Walking through the woods as it gets darker with every step I take sounds comforting. Not for others, but for me, it is comforting. You might wonder why I am walking through the woods as it's getting darker. Allow me to explain.
I'm Aurora Barlowe, an 18-year-old author. I grew up in a house in the middle of nowhere, which might sound terrifying to some, but I love it. I find comfort in things that scare others, not just in horror movies, books, or games with jump scares, but in real-life experiences like walking through the woods at 3 in the morning or living in a house where all previous owners were murdered. I'm planning to live alone in this house after publishing my fifth book. Although my books are quite famous, my parents think I earn very little from publishing and have no worries about it. By the way, I've built a treehouse in the middle of the forest. It may sound dangerous, but that's exactly why I built it there. It provides me with privacy and a peaceful place to think. When I was younger, I couldn't sleep with other people in the house, including my family. My mom always told me about how hard it was to get me to sleep when I was a toddler. So, when I had trouble sleeping during my pre-teen years, I would usually wander off into the woods. That's why I built the treehouse – to have a place to sleep. Currently, I was writing my book in the treehouse and realized it's late. I also realized that my family won't be able to contact me because there's no network in the forest, and they don't know about the treehouse either.
I glanced at the time on my phone and noticed it was almost 8 pm. I started walking faster and soon arrived at the front of my 3-story house. Peering through the huge glass window on the ground floor, I saw my parents frantically using their phones. Just then, my phone began buzzing. I quickly turned it off to avoid their call and took a step forward. Suddenly, something caught my eye for a split second from the attic. It seemed like I saw someone up there. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the attic window was open. Questions raced through my mind, and my heart started pounding as I began to imagine all sorts of things. Just then, a cold drop of water startled me as it touched my face. Snapping out of my thoughts, I walked toward the front door of my house. As soon as I reached the front porch, heavy rain started pouring. I rang the doorbell, and my family rushed to open the door. They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw me. Speaking softly, I said,
"So sorry, my phone turned off," my mother said. She nodded and walked towards the kitchen with my father. I watched my sister's expression; she was mad.
"Remember to charge it before you leave," she said as she walked to the dining room.
my sister, Isabella, and I sat in the dining room, and the silence between us was deafening. We were never close, no matter how hard I tried to make her like me. My sister broke the silence by asking me a question.
"How was your day?"
"It was ok, I wrote some chapters for my novel, what about you?"Â
"It was okay, I did some cleaning. Cleaning? My sister? Never. She hated it. Before I could ask, Mom came into the dining room with our dinner: chicken alfredo pasta and some tacos. Dad came with the plates."
After dinner, we usually watch a movie together. However, today Mom refused. We all agreed and went to our rooms on the first floor. My sister's room was next to mine, and my parents' room was opposite ours, along with the guest room that we now use as storage. I went into my room and decided to write the chapters I had worked on today in my official manuscript since I am meeting my publisher tomorrow. I also edited a few things and did my homework because I didn't want to spend my entire Sunday on homework.
Three hours later, I was finally done with my homework. When I checked the time, it was already midnight, and I realized I was really hungry. I went to the kitchen to see if there were any leftovers, but unfortunately, there were none. I thought about ordering delivery, but where I live, it's not safe to have food delivered, especially at midnight. So, I decided to make some fries. As I was chopping potatoes, I heard a loud thud from above. My heart started pounding and I got excited. I checked all the doors and windows on the ground floor, but everything seemed normal. When I went to the first floor and checked all the rooms, I found that everything was locked, except for Isabella's room. I peeked inside, but she was nowhere to be found. The only place I hadn't checked was the attic, which is always locked and off-limits. As I approached the attic door, I heard a familiar voice behind me and turned around to see Isabella standing at a distance.
"I asked you, what are you doing here?" she spoke with a stern voice.
"I heard something, so I came to check. What about you?" I asked, changing the subject. "Wait, you heard that too?" she asked. I nodded, and she told me how she went to check everything after she heard that thud. Later, she went back to her room, and I went back to the kitchen.
I kept wondering where Isabella was, but then I decided to go to sleep since it was already late. I had to meet my publisher and friends tomorrow...