What Lies Beneath

Chapter Seventeen: Lost in Translation

Sophie's first night in the house was very uneventful. As the kind old lady showed her to her room, she found herself unable to stop staring at all the old photographs on the walls. Each one depicted the house that she was in now. Some were taken on the outside, while others were of the rooms inside.

As she walked past a photo of a young couple sitting in what appeared to be a dining room playing cards, she was suddenly startled by the sound of a door squeaking behind her. In order not to give herself away, she casually glanced over her shoulder.

A couple of doors down she spotted one that was barely ajar. The only reason that she noticed it at all was because of the light glowing through the crack.

She didn't really think much of it. If a new guest had arrived in the middle of the night, she would be curious too. She didn't even bother to look when she heard the second door creak open.

The woman stopped in front of a huge solid wood door with a brass door handle. The door had small engravings on it that looked like lilies going up the sides.

"This will be your room." The woman said. Her voice was soft and gentle.

"Thank you."

"Breakfast is at seven in the dining room. If you need any help finding it, I'm sure that your neighbors would be glad to show you." Sophie found herself bobbing her head as the woman spoke. When the woman was finished, she turned and walked down the long hallway.

Sophie didn't wait to see where she went, instead she just went into her new room.

The walls were a soft grey color and there was a window on the far side of the room that was draped in crimson silk curtains. In the center of the room was a large king-sized bed that faced an old wooden cupboard that had the same etchings as the door. Next to the bed was a small table with a lamp on it.

The thought of unpacking was tempting, but she was so tired that she opted for the bed instead.

She kicked off her uncomfortable school shoes and placed them on top of her small suitcase. She would worry about unpacking tomorrow. Sophie used the ledge of the bed to give herself a boost up. When she landed on the mattress it practically swallowed her. She thought about turning off the light, but the bed was too comfortable to even try. So, like Karen did on her first night, she too fell asleep with the lights on.

Sophie awoke to a knock on her bedroom door. She didn't know what time it was since she couldn't seem to find a clock. It took her a few minutes to climb her way out of the giant bed, but when she did, she found that the knocking was more urgent than before.

To get to the door faster, Sophie found herself jogging. The door was large and heavy, so she ended up using all her strength to pull it open.

On the other side she found a girl who was a few inches taller than her. The girl had shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes. She smiled when she saw Sophie and then she pushed her way into the room.

"Can I help you?" Sophie asked the rude girl who had just barged past her.

"Hi, sorry. My name is Karen. I'm your neighbor." Karen offered her hand to Sophie. Instead of shaking it, Sophie found herself crossing her arms instead.

"Okay, Karen. What do you want?" Normally, Sophie was a very soft-spoken person, but when people barged in on her in the morning with no explanation, she found that it really made her quite cranky.

"Just curious as to how your first night went."

"Why?" Sophie was growing impatient. She hated it when people made her guess their intentions instead of being upfront.