The Attic

Short Story

Gretel and I were alone in our small old house, I was adopted into my aunt's family since I was a child. Gretel was my half cousin, my uncle had a step wife and she bore Gretel when she was twenty. Gretel is now seventeen and just about a year younger than me. She had just finished high school, graduated with flying colours and ready to take on a music course at the college out of town. Gretel and I were also close friends. My uncle bought a new house near the city so we decided to shift in tomorrow. We had done all the shifting work besides the Gretel's favourite piano and some furniture. I decided to run to the attic and indulge the solo time and memories we had as children. I felt nostalgic and soon was enjoying the sun ray shining in through the attic window. In fact, the only sound of the piano played by Gretel was heard together with her humming along to the tune.

Our house is now filled with empty plastic bottles, strewn about the corners of the room. It was an evidently messy sight as my uncle and his family had shifted from this place and we were helping him to carry boxes of their stuff away to his huge truck away from this place. This place had so much memories in sight, every single thing, the smell of lilies, the fragrant smell of the woods and the familiar chirping of birds filled the air. It was a dainty evening and the sun was just going to set.

As I patiently waited for my uncle and aunt to return and pick up the heavy wooden piano, which was a gift to Greta for her sixteenth birthday, I realised that it was already 6:00p.m. and there was no sign of my uncle's truck, noise of a revving engine or the bark of the family dog, Marthy, who would wag its tail and bark at me when it sees me.

Letting out a sigh.. I patiently waited for them while I looked around the house. My footsteps echoed on the flipping wooden floorboards. This house is starting to look abandoned ever since we shifted the furniture. My uncle didn't pay for the electricity bill last month since he wanted to leave the house soonest possible without any solid reason. I tugged at one of the string of an old lamp and was surprised that the lamp started to light up the whole place.

I realised that there was nothing more for me to do other than sit on the sofa, play with my curly black hair while waiting for my uncle to return. In the midst of silence, I started to pace about the nearly empty beautifully decorated but now empty attic. The vague ray of sunlight outside was starting to reflect eerie shadows into the attic. There was only an old table and a broken cupboard in the room apart from our dusty footprints. A useless teddy bear keychain with its head nearly torn away was found strewn underneath the table. However, my eye caught a slight reflection of something beneath the table.

As I hurriedly groped underneath the table, I found a mirror. It was a broken pink mirror and I looked at its beautiful intricate design of flowers engraved on its side and handle. Suddenly, I caught sight of someone in the room beside me. 'Gretel?" I exclaimed. Feeling puzzled, I turned around but besides me sitting on the wooden attic floor, there was nobody else around. The piano playing had stopped and I assumed that Gretel had decided to join me in this attic room. It was a comfortable place with fond cherished fond memories which I didn't want to let go. I was looking around the place for nearly the entire day, making sure that the memories of this place shall be embedded deep within my mind.

As I heard footsteps from downstairs coming closer, I comfortably decided to take a short nap, I lied down and closed my eyes. The grandfather clock was showing that it was nearing 6:30pm and soon it will turn dark. The woods had the tendency of making its surroundings turn dark faster than a normal rate. I waited for Gretel to come to the attic. However, the footsteps sounded heavy and I felt that there was a dragging sound. The person was dragging itself slowly up the staircase. I nearly stopped breathing in shock and I felt my heart thumping at an irregular rhythm. I was starting to get nervous, why was Gretel taking so long to come up and why was she dragging herself. My mind was throwing itself into turmoil, questioning myself and half hoping that Gretel would just emerge outside the attic and knock the door before coming in.

Later, there was no other noise. Silence echoed the place and I was only accompanied by the pounding of my heart. My hands were clutched into a fist and I was sweating. The heat of the day was enough to make me sweat but the noise I heard was enough to make me perspire and stop breathing for an instant. I strained my ears to listen further. Suddenly I heard loud banging on the wooden door and I felt as if the door would crumble down instantly. Suddenly, the banging stopped and a red liquid resembling blood or red paint started to seep through from under the door and soak the floorboards. The floor was now bright red.

I woke up with a jolt as a bolt of lighting flashed across the grayish azure sky.. the dream was so surreal and it had made me shiver. I looked at the clock, it was 8:00p.m. and Gretel was asleep with me in my room. "Gretel.. Gretel.." I whispered as the sleeping form of the girl whimpered next to me. She squinted her eyes half open and looked at me, "What?" "I had a terrible nightmare." I stuttered. Not knowing where to begin, I started telling her the beginning of my dream until the end. Gretel was tired, she stood up and looked at me. She didn't move, neither did I because she rigidly started to point a finger at me asking, "Did you think you woke up?"