It Walks Within

CARLY LAWSON I can hear the cool breeze tapping on the windows, tempting me to take my book and lie on the hammock. Giving in, I grabbed my copy of the Nancy Drew series and headed towards the porch. Indeed, as the breeze collided with my bare skin, it felt relaxing, and with a candle, I began to immerse myself in the wonderful world of crime solving. “Hmm, I wonder if the sequel to this is already out,” I thought. While I was enjoying my alone time lying in my hammock, I saw a circular, red flame perched on the branches of my neighbor’s mango tree. It was burning, almost as if someone was smoking and I could feel a chill run down my spine. “I must be tired; I’m beginning to see stuff.” I rubbed my eyes and yawned, dismissing what I had just seen. “A few more pages and I’ll be done and move on to the next series.” I thought to myself. Just when I was about to turn to the last page of my book, the cigar flame shined even brighter, making me believe that someone was indeed smoking and watching me from the tree. Somehow, annoyed, I got up and went inside. “Mel, someone’s spying on me from above, Mrs. Miller’s mango tree. I saw someone smoking, but I couldn’t see him clearly. “I complained. Mel was our family’s caretaker and our parents entrusted us under her care since most of the time they were out. Me and my siblings were very close with her, and often she hears our complaints and problems more than our parents. Mel looked at me with a perplexed expression, almost afraid. She quickly went outside to see if there really was someone there, searching for the cigar flame that I was talking about. “Carly, are you sure you saw someone? “She asked. “Yes, I did see someone, but I only saw the flame, like he was smoking while sitting there. I swear, I’m telling the truth,” I said. “All right, let’s get you all to bed. You still have school tomorrow.” She commanded. Seeing that Mel didn’t want to further probe the subject, I quietly obeyed and went to my bedroom to shower. I got out a pair of pajamas and plain shirt, and underwear, and took out bath products from my cabinet. I’ve always kept them, since Jane and Laura always used whatever products I like, and it annoyed me that they didn’t even want to share whenever we needed a refill. Taking my towel and hanging it on the sink, I carefully took off my clothes and tossed them into the hamper. I opened the shower and let the warm water flow, instantly uplifting my mood. I was somehow bothered by what happened while I was enjoying my alone time, since my siblings rarely give me privacy. While scrubbing myself, a cold breeze entered, and I was startled. “I don’t remember opening the bathroom window.” I thought. I ignored it and began to scrub myself and quickly finish up my bath since it was already getting late. Just when I was about to exit, I remembered that I needed to close the bathroom window. Cockroaches always come from there, and Mel would be crazy mad if even one of those pests got into our house. She was kastaridaphobic. (Fear of cockroaches) Taking a stool from my room, I carefully placed it just below where the window was. The glass of the window was frosted except for the newly replaced part. Jimmy broke it while playing with his friends, and dad almost threw a fit, taking his allowance as punishment for being reckless and not using his brain. When I was about to reach for the window lock, a pale face, almost blue in color appeared, with bloodshot eyes, and he was wearing a wide, chilling smile that looked as if the corners of his lips were torn from ear to ear. It made me yelp and I lost balance, almost hitting my head on the toilet bowl and landing on the hard floor back first. My head was throbbing and my eyes were blurry while lying on the damp bathroom floor. I heard footsteps and saw the silhouette of Mel and my three other siblings rushing to me. “Jimmy, get the first aid kit!” I heard Mel say with a tinge of fear. She kept assuring me that I was going to be okay, but the contusion on my head was the least of my concern. What did I just see, and why did it look like, well, dead? I was slipping out of consciousness, which was probably due to shock, and I could feel my surroundings slowly getting colder. Mel kept on saying something, but my brain was too foggy to understand it. Then, I heard it say my name. "Carly." almost like it was taunting me. "I'll be waiting for you,"it whispered. This was my first encounter with the abilities bestowed on us by the heavens. And by the way, I was only eight.