The Second Floor Mirror

Chapter One

The house was a dark red colour, maybe crimson if not darker. The grass on the outside was yellow and brown, very unkept. The wood along the house looked to be rotting, the paint peeling off on it's own. The roof was falling apart, the gutters over filling with leaves and gunk. The windows were stained with dirt, the wooden porch had holes in the wood. Selma stood outside on the cracked sidewalk that lead towards the front door. The real Estate agent stood a few feet behind her, holding her clip board. "A-Are you sure you want this house?" she asked in a worried tone.

Salem eyed the house a little more and nodded. "Yeah. This house is the one." She smiled softly.

The blonde woman stared at her, and fixed her glasses. "Look, Mrs.-"

"Miss."

"Oh, sorry, Miss. But what about that apartment on Ceader Drive? Or that house with the bedroom balcony on main street?" She tried to change the other woman's mind.

Salem shook her head. "I was thinking of buying a dog. This house has a huge yard, all the house needs is a small paint job, some replacing. Won't be hard to remodel." She placed her hands on her hips. "I like this house." She smiled, looking over at the agent.

The woman sighed. "But ma'am, you know the history about this house, correct?" She asked nervously.

Salem raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with the house's history? It's dead and gone now." She shrugged.

"Ma'am, the owners of this house, the last owners, were over seventy years ago. The man brutally beat his wife to death with his bare hands. After that, he killed himself by hanging off the second floor with his belt. The house was given to his only son, who's 45 years old right now. He lives a few towns away from here." She explained, never once breaking eye contact from the second floor windows

The black haired girl stared at her. "Why didn't the son stay here?" She asked curiously, her body facing the agent.

The Blondie shrugged. "He said it felt creepy, like someone was always watching him. He had a few cats, around the ages of three and four, young for cats. But one day they all dropped dead. He took them to the vet to have them explain what happened, but they found nothing. No sickness, no cancer, no cardiac arrest. They just. . . Died." She went into detail about what the son has told the city hall. "He also said, word for word, 'Don't let anyone uncover the mirror on the second floor hallway, no matter what they hear.' "

Salem stared at her, a little confused yet worried. "Why to never un-drape the mirror?" She asked, her hand reaching up towards her mouth, in a shape of a fist.

The agent sighed, signing her name at the bottom of the paper. "He just said to never do it. There was no reason for it." She shrugged. "I need your signature in order to confirm this. . ." she shoved the clipboard over to Salem.

The woman gladly signed her name and nodded to the agent. "Thank you." She smiled.

The blonde opened her car door and looked back at Salem. "Don't thank me for the house. Thank me for the warnings I gave you." She then slammed her door shut, driving off down the road.

Salem watched her leave, then looked around at the neighboring houses. She felt as if someone was glaring at her. Salem's skin went cold in the hot weather. She whipped around and stared at all the second floor windows. Nothing, and no one was there. Salem sighed, and got into her car, driving her way to the pound.

After what felt like hours, Salem couldn't stop thinking about what the agent has said. 'Don't thank me for the house. Thank me for the warnings I gave you. . .' Salem finally arrived at the pound, and smiled as she heard very faint barking. She's always loved dogs, big dogs the most. She got out of her car and into the small building. She was greeted with a strong smell of animals, and greeted with the pound's cat, Shelby. Salem quickly Pat Shelby's head and walked towards the dog section of the pound.