The Attic

  Fantasy Mystery Drama Thriller Horror Adult Short Story

  By: Andi Brit (Andrea Britanik)

  Instagram: authorandibrit

  3/2/2025

  Misty Underwood unpacked her clothes from her suitcase that was on her bed. Technically, it wasn’t her bed. But it was her bed for now. Misty was the nanny for the Blackstone family and she was temporarily staying at their house for the summer. It was an arrangement that was made so that Misty could take care of Rena and Leonis’s son, Caydon, during the course of the entire summer. Misty wasn’t so sure of what the exact reason for this was, but the money was good, so she could hardly pass up such an opportunity. And the Blackstones were rich. They had a really big house and a pool, and they seemed to be very open and welcoming to Misty using anything in their home, as if it was her own house, as Rena had told her so. Of course, when Rena and Leonis were bound to go out of town, which was frequently required with their jobs, Misty would have to invite some of her friends over, too. To share all of the glory of this wonderful summer haven spot. And this was the summer right before college. It couldn’t be more perfect for her. She really couldn’t believe her luck. And Rena Blackstone was paying a lot, and in fact, Leonis too, like a lot. It seemed too good to be true at first, but then as Misty thought about it, it started to make more and more sense, because Misty wasn’t going to be just there for a week, she would be there for the entire summer, and she would have to be watching Caydon just about the entire time. So, Misty obviously took the job on for herself. And being 18 with hardly any experience, she had to take what she could.

  Maybe Rena would let her drive her car.

  Misty put the last of her clothes into the top drawer of the big oak dresser with a mirror on top and closed it up. She rolled her suitcase into the closet.

  She then walked down to eat breakfast along with the Blackstone family and entered into the elaborate kitchen that had marble counter tops. The entire Blackstone family was indeed there, well except for one. There was Leonis Blackstone, the father, who sat at the table in the kitchen with a newspaper in his hand. It was a table inside of the kitchen, but it was a very big table. Leonis read the newspaper, but he stopped momentarily to say hello to Misty and then went right back to reading the newspaper. Leonis had bright silver hair and he was quite handsome. Caydon, the little boy, also sat at the massive table. He was poking at his chocolate chip pancakes but not really eating them. He had dark brown short hair, like his mother. But his hair was shorter. He looked up at Misty when she came in and instantly, his face lightened and he waved. She smiled and waved back.

  The cook, Jessie Clarvoy, came over with a hot plate of chocolate chip pancakes.

  “Here you go, sweetie. Help yourself to as much as you want.” she said.

  And she laid the plate down on the table near Caydon.

  “You can sit next to me.” said Caydon.

  His face looked so innocent, sweet and hopeful, that Misty just couldn’t resist.

  “Okay.” said Misty, and she sat down next to him.

  She helped herself to some pancakes.

  Rena Blackstone entered the room now. But her high heels could be heard way before then. Misty looked up as she entered. She had short dark brown hair that was worn in a bob and she wore a tight gray pencil skirt and a lavender three quarter sleeve shirt. Her platform Mary-Janes were a dark gray. She wasn’t smiling as always, despite Misty’s friendly smile towards her.

  “Enjoying your pancakes?” said Rena.

  “Yes, they’re delicious.” said Misty.

  “Jessie makes them the best, doesn’t she?” said Rena and she walked over to Caydon and kissed him on top of his head.

  “Yes.” said Caydon sweetly.

  “Ms. Underwood, I’m sorry to say that after our training session today, Leonis and I are heading out for business and we won’t be here for a couple of days, in fact, for the entire weekend. But like I said, our house is your house.” said Rena.

  “Oh, okay.” said Misty.

  “We’ll prep you for everything of course and Albert will be here with you.” said Rena.

  Albert Joneston was the live-in butler of the household. He was balding and very friendly, although very serious, as Misty had already met him.

  “He’ll answer any questions you may have, or you could always call me or Leonis. You have both of our numbers?” said Rena.

  “Yes, I think so.” said Misty.

  “Well, we’ll have to be sure of that.” said Rena.

  “Are you sure we should leave the girl alone with a man in the house? She’s so young and all.” said Leonis.

  “Oh, come on, Leonis, it’s Albert. Do you not trust our Albert? Come on, don’t be silly.” said Rena.

  Leonis shook his head.

  “Oh, right. I’m sure it will be fine.” said Leonis.

  Misty couldn’t help but infer that he was perhaps talking about somebody else. But who else was here? Suddenly, Misty had a pang of fear in her stomach. If anything went down, she could always run for the hills. That’s what her mother had told her. And she had planned on doing so. She would take Caydon with her. Albert could take care of himself. If Leonis and Rena were keeping some sort of dark, sinister secret in this house, in which she already had a suspicion of, then she would find out and she would leave. And that would be it. She had no plans in getting involved in anything here with that. She wasn’t the person to do so and she had no desire to do so. She already felt like leaving, honestly. The look that Rena was giving Misty as she petted the head of Caydon was making her uneasy. It was a look of cockiness for something. But what was it? These people were rich, so it had to be something. Not that all rich people were scum, but it was something with these people. Or maybe it was all in her head. It was just too early to tell. And of course, there was the money….

