Haunted House Part 2

"Aaakhh!" Immediately, I opened my eyes upon hearing a sound that seemed like a woman's scream. I didn't know how long I had been asleep; when I looked to the side, Sean was soundly asleep. "Was that just a dream?" I muttered because the scream was very audible, but I didn't know if it was real or just a dream. "Huh, it seems like just a dream." I tried to think positively, closed my eyes again to continue my disturbed sleep. "Aaakhh!" However, once again, the sound was heard. The sound of a woman screaming in pain. This wasn't a dream. I was very sure I heard that scream. The question now was, where did the sound come from? "Aaakkh!" I was startled this time; there was no doubt that the scream was real. "Sean," I called, hoping that Sean also heard the scream. However, there was no response from Sean. When I looked at him, I saw that Sean was still sound asleep. "Akkkhh!" For the umpteenth time, the sound of the scream was heard. I was starting to panic now. Perhaps someone needed help because the scream was so loud, as if in pain. "Sean, wake up!" I not only called Sean this time but also shook his body to wake him up. "Sean, wake up quickly!" I became more hysterical waking Sean up. Moans came out of Sean's mouth. "Why, Leslie?" Sean asked, his eyes squinting, clearly still very sleepy and unwilling to open his eyes. "Did you hear the scream just now?" "Scream? I didn't hear it." "Yes, a woman's scream. Maybe she needs help. We have to help her." "What scream? I didn't hear it." I widened my eyes, shocked, of course, because Sean didn't hear the scream, even though it was very loud. "You didn't hear it, Sean? I'm sure there's a woman screaming, as if in pain. We have to help her." "It's probably just your hallucination or you were dreaming earlier." I shook my head because I knew exactly what I heard was real, not hallucination or a dream as Sean said. "No. This is real, Sean. I really heard someone screaming in pain." "Ck, let it go. I didn't hear it. You're just overthinking, hallucinating like that. Now it's better for you to go back to sleep; it's still midnight, and we need rest." "But, Sean...." However, Sean ignored my words; he closed his eyes again and fell into a deep sleep. Why couldn't Sean hear the scream? This was truly strange. "Akhhhh!!" Again, the sound of the scream was heard, even louder than before, making me even more convinced that this was real. "Sean, did you hear it now? Just now...." I didn't continue my words because I saw Sean sleeping very soundly; he certainly didn't hear the sound anymore. Deciding to handle this matter on my own without waking up Sean, I got out of bed. I was sure the sound came from the pine forest, so now I walked towards the window. I pulled aside the window curtain, and instantly, I saw the dark pine forest. "Who's screaming? I need to see it," I murmured, having made the decision to go to the forest. However, before my feet could take a step, something caught my attention. I heard the sound of a door opening very slowly. When I turned towards the door, it turned out that the door to our room was open as if someone was pushing it from the outside. In the silence of the night, the creaking sound of the door was eerie, and my hair stood on end. It was clear that someone opened the door from the outside because it couldn't open by itself. "Who is it?" I asked in panic as I caught a glimpse of someone running past the bedroom door. It seemed like that person had just opened the door. Without hesitation, I stepped forward to chase after that person. "Who's there? Come out!" I shouted as soon as I was outside the room and couldn't find the figure of the person who had opened the door. I continued to walk farther away from the room I shared with Sean. My eyes scanned the surroundings, looking for the presence of that mysterious person. When I intended to climb the stairs to check the upper floor, my steps instantly stopped upon hearing the sound of dishes clashing in the kitchen. Yes, I was very sure the sound came from the kitchen, where Sean and I had eaten pasta before going to bed. My heart raced in line with my steps that got closer to the kitchen. Upon arriving at the kitchen door, I slowly opened it, hoping not to see anything horrifying inside. My hope seemed to come true because there was nothing in the kitchen. Oddly, even though I was sure I heard the sound of dishes clashing. Could it have been just my hallucination? I didn't want to give up on finding the oddity in the kitchen. That's when I realized something. As my gaze fell on the dining table, I was shocked to find the table empty, even though there should have been two dirty plates from our dinner, which we hadn't cleaned yet. Where did those two plates go? The question was answered when I saw two plates neatly arranged on the shelf directly above the sink. What's stranger was that both plates were still wet