Lurking Sin

"C'mon, bro, are you afraid of haunted houses or what?" 

He challenged me.

"Nah, it is just not my thing, you know."

"It isn't even a haunted house, just some flashing lights issue. So, cool down, and don't be scared."

"I am not scared," I defended myself - in vain - against the accusations of him. I felt the gaze of the others all over my body.

"Whatever, we go in!" I shouted with fake enthusiasm and led our hiking group in the direction of the wooden house on top of the hill.

"He is such a scared kitten sometimes," one of the girls told another one. She reacted with a chuckle. 

"Yeah, but that's how we like him these days."

I pulled the door open fast.

"Buh! Buhuhu! BUHUHUHUHU!" I raised my arms like a bear in attack mode.

"Looks like I was able to make the ghosts flee. None of you need to worry now."

"Haha," one of the girls said. "It wasn't one of us who was scared!"

"Yeah, tell yourself that," I tried to play it off cool.

The house had a rather wacky design. The walls had a noteworthy bend so that there were always an exceptional amount of shadows in the room. The shadows thrown are even bigger thanks to the only light being as high up as possible. I am 6'5, and even I have no chance to touch it. Yes, even when I jump.

"Good for us that we don't have a young couple around who had pre-marital sex. Someone would for sure slash 'em," I laughed, and in the corner of my eyes, I could see that some people here are done for.

"Not funny," a girl said. She pulled the other girl closer. 

"We go out and get some wood."

"Come on! I bet something is happening to you once you are outside."

"Aaaarg, we get it. You are super cool," she said annoyingly and pulled the other girl outside.

"Maybe?"

"You are overdoing it," said one of the guys. He shook his head, and with the other two followed the girls. 

"Meh, I don't."

Back to loneliness, I guess.

It took me only a second to get over my gloom. This weirdly built house is just too fascinating to me. I walked towards the corner with the most shadows. Like a child, I played with the shadows. Slowly I put my right foot into it as if I expected a monster to come out and bite it off. To my disappointment, this didn't happen. Not that I am big on masochism, but I am nonetheless disappointed. It feels so harmless now. I kicked the shadow, again and again. 

So much for a scary house, scary shadow, and scary monster. Everything is just disappointing.

"Aren't you just projecting? Aren't you just disappointing?" I heard from the ceiling.

I pointed at all those black shadows around me, "You could come out of one of those sinister shadows, but you chose to come out of a lightbulb. I want a spooky ghost, not some dead Thomas Edison-type bedsheet."

"Silence," the ghost demanded. 

I felt a hard slap and landed face-first on the ground. With care I touched my right cheek, "You must be a female ghost. This here is the face slap of a woman who dated many bad boys who strayed."

"Silence," the ghost demanded. 

When I felt that slap again, it was hard for me to not curse.

"You for sure are a disappointment." The ghost isn't into me at all.

I changed my position into something that vaguely resembles sitting.

"What are you even complaining about?" I wondered. "You are some random ghost in a wooden house - get a grip."

"I am here to teach you a lesson."

"That scene is already too long for an Aesop fable, and I am - more or less - no animal," I pointed out.

"You need to come clean," the ghost started to demand.

"Hey, these days, I am a rather nice guy, you know. I may sound harsh, but I have a fboyish heart of gold."

"That's not enough."

"Listen, bedsheet," I told him as I raised myself and stood right below the lightbulb. "I ain't doing the same things as before, get it? Yeah, yeah, there may be one or two unnecessary slaps that, due to happenstance, end up in the face of some people, but that's it. This is nothing compared to the things I have done before so f off."

"Did you ever thought of saying sorry to the victims?" The ghost inquired. I could see its face on the lightbulb.

"No, and I won't. Why are you even asking? I thought Mr. Edison O' know it all would know that I can't talk to all victims."

"I know."

"Then what do you expect? Should I go to a grave and say, 'Edison Lightbulb ghost told me to say sorry. Soooo, here I am!' or what?"

"Would be a start."

"This doesn't change anything!" 

I looked around.

 I need something heavy. 

Good

With one well-done wood throw, I shattered the lightbulb. The glass fell right in front of me.

"Spooky," I dryly remarked and turned around. Relaxed, I strolled towards the door and opened it. 

Great, it looks like they are coming back. I thought as I was able to recognize some people coming down the hill towards this house.

Something pulled me back in. I wanted to shout, but some fingers in my mouth kept me from screaming. Heck, I couldn't even breathe properly. The ghost threw me against one of the sinister walls. 

"For f sake! You should have f off, shithead," I shouted and tried to get my orientation back. Mentally, I was ready to fight back, but the ghost wouldn't allow it.

"I gave you a chance. You just needed to confess and ask the people for forgiveness. If that trivial thing is already too much for you, anything is," and as he said the last half-sentence I felt a kick against my head.