  And they weren’t going to be here all weekend? She could invite her friends over! But then she remembered Albert. SHIT. She couldn’t invite anyone over. But then she remembered the pool. She would be just fine. And Rena had said that anything that was hers could be borrowed. Leonis hadn’t said the same thing. But she didn’t really care about him. What of his did she want to borrow anyway? But Rena, oh Rena, she had quite the style. That was the one thing that Misty admired about her so far, was that she had massive style. And she couldn’t wait to see inside of her closet. Of course, she would still try to hide it from Albert, even though she was allowed, because it would be awkward. But he seemed to be the type that kept to himself anyway.

  Rena and Leonis had left for the airport early that morning, earlier than Misty had to get up, and she hoped to GOD that they didn’t take the white corvette that she saw earlier in the garage. Because that was Rena’s car and according to the rules, she could borrow that too. And she just might have to treat Caydon to ice cream today. It was the weekend after all. And of course, she would have to show off the corvette to her friends. That was, the friends who didn’t already leave for college. But of course, she would be taking several pictures of her and the corvette and uploading them to Instagram, her favorite social media app.

  She grabbed her iPhone from the bedside table.

  She typed:

  Ice cream today?

  It was a message to her friend Heather and then she sent another one to her friend Bryce.

  Quickly, Heather replied:

  Okay!!

  Misty walked down the huge double staircase of the mansion. She was in her gray leggings and white t-shirt with a big heart on it. She was barefoot as she padded down the marble staircase. It wasn’t supposed to rain today, which was a miracle, especially for a Friday, except that was a lie because of course it was, it was supposed to rain this morning and then it would clear up for the rest of the day. And that meant pool time for herself. Caydon didn’t have much planned today, just his music lesson after dinner. Apparently, Caydon was some sort of piano prodigy. It had annoyed her when she first heard it, but when she saw how cute and kind Caydon was, she quickly changed her mind about that. She couldn’t believe that she was thinking this, but if she had a son, she imagined that he would be like Caydon. If only she had a man that was the one for her. She was 18 now after all.

  A big red ball suddenly went flying down the stairs. It bounced past her and then rolled across the foyer below and disappeared into a hallway. She looked behind her and there she saw Caydon, in his striped pajamas and he was crouched by the corner balustrade. He was giggling.

  “Now you have to go and find it.” said Misty.

  Caydon got up and ran down the stairs, after the ball. He ran across the foyer and disappeared into the hallway. Misty could now catch her breath. She had gotten so scared by the incident that for a moment, she had thought that the house was haunted and that was why everyone was trying to keep it a secret. And that was why they had hired her to live-in, to make sure Caydon wasn’t so scared. And why the payout was so big. But it had all just been a silly figment of her imagination. It was just a big red ball thrown by Caydon.

  Misty walked into the kitchen. On the counter, there was a note on a Post-It and she picked up and read it:

  Leftover pancakes are in the fridge. But I also made you some scrambled eggs and toast. Enjoy.

  And then there was a smiley face at the end.

  What a pleasure Jessie was. Misty went straight to the fridge and opened it up, inside there was a giant case of Blue moon beer and some yogurt, not much else. But then there were the big leftover containers that she assumed were for her. She opened them both and they were indeed, her leftovers. She warmed up the pancakes and the eggs and the toast. Then, she put on some coffee. She picked this rich Arabian roast that she wasn’t familiar with. It smelled delicious as it brewed.

  Suddenly, Tinkerbelle, the toy Yorkie that belonged to the Blackstone family ran into the kitchen and started jumping on Misty. She scooped her up and started to pet her. Misty wondered where their Chartreux cat, Marshmallow, was. She couldn’t wait to take Tinkerbelle for a walk, she herself didn’t have any pets. So she was in heaven as she stroked Tinkerbelle.

  Misty had also warmed up some extra for Caydon, whom must have been hungry. But she didn’t hear him at all.

  She put down the dog and took the leftovers out of the microwave and placed it on the table. She then left the kitchen.

  There, Marshmallow was just crossing the foyer, and from the direction where the Caydon hallway was and Misty looked up towards the hallway. Marshmallow meowed loudly.

  The hallway was dark and she didn’t hear anything, in fact, she was kind of scared, it was a freaky hallway. She couldn’t describe it, it was just a feeling. But, at the same time, she felt like she had go down there to look for Caydon. But, first she would call him.

