Vanishing Crimson

Meeting the Old Man

Every assignment and trips that my parents had, was always productive. They never went home without a discovery. Their bags would always be full of specimens and other objects to be experimented on. They first met on the same trip. The two really had a good time working as partners, never thinking they would be soon working in a single laboratory. Every trip was a date for them, and these trips made their love for each other more interesting. Until one day, the trip that our family would never ever forget happened. And after that trip, our lives were never the same. 

Mom and Dad were assigned to search for a needed specimen in a secret town. They had readings about that place but they never dared to visit it. People called it a "Ghost Town", which made it sound scarier. I discovered their plan so I convinced them to come with them in the trip.

My parents had a conversation, deciding if they'll allow me or not. My mom asked my sister,

“Is it okay if you stay in the house with the helpers? We will come back as soon as we finish searching for that specimen”

“Yes, yes. It will be fine for me. Bring Kim with you, so she can enjoy and spend time with you guys. Be careful.” answered my sister. I jumped for joy and my dad smiled.

"Yes! Thanks sis!" I said.

"It's okay. Don't go home unless you brought food." Alex replied.

"Okay Hun, we will reserve half of our snacks for you." my dad said laughing.

"Daddy?!" Alex looked funny.

So I quickly changed clothes and packed my belongings and food. After preparing, we went outside the house and waved goodbye to Alex and the helpers.

Hours of traveling and boredom, finally, we were dropped by the bus on the other town.

The place had forests and few houses. It was a very quiet and peaceful town. You could only hear the birds chirping and the sound coming from the forests. But still, I thought this place were unpredictable and dangerous.

We had no more food left because my parents thought we can only finish this trip for more than 3 hours and our bags were full of equipments and laboratory apparatus. We tried to search for some mini stores but nothing was here.

We saw a hut nearby, hoping that the person inside will let us enter and eat. My dad knocked on the door but there was no reply. He knocked again. Louder and louder, but nothing responded. “Hello? Anybody there? Please?” my dad said.

When he was about to knock again, the door slowly opened with a creaking sound. I hid behind my mom. A scary old man appeared from the back of the door. My parents were slightly shocked. The old man swayed his hands backwards, doing the welcome sign. He grinned but said nothing.

His face was so creepy. He had a long scar from his neck to his right eye. He had heterochromic eyes. The left eye was black and the right eye was green. His hair was golden yellow in color. His fingers were long. His appearance gave me an electrifying feeling. When my parents stepped inside, I pulled my mom’s hand and said, “Mom, I'm scared.” My mom replied, “Don’t worry hun, Daddy and Mommy will be here for you.” So I went inside instead.

We all sat in the dark dining room. The room was so small and had spider webs on the corners. Dusty furniture filled in the spaces on the fragile wooden floor. "Can I ask for some food? My family is hungry, and your hut is the only house we can get help." my dad pleaded. The old man didn't say anything. He took some vintage bowl and cups from the cabinets. He also took apples from the trees and got some milk from the cabinet. I quickly tasted the red and sparkling apple. It was the best apple I'd ever tasted! My milk tasted like it was fresh from the cow. My parents were enjoying the food as well.

They were asking questions o the old man but he was not answering. Until my father uttered our intentions.

"Have you heard about the ghost town? It is near your place."

The old man stopped eating and listened carefully to the next words of my father. 

"My family is planning to explore ther-" the old man stopped my father from talking by slapping the table.

"Don't you dare step a foot on that ghost town!!" he shouted. We were all shocked. My apple fell from being surprised. His voice was so scary that it brought me an electrifying feeling again! My mom comforted me.

"Excuse me?" my dad was in confusion.

"That place is full of danger. Many have tried entering the ghost town, but none of them was found until now. It will only kill you. And your daughter! That place is hunted and very unpredictable. Once you have entered it, you may feel safe at first. But you will never know, maybe there's something, or someone at your back. It can do anything, it can curse you. Even if you are a large group, it can do nothing to save all of you. Many guards have failed to clean the place. Their body just vanished. Now, that place is much forbidden. And I was assigned to warn and stop people to enter it, as long as It can." the old man told us.