9th Life

INTRODUCTION Once upon a lifetime in a faraway land on the western part of Africa. There lived a teenage boy who's family just relocated to an urban area far from their not so perfect but comfortable residence in the city. Seth was his name. He was nineteen with a ten years old sister “Eva” and a little brother "Michael” who just turned five. His parents "Mr and Mrs Brownson" were good christians, although because of some of their beliefs systems which is backed by their traditions they don’t practice christianity to the fullest. And naturally like in every family, some of those beliefs be it good or bad were inevitably adopted by their kids. It was only after Eva’s birth that they started focusing less on those beliefs and more on their faith as christians. Life was perfect to a point for them but they had some financial problems they were unable to get out from which made it difficult for them to live as lavishly and freely as other people in their neighborhood. And after trying all they could to work it out, the problems persisted, which finally brought them to the decision to move from the city where things were much more expensive to an urban town hoping that things would be a little better and easier for them, unaware of the unfortunate faith that awaits them. Seth was already in his feelings about their many predicaments before his parents told him about this decision to move out from the city, and naturally any kid won’t be happy about losing their friends and the life they have built so he wasn’t happy about it. But the choice has already been made so there was nothing he could do about it. Before moving and deciding on a location, most parents would consider what is being said about the place they’re moving to by people who have been there before. And while this particular town had some strange things reported about it, they didn’t really pay much attention to them. One of their reasons was because they’ve decided to live their superstitious lifestyle behind them since they were now devoted Christians, and the other reason was because they couldn’t get anywhere else that was as affordable. It was supposed to be life as usual coming to this town with the hope of things looking up for them, but it took this happy family nine days for everything they hoped for and believe in to come crashing down. And What was the course of this? Well, you’re about to find out. But one thing i’ll say to you as you read is this. You an either have control over your mind or forever be a slave to it CHAPTER ONE ( DAY ONE ) They arrived at the new town couple hours after daybreak. On driving into the town it suddenly felt like they’ve entered a different time. Not too obvious to notice but the more you look at it the more you’ll feel something is disturbing about this place. It was cold and everything about it seemed unreal. There are not much houses but it’s not looking deserted. The first strange thing about their arrival was how everywhere was empty. They’ve drove past a couple houses by now but haven’t seen a single person outside. This wasn’t the father’s first experience when he came here to confirm the purchase with his agent so it was indeed strange that at this time of the day no one was outside, but there’s probably a good explanation for this he thought. He was driving his family in his car while their belongings were in the truck behind them with the truck driver and his assistant. When Eva curiously asked why they were no one outside the Mom said maybe because it’s Sunday and they’re in church or have something doing inside. She looked at her husband after saying that not really sure she believed herself but what else could she say. When they arrived at their place Seth looked around to see if there’s anyone around but still none. The neighborhood was quiet outside but they were some activities going on indoors to let them know that they are people living here. Seth and his father started moving their things from the truck inside the house with the truck driver and his assistant, while Eva helped her mom inside with the little she could do. Micheal sat outside on the porch eating some candies and playing with the dog they got for Eva. His mom gave him the candy to keep him busy while they arrange so he won’t distract them. While still offloading their things into the house, Seth couldn’t get his mind off how off putting this place feels. It doesn’t look like it’s a place where people have lives that they’re living. Firstly, the fact that they haven’t seen a single person outside at this time in the morning bugged the hell out of him. It was almost past noon and at least someone was supposed to be outside cleaning or sweeping, or doing anything at all. It’s obvious they were people around because of the cars parked outside most of the houses and they could even notice some people staring at them through the windows. And then something else happened when Seth and his father were taking the couch inside. He tripped and dropped the side he was holding, almost hitting his feet. His father asked if he was ok and he said yes and was thankful that it didn’t drop on his feet. When he lifted his side of the couch back up he noticed some trace of blood on the floor. He stopped then took a look and what he saw was a cat lying dead on the ground. The couch must have dropped on it smashing the head when he tripped. “Oh geez” he exclaimed at the sight of it. “Is that a cat?” His father asked. He said yes but that it came out from nowhere. Seeing the sad look on Seth’s face his father told him not to beat himself up about it that it wasn’t his fault. The cat looked young which was the reason Seth felt bad about killing it because normally he doesn’t really like cats. His father told him to move the body out of the way so they don’t step on it more and that they’ll bury it when they’re done packing. Seth did as his father said and they took the couch back up and moved it inside. As they were moving inside something felt off about what just happened. Seth kept staring at the body and at some point he could have sworn he noticed the cat move, but when he looked well he concluded that maybe he saw it differently since it was still lying dead. Then as he looked away he noticed someone from the house next to theirs staring through the window, it felt weird how the person immediately closed the cotton when they saw him looking. That was strange to him but he didn’t make anything out of it. After they dropped the couch and came out to pick the next luggage, they didn’t see the body of the dead cat anymore.