  “Caydon?” said Misty, and she ran her fingers through her long brown pony tail in nervousness.

  But she heard nothing. She got closer to the hallway.

  She was just about at the entrance, when Misty jerked back in total shock and nearly screamed.

  Albert emerged from the hallway entrance. He was already completely dressed in his all black ensemble.

  “Oh, hi, Misty. How are you?” said Albert.

  Misty had to catch her breath again.

  “I’m fine. You scared the hell out of me.” said Misty.

  Albert laughed lightly.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” said Albert.

  “Have you seen Caydon?” said Misty.

  “Actually no, I haven’t. Which is odd. He’s usually at the kitchen by now, but it doesn’t seem like he’s in there.” said Albert.

  “No, he’s not. I was just in there.” said Misty.

  Then, suddenly, there was a thud coming from upstairs.

  “Did he go back to his room, maybe?” said Albert, as they both looked upstairs.

  “I’m sure he did. I’ll go and get him.” said Misty.

  Albert gave her an uneasy look.

  “Maybe I should go.” he said, and grabbed her arm.

  “Why?” said Misty.

  “Because it sounds like he’s in the attic again. Not his room.” said Albert.

  “Why is he in there?” said Misty.

  “He likes to play up there a lot. I don’t know why. It’s creepy as hell.” said Albert and he rubbed his own arms.

  “Well, why don’t we both go up there then?” said Misty.

  “Good idea, I’ll get the key.” said Albert.

  Albert and Misty walked up to a hallway with a set of stairs that spiraled around and they walked up the stairwell. They went up the spiral and eventually, a dark wooden door appeared at the top of the landing. Albert already had the key out, with a bright green tassel on it. He approached the door and placed the key into the keyhole and turned it.

  He grabbed the knob but didn’t turn it yet.

  “It doesn’t sound like he’s in there.” said Albert.

  He then turned the knob and opened the door. They entered inside.

  It smelled of must and it was dark and damp. There was no light except for some coming from a small round window that was in the back, and that was on the backside of the house, thought Misty, for some reason.

  There were a bunch of wooden boxes and crates in this room, as well as a bunch of furniture that was covered by white sheets like ghosts. And of course, the creepy look of looking like someone is hiding underneath. But Misty knew that wasn’t true, at least this time.

  But there was no sign of Caydon anywhere.

  “Caydon’s not here.” said Misty.

  “Caydon, are you in here?” said Albert, just to make sure.

  There was silence.

  “That’s funny.” said Albert.

  Misty couldn’t help but to feel that creepy feeling again. Like something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t pin point it to anything. It was perhaps just her imagination again. She did want to be a writer after all. A horror one. So it wouldn’t be completely out of mind for her to do so.

  “The light’s not even turned on.” said Misty.

  “Yes, the lights aren’t working in this room.” said Albert.

  “Really?” said Misty.

  “Yes, the light bulbs are burned out. But the maintenance guy should be over later today to fix it. But another odd reason why Caydon would even come in here. He knows this.” said Albert.

  She felt a pang of fear.

  “Maybe we should just go back downstairs.” said Misty, as she realized to her horror, that the attic was right over her bedroom about downstairs. Damn.

  “I suppose so. This place is giving me the creeps too.” said Albert.

  They exited the attic and Albert locked it back up again.

  Misty turned to Albert on the stairwell.

  “Wait a minute. How would Caydon get in if it was locked?” said Misty.

  “Everyone has a key to the attic.” said Albert.

  “Why is it that way?” said Misty.

  “I don’t know, it’s just the way they like to have it I suppose.” said Albert.

  To hide something dark and not nice at all.

  “It does have to be locked at all times. Didn’t Rena tell you about this?” said Albert.

  “No, she didn’t. And I didn’t get a key.” said Misty.

  “I’m sure we can get you one. But for now, you can borrow Caydon’s. He keeps it in a box with a pirate ship on it on his dresser.” said Albert.

  They walked down the stairs.

  “And by the way, I’m sure that any girl your age would want to have friends over for a get together, especially on the weekend. If you have some free time, that is. And just so you know, I’m sure it will be fine if you have a small party.” said Albert, with a twinkle in his eyes.

  “Thanks.” said Misty, who smiled back.

  Later that day, Misty was headed straight for Rena’s room. She walked down the hallway with a console table and paintings along the walls. She walked into a room to the right. She caught sight of it earlier. It had to be Rena’s room, because inside, there was a big four poster bed that was red and white. There was a big alcove ceiling in the room and a big golden chandelier that hung from the center. There was gold decoration amongst the ceiling, too. It was a room of fairy tales.

  Misty walked across the huge Persian rug that was on the ground and walked to the left, as she saw a door that was partially open. Rena’s closet. Bingo!

