SCARY STORIES

The Compass

Her mother always told her that if there was ever a monster in her closet, something would point to it. This was what Jenah was nervous about when she arrived at her new house, Haldland. The house seemed to whisper, whether it was the wind passing through the thin, peach walls that had paint chipping off. Or the old house was alive. Jenah chose to believe the one about the wind. 

"Hey! Jenah, would you mind helping me get these, oof, boxes out?" Her mother chimed from outside.

"Yeah! One sec," Jenah hated the fact that they would be moving 3 hours away from her hometown just for her mother's stupid accountant job. And the fact that it was a day before her birthday. Her birthday that she wouldn't be able to see her friends on. 

Jenah stumbled outside, tripping over the threshold.

"Pappa and Grams just called, they will be here around five," Jenah glanced at her watch, the last reminder of her dad. 12:00 is what both of the crystal hands pointed to. Great, five hours. Five hours of boredom. Five hours of unpacking.  At least she would be able to hang with her favorite grandparents. Instead of going to the car, she just sat on the stone stair. 

Jenah's mom set the boxes down, "I know its hard, but this job, in a year we could be living in Florida, this new job pays some good money!"

"I don't want to move to Florida, I want to be with my friends," Of course Jenah wanted to be with her friends, now she would only get to face time them. They wouldn't be to swim, go to the mall, play games, watch chick flicks and horror movies. She just wanted to be home. 

"I know, honey. But let's try to make the best of our situation right now," Jenah stood up and went to the car. She picked up the box that read Jenah's Memories. She walked toward the door when the bottom dropped out, her wooden friendship arrow hitting the ground, and pointing in the direction of her room. 

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The next day she woke up to the sound of singing and the smell of fresh blueberry pancakes. Jenah rushed downstairs. 

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BIG CANDLEHEART!" Her grandma shouted. Grams made that name for her when she was little. She could remember her grandma speaking clear as day. 

"Her heart is so big, she is so sweet, she melts all of our hearts like a candle. Oh, my sweet little Candleheart!" 

She rushed over to Grams and took her into her arms, "Thank you so much, Grams," 

"BOO!" Jenah's grandpa jumped out of a dark corner, scaring Jenah out of her skin. 

"Pappa!! How dare you!" Jenah burst out laughing.

"Before you eat your mother has a present for you," Pappa said right as her mother walked down the hall carrying a small little box wrapped in baby pink wrapping paper.

"Here you go my sweet angel," her mother said placing it in Jenahs soft hands.

"Open it!" Her grandma said smiling.

Jenah removed the paper from it and I revealed a wooden box. She lifted the tiny lid off of the box, in it was a small compass. 

"If you are ever lost, may you find your way. Keep it with you at all times" Her mother spoke. 

Jenah was stunned, she loved the idea, but wanted so much more than a tiny compass.

"Thanks, but..." Jenah got up midsentence and ran up to her blank room. 

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Jenah tossed the compass on her nightstand and faceplanted into her bed. She started to cry. Her grandparents came all the way up here for a stupid little compass. She just moved 3 hours form her friends for this? This was her birthday gift? Really? Soon, Jenah fell into a deep dark sleep.

Jenah woke up to the sound of growling. She thought it might have been a dog from outside but it was coming from her closet, seeing enough horror movies to know not to go investigate, she tried to get back to sleep.

Monsters aren't real. They don't exist. 

Jenah kept on thinking this until she fell right back to sleep.

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In the morning, after Jenah got out of bed, she looked over at the compass, its black arrow pointing at the closet.