The House Of Secrets

'I don't think it's a good idea, Rick. Maybe we should head back.'

'Oh ! come on guys. We are already here. Don't you dare chicken out on me this time.'

Rick gestured to Vera to open the door as he turned on his flashlight.

The creaking door noises make it even more eerie. Not to mention, sneaking into an abandoned wooden house located in the middle of the woods at night time is already a bad idea.

The interior of the house is just like any typical house, simple yet comfy decoration, nothing lavish, but extra dusty.

'The lights are not working. Guess they didn't pay their bills.' said Stella as she flipped through all the switch panels.

'Well, yeah Stella. That's why it's called abandoned' replied Vera sarcastically as she slowly advanced forward.

Every step was taken with caution in fear of something unexpected. They split up and searched through every inch of every room but found nothing. 

'What exactly are we looking for? Ghost? I don't think it will just pop out of nowhere or play hide and seek with us. Ohh…. I know, maybe we should perform a ritual to summon it. That is what they all do in the movies. I can try to perform it.' 

'Don't be silly, Stella. We are not here for the ghost, nor are we ghost busters. We are here for the hidden treasure, remember? Stop fooling around and find harder!' Vera said in a frustrating way as she continued looking for clues. 

Legend has it that there are treasures hidden in this remote house. But many who attempted to find or retrieve it never make it out alive. Some were never heard of again. Hence, it is said that the house is haunted and cursed. And anyone who tries to go near it will face its consequences. Villagers are forbidden to enter the woods or go near that house at nightfall for fear of angering the ‘evil spirit’ which may cause calamity to the entire village.

Rick, Stella and Vera are triplets. The trio have been sent away from this village to live with their Aunt Mia in town at the age of eight, which is a very long time ago. All they could remember about their parents was scenes of them quarreling days and nights and demanding a divorce was always hanging by their mouth. They knew their mother was short-tempered and their father had some mental problems. Each of them was given a tear-drop shaped locket with their family photo in it as a parting gift. Their parents each have one too. They have never met their parents ever since. It is said that their parents died in a freak car accident shortly after their partings.

It is only until recently the trio received news that their grandmother had passed away of old age. As the only next of kin, they were requested to be present at the village (their home of origin) to sort out the issue of the inheritance.

They were baffled when they first arrived at the village. The houses here are all run down and look so antique. The majority of the residents are elderly. There is basically no entertainment outlet in the village. Only the convenient store has Wifi but the signal there is really bad. All the younger ones have headed to town in search for lucrative job opportunities and better prospects for the future.

For someone who has been living a wonderful city life, the life in this small village is like a prison, or even worse. They can't believe they had to spend their weekends here.

The chief villager welcomed them warmly when they first arrived and warned them about woods.

The village is so small that one can finish exploring the whole neighbourhood within an hour excluding the entry to the woods.

The trio was extremely bored and was seeking something more exciting. Henceforth, they went about to dig up some news and got to know about the so-called 'haunted house' in the woods.

It sparks their curiosity about the treasure and the house so they decided to take a look at it. After all, they don't believe in ghosts or spirits. And they like the idea of adventure and getting quick bucks.

'Hey guys, check this out !' Rick shouted as he upend the floor mat and discovered a secret hidden underground room in the kitchen. 

'Eww... what's that smell ? It reeks here.'  

The strong stench is coming from the underground room. The air is sour and filled with alcoholic miasma. As they descended through the flight of stairs, empty alcohol bottles can be seen scattered everywhere and small puddles of liquid can be seen.

Heaps of food packaging are seen scattered lying on the floor. Surrounded by tiny pests like cockroaches, ants and other insects.

Stella had the habit of flipping switches and miraculously the sole light bulb situated in the room lit. 

'Wow.... who could have drunk all of these? It seems like someone has been living here for quite some time now. And this person is really unhygienic. We should hurry. Find the clue, grab the treasure and leave. This person might just come back anytime.' Vera instructed them to search through the cupboards and bookshelves while she flickers through the note books on the desk.

'This is odd. Why are our pictures here ? This is me when I first entered middle school. This one is Rick when he played for the school baseball team. This is Stella when she got recruited for the ballet club. And there are so many more.'

'What are you talking about, Vera ? What do you mean by our pictures ?' Stella and Rick came over and grabbed the pictures.

Vera continues to search the drawers of the desk. She spotted a tear-shaped locket in the drawer. She took it up and felt a tinge that it looked so familiar.

