Tip of the Hat

Chapter 1

A owl hooted, in the distance, as if to announce our arrival to all listening ears. The house that was our grandmothers, or at least that is what we told a long time ago, stood in front of us. I was exactly how our mother described it. Old, dusty, and no doubt in need of many repairs. It’s porch was overrun by hanging plants. I am sure that these were once a decoration but now just showed validation to the fact that most of my family love plants to much to primp and prune a plant for esthetic reasons.

“Look at the grass!” Claire said running through the thick foliage of grass that lay between us and the house’s front steps. I am sure you could have hidden a car in the grass, or at least a couple bodies.

“Stop fooling around!” I yelled at her, pulling her by the arm. I dragged her up to the top of the stairs. As I was about to knock on the door, it eerily slid open; the lock had either been broken off, or had rusted into nether more. Fore there was no lock to speak of.

“That reminds me of mom.” Claire said. My mom had always had a thing against locks. Something about ‘If you can’t feel safe in your house with a lock, you should move’ things like that were what my parent had taught me. Not about life, or what would become of ours.

“It does.” I said in a mundane tone. I said stepping into the house. Every step making a creaking noise; pronouncing to the whole, probably abandoned, building that there were intruders walking on the grounds. We turned a corner and came to a staircase. I walked through a hallway. It had a door on it’s side, but I didn’t dare peek into it. Claire tripping over a rug, started to fall. I barely caught her, putting right side up I scolded her. “Watch what you do! You can break your neck that way!”

“Sorry.” She whispered to me as we looked up the staircase. It smells slightly like moth balls, cinnamon, and a lot like that candy old people always seemed to be carrying with them.

“Hello?” I called up the stairs. “Is there anyone there?” No answer. Had we come a 100 miles; run from bears, wolves, lions, and hunters just to come on a dead end?