I was lying on my worn-out couch, feeling the exhaustion of a day that felt like a never-ending marathon. I had barely closed my eyes when midnight sneaked in, and my phone did this weird dance across the coffee table. It was Jane, and my brain went all sorts of haywire. Why would she call at midnight?
"Hey," I mumbled into the phone, trying to sound less surprised than I felt.
"Hey," she replied, her voice low and hesitant. The awkwardness hung in the air like an unspoken secret. We danced around words like two people at a middle school dance, unsure who's supposed to make the first move.
"So, how was your day?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"It was okay, I guess. Just the usual. Work, school, home. You know." I said, shrugging.
"Yeah, I know. Same here." she said, sighing.
We both knew we were lying. We both knew there was something more. We both knew we wanted each other, but we were too scared to admit it.
It was like we were playing chicken with our feelings, afraid of being the one to jump off the emotional cliff first. Love, or whatever it was, was in the air, but we were both holding our breath, scared of what might happen if we let it out.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" she said, sounding nervous.
"Sure, anything." I said, feeling a jolt of anticipation.
"Well, I was wondering if you...if you ever think about...us." she said, stumbling over her words.
"Us?" I repeated, playing dumb.
"Yeah, us. You know, as...uh more than friends." she said, biting her lip.
I felt my heart skip a beat. This was it. This was the moment I had been waiting for, dreaming of, hoping for.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.
"I do. I think about us a lot." I said, finally confessing.
"You do?" she said, sounding surprised.
"Yes, I do. I like you, Jane." I said, pouring out my feelings.
"Really?" she said, sounding happy.
"Really. Do you...do you feel the same?" I asked, holding my breath.
"I do. I feel the same. I like you too, a lot." she said, making me smile.
"Wow. I can't believe this. I've wanted to tell you for so long, but I was afraid you didn't feel the same." I said, feeling relieved.
"Me too. I've been crushing on you since forever, but I was afraid you only saw me as a friend." she said, feeling shy.
"So, what now?" I asked, feeling excited.
"Well, I don't know. Maybe we could...go out sometime? Like, on a date?" she suggested, sounding hopeful.
"I'd love that. How about tomorrow? I'm free all day." I said, feeling eager.
"Tomorrow sounds perfect. I'm free too. Where do you want to go?" she asked, feeling curious.
"I don't know. Anywhere. As long as I'm with you." I said, feeling cheesy.
"Aw, that's so sweet. You're making me blush." she said, feeling flattered.
We talked for a while longer, making plans, sharing jokes, flirting a bit. We ended the call with a promise to see each other tomorrow, and a goodnight kiss through the phone.
I hung up, feeling a rush of happiness. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I had just asked Jane out, and she had said yes. She liked me, and I liked her.
I fell asleep with a smile on my face, dreaming of her.
The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and energized. I was ready to chill on the weekend, maybe watch something mindless. But nope, Lisa had other plans. She called Nick over, and suddenly the house turned into some kind of love nest.
I could hear them giggling and whispering behind the closed door, and I knew what was going on. Lisa was pulling some romantic stunt, and I was stuck doing the morning chores. Figures.
"Hey, bro, can you do me a favor?" Lisa asked, poking her head out of the door.
"What is it?" I asked, feeling annoyed.
"Can you clean out the basement? It's a mess down there, and I need some space to store some stuff." she said, batting her eyelashes.
"Can't you do it yourself?" I asked, feeling lazy.
"Please, bro, I'm busy. You know, with Nick, he got nice abs." she said, winking.
"Yeah, I know. I can hear you." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Come on, bro, don't be a jerk. It won't take long, I promise. Please?" she begged, pouting.
"Fine, fine, I'll do it. But you owe me one." I said, giving in.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you. You're the best, bro. I love you." she said, smiling.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love you too, sis. Now go back to your boyfriend and leave me alone." I said, somewhat snappishly.
She smiled and closed the door. I heard them resume their game, and I shook my head.
Lisa was the best sister a person can have but she was also a pain in the ass sometimes.
I grabbed a broom and a dustpan, and headed to the basement. It was dark and dusty, filled with junk and cobwebs. I turned on the light, and started sweeping the floor. I found some old toys, some broken furniture, some moldy books. Nothing interesting, nothing useful.
Until I stumbled upon this ancient diary. It was hidden under a pile of clothes, covered in dust and dirt. It looked like it held secrets of a bygone era. Flipping through the pages, I found some crazy stuff—steps to perform a seance ritual.
A seance ritual? What the hell was that?
I searched the web on my phone. I found out that a seance was an attempt to communicate with spirits of the dead, using a medium or a tool like a spirit board or a pendulum or a human.
That sounded creepy as hell. Why would anyone want to do that?
I looked at the diary again, curious. It belonged to someone named Alice, who lived in the house in the 1920s. She was a young woman who was fascinated by the occult, and who wanted to contact her dead lover, who had died in the war. She had written down the steps to perform a seance, and the results of her experiments.
She had lit some candles, and invited some friends to join her. They had sat around the table, held hands and chanted prayers. They had asked the spirit to move the planchette, and spell out the answers.
She had claimed that she had contacted her lover, and that he had spoken to her through the ritual. But something was odd...
I felt a shiver run down my spine. I closed the diary, feeling uneasy. I wondered if she was still here, if her spirit was trapped in the house, if she was trying to reach out to me.
I wondered if I should try the seance, if I should contact her, if I should help her.
Or if I should leave her alone, and forget about the whole thing.
I looked at the diary, feeling torn.