How To Capture A Masquerade (And Other Odd Tales)

Intruder

"Is that his car?" 

Her face turned to the sound of an engine roaring down the road. It had to be him. They'd been waiting so long for him. He was never like this, and after all, the military embraces the culture of punctuality and order. The war couldn't have changed that fact.

"For the last time, Teri, I'll tell you when it's him. You asked me 18 times already." He growled from beneath her. He was sitting on his suitcase, tired of waiting for him. He wasn't looking forward to this meeting. He knew things had changed since he left.

"I thought you'd be more excited Ken! We haven't seen father in over 5 years!" Teri was bouncing with excitement, guide stick clicking as she did.

"It'd be nice if he wasn't over 2 hours late," Ken mumbled. Teri knew that Ken hated waiting, ever the impatient boy. Mother said it's the reason he pulled her back in the womb to come out first. 

"Maybe there's traffic." She tried to be hopeful. She always had to be hopeful. Or else everything would fall apart.

"It's Sunday evening. In Enugu. The roads are empty. Hell, the bloody airport is almost empty."
He didn't have to tell her; she could hear the emptiness of the waiting area as the last of the patrons scrambled on to their homes. She tapped her guide stick against the smooth tile to better feel the echoes of the dead open space. There had to be a good reason he was late, even if Ken didn't want to believe it. And that's the nature of their familial relation; Teri the blind optimist and Ken the alert skeptic.

The sound of another engine came up, coughing along the small strip of road. Teri heard Ken jump up suddenly and she followed suit. She could hear his breath hitch in excitement and the ends of her lips tugged in Her smile grew wider when the sound stopped in front of her, the heat and smell so close to her body. The car door open, and familiar steps clicked onto the pavement, though not the ones she was expecting.

"Oh, Mother!" Teri reached out and held her mother in a strong embrace. She took in the smell of her mother's blazer, a smell that she had come to recognize as the very essence of her mother; lavender and Cayenne pepper.

"Wait, where's Father?" Teri didn't miss the beat of disappointment in her brother's voice as he dragged their bags to the boot of the car.

"He-um.." Teri felt her mother's hand slack for only a fraction of an instant. Then it gripped her shoulder tight to compensate.

"He got caught up with something back at home." Teri thumbed over the fabric of her mother's blazer. She drove straight from work instead of Father, she thought to herself. But why?

"But don't worry! You'll see him at home, and with a treat. White Soup and pounded Yam!"

"Hell yeah!" Ken whooped as he loaded another box into the trunk.

"Language." 

"Sorry."

The drive back was filled with the usual small talk; catching up on the changes in the neighborhood (The Obinna family got another dog again. And, yes they still don't clean up after their dogs), plans for the summer holiday (I think the beach would be a great idea next week! We can see the carnival then, right Mother?), and avoiding the question about the last term's grade (They're fine, mother. We did...pretty good!). They got home in good time, with enough sunlight to light up their street. When they get to the door, however, Teri's ears picked up on a dreadful sound that stopped her feet in their tracks and made her blood run cold. It sounded like the cry of a banshee. And it was coming from the inside of the house.