At Night

It started as a prank, but it soon went wrong, terribly wrong. The old Wheeler house had been abandoned for years. Most of the windows were broken and a sea of brown weeds swayed in the wind like dried husks of deceased souls. Paint peeled from the walls like the skin from scalded Zombies. The fitful breeze played songs accented with moans and whistles coming through the cracks and openings of the abandoned house. A scrap of curtain fluttered at the window, a ghostly beckoning hand.

Suzie’s older brothers Nathan and Reuben dared her to go into the Wheeler house and spend an hour, before coming back out with a souvenir to prove that she’d been inside. She took the dare.

“Tonight, at midnight?” Reuben pressed.

“Remember, it’s Halloween,” Nathan said. “And the moon is full.”

Suzie swallowed hard. “Yes,” she squeaked. What else could she do? She’d already accepted the dare. “I’m no chicken. No problem. Tonight, be there to watch me,” she said with a feigned bravado that she didn’t feel.

They walked along the roadway until they neared the decaying building. Their shadows danced beneath them as they walked beneath the light of the full faced moon. The wind stirred the curtain welcoming them.

“Stay here,” Suzie said. She didn’t want them close to the house trying to scare her. She sidled up the overgrown walkway. The porch steps groaned a loud warning as she climbed. The door was ajar, open to the darkness beyond. She hesitated, then eased inside. She waited until her eyes adjusted to the moonlight filtering inside. Overstuffed furniture was spread haphazardly around the room; all too large for the needed souvenir.

She shuffled across to the kitchen. The counters were bare as were the cupboards and drawers. One drawer was firmly closed. It was stuck. She gave a hard pull and it shot open. Her bottom hit the floor and the drawer was in her lap. Inside, she could read the envelope of a letter. It was addressed to Mr. Harold Wheeler. She lifted it out and pushed the drawer aside. Rising from the floor, she started to tuck the letter into her jacket pocket. A voice whispered in her ear, “That’s mine.”

The boys waited outside for the hour, then began to worry. They were afraid to go into the house to look for their sister. They waited another sixty minutes before rushing home to tell their parents that Suzie was missing.

Their mom was still up reading when they got home. In a jumble of words, they explained what had happened and said, “Suzie is missing.”

Their mom laughed, “No she’s not. She’s upstairs in bed. She came home nearly two hours ago.”