Beckoned Through The Dark

76 // Lesego // Treasures

Once outside, I was welcomed by the cold winter breeze, it was so freaking chilly. I puffed out warm air as I took out my phone.

I wasn't sure whether leaving the house was such a good idea, but it had to be done, I couldn't sit around and let Karabelo do as she pleased.

"Hey, Duncan, I received a call from Uncle Vincent, Dineo's with him. I'll see you later!" I left Duncan a message so that he would cover for me should anyone ask any questions.

I decide to take a walk along the streets of Green City.

A part of me wanted to consult with Bridgette, but I didn't quite trust her.

I had to take matters into my own hands.

For the past few days, I'd been avoiding looking into everything Cecilia told me, but my visions were not real giving me a chance.

I kept having flashbacks of a life I wasn't even aware once existed, and in most of them, the infamous mansion kept coming up.

I didn't really know where I was going, I just keep walking, and along the way, I began to feel uncomfortable.

The streets were so quiet, everyone was locked in their little cages.

As I walked, I spotted a woman in one of the houses standing at her door, and she walked back into her house and closed the door the moment she saw me.

I continued staring at her house when I notice her looking at me through the curtains before closing them as well.

I sighed heavily.

I started feeling even more scared when thoughts of why she feared me crossed my mind.

I felt insecure, because of the quietness of the city.

Without second thought, I paced down the street, without looking back or caring who was watching me or running away from me.

I walked to the other side of the city that everyone feared and paraded through the woods without missing a heartbeat.

I just kept walking and walking with no exact destination, until I found myself standing in front of our so-called old family house.

To say I was astonished would be an understatement of the century.

The yard was so big, and so was the house. It was a triple storey house with probably about twenty rooms.

A strong, sharp pain ambushed my head, and I screamed in agony as the pain intensified with every image refreshed.

It was the very first time that remembering caused me physical pain.

It felt like I couldn't breathe, and my eyes were going to pop out as I clutched my head.

The images that crossed my mind made me want to cry.

It looked like my entire family once lived here.

The pain slowly eased, but immediately I started to feel strange. It was as if I was going to get sick, one minute I felt nauseous, and the next it felt as if there was something in my body.

My body shook violently as it took over, and a loud growl went past my lips.

What was happening? I wondered as I lunged for the gate.

The house was fenced in long walls with short palisades layered on top, no one could jump over unless they were brave.

I shook the gate, trying to open it, but it did not budge.

I was like a savage animal, crazed out of my mind; it was as if whatever was in me, wanted something from inside the house.

It was no help, because

the gates and doors all worked with a password.

The was a tiny mailbox-like cage with a mini keyboard and a little screen.

I entered a few numbers without even thinking it through, and the gates opened.

It was as if I'd that this so many times before.

The moment I walked into the yard, I started to feel even stranger, but in a safe way.

It was as if there was a protective spiritual barrier or protection around the house, and it felt so strong and homely.

I approached the big front door and entered the password, the door opened, and I entered.

The power inside this house was unmatched.

I guess the reason I felt safe was because no evil could ever come close to this house, it was like a church.

I stood in the middle of the house and admired the view, dirty or not, the house was beautiful, and the rooms were so big.

As I stood there, I could see the sitting room, dining room, kitchen, lounge, and the door that led to the pools and gardens.

As I said, the house was enormous, nobody could possibly live in it alone.

I remembered a few details about the place; the first and second floor had about a minimum of ten rooms each.

Honestly, I have no idea how they managed to build this place, not to forget the expensive furniture.

On the outside, it was made up of three pools and a large, beautiful garden.

My head buzzed with flashes of pictures and memories; it was as if someone was trying to tell me something.

I saw into every room in the house, and finally my mind stopped on the basement.

An impeccable amount of air rushed through my lungs as I regained my consciousness.

The basement was the first thought that crossed my mind when I opened my eyes.

There was a basement in this house, and the door was right at the centre of the house.

Every little item that belonged to my grandmother before she died was at the basement.

At the centre of the house where I was standing, there was a big round mat.

You had to roll it to get the key and open the door.

I step away from the mat and rolled it up until I saw the key and the door.

I push the roll out of the way, picked up the key, and then opened the door.

The familiarity with the place freaked me out, but that did not stop me.

The door was circular and layered, and after unlocking it, it rotated downward like an elevator with the only difference being it rotated until you landed on the stairs inside the basement.

After landing on the stairs, I switched on the light and then the door went back up and locked me in.

The best part about it being that there was another key in here.

Another shock hit me, much stronger than before, and another roar came from me as I charged into one of the small rooms.

Everything was put up neatly, and the essence in there was suffocating.

There was a whole lot of little magical or traditional things my grandmother ever used; there were about twenty small trunks in this room, and I was only interested in one - the one with her jewellery.

Apparently, my grandmother had taught me a lot about these things. The only problem was that I didn't know which one was it.

"Hey," someone said from behind me, and I froze. "Relax, Lesego."

I released a long breath of relief.

"What are you doing here?" I asked and turned around, coming face to face with Detective Daniels in all his glory.

He shrugged and said, "I received a call about a strange girl walking alone in the streets."

And what was so strange about that?

I rolled my eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah, an old lady called in and I had to rush there, when I got there, she reported that a suspicious girl walked down the street into the woods."

I scoffed, agitated. "So, you came all the way from town for a stupid report?"

