The Spirit Seer

I'm sure you've heard of many stories where a child lost both of her parents through some accident. You have also heard how she was forced to live with an abusive, unloving aunt and uncle. Well, my new parents, that aunt and uncle, do not like me. So that part is true. But my parents did not die. It wasn't a car accident either. I saw it! They were kidnapped! That creature or thing kidnapped them while we were driving. I guess that thing didn’t want others to know they disappeared. So, it replaced my parents with transfigured beings that were shaped like my mom and dad. Those beings decided to steer the car into a ditch with me in it. They intended to kill me! Luckily, there were other cars on the road and pedestrians who called the police. Yet, when I told them that I saw my parents disappear, they wrote me off as a delusional boy.

Yes. I am a boy. In fact, at the time, I was seven years old when that accident happened and when my parents disappeared. With only my aunt and uncle who lived close by, I had no choice but to live with them after the accident. It has been five years since then. Throughout those years, I was neglected, criticized as a cursed child, and forced to live off only the bare minimum to survive. My cousin, their son, was the only one who helped me get through those years. When his parents weren't looking, he snuck food into my bedroom in the attic. He even passed on bedsheets and clothing he no longer used but was in good condition for me to use. It is hard to believe that a gentle person like that was bred from boisterous and selfish parents. Well, they were rich, and they especially loved their son. I could tell.

It was my cousin who told me about the house where I happened to find myself now. I was entrusted with land and a mansion that my parents bought a long time ago but never got around to fixing the place. My aunt and uncle sought out buyers for that house. But, they could not manage to get anyone interested enough to buy that land due to its history of hauntings. Or so they say. Knowing it would prove fruitless, they passed it on to me in hopes of getting rid of me and the land at the same time.

I honestly did not want the land, but I did not want to be here either. Seeing those transparent figures haunting, ridiculing, and following people around annoyed me. I have seen them for as long as I have lived. Some of them are not that bad, like the girl that follows me around. She was the first spirit I interacted with since the accident. She was the first to change how I felt about the spirits floating around me. Before I met her, I greatly despised all spirits because of what happened to my parents. I still plan to take revenge and get them back.

It wasn't until I came to live with my aunt and uncle that I met her. She kept her distance at first and just observed me. She could tell I loathed her kind. She could also tell I was miserable about losing my parents and living in this house. Over time, she would do minor things to help me. I have seen her possess objects just for my sake, even my cousin. That’s how I was able to get the food. My cousin never knew his parents fed me scraps. When there’s company or a family dinner, they force themselves to invite me. So, I can understand him not knowing.

Yet, the girl with me knows and tries to do what she can for me. I never told my cousin, but my uncle and aunt knew. In fact, my parents were spirit seers, so they knew I could see them too. My mother taught me how to look beyond phantoms to prevent me from being labeled as the ghost whisperer. It was difficult sometimes because, like humans, they were loud too. Going back to that accident, what I saw that day was a spirit that took them. It was no mere accident, and I intend to find them and that spirit. For now, I need to focus on surviving.

Well, I am here now. All I can do is go in and see what I got myself into. The spirit girl came with me to this house. I looked up at her. With her long, dark brown hair flowing in the wind, she turned around to lock her brown eyes with mine. She gave me an encouraging smile and advised, “Let’s go in.”

I nodded to her and slowly pushed the doors open. What I found inside was completely different from what I thought it would be.

The interior looked new. Its walls were covered with painted white brick and a sleek, metallic gray ceiling. The floors were wooden, with an earthy aroma drifting from them. The wooden floor appeared to fade into a darker shade of brown as it approached the stairs. The stairs glistened under the light of the chandelier. Looking at the paintings and the furniture, everything was organized and orderly. I was astounded by the upkeep of the home. It made me wonder why my aunt and uncle would sell such a beautiful place.

“Because they have not seen it,” a voice answered from atop the staircase. There, I see a young woman with dark brown and red hair and tanned skin leaning on the stairwell. She glided down the stairs, her long hair flowing behind her. She walked toward me. She gave a slight bow with her hand laid upon her chest. She continued, “You must be the new master of this house. My name is Rain. I am the caretaker of this house and a friend of your parents. I know about your parents and your ability. I, too, can see them.”

At that moment, a row of maids floating behind her appeared. They bowed as well.

“Your parents informed me you were coming,” she proclaimed, smiling and raising her head. “Welcome to your new home.”