  Misty walked into the closet and flipped on the light. This was clearly only Rena’s closet. Because there was nothing but women’s clothing in here. There were hangers and hangers of luxurious looking clothing on double shelves and lining the entire closet. There were also shelves and shelves of rich looking shoes of all sorts of colors and kinds. But it was mostly platform heels. There were greens, grays, lavenders, purples and pinks and blues for the colors of the clothing. There were a pair of pink platforms that Misty had her eyes on and she walked over to them. She hoped that they were the same size. They looked about the same size as her. She picked up the shoe and looked at the size. It was a 7 ?! Perfect. It made sense, Rena wasn’t much taller than she was. But of course she was super tall in her heels. And this closet was like paradise to Misty. She always had a love for fashion. And she had an ice cream date with Caydon and her friends. She had to look jazzy for it, there was no other option.

  Misty grabbed a dress on a hanger.

  Misty emerged from her room wearing a peach long pencil dress that had a big feather print going all the way from top to bottom. She also wore the light pink platforms that she had been eyeing earlier. She also had on a jean jacket and Dior sunglasses. It was lightly raining outside, but she didn’t care, she was going to wear them, at least in some way. She had a coach bag that hung from her arm, it was pink and white with the classic C pattern all over it. She loved the Coach brand.

  “Come on Caydon!” said Misty from the hallway.

  Caydon came running out of his room down the hall in front of her. He was dressed in a white polo shirt and navy cargo shorts. Not to mention his small, white converse shoes. He was only 7 after all.

  They were downstairs and entering the garage through the side door. Misty was careful to not let the dog out who was anxiously trying to do so. Albert would be home to look after her. She shut the door and stepped down the steps towards the white corvette that was still parked in the garage. THANK GOD. Rena had taken the white Ferrari instead. Oh thank the LORD and everything that was holy for that matter. Misty, however, had already seen this earlier and she had already grabbed the right key. Her and Caydon stepped inside of the car.

  She turned to Caydon who was in the passenger seat.

  “You know what? I think I am going to bring Tinkerbelle after all.” she said.

  “Yay!” said Caydon, clapping his hands together.

  Misty returned with Tinkerbelle in her arms and she handed her to Caydon through the window.

  “There you go.” said Misty.

  She then returned to the driver’s seat.

  “Okay, are you ready?” said Misty.

  “Yes!” said Caydon.

  “Okay, here we go.” said Misty.

  She had looked up an ice cream shop that was local earlier on her iPad and it wasn’t very far from the house. She pulled it up on her iPhone and placed the phone inside of one of the cup holders.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “There’s GPS in the car.” said Caydon.

  “Oh, it seems so. I think I’ll load it into the car instead. Thank you.” said Misty and she loaded the directions into the car.

  They pulled out of the driveway and Misty was surprised by how touchy it was. But then again, who would be surprised by that fact? With this car? Please.

  She pulled out into the street and went around the roundabout circle and down the very long driveway. The house you see was on a very private and a somewhat isolated estate in the middle of the green forests of Portland, Oregon. She pulled onto the main street and started off at a normal speed and then punched it a little and they went flying down.

  “Wahoo!” said Caydon.

  Misty felt like a badass.

  When they arrived to the ice cream parlor, “Stone Cold”, Heather, a tall blonde was already standing there. Her mouth dropped open when she realized who was driving the white corvette that was now pulling into the parking lot.

  Misty waved at Heather glamorously. Heather waved back.

  Heather had followed them into their parking spot and was standing there when Misty got out.

  “Oh my God, this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” said Heather.

  “Thank you. Thank you. But it’s a rental.” said Misty.

  “Yeah. But still.” said Heather.

  “Wow, looks like you won the lottery or something!” said Bryce as he walked over.

  Bryce had texted back late, but he was coming after all.

  He was a tall light brown haired college boy who was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Heather wore her leggings and a long flannel shirt over it. She had a visor on, but now it was only sprinkling.

  Caydon had Tinkerbelle on a leash and they walked up to the rest.

  “Aw, what a cute little thing.” said Heather.

  “This is Caydon, and that’s Tinkerbelle.” said Misty.

  “Nice to meet you.” said Heather and she stuck out her hand, he shook back.

  “Why is she so small?” said Bryce.

  “She’s a toy breed.” said Caydon smartly.

  “Yeah, they’re the really small ones,” said Misty passively. “Come on, let’s get inside.”

  They all went inside.

  “Man, this place is expensive.” said Heather as she eyed the menu.

  “It’s okay, I’ll take care of it.” said Misty and she flashed a Black American Express Card.

  “What is that?” said Heather, with delight.

  “It’s Caydon’s. He’s letting me borrow it.” said Misty quietly.

  “No way.” said Bryce.

