Trails of Secrets

3. The Adventurer

Early bird gets the worm. More like, early riser gets the paper. Thought Annalise as she quickly shoved the rest of her cereal into her mouth. Yeah, never mind. That sounded really stupid. She dumped the bowl in the sink and finished getting dressed. 

Today she was wearing matching socks with her favorite sneakers, nice jeans without holes in them, a polka dot shirt, and a plaid sweater. 

She was feeling rebellious. 

Annalise checked her watch as she gathered the rest of her belongings that she knew she would need for the day. He would be here any minute now. She grabbed her laptop and stuffed it into her bag. Then she walked out of her house and sat on the front steps. All of her neighbors' front porches were empty. She hadn't missed him. 

As she waited on her front steps, Annalise closed her eyes and listened to the sounds around her. It was a beautiful morning and it was the perfect opportunity to enjoy it. 

There were the obvious noises like the birds whistling and the gently rustling of the wind. But Annalise tried to drown them out and listen to unusual sounds. She heard a dog barking. It was far away. The low rumble of cars. That came from the center of town. A loud crash. That was unusual. 

Annalise opened her eyes to find the source of the sound, when she heard a familiar ting-a-ling. 

He was here. 

She stood to her feet and waved as the paper boy rode towards her house on his bike with the familiar bell. The paper boy smiled, but didn't wave since his hand held a newspaper. 

Annalise watched as he threw a paper to each house. Finally, he reached hers.

The paper boy smiled at Annalise and yelled, "Ready?"

Annalise held up her hand. He threw a paper and watched it soar. And just like every morning, she caught it. 

Annalise waved the lucky paper in the air and called out, "See you tomorrow!" He nodded his head and rode off. 

It all started a few months ago when Annalise had been enjoying the morning with a cup of coffee, while sitting on her front steps. The paper boy hadn't been paying attention to where he was throwing and the paper hit her coffee and spilled all over Annalise. He had apologized and promised to be more careful. She laughed it off and said "Next time, I'll just catch it." The paper boy laughed too. But sure enough, she caught it the next morning. And the next. They had made it a silent game between the two of them and in a way, became a sort of friends. But strangely, she didn't know his name. 

Annalise tucked the paper into her already bulging bag and started off towards the library. She had barely passed her neighbor's house, when she remembered the loud crash. Annalise focused on all the surrounding houses. If I just think hard enough.... 

Her eyes landed on the old, dilapidated house, two houses down and across from hers. That was the house. 

Annalise crossed the street and jogged over to the strange house. Ever since she had moved to this street, she had never once seen a car anywhere near the old house. Everyone thought it was vacant. Some said it was haunted. But there are always those weird people who say that old houses are haunted. She didn't believe in ghosts. 

And yet, she felt a thrill of excitement. 

Annalise walked up to the front door. All she was going to do was look around and make sure that nobody was hurt. That was all. She was just doing her neighborly duty. Nothing else. Annalise knocked.

The door slowly creaked open. Well that's just great. 

Annalise poked her head inside the house. "Hello? Is anyone in here?"

She rolled her eyes at how pathetic she must have sounded. How cliche. She felt like she was in a mystery novel where the main character does something stupid, like walking in a spooky house with a creaky, unlocked door. But she wasn't stupid. 

Annalise walked inside the house. Adventure was calling.