"Not stupid enough. When I asked the lady for the girl's description, the description matched yours. I wasn't planning on coming, but I decided to come when she said you were walking into the woods to a haunted house. You know, I’ve heard a lot about this house," he blabbed while looking around the room.

I knew it was a lie, the reason he came was because a part of him suspected that it could have been my sister.

"I see."

Something flashed in his eyes, but it disappeared as soon as it came.

"Yeah, I heard this house was owned by the Edwards. Which means you are trespassing."

I crossed my eyes defiantly. "Are you sure about that?"

"This is not your house. You cannot just walk into someone else's house without permission, in fact you are breaking in," He said, mimicking my actions.

"This is my house." He raised a questioning brow at me. "Wow, Detective! And here I am thinking that you know every little detail about me since you were in cahoots with my dear sister. This is my house, my family house." The silence in the room after I spoke was loud. I could not even begin to imagine what was going through his mind. "I'm looking for my late grandmother's jewellery box," I said.

"Uhm..." He cleared his throat. "Do you need help?" He asked.

"Well, you start looking from the other end of the room and I'll start on the other end. Open every box and check for a box with pendant-like jewels and a box with colourless bangles."

"Colourless?"

"White," I said, raising an eyebrow at him. He smiled and moved to the other end of the room while I started on my side.

"So, what happened to your grandmother?"

"I don't know." I sighed. "I was only five when she died."

"And Karabelo? I see you moved back into your house. I'm surprised you let her."

I just shrugged. I had no say in whether she got to stay or not, after all, it was my mother's house. "All I know is that I've gotten myself into a hole that keeps getting deeper and darker every second."

"I understand. Why isn't anybody living in this house?" I ignored his question; I'd also like to know.

I tried to distract myself with something else, but everything was just a mess. "How is it going with Funeka's case?" I asked, but before he could answer, his phone blared up.

"Ryan Daniels, hello?" He answered, and then turned to look at me. "Lesego and Dineo have gone missing?" Oh God, how stupid of me, I should have known they were going to call Uncle Vincent to ask him when Dineo and I were coming back. "Listen, I will call you back in a second." He hung up and looked at me expectedly.

"Was that my mom?" I asked stupidly.

"Is Dineo in another room in this house or what, because your parents think you are together?" Before I could answer, he continued, "Where is your sister?"

"I don't know!" I snapped. "We slept in my room last night and when I woke up this morning she was not there." 

"You sleep together, and she disappears?" He asked warily. "You have to come with me to your house, you have to explain to your family what happened." He took out his phone and dialled a number, but I snatched it out of his hand and hung up. "What the...?"

"You can go back alone; I am not going anywhere without my grandmother's boxes."

"We can take all of them and stuff them in the car, you will find it when you get home," he said.

I threw his phone back to him. "You can go ahead, I'm not going anywhere without those jewels," I said, getting back to my search. As I lifted the first trunk, I saw alphabet 'T', I moved to the next one and it was written 'S'.

"Mam, I will send someone to your house, something came up," The detective said. I'd even forgotten he was here. "Hey, Adrian, can you please go to the Ngoma home in Green City." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, where there was a break in. Thanks, bro. I owe you one." He hung up and then approached me.

"They are grouped alphabetically, your side starts on A, please go straight to letter D," I informed him. I went to the letter 'P' and opened the first trunk which had a note. ‘for protection against all forces, take the red trunk.’

I looked for a red trunk, and it was the last trunk on the row.

I turned around to look how far Ryan was, only to find that he was not doing anything, he stood with his arms crossed while staring at me.

"Maybe it would have been much better if you just left," I commented, and then started removing all the trunks till the last one. I took it and dusted it off. "I found mine." I placed the trunk down and headed in his direction.

I pushed him out of the way and searched for 'D', I found a trunk with clear white beads.

"Can we go now?" He asked.

"You can go," I simply stated without even sparing him a second glance.

I packed everything back to the way it was and then grabbed the two trunks and walked out of the room.

He followed me out.

"You didn't even check if it is right."

I fought the urge to snap at him as I shut the door to the secret room.

"They are right." I removed a key from one of the safes in there and inserted it next to the switch. "Stand next to me," I instructed, and he followed.

I turned the key, and the door came rotating down, stopping on the exact same spot I got off.

We both stepped on, and I turned off the lights and turned the key again.

"Beautiful house," Detective Daniels commented once we were upstairs.

I unrolled the mat, covering the door and key to the basement.

"Thank you," I said out of courtesy. "How did you get in here?" I asked, remembering the fact that we had a gate and doors that opened with passwords.

"You left the gate and door open."

Dammit!

"Let's go." I rushed to the door. "Detective!" I snapped when he did not move.

"Oh, sorry. I was just admiring the view." He walked up to me, and I closed the door. "Aren't you going to lock?" He asked.

"No, it locks automatically when you close it."

She shook his head. "Your family is too fancy."

I noticed he had come in a car, which was parked outside the gates.

He sure came prepared, I thought, remembering what he said the very first time I met him.

Once we are out of the yard, I closed the gate and it locked.

"Be careful with those," I warned, referring to the trunks he was holding.

"Yes, mam." He placed them in his car.

I realised that as soon as I stepped out of the yard, the protective atmosphere faded.

But because I was not alone, I felt safe.

I just hoped that whatever was in those trunks, was worth it.