Tea Time

There it was again. That sound. The whistle of the tea kettle which meant he was here. Claire hated that sound because it always meant trouble. That high pitched hiss was mocking her. It was tormenting her. Asking her to come and look and see what’s there. Claire knew though, she knew what awaited her if she went to see. This time she would ignore it. This time she is going to fight back.

It all started when Claire moved into her new house. She wanted a fresh start and knew the Duncan house was that. The Duncan house was a popular house in the neighborhood as in everyone wanted to buy it or explore it. It was a two story house, rustic looking with a Victorian feel. It was an older house so of course there were rumors of it being haunted. Claire didn’t believe them though until she heard the sound for the first time.

Claire was minding her own business reading a book the first time she heard the whistle. At first she thought it was her imagination or her mind playing tricks but then she heard it again. Claire got up to see where the noise was coming from and saw a tea kettle on the stove. Which she thought was odd because she didn’t even own a tea kettle.

“Hello, is anyone here?” She asked but got no reply. So she searched around the house and couldn’t find anyone. She checked the door and it was still locked. She checked the windows and they were still closed. Claire shook it off and went about her day. She might have put the kettle on and forgot about it. She was having issues with her memory ever since the accident.

The next day Claire decided to ignore the kettle incident that happened the day before. She needed to run some errands and clear her mind so she went out for a walk. When she got back the sound was back, the high pitched whistle. She ran to the kitchen and saw the kettle was back on the stove.

“What?” Claire gasped. She knew she didn’t put the kettle on before she left. In fact she moved the kettle under the cabinet the night before.  

“Hello?” She shouted, “Hello is anyone there?” Then she saw him. He was walking into the kitchen with a mug.

“Who are you? How did you get in here?” Claire asked.

The man turned and stared at her but didn’t say anything.

“I’m calling the police!” Claire said and ran to grab her phone which she threw on the couch when she got back from her walk. She turned around and the front door was open, the man gone.

Claire sat down. That was scary. She didn’t know how he got in but she was going to double the locks from now on.

This went on for a few days. Around the same time the kettle would whistle and the man would be there with the same mug. She tried calling the police but didn’t get good service. The man didn’t seem violent so Claire thought he might be confused or needed help. Claire would try to talk to him but always got ignored. Claire tried hiding the kettle but it would always be back. Claire tried turning the stove breaker off but it would be back on. She always checked the doors and they were always locked before the man appeared. Nothing seemed to keep the man away though. So she ignored him. It was just a kettle after all. No big deal. Claire decided to just live with it.

Claire did some research on the house and didn’t find anything. Nothing sinister happened, no reports of any haunting. Everyday though the man would appear with his mug and turn the kettle on. So Claire suspected maybe he was a lost soul and be on his way when he felt ready. Claire would just sit in her chair and read. He wouldn’t be there long and she could get back to her day. He wasn’t doing any harm. Until things started disappearing and Claire couldn’t find her things.

It was minor stuff at first like her book being misplaced or her blanket being put in a closet. Then bigger stuff started happening. The furniture was being rearranged. The windows were constantly being left opened. A time or two the bedroom door opened by itself or would be locked when she didn’t lock it.

Claire was starting to get irritated.

“Listen, I don’t care that you are here. I don’t care about the kettle. I don’t care what you do but this has to stop. Stop rearranging my things!” She shouted at him.

“No” he mumbled.

“What? What did you say? What’s your name? Why are you here?” She asked. Once again he ignored her.

“I want you gone! Do you hear me! Leave me alone!” She shouted.

“No” he mumbled again.

“Gahhh! You are aggravating!” She screamed and walked upstairs.

After that encounter Claire went back to ignoring everything. The couch was moved; she just sat down where it was. Blanket wound up in the closet, she just grabbed another one. The kettle would whistle she would stay out of the kitchen. Claire wanted normal so she pretended everything was.

It was okay for a couple of days. Then He started being super noisy. Banging everything around and being awful. Claire couldn’t take it anymore.

“Why won’t you just leave?” She asked in the kitchen when she heard the kettle whistle again.

“No.” He said more clearly this time.

“Why? Just go away. This is my place and I want some peace and quiet.”

“I can’t go anywhere.” He replied.

“Why not? I’m sure there are plenty of places you can go and leave me alone!”

“I can’t” He said again.

“Stupid ghost just leave me be!” She shouted at him.

“I’m not a ghost.” He said shocked.

“Well you have to be. All this banging and rearranging. Appearing and disappearing out of nowhere. Moving my stuff without me knowing. It all adds up.”

“I’m not a ghost.” He said again.

“Just leave me be.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” She asked.

“Oh sweetie, it’s your head. And clearly you want me here.” He replied with a grin.