  They all ordered their cones and Misty paid with the Black Express card. They came outside to sit, since the weather was more pleasant now and the sun was coming out. Tinkerbelle sat on Misty’s lap and kept trying to eat at her cone, but Misty kept blocking her from doing so. Misty’s was vanilla, Heather got strawberry and Bryce and Caydon got chocolate.

  Suddenly, a very attractive young man walked into the parlor, he glanced at Misty as he walked in.

  “Oh my gosh, he is gorgeous!” said Heather, once he was inside.

  “Yeah, tell me about it.” said Misty as she tried to casually look at him.

  “Oh, please.” said Bryce.

  The young man had dark hair and he was wearing a Henley shirt and jeans. He looked a bit rugged. Misty couldn’t help but to think that he might be the maintenance man to come fix the light bulbs. But no, it couldn’t be. Things weren’t that perfect.

  The man ordered a cone, it was chocolate and he left the parlor, he glanced at Misty again and walked back off to his car.

  “Ah, man, he’s eating in his car.” said Heather.

  “But boy he was looking at you.” said Bryce.

  “Be quiet, Bryce.” said Misty.

  “What, it’s true.” said Bryce.

  “I saw it too, Bryce.” said Caydon.

  “Thank you, Caydon!” said Bryce.

  “If he’s the maintenance guy for the house, I am going to pass out.” said Misty.

  “What do you mean?” said Heather.

  “They have a maintenance guy for the house. These people are so rich they don’t even change their own light bulbs. Their butler won’t even do it!” said Misty.

  “Sounds like the dream life to me.” said Bryce.

  “Ah, if only we can all live like that together.” said Heather.

  “Maybe we can, if not for just one day.” said Misty.

  “What’s up?” said Bryce.

  “Well, the sun is out, and today kinda feels like a pool day to me. Do you wanna come over and hang out? We can have snacks!” said Misty.

  “Yes please.” said Heather straight away.

  “Sounds good.” said Bryce.

  “Can I come?” said Caydon.

  “Of course you can, it’s your house. It is okay if my friends come over, right?” said Misty.

  “Yeah, it’ll be fun. Pool party!” said Caydon.

  Misty and the others laughed.

  A little later that day, Misty, Heather and Bryce were laying on padded (heated) lounge chairs by the large cerulean blue pool as Caydon played in the water. Apparently, the pool was heated too.

  Bryce was sitting on the end and he was wearing his turquoise and green swim trunks and black aviator sunglasses, but he was wearing a long sleeve white shirt because it was a little chilly outside still, even with the sun out. Meanwhile, Misty and Heather sat next to each other, and they were both wearing very large feathered wide brim hats. Misty’s was green and Heather’s was pink. Obviously, they had raided Rena’s closet once again. They were also both wearing monokinis, Misty’s being purple and pink and Heather’s was turquoise and orange. They both also wore platform pumps, a neutral gray for Misty and a dark gray for Heather (she too was a size 7 ?). They also had on fashionable arm sleeves on both arms that matched their suits and sweatshirt collar chokers that were of matching fabric. They also had matching sleeves that went on their calves as well.

  “You two might as well be wearing a snow suit.” said Bryce, as he looked at them up and down. He had just sat down and picked up a magazine that he had brought out with him.

  “It’s cold out here.” said Heather.

  “It’s not that cold.” said Bryce.

  “You’re wearing long sleeves.” said Heather.

  “So? And might I also add, it’s completely unnecessary to bring an enormous beach bag such as that one to a place that’s 6 feet from the house?” said Bryce.

  “Actually, that’s where you’re wrong.” said Misty, and she yanked the beach bag closer to her. It was monotone gray stripes with a feather pattern overlay. She opened the bag and pointed inside.

  “This is where the snacks are.” said Misty.

  Bryce looked in, there were all sorts of kinds of chip bags, ice coffees and cookie bags inside.

  “Take your pick.” said Misty.

  “I will be definitely diving into that later.” said Bryce.

  “Same here.” said Heather.

  “I was wondering where those went.” said Bryce.

  “There’s also beer in that mini fridge over there, if you want that.” said Misty.

  “Not in front of Caydon.” said Heather, and she looked snobbishly into the air.

  “Maybe we can sneak some later when he’s not around.” said Misty to Bryce quietly.

  They laid in the sun for quite a while. Misty looked at Bryce who was now peacefully lying with his eyes closed. She looked at Heather, who had her hat over her face, and she could hear small snores coming from underneath.

  Ah, such the life, thought Misty. Caydon was playing away in the pool. She took off her hat and her sweatshirt items and was about to go into the pool when suddenly, she looked at the small window that was up above, on the third floor of the house, the attic window. She didn’t know why but she just had to look, and there she saw nothing and she looked away, but then she did a double take, as she could have swore that she saw a human figure, not sure if it were a man or a woman, but some sort of a white human figure. But it was gone as soon as she looked back.

