RAINDROPS

Chapter 12

It feels like I'm freezing when I wake up. The room is dark and the house is completely silent. I don't feel tired anymore, so I decide to just go downstairs to find something to drink. Maybe then I can get some more sleep in.

As I walk downstairs I try to be as silent as possible, the last thing I want is to wake someone up. It is also cold downstairs, which is weird. Could there have been a power outage? I open one of the cabinets to grab a glass, but they're not there. The entire cabinet is empty. 

I open another cabinet, a drawer and the fridge too. All of them are completely empty. What is going on? A chill runs down my spine and I suddenly want to run out of this house as fast as possible.

'Jack!' I yell. 'Jack!' 

No one responds. Then I can't take it any longer, so I run to the door. As soon as I go through I realise I might not be in the real world anymore, or that maybe I'm having a vision again. 

I'm in the middle of the church we held the funeral at. It is completely empty, except for the two caskets standing right in front of me. I turn around to run back inside, but the door has disappeared.

What now?

There's a sound in the distance. 'Hello? Is anybody there?' I ask. Once again I get no response. Eventually I decide to look at the caskets. I don't know what to find there, but they're the only things here.

The first casket is the one my dad was in. I'm slightly scared to look inside. I take a deep breath and look over the edge. It is empty. I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding. Now the other one.

It's still very cold, making me shudder. The only thing I want is to be back in my warm bed. Although I would also really like to know what is going on. I take a deep breath again and look inside. As soon as I do I let out a very loud scream and quickly back away. The scream resonates through the entire church, making it sound all the more louder.

It wasn't my mother inside the casket. It was the old lady that died here that day. The lady that was trying to tell me something. What was it exactly? I think she told me to find something.

I back away even further, terrified of what I just saw.

'Don't be afraid.' she tells me.

Despite not knowing what is going on I move forward to the casket again. When I look inside for the second time the casket is empty. The old lady inside disappeared.

'Who are you?' I ask, turning around quickly again. There she is. The old lady from before, but now she looks young. Her features are the same, so I know it's her. The wrinkles and her wound are gone. The lady before me is young and beautiful.

'I don't have much time.' she tells me. I don't exactly know what is going on, but maybe she's still trying to tell me something. She hasn't done anything to make me think she's trying to harm me. Although she did tell me I would be afraid.

'What did you want to tell me?' I ask her. She somehow looks pleased I remember. As if she hoped I would.

'You have to find the ring.' she tells me, playing the pronoun game.

'What ring?' I ask. She smiles at me in return.

'It belonged to your mother.' she says. 'You'll know it when you see it.'

I still don't understand. Why would I have to find a ring that belonged to my mom? As if she knew what I was thinking she answers my question. 

'Find the ring and you will find what you have lost.' she says, mostly confusing me more.