The Boy In The Garden

Shane was alone. Alone and lonely. He had been living in the manor house for a month and had still made no friends in the village down the hill.

Now, any normal young man of twenty three would find it easy to make friends and acquaintances. Not Shane. Shane was timid, a nervous individual who found even talking to new people to be a terrifying thing indeed. 
It certainly didn't help when his parents had bought an old manor house for him as an early birthday present, causing him to finally move from their manor to a completely new county in the countryside far from his old friends. 

He hated this new house, he hated the eerie way the corridors echoed or how doors and floorboards would creak, he’d convince himself that it was all in his imagination, especially when he’d hear what sounded like muffled sobs or distant shouts.
Despite his hatred for the place, his favourite thing to do was to sit in the library reading or drawing in a room he had converted into his studio, those rooms were his sanctuary in his new surroundings.

It was in the library that he first caught a glimpse of him. He had been sat in the window seat, taking a break from reading his copy of Lord Of The Flies when he caught a glimpse of a boy wandering the gardens. Shane blinked in confusion.
No one ever came up the hill from the village to the gardens. He watched as the boy seemed to glide around the flowerbeds, around the ponds and near the gate that led to the previous family’s private cemetery that had not been opened in nearly sixty years.

He blinked and within that short time the boy seemed to have disappeared and reappeared on the bench near the rose bush. Puzzled at this, Shane put down his book and decided to go outside. He rose out of his seat and went down stairs and outside. To his confusion, once he got outside, the strange boy was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged and sighed in disappointment before going back to his seat in the library.

For the next month or so he kept seeing the boy, taking the same route around the garden, but every time that he went to see if he could talk to him, he’d disappear.Despite this, Shane was determined to talk to this mysterious boy from the garden. 

He finally had his chance one morning when he was in the kitchen. He sat by the table drinking tea, scanning the morning paper when the boy passed the kitchen door. Without thinking Shane lept up and ran out of the door, following the boy. 

“wait! Stop!” 

The boy stopped and turned around. Shane’s jaw dropped. 

The boy could only have been about his age, if not younger. His hair was a blend of blondes, gingers and brunnette, Like caramel. His eyes were a coffee colour. He wore a blue blazer over a white shirt, black tie, waistcoat that matched his trousers. His skin was bizzarely pale for someone who walked in the sunshine daily. His face was painted with shock as he stared at Shane. 

“who are you?” Shane asked, taking a nervous step forward.

“I’m Drew.” The boy said, quietly. “who are you?” 

“I’m ..I’m Shane. I live here.” Shane smiled nervously. “why are you in my garden?”

“I live here.” Drew smiled. 

“pardon? In the garden? The village?” 

“No, in the house silly.” Drew giggled. 

“but i live here, i, well my parents own this house. They didnt say anyone lived here, i’ve never seen you in the house.” 

“of course i do. My family owned this place. I live here.” Drew smiled. 

Shane was confused. He had definately not seen the boy anywhere around the house.