The Upstairs

I figured I'd say there's hints to PTSD.

This story is read through flashbacks, thoughts and present day conversations.

“I heard that the light flickers every time you cross the house's path!” 

“Forget it Oli. I don’t want to go explore it right now.” 

“Come on, Az, it'd be fun!” 

“Nope, besides I don't believe in ghost stories anyways” 

“Ok. Well it's too bad; if you went I’d give you that jacket you love so much.” 

“Next time start with that! I'm going.” 

“I knew you couldn’t resist; by the way you're going alone.” 

“What? Why?” 

“I'm grounded, remember?”  

“Ugh, fine.” 

Present Day 

“Alright, Azalea, we are gonna talk about the first day. Ok?” 

“Ok, Oleander.” 

“Alright Az, go ahead.”

“Ok, Oli….. What about?” 

“The first day.” 

“Oh.” 

“Go ahead.”

“Oh, ok…..Well, I kept thinking.” 

Seriously! How did I let them talk me into this again? 

“I had knocked on the door. Of course at the time I thought no one was home. I opened the door, slipping silently inside. All the time I had been thinking. “

Why did I agree to this? I Could be asleep! Ugh, Oli. If it hadn’t been for Oli I would be at home sleeping. Stupid twin, stupid dare. When I get home I’m gonna tell her just how boring this house is. Then I'm gonna go strangle her for making me come here to find out whether it is haunted or not. 

“Ha, Imagine.” 

Great, now I’m talking to myself. Let’s just get this over with. 

“Hello, is anyone there?” 

“I called from the doorway. No one answered.”

No one. Of course just another silly little legend about our creepy town. Might as well explore.

“I remember stalking forward , I kept shifting my weight so the floorboards didn’t creak. I remember hearing the ceiling groan like someone was walking on the second floor. I was afraid that there were ghosts.” 

There is no such thing as ghosts. There is no such thing as ghosts. There is no such thing as ghosts. Just keep walking!

“And I remember walking into the parlor and there was nothing.”  

 Empty. What’s that? 

“That is it was, until I looked down. On the floor a small object was lying. I crouched down thinking it was a rock or something. What I saw almost scared me. It wasn't necessarily scary, just an odd thing to find. A perfect little locket, It looked brand new.”

How did this get here? It is not even dusty. It looks new. There's no footprints either. I wonder who it belonged to and why they didn't come back to get it. Must’ve been expensive too. 

“I had slipped the locket into my pocket. I went through the door that led to the kitchen. There were more things in this room. mostly pots and pans. Looking around I saw that a few pans were dropped on the floor.” 

Huh Odd. Did this happen recently? Did the people who used to live here leave in a rush? 

“I picked up the pans and put them on the shelf with the other pans.” 

“Why did you do that?” 

“It looked better.” 

Better ,pointless, but better. I wonder why they left in such a hurry? 

“I got cocky. I started going around less cautiously. Soon enough I had looked through all the bedrooms, there wasn't anything, and then I was back in the hallway.” Well this is not as bad as I thought it was gonna be. 

"I had stopped. The stairs were in front of me. They scared me." Never mind this is worse. "I stepped carefully onto the first step, testing if it would hold my weight." Why am I doing this? I should just go home and tell them that there is absolutely no way this place is haunted. Oh! It's so nice up here. 

"Looking around you could tell it was the best room in the house by far. It had huge cushions set up in the corners. The walls were lined with books. Books lie open on the short tables next to the cushions. There were two windows set in the triangle of the roof and these pretty lights. I noticed nothing was dusty." Wait, nothing is dusty. Not a speck of dust! “I walked over to the book. Next to it was a cup. I thought that was odd so I touched it. It was warm.” Warm. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. "I kept trying to convince myself that I was ok."  There must be a reasonable explanation for this. There is no need to panic. “I looked up and I saw someone. A girl was staring at me from the other side of the room." There is a need to panic. “I kept looking and I realized that she was my age, maybe a bit older. The other thing I noticed was she had weird clothes. She was wearing long pants that were wider round the ankles. and a tight green shirt tucked in. Her hair was long, down and brunet. She had a green headband. She stared and almost studied me.” Shoot. I’m in Trouble. 

“Hello.” 

“I could only stare at her.”

“Who are you?” 

"She had asked me who I was and at that moment I couldn't remember." Who am I? Who are you? Do you live there? "I managed to answer her. Although shakily."

“Az- Azalea Hollow.”

“Oh, ok.” 

“She didn't seem overly impressed with me.” Is that all she is going to say? Do I ask her name? Is it too late to make a run for it? “I managed to ask her name.” 

“Who are you?” 

“Go home they probably miss you, it's late.” 

“No one is missing me. Trust me.”

“It was weird she didn’t yell at me or tell me her name. She told me to go home. I wish I listened. When I didn’t leave she smiled” Oh shoot she is smiling. Why? Just say something!

“But I mean I like your library.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I could live here. So many books to read. You're so lucky.”

“HA, ok tell you what I will let you stay if..”

“I got this horrible feeling like I was in trouble. She just kept smiling. There were so many books! She said I could stay.” Why is she smiling so mischievously? If what?

“If what?”

“You shake my hand.”

“Oh, I guess.”

“It was nothing. A handshake, I thought maybe she needed a friend. Maybe she was a little weird but she wasn't creepy. It was just a handshake. There were so many books and it was just a handshake and I could stay and hang out and read… Right?” 

“Az, it's ok.” 

Just a handshake and I can stay here and read. I could be her friend. All these books I wonder if I could borrow books for Oli. “I.. I shook her hand. Immediately she grabbed my hand and shook it, once. It was a mistake, she looked…relieved, maybe. She smiled again. I didn’t know what was happening, she just started to leave.” What's going on? Where is she going? “She left. She went down the stairs. I.. I could only watch her as she took a deep breath in and stepped on the first step then the rest of the way down.”

“What? What did you do? Where are you going?”

“It worked.” 

“She whispered ‘it worked’ to herself then was gone. I started going the direction she left. She was gone completely. I rushed to the door but I couldn't leave. I.. I could see it, the down stairs was right there. I couldn’t leave.” It worked. What worked? “I ran to the door. It was like running against a wall, but I could see the hall! I could see the hall!” 

“No.”

“NO.”

“NO!”

“I ran at, shoved, pushed, clawed, the invisible wall trying failing to get free. Tens, Hundreds, Thousands of times. I couldn't get out. She left... I couldn't... I don't know”

"Az?" 

“Oli?”

“Yes, Az?” 

“I want to go home.” 

“Alright, let's go home.” 

“Let me out! Let Me Go! I want to go home!”

“Someone please help me!”

“Oli!?” 

 “Oli, please!” 

”Help me. Someone please.”