The Human and The Ghost

Chapter 2

  Her name is Marilu Rodriguez and she came from a wealthy family.

It was a bit of a walk to where El Silbon took her, she had no concept of time there in the dark forest, but it seemed quiet awhile before they reached a large clearing that she quickly realized was actually a yard, the grass mowed and kept up for the most part. At one edge of the area was a two story home that looked a bit worse for ware, almost all the window shutters were either closed, missing, or boarded up. The paint was peeling off the structure and looked to have been red at one time, the chimney was only slightly leaning to one side rather precariously; Smoke billowing from it was the only sign the place was lived in. It had a nice, wide wrap around porch and but for the windows looked like it may have been a rather lovely little home. At least at some point, now it just looked haunted. She liked it almost at once.

Marilu observed the house as she was lead inside, taking in the dimly lite foyer, only a few candles on sconces lighting the inside. So it was subdued, a little eerie, but comfortable somehow. 

  She stared at the writing, trying to recall where she had heard that, when it clicked. The other teens at her high school mentioned it, that the forest was haunted by some kind of eyeless twin sisters that kill people if they caught them. Why would El Silbon have such a painting in his home? Seemed a little odd. Everyone in town was terrified of the legend.   

Turning her head she noticed a gray, stuffed rabbit. Around its neck was a baby blue bow that matched the blue strips of the long sleeves that covered its arms and fell nearly as far as its ears. 'So cute.' She thought, smiling softly and walking over to the seat, she had not noticed the thing before and wondered if it had already been there or not. Curious, she started to pick it up, but frowned when she learned that her father give it to her on her birthday before he died.

  There wasn't much else in the room, aside from the books to look at, which she did. Many of them looked old, leather bound, and held no titles on their spines. 'How curious...' Marilu wondered what they might be about.

The brunette sighed again, wondering where El Silbon had gone, when the sound of someone softly singing caught her ears and pulled her attention toward the kitchen. Wondering who it was, it didn't sound like El Silbon. The voice was rougher, deeper, not entirely unpleasant, but not that of a boy just a little older than herself. 

 The song sounded cheerful enough, though sung in a creepy, macabre way and as she listened the lyrics quickly seemed to match the odd tone.

  Marilu blinked with a tilt of her head, dark brown hair falling over her face as she entered the kitchen, listening to the person humming a lullaby. She found a very tall man, with long, wild black hair that feel just past his shoulders, handlebar mustache and very pale skin. He wore this odd, monochromatic zoot suit, when he turned to look at her she saw he had a striped pear shaped nose and eyes that looked to be yellow. 

It was well into the next evening that Marilu awoke in a warm bed, her eyes fluttering open to take in a sparsely decorated little room, the shudders closed tight on the window next to the bed pressed beneath it. A nightstand to her left held only a single lamp, which dimly lite a small area around it. And a small paper note folded in half with her name written on it in neat scrawl. The only other things in the room were the two doors, one presumably lead out and the other a closet, as well as a single dresser and an empty book case.

Marilu climbed out of the warm blankets, lifting the note and reading it.

Marilu.

Everyone will be away for the evening for various reasons. The bathroom is just across the hall, there are some clothes in the dresser for you, feel free to freshen up. Food has been left in the fridge. Your free to explore the house and the grounds, but don't wander far and be respectful of the other residences privacy. Their doors are locked for good reason. I look forward to meeting you soon enough.

  For a moment she was actually scared, afraid of the creepy house she had found comforting only yesterday evening. "Hello...? Is anyone there?" She called out into the dark room as she took a step or two forward, unable see much beyond the dim square of light that spilled in from the hall she was leaving. 

Floral wallpaper, peeling in places, covered the walls in subdued little pops of blue and yellow. The floor was covered in plush looking blue carpet on one side and bare floor boards from the door she had entered over. The carpeted side held the bed, made up all neat, with a matching night stand and dresser. The other side was a workshop with several large tables covered in tools and...toy parts?

In fact, once Marilu had calmed a little, she saw the room was littered with toys. Big ones, small ones, some mechanical and others clearly cloth and immobile. Some where glass, others porcelain or fine material. They covered almost every surface, filled up multiple shelves and available corners. All of them were bright and cheerful and held sweet smiles and happy grins. Marilu found herself smiling as she looked at them, wandering closer to a large doll on a chair, she looked to be the size of a small child. It had long brown hair and glossy brown eyes, wearing a nice, frilly blue dress, its cheeks painted softly pink.