  “Holy shit!” said Misty.

  Bryce and Heather jerked awake and Caydon even glanced over.

  “What’s going on?” said Bryce.

  “I saw a ghost or something up there, in the attic.” said Misty.

  And she had told them what she had seen.

  “Well, maybe it’s just passing through, you know just checking things out.” said Bryce.

  “You know my room is right below that place don’t you?” said Misty.

  “Oo, that’s rotten luck there, mate.” said Bryce.

  “Yeah, no kidding. I’m getting out of this place. I can’t stand it any longer. Even with the money. I value my life over money.” said Misty.

  “Will you just calm down? When have ghosts ever been a problem for you? And when have you ever been scared?” said Heather.

  “Are you kidding? I get scared sometimes. And this time, I’m scared, trust me.” said Misty.

  “Maybe you should tell Rena and Leonis?” said Bryce.

  “No, they’ll think I’m nuts.” said Misty.

  “Yeah, probably.” said Bryce.

  “Look, let’s not tell Caydon this either, I don’t want him to be scared.” said Misty.

  But she did know of one person to tell, and that was Albert, he would be interested to know and she trusted him enough to tell him.

  “We won’t tell. I promise.” said Heather.

  “We really though should investigate.” said Bryce.

  “Okay, now I know that you’re crazy. Plus, I want to swim.” said Misty.

  “How many opportunities do you have to investigate a ghost in the attic? It doesn’t come very often does it?” said Bryce.

  Misty’s face softened.

  “Oh, I guess you’re right. Come on, let’s go.” said Misty.

  They were just about to get up, when suddenly Misty looked up and there was a man standing there, giving her a little bit of a fright.

  “Oh!” said Misty.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Albert let me in.” he said.

  It was the man from the ice cream shop.

  There is a God. And this day was just about perfect.

  “You’re the maintenance man?” said Misty.

  “Yes, that’s me. And I remember you from the ice cream place. Small world.” he said.

  “Yeah, that is something.” said Misty.

  Misty caught Heather looking at his butt.

  “Albert said it was in the attic, but I was wondering if you could let me in. I don’t have a key for up there and he up and left, so I have no idea about how to get in.” he said.

  “Sure, I can let you in. I’m Misty by the way, I’m the new nanny.” she said.

  He shook with her.

  “I’m Jeremy.” he said and he smiled.

  The girls put on their cover up sundresses on which had more feather palm prints on them but this time they had flat sparkly pink (Misty) and purple (Heather) sandals on. Caydon had come inside finally for a snack break and it had started to rain again anyway. Tinkerbelle was with him.

  The foursome went the stairs to the attic, Misty with key in hand and she turned it into the keyhole. They went inside of the attic.

  “Here you go.” said Misty.

  “Thank you very much.” said Jeremy.

  “Not a problem.” said Misty.

  Jeremy turned to them.

  “You all came up here in hopes of seeing the ghost right?” said Jeremy.

  “Yes, yes we did.” said Heather.

  “Alright.” said Jeremy, with a sly smile and looking away.

  “So, you’ve seen the ghost?” said Bryce.

  “Of course I have. Who hasn’t?” said Jeremy.

  So the house was haunted. She knew it!

  “So, the Blackstones know about this?” said Misty.

  “Mm, I’m not sure exactly, now that I think about it. But I’ve definitely seen it.” said Jeremy.

  “What is it? Or should I say who? And what do they want?” said Misty.

  “Woah, that’s a lot of questions. And I’m not really sure about any of that. But, I do know that his name is Fred.” said Jeremy.

  “So, it’s a man.” said Bryce.

  “And how do you know that?” said Misty.

  “I just assumed, he always leaves his name around, his signature, to let us know that he was here. I bet you that’s his name and that’s what he’s doing.” said Jeremy.

  “What does he look like?” said Heather.

  “I’m not really sure, I’ve just seen an outline, this big white outline, but I’ve seen it more defined in a man shape.” said Jeremy.

  “What does it do before it leaves its signature?” said Misty.

  “Oh, I don’t know, wonder the house? I’ve never seen it do anything too specifically. Just moving from here to there.” said Jeremy.

  “Can you tell us specifically where?” said Misty.

  “I’ve seen it through the attic window, it was standing there and then it moved away.” said Jeremy.

  “That’s where I just saw it.” said Misty.

  “It moved to the right or left?” said Jeremy.

  “Right.” said Misty.

  “So, this way.” said Jeremy and he went to the right of the window, but from the view of the pool, so it was actually the left of the window.

  There was not very much in this corner of the room, except for a stack of wooden crates and a few cobwebs.

  Jeremy looked behind the crates and the rest followed. There was nothing there.

  “Well, I guess we’re out of luck for today.” said Jeremy.

  “That’s a shame.” said Heather.

