Whisper

4

She did not recognize him.

It surely was not her Daddy.

She pulled back around the corner, again and pushed herself against the wall.

"Who is that?" she wondered.

She could hear him walking the stairs toward her.

"Who are you?" she yelled, terror in her voice.

There was no answer.

The footsteps stopped, but only for a moment.

She took the opportunity and quickly began running down the hallway.

"Who are you?" she yelled behind her.

The man did not answer and she did not turn, to see if he was following.

She turned the corner of the hallway and pushed herself against the wall.

She was more afraid than she had ever been in her life.

Her tiny body trembling, as though some cold had overtook her.

~~~~~

I stopped at the top of the stairs that led from the foyer to the dining room area.

I could have sworn I heard a voice.

I stood silently.

The only sound I could hear was the wind blowing gently across my garden, from the ocean beyond.

I started walking again, but suddenly stopped.

"There it is again," I whispered, to myself.

Again, I listened intently, but could hear nothing, only the wind.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Maybe just the house settling."

The answer seemed to satisfy me.

I turned the corner and looked down the hallway and through the archways.

A huge smile came to my face.

"It's perfect," I said aloud.

It had taken nearly two years, but finally my dream house was complete and as I stood, admiring it, I suddenly became more excited than I ever had.

Finally, I had something that was truly mine and perhaps, for the first time in my life, I could feel at home.

But the smile left my face as once again, a strange feeling overtook me.

I looked back down toward the end of the hallway, that led to the bedrooms.

"Is someone there?"

I don't know why I asked the question.

It was just a feeling. As though there was something, as though I was not alone.

I started walking down the hallway, toward the bedrooms.

"Hello?"