"I'm Trish," I said, pausing briefly before giving her a small wave. "I'm heading to the mansion, so I'd better get going before dusk. Nice meeting you?" My voice trailed off, attempting to sound polite, though my patience was wearing thin.
"But why?" she asked, her voice cutting through the stillness, forcing me to halt once more.
I sighed and scratched my head, the itch from the dye reminding me of the recent changes I'd made. Dyeing my hair had been an impulsive decision, one born out of a need for transformation—both inside and out. It wasn't just about changing my appearance; it was about masking the parts of me I didn't want others to see, blending into a new skin I wasn't quite comfortable with yet.
"Because it's my house?" I replied with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood, though I knew the answer wouldn't satisfy her.
She stared at me, her expression unamused, her dark eyes boring into mine. The weight of her gaze made me shift uncomfortably.
"Oh, are you going to tell me I'm making the wrong choice and the house is 'haunted'?" I added, trying to mock the absurdity of the situation with a forced laugh, but she didn't even crack a smile.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm telling you," she said, her tone flat and serious. "You're out of your mind, walking into that place, knowing what you're getting into."
Her words hung in the air, thick with an unspoken warning. I could sense that she wasn't just trying to scare me—there was genuine concern in her voice, but I didn't care. I had my reasons, and they were mine alone.
"Look," I said, my frustration bubbling to the surface. "This isn't really your business. So could you just leave?"
"But it is my business," she snapped, her voice firm and unwavering. "Whatever happens in that house doesn't stay there. It spills out, affects the whole town. You need to stay away from it, for your sake and ours."
I could feel my patience slipping away. I wasn't in the mood to argue, especially not with a stranger who didn't know the first thing about me or why I was here.
"Sorry," I replied, the sarcasm dripping from my voice, "but I'm not leaving just because some local decides to play the role of a ghostbuster. We just moved in, and I'm not backing out now."
She stared at me, her eyes narrowing as if she were weighing her next words carefully. Finally, she let out a heavy sigh, as if resigning herself to the inevitable.
"Fine," she said, her voice low and tense. "But don't say I didn't warn you. And if you're set on making this mistake, stay away from us. We don't want any of your problems crossing over into our lives."
Her footsteps were deliberate, each one echoing like the clip-clop of deer hooves on the forest floor. The sound faded as she disappeared into the distance, her retreating figure blending with the shadows. For a moment, I imagined her with a small tail, her exit reminding me of a startled animal fleeing into the woods.
"F-cking psycho," she muttered, her voice carrying back to me as she vanished toward the town.
"Cute," I mumbled under my breath, a smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth as I turned back to my path. I continued walking, each step taking me further from the strange encounter and closer to whatever awaited me at the mansion.
The air around me grew still, the silence only broken by the occasional rustle of leaves. I could feel the weight of the woods pressing in on me, the trees towering overhead like silent sentinels watching my every move. The path ahead seemed endless, the mansion still out of sight, hidden by the dense foliage.
Then, the rustling grew louder, more deliberate, as if something—or someone—was moving through the underbrush. I tensed, my senses on high alert, ready for whatever might emerge from the shadows. My mind raced with possibilities: a wild animal, a stranger, another strange encounter like the one I'd just had. But as the sounds grew nearer, I began to recognize the familiar rhythm of footsteps—the lighter, hurried stomps of Kiara, and the steady, heavier gait of my father.
"It's your fault!" Kiara's small, angry voice pierced through the trees, her words echoing in the stillness.
"Honey, we'll find him. You don't need to worry," Dad's reassuring tone followed, his voice warm and soothing, trying to calm her down. They were close, just a short distance away.
"Guys!" I yelled, quickening my pace as I pushed through the undergrowth, the sound of my footsteps joining theirs.
"Trish!" Kiara's face lit up the moment she saw me. She sprinted toward me, her small arms outstretched, and I dropped to my knees to catch her in a tight embrace.
"I missed you," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly as she buried her face in my shoulder.
"Me too," I replied, holding her close, her warm body against mine, as I let the weight of the world settle in.