The Haunted House

Chapter Two: The Key

I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to help the Crane sisters clean out their attic. Just spending any time in their house gave me the creeps. I didn't even want to think about what I was going to find in their attic.

The Crane sisters were the three sisters who owned the house in the woods. They were odd to say the least. They owned at least thirteen cats by my last count and had a bizarre way of talking. They would say these things that only seemed to make sense to the other sisters. Their house was a mess. There were objects all over the place and seemed to be place haphazardly, but the sisters swear everything is where it's supposed to be. They were a year or two away from ending up on an episode of Hoarders. They were maybe a little older than my mom and dad, but sometimes, they seemed ancient.

I was getting ready to call and cancel when my mom told me if I didn't want to be grounded, I had to go. So, I put on a pair of comfy sweatpants and an old T-shirt and headed over to the Crane's.

I had just lifted my hand to knock when the front door suddenly swung open and Agatha Crane pulled me inside. "Hello, Carrie," she said really loudly. He wiry, black hair was especially frizzy today. She started laughing. "We've been expecting you."

"Yes," Winifred Crane said in my ear, not respecting personal boundaries as she came up behind me. "Expecting you, Carrie." I backed away from her unnerved by her eyes. I remembered them being brown, but today I couldn't tell the pupil from the iris.

"Carrie, dear," Brunhilda Crane called from the kitchen. "Please come in here."

I looked at Agatha and Winifred and their unblinking gaze freaked me out. I slowly started making my way to the kitchen, careful not to trip over the three cats in the living room or the numerous books and bowls scattered about. The two sisters looked at each other and started laughing. I darted into the kitchen and was seriously thinking I'd be okay with being grounded until I graduated if it meant leaving this place. The smell of pumpkin bread pulled me from my thoughts. Brunhilda pointed a chair with her knife and the largest cat I'd ever seen looked at me lazily. I hesitantly picked the cat up and put him down on the ground and Brunhilda placed a slice in front of the chair. She cut a slice for herself and sat opposite me.

"Sorry about them," Brunhilda said, pulling her blond hair up in a bun. "I don't know what's with them today," she sighed, picking at the bread.  I didn't know whether to agree with her or feign ignorance. Her grey eyes were warm and friendly. "They aren't usually like this you know." She popped a piece of the bread in her mouth and chewed very slowly.

"I know," I said. I broke off a small piece of the pumpkin bread and put it in my mouth. It was delicious.

"It must be the stress of Halloween. It's only a week away and there's still so much to do on the house." She sighed again. "I think it just got to be too much."

"It's not too much," Agatha said, barging into the kitchen after clearly eavesdropping. "It's just enough." She started laughing again.

"I think Hilda is right," Winifred came in after Agatha. "Perhaps we need a good sleep." I was relieved to see that her eyes had returned to their normal shade of brown and she wasn't laughing with Agatha. She hesitated near one of the chairs and looked to Brunhilda. After a moment, Brunhilda nodded and Winifred sat down. Brunhilda slid a slice of pumpkin bread to Winifred and I noticed Winifred's hands were shaking slightly. "Thank you, Hilda," she said to her sister. "Sorry, Carrie," she told me. "Halloween is our busiest time of year you know."

Agatha stopped laughing and looked between her two sisters. Either she realized they weren't going to join in or she regained some of her sanity I wasn't sure. She tried smoothing out her frizzy hair and sat down at the table opposite Winifred. Brunhilda gave Agatha a look and then gave her a slice of pumpkin bread. Agatha happily munched away on it. And when a cat jumped onto her lap, she started breaking off pieces for her.