We stopped in front of a brown-painted house with white-painted edges of roofs, windows, and doors. One of the three houses across the street is lit up, while the other two are dark, as if the owners are already asleep, though it's still 7:00PM, or maybe the owners are away.
There are three cars parked in front of the houses. The dogs are barking, irascible and furious as if not fed adequately, even growling at their own shadows. Dark clouds are floating in the skies, blocking the full moon.
Alicia didn't tell me about the enemy, but we entered the house. There's a chandelier with five lit-up candles in the center of the living room. Seems like there's no electricity. The floor is covered in red carpet. There are cabinets and things that look like antiques, making the place cozy.
"You okay?" Alicia asked, touching my shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, though I don't feel good at all. As if there's something wrong with this house. "What are we doing here, by the way?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. This house belonged to my deceased grandparents. I've been coming here, and people think it's haunted. I sometimes scare them so that they won't come here," Alicia said.
"It really is haunted—by you," I remarked.
"Yeah. Anyway, you can rest here. Just know I'm not so fond of cottages, though I prefer living in quieter places. You look weary; you can rest for now. Let's continue our hunt tomorrow," she said, removing her red scarf. She doesn't have a reflection in the mirror; there's no doubt that she's a ghost. She opened the door and went inside her room.
I went inside one of the rooms. There's a wide and soft bed. I closed the door and crawled on the bed. I turned on the lamp beside the bed and picked a book from the shelves. The title of the book is Irresistible by Author Warren II. I felt sleepy while reading the book, so I put it beside me and fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night when I heard some sounds coming from the living room. I thought it was just Alicia, but then I heard footsteps. I couldn't ignore it, so I stood up and left the bed.
There's no one in the living room. I don't know who made those sounds a while ago. Everything's okay. I stood in front of the mirror and looked at my reflection. There's a bright red thing that swirls inside of it. I touched it and heard something fall behind me. I looked back and saw the chandelier shattered on the floor. I grasped my aching head. I went back inside the room, lay down on the bed, and tried to get some rest.
I felt hands on my legs, and someone pulled me out from the bed. I opened my eyes and saw a man wearing a red jacket with black edges, jeans, and a brown hat. A silver chain necklace hung from his neck. He has deep brown eyes. I blinked and he suddenly disappeared. It must be a dream or a mirage. But I'm already on the floor. Seems like I'm moving in my sleep. I stood up and went outside the room.
There's a man standing in front of the mirror. He's wearing the same jacket as the man I saw earlier. I slowly walked toward him and touched his back to know if it's him. He turned around, and an eerie smile crept on his face.
It was him, that man who dragged me out from the bed. I ran to find my way out, but damn, he's not alone. There are other girls wearing black clothes blocking my way: two of them are blonde-haired, and the other one is black-haired. They are moving closer to me.
I looked into the man's eyes, and my vision suddenly disappeared. I couldn't say anything but darkness. I feel like I have fallen down into the ocean; the water's cold on my skin, but still, I couldn't see anything. It's difficult to breathe. I'm drowning! I'm drowning!
"Kaila! Kaila! Wake up!" Alicia shouted.
I opened my eyes and saw Alicia standing beside me. I sighed in relief as I realized it was all a dream. I sat up on the bed. That was a very strange dream.
"Why are you screaming?" Alicia asked.
"I'm sorry, I just had a weird dream," I replied, pressing my forehead. "Do you have something for headaches?"
"I don't have one, but I can buy one from the store outside if you want. Anyway, can you tell me about your dream?" Alicia sat down beside me. "I thought something bad already happened to you. You were screaming so loud."
"Nothing," I replied as I couldn't remember my dream anymore. I looked at my wristwatch and realized it's already 2:30AM. I stood up. "My head's aching. I should go take a walk outside."
"Go on, I'll be here," Alicia said.
I went outside the house. The wind is cold. The moon in the sky is getting close to the horizon. The world is silent. I walked on the street side and found a bench by the lamppost. I sat down there and listened to my own thoughts. It's been a while since I've lived a normal life.
Sometimes I wonder how it would feel if I didn't accept that power that Alicia offered to me. Life is really a result of the decisions we made in the past, but also there are things that are out of our control.
However, I don't regret making such a decision. I accepted this power for how I felt that time. I wanted to avenge my parents' death from those killers, and I never thought of what the consequences would be. It taught me how to fall into the unknown, and this unknown made me grow, though at first it appeared like a disaster. There are still a lot of things for me to learn in this world.
We can't really blame our past selves for making decisions, but there's no point regretting and overthinking about it. It already happened. What's more important is that we learned from it and used it and use this knowledge for future decisions.
I stood up and went to the nearest coffee shop. It was already opened, so I bought a cup of black Americano and drank it there before the sun could rise. It's another day dawning, another set of struggles and decisions to make. I hope that it'll end up fine.