Hidden Truths

Chapter 2 - Ben

"How did- why did," she abruptly sits up and I just nod, "if you're Ben, you're... Yun-hee?"

She silently nods. I was surprised and shocked. She hadn't come back for us for what felt like forever.

"Where were you? It's been over seven whole years," I say.

Hayami doesn't answer and walks to the dusty portraits above the fireplace. "Where did Mum and Dad go?"

"They left after you disappeared and what happened saying that this place was cursed and ruined everything. And they locked it up and left," Yun-hee answers, "no one knows where they went."

We all remain in silence for the next few minutes. We three look around observing the once lively place.

I placed down a portrait I was looking at before turning to Hayami. "Why'd you come back?"

"Ben, please not now, you know what happened," she says.

I ignored her words. "It wasn't your fault Hayami. You've got to understand that. How long will you blame yourself for something you didn't do?"

"Of course you'd say that Ben. you've never felt anything like it have you!" She speaks harshly now and I quiet down looking down at the floor. I don't speak and I think she now realises that she's gone too far.

"I-.."

"I don't want to hear your sorry Hayami. I thought you knew me best but I guess you also don't realise how tough of a time I've also been through," I say.

"I didn't mean it that way. I just-"

"Leave it there, I don't want anyone's sympathy. You've known this for like forever. The first time we became friends."

She stays quiet for a little while. I remember everything. But, I also realise, the incident had changed her completely. She wasn't the lively easy going person anymore. She had become more serious, and I could sense that she had lifted all the burden onto her shoulders. I felt her pain, I knew what it felt like, losing a loved one.

It was my sister.

I was five when she was born. Her name was Scarlett. I didn't know much of the world then, but I knew she was going to be a great person. However she was born with arrhythmias, which made her heart beat abnormally fast. When Scarlett was four her heart started beating even faster. She was hospitalised for almost a month until her heart ended up failing, and she passed away. I was very close to her. She was like another part of my life. Her leaving hurt me very much and I began having depression. Well that is until I became friends with Hayami, Yun-hee, Xavier, Elliot and Aiman. They helped me change. The pain still engulfed me, but I knew that I had more people to care about.

I snap out of my thoughts when a phone rings. We look around and realise it's Yun-hee's phone.

"It's Xavier," she says, "Yes Xavier, mhm.. What? Ok we're coming."

She hangs up the call and looks at us.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Xavier found some sort of relic at the haunted house and it seems special," Yun-hee replies. Hayami stares at the both of us.

"You mean Xavier Sanchez? Short boy, wavy short hair, green eyes? And the haunted house from when we were little?"

Me and Yun-hee nod.

"The same haunted house," Yun-hee says, "but maybe not such a short Xavier Sanchez anymore, he might be the tallest of the group now."

I see the awe on Hayami's face. She must've thought the group parted ways after all the time she left. But we didn't. We stayed together, we even looked for Hayami after she ran away, even when there wasn't any hope.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

8 years ago

"Do you really want to go in? We've all heard about the stories of the people that go in. Remember the story of Ms. Porter?" Xavier asks.

"Oh god Xavier. That's just a story. And besides, it's my birthday. It's my wish to go." I replied.

We were standing outside the large manor, elegant, yet rusty. The iron gates now had grown vines around and creaked with every small movement. The large front yard had now become barren except the small orange tree in the corner. After a little footpath came a large fountain, but empty, with insects breeding inside. The footpath then continued to the front porch, and from there the place seemed bigger than it already looked.

Us six teenagers began to slowly creep in, amongst the midst of the night and the cold winds with blew lightly across our faces.

"Oy! No going in there kids," the neighbourhood's guard spoke.

And with that we ran away flustered and embarrassed.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

We were now in the car, me driving, Hayami next to next, and Yun-hee at the back. We all sit in silence once again, reflecting on what happened in the last hour.

"How exactly did you end up coming?" Yun-hee asked.

"I..." Hayami pauses to find her words.

"I was led here," she says.

"Led here? Why?"

Everyone's quiet once again.

"I.. I'm supposed to find something... I got a riddle..."

Me and Yun-hee look at each other in surprise. We now knew that meeting each other wasn't a coincidence and that we might've come here for the same reason...