Chapter 2: The House at the End of the Street

Chapter 2: The House at the End of the Street

            I disappeared from my parents’ view, undetected. I strolled along, nonchalantly not trying to make a big deal of anything; I turned to make sure no wandering eyes saw what I was doing. No gossips were preoccupied with what I was doing. I stared at the gate. I knocked on the gate, and slowly it creaked open.

            The house was more dark, Victorian and macabre than I thought. It had to be at least four stories, not including the attic. It was completely black, and shining as if it were painted yesterday. It was beautiful in a dark sense.

            Once I looked around me, I recognized there was more than just the house that was beautiful, as I looked, flowers, shrubs and hedges all grew. They were blooming and blossoming as if they were just watered. The trees canopied the scene. The foliage was full of life, and there was a single pathway leading to the door. It was the only thing that wasn’t covered in plants.

            In the rest of the Barbie town, there are exactly five flower bushes in front of each house, alternating in color, so the fact that this house was legal eluded me. I already loved this house before I entered it. The Barbie town also insisted on hedges instead of fencing. Fencing is more logical. This person had walls confining the house and the fence.

            I walked to the front stoop and knocked. The door creaked open. “Hello?” I called, hoping to find a reply. There was no response. I walked inside and asked “Hello?” Still, no one was there. I took a couple more steps.

            I called “I didn’t mean to intrude, I just was very curious and I knocked on the fence and the door…” The door forcibly shut, on its own. I stepped up the cobwebbed stairs. No matter how well kept the outside was, frankly, the outside needed a maid. Everything was dusty and/or full of cobwebs. The stairs mainly had cobwebs. Each step I took, there was a creak.

            I walked up all the stairs and called out again “Hello? Is anybody there?” This time, I saw a swift movement from the corner of my eye. I followed it.

            “I just moved in and your house really caught my eye!” I exclaimed, searching for someone, anyone. I slowly stepped, searching around the second floor, third floor the fourth floor and then the attic.

            The attic was especially dark and cobwebby. Thank god for the candle app, so I could find a window. The person crawled into the corner I saw him.

            He spoke “I don’t have anything. I refuse to change my house and please don’t hurt me!”

“I don’t want to hurt you. I want to find a neighbor that isn’t like a Barbie or Ken doll, that is actually real and your house caught my eye.” I responded.

He asked, “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“Can you risk me telling you a lie?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Any proof you just moved in?”

I stood in the light.  I moved my dark brown hair so he could fully see my face. “I am New England white.”

He nodded “I see. I want to know what people call you.”

“Annie, short for Roxanne Adkins.”  I responded, allowing a genuine smile to slip onto my face.

He nodded “I’m Alistair Poe.”

I asked, “Need help up?”

“I think I’m good, but thank you.” He responded. He stood and came into the light. I smiled at his face.

His hair was a bit unkempt, his skin was white as paper. His eyes were black, like his unkempt hair. His body looked thin, though he was quite tall. His head could fit over mine. He managed a smile.

He stated, “I am seventeen.” He asked, “How old are you?”

“Sixteen. You are tall for your age.”

“Well, I guess so. I am normally not visited by any people my age, just people who try to change me.”

“Where are your parents?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Probably being tested on or in their trees. I have a little sister, Darcy.”

“In their trees?” I questioned. He nodded. I asked “Why?”

He hit his head in that “Could’ve had a V8” way. Then, he unfurled a black pair of wings. I fainted.