The Mysterious House

Gabriel and Pedro have been friends since they were in kindergarten. As a matter of fact they live really close to one another and are always at each other’s house. They do many things together like roller skate, play video games, and go to the movies, besides going to the same school. Neither of them likes to study however, they do enjoy sports, being soccer their favorite, and also cheer for the same soccer team.

Photo taken by Meire Marion

Real close to the school where the boys go to, near the corner of the street, there is an abandoned house. It is quite scary to look at and when you walk by all you hear is the dogs that live in the yard; there are around five of them. It is worn down, has broken windows, the trees and the plants in the yard are growing wildly. The house is really huge and the style goes back to another era. It is so big that the back part of the house reaches the back part of the school walls. There is a cracked brick wall built around the old house to protect it from trespassers, along with rusty gates in the entrance to the garage. On the gates you can see two signs that are hung up which read: Beware of Angry Dog and NO Parking.

Nobody really knows the history of the house. Some people say that the family that lived there where killed one night by an angry neighbor drunk as a barrel, rang the doorbell, was allowed in, closed the door behind him and then seven shots were heard. No one knows who he was, but apparently he was close to the family.

Another story is that the people that lived in the house simply disappeared one day. Nobody saw them leave, nobody saw them arrive; it seemed as if they had been abducted by a mother ship. Although no one can really prove that a mother ship came around this part of town.

If you ask around to find out what they people who lived in the house looked like, nobody can remember. The houses around this mysterious house have been renovated, sold, bought, knocked down and new dwellers moved in while older neighbors passed away.

Photo taken by Meire Marion

This mysterious house also baffles Gabriel and Pedro, who have to walk by it every time they go to school and then back home again. Sometimes they pay no attention to it, but at other times they feel as if they are being watched. They wonder at times who takes care of the dogs and why there is a No Parking sign if there are no cars that go in or come out.

They say that sometimes during tests in Portuguese, their classroom wall is back to back with one of the walls of the mysterious house, when the class is in silence, they are startled by loud bangs on the walls, which sound as if they are coming directly from the house. The teacher plays it cool; some students freak out while others just jump in their seats.

Photo taken by Meire Marion

During a PTM meeting, one mother asked the school board to investigate because her daughter was flunking Portuguese due to her panic syndromes. Every time she took a test her mind would go blank due to the banging along with all the stories she had heard about the house. The school tired to find out what went on in the house but it was a dead end. They even contacted the police to investigate. They managed to break into the house and found out that it was totally empty; no furniture, loads of cob webs, dust and bugs.

On their last day of school, Gabriel and Pedro decided that on their way home they would try to go into the house. They took along with them some dog food to distract the dogs. They also took a flash light each because they figured that the electricity would be disconnected. On one of their walks home they had noticed that there was an opening in the gate wide enough for them to sneak in without calling the attention of the passersby. They also noticed that the dogs were fenced in and could reach the pathway that led to the doorway, which they thought was odd.

It was the last day of school and they set off on their adventure. They were young and curious. They managed to squeeze in through the gate, snuck up the stairway, walked through the door that was already opened and noticed that at the top of the stairway inside the house, there was an old man holding a candle.

-         “Welcome boys. I have been expecting you?”

-         “What?” Pedro shouted and took a step back.

-         “What do you mean by you have been expecting us?”  Gabriel was braver than Pedro and grabbed Pedro’s arm so he wouldn’t run away.

-         “Won’t you please follow me?”The old man started to turn to go up the stairs a bit further.

-         “We are fine right here.” Gabriel was the one who was doing the talking. Pedro stood frozen like an ice cycle. “Who are you?”

-         “I am the person who lives in this house. Isn’t that why you are here to find out?”

-         “How come other people have never seen you? “ Gabriel asked because Pedro was now crossing his legs as if he needed to pee.

-         “Gabriel, let’s get out of here. I am getting some bad vibes.”

-         “Relax, Pedro. He’s just an old man.”

-         “I mean you no harm. I was expecting you because I see you walk by all the time, stop and stare and talk.”

-         “I do not understand. We have never seen you before.”

-         “You did not see because you did not want to see me.”

-         “Gabriel, this man is nuts. Let’s go.” Pedro grabbed Gabriel’s arm and started to make a run for it.

-         “Let go Pedro. If you want to go you go, I want to talk to him.” Pedro decided to stay, after all Gabriel was his best friend and they were in this together.

-         “So, now that you have decided to stay, shall we go on into the living room?”Now the old man was at the bottom of the stairs.

-         “Hey, how did he do that?”Pedro shrieked.

-         “Who are you and what do you want?”Gabriel said as he started to worry a bit.

-         “Gabriel and Pedro, right?”

-         “Ahem?” They froze. How did he know that?

-         “Alrighty then, my name is Sam. It is a pleasure to have you with me. I have been feeling very lonely lately and was thrilled to know that you would be stopping by for a visit.”

-         “Yikes.”Pedro screamed. “We really need to leave. Look at that. The house was empty and now there is furniture everywhere.”

Gabriel also started to feel a bit scared, but he was a curious guy and he wanted more.

-         “Only special people are allowed through the gate way. By my knocking on the wall, your brain was able to capture the hidden message and made you do this.”

-         “Gabriel, this guy is nuts. If my brain told me to do this, my stomach is telling me to run for my life.”Pedro headed for the door.

Gabriel stayed put and gave Pedro the strangest look that made him stop.

-         “Pedro, Gabriel has understood that you will never leave again. Why haven’t you understood this yet? Welcome to the mansion. It is a place you can never leave. Well, not in this state and mind.”

With this Pedro fainted and Gabriel sat down on the couch and talked to Sam; there were so many things to ask.

Photo taken by Meire Marion

All I can tell you is that these two boys were never seen again and until this day their families have been looking for them. I know because I am Sam.

Photo taken by Meire Marion

(Written March 7, 2013- Although the pictures were taken by the author, this is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. )

Photo taken by Meire Marion

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