and dripping water, as if they had just been washed by someone. Could the sound of clashing plates earlier come from these two plates being washed by someone? But who washed them when there was no one in this house except me and Sean? We made sure there was no one in this house except us after checking all the rooms. Moreover, there was soap for washing dishes lying next to the sink. I was increasingly curious about who washed our dinner plates. Could the owner of this house actually be here, hiding in a room? My thoughts had gone too far, but I had to tell Sean about this issue. I then turned around, ready to go back to the room to tell my husband about all these strange events. However, once again, a strange sound was heard before I left the kitchen. This time, the sound I heard was the sound of running water. The kitchen faucet that had been turned off suddenly turned on, and the water kept flowing. This was very strange; why would the tap turn on by itself when there was no one in the kitchen except me? "Maybe it's the work of a ghost," I mumbled quietly, and at that moment, I clutched my neck, which was starting to prickle. I scanned the kitchen surroundings, but it was strange because I didn't see any ghostly figures. "Stop bothering me. Show yourself." Even though I was starting to feel scared, I wanted all this strangeness to end soon. If this was really the work of a ghost, I wanted to know why they were doing all of this. "Hey, come out quickly. Show yourself because I can see ghosts." Hihihi I was startled, sure that I had just heard laughter coming from the kitchen door. For a brief moment, I saw someone running. Without much thought, I began to chase them. I kept running because I didn't want to lose their trail, and when I arrived in the living room, I stood frozen as my gaze fell on the stairs. There stood the figure of a child. It must be a ghost because their body was floating, their feet not touching the floor. What made me even more certain that the child was a ghost was their terrifying appearance. Their face was covered in blood, with blood incessantly dripping from a gaping wound on their head. "Auntie, let's play." The ghostly boy said before floating towards the upstairs. I swallowed hard. What should I do now? Should I follow the ghostly child, or should I go to the room and tell Sean about this? Although I felt dilemma, I ultimately decided to follow the ghostly child. With quick steps, I climbed the stairs because I didn't want to lose their trail. The ghostly boy continued to float, waving their hands as if inviting me to follow. Judging by their appearance, the ghost seemed to be around five years old. Their face was handsome if not for the blood continuously flowing from a gaping wound on their head, making them look horrifying. They kept smiling at me, inviting me to follow wherever they went. Until we arrived at a room. "Hey, why are you in this house?" I asked as soon as the ghost child stopped floating. I remembered they communicated directly with me earlier, and I hoped they would give me an answer because I was very curious about who this ghost child really was and why they were in this house. "What's your name?" I asked again as the ghost didn't seem to provide any answers. "Please help me." But to my surprise, the ghost suddenly started crying and asking for help. The sound of their crying was heartbreaking, making me feel the sadness and pain that the ghost child was experiencing. "Why? What happened to you?" I really hoped the ghost would show me their memories so I could know what had happened to them and why they died, becoming a wandering ghost. "Tell me everything you've been through. I will try to help you." "It hurts so much, please help me," the ghost replied. Their voice echoed in the room, especially their loud crying. "Who hurt you? Tell me everything." However, before answering all my previous questions, the ghost child suddenly started floating again, passing through the toy shelf and disappearing. Seeing this, I panicked, even though I hadn't learned anything yet; the ghost hadn't told me what had happened to them. "Hey, don't go. You haven't told me what happened to you. How can I help you if you leave like this?" The ghost didn't reappear; they vanished behind the wall. I sighed in frustration, and my attention was diverted when something hit my foot. I turned and found toy cars that had hit my foot. I looked around, realizing I was in the room I had visited with Sean earlier. The children's room where there was a shelf full of toys, and the toy car that just hit me was the same car that had hit me when I was in this room with Sean. So, the ghost child led me to this room? What was their purpose in bringing me here? And all their words, asking for help and describing how much pain they felt, I was truly curious. Nevertheless, I had to uncover all the strange events I had experienced tonight.