It is the exact same one that they all have. She is wearing hers, so she looked at them to see if they might have accidentally dropped it. But unfortunately, both of them have it on their necks too. She opened the locket and saw their family photo in it. She was at a sudden loss of words. She quickly calmed herself down by assuring herself that this must be some kind of prank.

Just then, Rick said 'Guys, isn't this Aunt Mia and our grandparents.' as he flips to the next few pictures. 'I don't know who these people are but they seem to have our family name, it is written all over the photographs. Must be our great great relatives or something.'

'I saw this portrait before, it was hanging on the wall of Aunt Mia's bedroom. She said it was her favourite grandfather, Ronald. Her grandfather adored her the most but somehow treats other family members very poorly. Look! There is a note here.' Vera picked up the paper that slips down from the stacks of photos. The paper was half-torn.

The note starts with " Dear Mia, I have done something horrible. Please don't hate me for this. I ..."

As they continued to search for the continuation of the note, they heard footsteps above them. Someone is here. They held their breath and kept really silent, hoping that person would leave eventually. But things didn't turn out the way they hoped.

A man was seen walking down the stairs into the secret room. 

Rick quickly grabbed a stick to defend themselves. But that person has a gun and demands them to cooperate if they want to stay alive. They were tied up and being seated against the wall. The man proclaimed himself as their father. And sure enough they don' t buy it. The man continued to give them details of their lives in order to convince them.

'Our father is long dead, you are just a crazy stalker. An imposter! What do you want from us ?' Vera was raising her voice with a stern look as an attempt to intimidate that man.

'Well, that is what they thought.' The man lit a cigarette and took a puff . 'I have been living here for decades after sending you children to Mia's house. This house holds the dark secrets of our heritage. I tried so hard to put you guys away from this. But somehow you guys just ended up here again. Guess this is fate.'

'What do you mean dark secrets ? You are just making it up. You are just a greedy person who wants the treasure all by yourself.'

'Rick, my boy, as impulsive as always. The fact is there is neither treasure nor ghost here. It is a story made up by my grandmother and it is being widely speculated by my mother. You see, my grandfather was an abusive man. He beats us up except Mia whenever he gets drunk or angry. As the time goes on, the beatings get worse. My grandmother got so fed up that she killed my grandfather by accident. His body was buried here, beneath this house. Mia was too young to understand but I was severely traumatized having to witness that. I had mental issue after that and needed medication to control myself. We gave false information to lead the police offtrack and close the case early. Soon after, my grandmother and dad died of natural causes and there left my mom, Mia and me. '

He bents over to pick up the note and the locket.

'See this locket, there are five of it, each of you has one, when assembled together, it gives out a nice flower shape. Your mom's favourite. We were never on good terms. She is always so naggy but I loved her. Never had the chance to tell her about my family's dark past that keeps me emotionally unstable and all this while she thought I was having an affair.Things would have been better if she hadn't died in the car accident. We were both in it. Why is she the one dead ? I survived. But chose to fake my own death in order to be able to live in seclusion and repent my sin.' He always prayed to God demanding an answer for taking his wife away.

'Even if what you said are all true, how did you get our pictures ? I mean the ones after we left you. Did you stalk us all these years ? Some of them are very personal. Did you hire a private investigator to spy on us ?'

'Your aunt Mia sent me those photos. She learnt about the truth when she was old enough. Left the village when she had the chance to escape our horrible family secrets and life. She is the one that encouraged me to send you kids to stay with her. It is the best way to protect you guys from having to bear this burden the previous generation has created, She did a great job in taking care of you guys and has been sending me lots of pictures and updates on all of you.'

'What about those people who came here looking for the treasures, it is said they never return. Did you kill them ? How can it go unnoticed by the police ?'

'I didn't kill them. I just scared them off and warned them never to return or I will hunt them down and tear them into pieces. Then, I had your grandmother spread the rumour of them dying in action. You know, people like to gossip, soon the news just spread like wildfire. I feel really relieved having to share this secret with you guys. But don't worry, I won't burden you guys with having to hold up the secret. I will confess to the police and clears everything up. If you still don't believe me, you can ask Mia about it. It is really great having to see you kids again. Just to let you know, I really do love you guys and sorry for being a lousy father.'

The man untied them and left the house. The trio was just coming into their senses after what had just occurred.

'See, I told you there are no such things as ghosts.' Rick said tauntingly with a smirk on his face. 'Too bad there are no treasures here or else we could have been rich.' as they scramble to leave the house.