The wind whistled quietly outside my bedroom window, branches knocking on the glass. Tap... tap... tap... tap... The sound might've sounded eerie to most, but to me, it was calming. The wind singing, calling my name, the branches tapping along to the beautiful song. I could only explain it with one word; serene.

The slam of the front door startled me out of my half-asleep daze. I sit up in my bed, pulling the covers up my chest. My small hands tremble as I grip the bedding more firmly. I tilt my head to the side, glancing at my small alarm clock that glows dimly in the darkness.

2:34 a.m.

Suddenly, the silence I was so caught up in only thirty or so minutes ago became agony. I sat unmoving in my bed, waiting for the slightest of noises, but nothing. Only the light tapping of the branches against my window and the wind, picking up in speed. The light music that had been singing me to sleep was screaming at me, trying to heed some sort of warning I couldn't understand. Maybe the storm was just picking up and somehow it slammed the front door shut in the process? It was supposed to get really nasty tonight...

Then I heard it. The earsplitting scream that could only be my mother. Her beautiful voice couldn't be misheard, even when producing such an awful sound. That same voice that used to sit in the garden with me, singing softly and showing me how to properly water every different kind of plant we had growing in the backyard. The voice that had just tucked me into bed only a few hours ago.

I felt my whole body freeze up. My mind screamed at me to move. To get up and help her, but then the wind was whispering to me again. "Maisie," it sang so quietly I almost thought I made it up. I felt my body relax ever so slowly and my body started moving against my will. I was tip-toeing out of bed and towards the hall. I could faintly hear my father. He was saying something. I remember wanting to stop, to listen, but my body kept moving. That's when I realized, it was not I who was in control of my movements.

Trying to fight the invisible force keeping me moving forward didn't do anything but tire me out more. I felt my body growing weaker and weaker. The guttural scream of my father vibrated through the whole house, but it was as if I couldn't hear it. Not through my own ears, anyway. I entered my parents' bedroom and ever so quietly, I closed the door behind me. I felt my hand raise, fingertips grazing the wooden door. They started tracing some kind of sigil. I didn't realize I was mumbling until I felt my tongue flick the roof of my mouth.

And just like that, the screams and slamming from downstairs became nonexistent. My body kept moving though. I drifted through my parent's bedroom and towards the bathroom. I climbed on the bathroom sink, faintly remembering the many times my father used to scold me about how I could fall and hurt myself. The memory made me feel fuzzy and warm inside. Wait, no. The fuzzy feeling has been here ever since I got out of bed.

Extending my arm towards the ceiling, I push the tile in the middle of the room. It takes a couple of harsh pushes until it gives. I grip the edge of the small hole and hoist myself up with strength I didn't realize I had. The fuzzy feeling is growing in the pit of my stomach as my hands slide the tile back into place.

"Do not move, little one." A faint voice in my head murmurs ever so softly. And just like that, the fuzzy feeling has left my body and I finally have control over my limbs again.

I examine the small crawl space that's filled with dust and cobwebs. I flinch away from them, hating the tickling sensation on my skin. I see a bunch of unlabeled boxes and I realize that I've somehow found the attic my parents never let me know about.

"Maisie, you're too curious for your own good," My mother smiled lovingly as she brushed my hair. I remember asking where she placed the Christmas decorations after the New Year. "You would try and explore the whole thing without telling your father or me. I don't want you to get hurt, okay? So, promise me you won't go looking for it?"

"I promise, Momma."

And just like that, I felt the darkness swirl through me and my eyes shut. My whole body relaxed, the memory of my mother fresh in my mind. Everything will be okay, little one.