  “There is something there.” said Misty.

  “Where?” said Bryce.

  “Over there in the corner.” said Misty, and she walked towards it.

  In the corner, underneath the cobwebs that hung from one of the attic beams, was a ragged piece of cloth that was white in color.

  Misty sat down to examine it.

  “It looks like a piece of cloth.” she said, and she picked it up and held it in her hand.

  She rubbed it together.

  “That could’ve come from anywhere.” said Bryce.

  “Or the ghost.” said Heather.

  “Nothing says that it came from a ghost. But I think I’m going to hold onto this.” said Misty, and she put it in her pocket.

  Later that day, Misty was in her pink sundress and was sitting on one of the white couches inside of the library, where Caydon also was. He was playing the piano. The piano being a large black Steinway. He was playing beautifully. Misty realized that he really was a child prodigy. Caydon glanced at a picture that was on a console table that was behind Misty. She glanced around at it. It was the picture of that girl again. A cute blonde-haired little girl who had bright blue eyes and an adorable smile. There were pictures of her all over the house, but Misty was too scared to say anything, until now.

  “Caydon, who is this little girl?” said Misty.

  “That’s my big sister.” said Caydon, and he looked at her with pride, but then with a little sadness.

  “She’s gone now.” he said.

  “I’m so sorry.” she said.

  “It’s okay. She’s in heaven now.” said Caydon.

  Misty felt a pang in her stomach, and she also thought to the ghost that was in the attic. The figure was bigger than a little girl, but it could have been an aura around her or a shadow. Misty intended to find out if it was her or not.

  It was night time now, and she had just put Caydon to sleep when Misty went back into her bedroom. It had been an exhausting day, and she couldn’t wait to sleep. She had put her orange and pink pajamas on and was now climbing into bed. She was lying down now and closed her eyes. That was when she heard it.

  There was a thud coming from upstairs. It was coming from the attic.

  Oh no, thought Misty.

  Now, she would have to go to investigate.

  Albert had gone off to bed, too, and Misty knew it wasn’t Caydon who was up there either. Unless the little bugger had already snuck off. But that would have been impossible, she had just left him. If he had a secret passage, then it might just have been possible.

  Misty got up from her bed and walked out of her room. She walked quietly towards Caydon’s room and she opened the door a little to peak inside once she got there.

  Caydon seemed to be fast asleep already. He should be, after a day like that in the pool. He just wouldn’t stop. Misty closed the door to his room. So it wasn’t Caydon. Could it be Albert? Misty walked further down the hall. She listened thru Albert’s door on the right. He wasn’t making any noise, but then she heard him lightly snoring. Okay, so it wasn’t Albert either. And it was definitely a human made noise. Oh crap. It was a ghost. It was that little girl, she just knew it. It had to be Caydon’s sister.

  Jeremy was supposed to fix the light and he said that he did, but Misty grabbed her flashlight that was given to her by Rena just in case. She slipped back out of her room, and she walked down the hallway towards the attic stairs. She tip-toed up the stairs and when she reached the door, she leaned onto the door and listened. She heard nothing, but then she heard it. There was a loud bang that came from the other side. She jumped back immediately and stared at the door in horror, listening. There were footsteps and they were coming towards the door. Misty panicked and ran down the stairs. She wasn’t apt to deal with this, no not tonight. She didn’t want anymore of this. Could ghosts use the stairs? She hoped not. At least for tonight, please do not use the stairs!

  She ran down the hallway and stopped at her room, turned around and listened. There was no more noise. It was as if there was no noise at all. It was as if no one had been there at all. And it didn’t take a genius to realize that it was, indeed, a ghost. It was no burglar. So for that, she was thankful for, but at the same time, she felt extremely unnerved by this ghost. What did it want?

  The noise that she heard must have been one of the crates falling down. Yes, it was, it had to be. What was going on in there? What was the ghost doing? Then, she realized that Albert and Caydon did not wake. They must be very deep sleepers, thought Misty. You would have to be. Misty went back in to check on Caydon just in case. Sure enough, he was fast asleep. Even the dog who was sleeping on the bed next to Caydon was still asleep. That was odd. Dogs wake up to everything. She went back to Albert’s room, he was still snoring, even louder now. The cat, Marshmallow slinked up to Misty in the dark and it meowed over and over again until Misty bent down and started to rub it behind its ears. It purred loudly. She noticed over time that this was his favorite spot to be rubbed. Misty wished that she could adopt him. But she knew that she couldn’t.

