Shutter

Chapter 12 - Act 1 (Part 2)

[Act 1 – Soren, Age 7 – Continued]

Soren continued to sob as he was in the lady's arms. Snot was coming out of his nose but all that he could think of was how warm it was. He always felt cold. When he lived in the streets and when he was scavenging for food in the dumpsters when they slept. Even with how good their make-up bed felt to the body when they lay on it, the warmth emanating from the lady's arms was something incomparable.

"S-Soren, stop crying already," his brother spoke despite his sniffs as well.

"There, it's alright." The lady continued to pat and rub their backs until the two kids subsided their cries.

"Ma'am..." Soren's brother turned his head to hear and lowered it. "Thank you... Thank you so much. You don't know how much it means to us..." He muttered. His face looked like it was almost about to cry again which the lady eased by rubbing his cheeks and soothing the tears that were brimming on the corner of his eyes.

"It's okay. I'm glad you two went here," she reassured. "Why don't we go inside first? You kids look hungry." Soren immediately nodded his head as he did not have any food for the past ten hours. They were busy walking to the address his brother had learned and he was reserving the food in the paper bag for tomorrow morning.

The group went inside. Soren and his brother held each of the lady's hands as they passed through the playground that the former had seen earlier.

"Playground..." Soren called and the lady heard it.

"You can play tomorrow. It's nighttime and you kids should get some rest first." She shook her head in pity at the two children.

"Mkay..." Soren mumbled as he felt his stomach growl again.

When they reached the house, the two kids were amazed at how big it was nearer.

"Is this considered a mansion?" Soren's older brother asked and the woman giggled at the question. She shrugged her shoulders as if she wasn't really going to answer in particular.

"Whatever you consider it, then please do," she responded and they obviously gaped at how big the house was again. This house was probably worth millions of dollars!

However, they were not prepared for what they would see on the inside. Their jaws fell on the floor once they saw the elegant interior the house was made of. The contrasting colors of gray and black gave it quite a scary appearance but otherwise, it felt serene and quiet.

As the moonlight cascaded through the opened glass windows, the wind blew inside and it gave the quiet place an additional point of creepy.

Click!

The woman flipped a switch on and light flooded the room. It illuminated the dark place and the two children then saw the beauty of the house when it was well-lit.

"Wow..." they looked amused as they headed inside and followed her to the kitchen.

There, they saw the scary-looking man on his phone, talking to someone.

"Yes. I will be there to personally escort him. Make sure that everything is checked well including the engine. The pilots too. One mistake and you know what happens." They heard him speak and ended the call right after.

"Honey, the kids are here," the woman spoke and the man turned his head to look at them. His gaze landed on the two children and his stoic face somehow scared them. He had a stern look on his face. "Don't mind him. He's a little stressed because our son will arrive here tomorrow!" She gleamed brightly at the mention of her son and the two boys stiffened again.