bucket of icy water. I felt exposed to the shadows. I shivered and resisted the urge to look behind me.
I fought to find words to replace this chilling silence. "Losing Brahms must have taken a huge toll on them. They couldn't live with it anymore." But as soon as I said it, it made less sense to me. Yes it would be so hard to lose a child, but wouldn't you eventually let it go? For 21 years they were never able to move past their son's death?
I pushed all my questions away and decided to move on. "Alright", I began brightly, "Let's check out the rest of the house."
~*~
As strange as it seems, I was actually taking quite an interest in the house. It was roomy. It was quiet. It was elegant. And best of all: cheap. By the time our tour had reached the top floor my mind was made. I was going to buy the house.
We walked over to the last room on the tour.
The room with the doll.
My heart began to pound as I imagined the sad creepy doll. My feet unconsciously began to drag. After hearing the dark history of the Heelshires, the doll seemed like a ghost from the past.
I followed Charlotte into the room, preparing myself to see the doll.
But it was gone.
Did Charlotte move it? She must have. But she was only in here seconds before me. She couldn't have moved it without me noticing. "Did you move the..." I began to say. Charlotte began to raise a brow. I decided not to let her know that I had wandered all the way up here. I quickly searched for words. "Did you move the furniture or is this the Heelshires stuff?"
Charlotte nodded and seemed to accept my question. "Nope. This is all of the Heelshires things." She smiled. "So when I buy this house, is everything inside included?"
A smile spread across Charlottes face. "Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that I am making a sale." I smiled back and looked around the room
"I believe you are."