  For some reason, petting Marshmallow and seeing him there in the dark, his eyes glowing amber, she couldn’t resist going back up to the attic. The cat had given her some bravery. So, Misty, still with her flashlight, walked back up the stairs to the attic. She took the key out of her bathrobe pocket and stuck it into the key hole. She turned. She opened the wooden door and it creaked this time. She walked in and tried the light switch. To her relief, the lights did work now and the attic was now fully illuminated, a look that Misty wasn’t used to seeing. It was just about the same. Nothing new stuck out to her. Except there was this one covered piece of furniture that kept grabbing at her. It was something that she was pretty sure was a mirror, and she walked over to it and pulled the sheet off. Sure enough, it was a mirror and it was beautifully framed by a beautiful cherry oak. She looked into the mirror. Wasn’t there some type of lore about ghosts and mirrors? Misty couldn’t remember what it was. But it was something. Misty stared and stared and stared, but nothing happened with the mirror. But then, she saw a ripple go across it, as if the glass was bending, but in an impossible, magical way.

  “Oh!” said Misty and she stepped back.

  The mirror had already stopped moving. But that was something.

  Misty was already running down the stairs. She ran back into her room and grabbed her phone. She texted Heather.

  “The mirror moved!!” texted Misty.

  There was no response.

  Misty had a hard time going back to sleep that night, but had somehow managed to drift off. She wasn’t really scared anymore, just intrigued. And there were no more disturbances that had happened through the night. Misty grabbed her phone from the nightstand. There was a text from Heather.

  “What do you mean?” she had texted.

  “The mirror did this weird ripple-y thing. You have to come over right now. Caydon’s still sleeping. He won’t be up for a while.” said Misty.

  Heather was up early too, for work, Misty remembered.

  “I have to work – but fill me in later!! Text Bryce!” said Heather.

  “Will do – so exciting!” said Misty.

  Misty got up from bed and walked over to the dresser. She slid over a multi-colored jeweled jewelry box in which she had put the scrap of cloth inside. She opened the box and picked up the scrap. Something, intuition perhaps, told her to do so and she did. She held it in her hand again. That was when it started to glow.

  “What does this mean?” said Misty to herself.

  She put it back down in the box and it still glowed.

  She went over to her phone and texted Bryce to come over. She then grabbed the key to the attic.

  Misty opened the door and went in. The mirror was still uncovered. She had forgotten to cover it back up again. It was normal for as far as she could tell. She went back over to the corner where the rag was found to see if there was anything there. There wasn’t. She walked over to the mirror and stared at it. Nothing seemed to be happening today. How odd. What on Earth was going on?

  Misty was on her bed on her laptop, typing down some journaling about what she saw so far, when Bryce texted her. He was here!

  She closed her laptop and went down the stairs. She had texted him to not ring the doorbell. It was still very early, and Albert was even still asleep. She crossed the foyer, and this time Tinkerbelle was running down the stairs and barking at the door. Oh no. This would probably wake everyone up.

  Careful of Tinkerbelle, Misty opened the door, Bryce was standing outside by his car that was parked in the circle, a black Jeep Cherokee.

  “Hey.” said Bryce.

  “Hey, careful of the dog.” she said and she opened the door slightly so Bryce could come in. She did so successfully and without letting the dog loose. Whew. Albert was walking down the stairs now. Crap.

  “Good morning. Just leaving?” said Albert.

  “Oh, God, no. I was just arriving.” said Bryce.

  “Oh….” said Albert.

  “No, it’s a friendly visit.” said Bryce.

  “Whatever, it’s none of my business really.” said Albert and he continued on to the kitchen.

  Misty looked at Bryce sheepishly.

  “Alright, let’s just go to the attic.” he said.

  They arrived into the attic, and they went straight for the mirror.

  “I don’t see anything.” said Bryce, in front of the mirror.

  “It made this ripple. Just watch.” said Misty.

  Nothing happened.

  “Fascinating.” said Bryce.

  “No, no it did it earlier. You’re just missing it.” said Misty.

  Bryce turned to Misty.

  “Well anyway, what do you think that it does?” said Bryce.

  “I’m not sure. But wouldn’t it be something to know.” said Misty.

  “Yeah, and I’d like to know more about that cloth as well.” said Bryce.

  And it was just that that sparked an idea in Misty’s head.

  “The cloth. Maybe I should go and get that. It might have something to do with activating the mirror. It was with me last time.” said Misty.

  Misty came back a few moments later with cloth in hand and she walked over to the mirror.

  They waited a moment, and still nothing happened, but then there was. A small ripple went across the mirror.

  “What the hell is that?” said Bryce and he stepped back.

  “See, I told you.” said Misty.

  “What’s going on?” said Bryce.

  “I think the ghost is using this mirror for something.” said Misty.

  “But what?” said Bryce.

  “Not sure. But it’s something, I’m sure of it.” said Misty.

  “The cloth is for sure from the ghost?” said Bryce.

  “Of course it is, I saw it glowing the other day.” said Misty.

  “Oh.” said Bryce, and he looked like he was going to pass out.

  “Are you okay?” said Misty.