Haunted House Part 3

When I opened my eyes, Sean wasn't beside me; it seemed he had already woken up. I got out of bed, went to the bathroom inside the room to freshen up, and then started searching for Sean. "Sean!" There was no response from Sean when I shouted his name. I continued searching for him until the enticing aroma from the kitchen hinted at Sean's whereabouts. Indeed, Sean was in the kitchen, seemingly busy preparing food. "Sean, are you cooking?" I asked while hugging Sean from behind. Sean was startled in my embrace, perhaps surprised by my sudden presence. "You're already awake, it seems. Your sleep was so sound that I couldn't bring myself to wake you up. I'm preparing our breakfast. Just some bread and eggs, okay? Luckily, I found some good bread and eggs." "It seems like the owner of this house hasn't been gone for long since all the food ingredients are still complete and in good condition." Sean nodded. "Yes, you're right. I think the homeowner just went out for a while." I remained silent. Afterward, the breakfast Sean prepared was served on the table, and we leisurely enjoyed our meal. "It looks like you're very tired, Leslie. Your sleep was so sound that you woke up late." Sean grinned, teasing me. I snorted; it seemed like I had to recount the events of last night. "Maybe I am tired, but the reason I woke up late is that I had trouble sleeping after waking up last night. I'm not like you, who sleeps so soundly that you can't be disturbed." "Why did you wake up last night?" "Didn't you forget? I heard the scream of a woman?" Sean furrowed his brows, looking confused. "Hearing the scream of a woman? I don't know about that." "Tsk, even though I woke you up last night, you didn't believe that I heard a scream and just went back to sleep." "Is that so? Maybe it's because I was too sleepy. Besides, what you heard might just be a hallucination." I quickly shook my head. "It's not a hallucination; the scream was real, and I heard it very clearly. The sound came from the pine forest." "Really?" Sean began to take my words seriously. "Yes, initially, I intended to check the forest; I was afraid the woman might be in trouble and needed help. Her scream sounded painful." "Don't, Leslie." While I was bowing my head and eating, I suddenly raised my head and stared at Sean in amazement because he was stopping me. "Why not?" "Don't go to the forest alone. It might be dangerous there, especially at night." "But the woman might need help, Sean." "Still, you must not go to the forest alone. Do you think the woman screaming is a ghost?" I was stunned; I really didn't know who the woman truly was. Whether she was human or a ghost. "If she's a ghost, she usually comes to you and asks for help." "In that case, she might be human." Sean snorted. "If she's human, why couldn't you hear her scream during the day?" I fell silent again, not knowing what to say because I was confused about that too. "I am very sure the woman was screaming in pain. If I hear her scream again, this time I will go check on her immediately." "Tsk, you're always like this." "What about you? Will you just stay quiet when you hear someone scream? Maybe she needs our help, Sean." This time, Sean sighed. "I know how stubborn you are; you won't listen even if I forbid you. So, here's the deal: if you want to go to the forest, don't go alone. You have to take me with you. Understand?" I smiled, relieved because Sean truly understood me. "Yes, I'll let you know if I hear the scream again and will take you to the forest with me." "Even if you say that, it seems you won't hear the scream of the woman again." "Why do you think that?" "Because we're leaving this house now. Tonight, we won't sleep here anymore." I didn't answer, while Sean got up from his seat, carrying his dirty plate, probably intending to wash it. "Oh, Leslie. About the dirty dishes from our dinner last night, did you wash them?" My chewing motion instantly stopped as Sean asked that question. Ah, I forgot to mention that strange incident. "That's one of the reasons I couldn't sleep last night." "Why, what happened?" "I heard the sound of dishes clashing in the kitchen. When I checked, the two dirty plates from our dinner were no longer on the table. Strangely, the two plates were neatly arranged on the shelf and still wet, as if they had just been washed. Even the dish soap was still at the sink. You also saw the soap, right?" Sean stared at the soap I was referring to, which was still at the sink. "Why would that happen?" I shrugged. "I don't know, I'm also surprised because there was no one here except us." "Maybe the culprit is a ghost?" "It's possible, but I didn't see any ghostly apparitions when checking the kitchen." "This is really strange. Maybe you're right; this house is haunted. We need to leave here immediately." I remained silent again and chose to finish my breakfast. Somehow, my heart was reluctant to leave this house. *** When noon arrived, as Sean had suggested, we prepared to leave. Sean made sure to leave some money in the room we stayed in last night as payment for the stay and also to cover the food we ate. Now we were outside the house, heading towards the gate. However, before stepping out of the gate, my heart was moved to look at the house once again. "That ghostly child," I murmured softly because when I looked up at one of the windows, I saw the ghostly boy I encountered last night peeking there. He stood staring at me, waving his hands as if asking me to come closer. "Leslie, what's wrong? Let's go." Actually, I really wanted to approach the ghost, but Sean probably wouldn't agree, so reluctantly, I turned around and followed Sean. We kept walking, quite far because there really weren't any other houses nearby. Until after almost an hour of walking, we finally encountered someone. A middle-aged man passing by us on the road. "Excuse me, sir. Can we ask you something?" Sean greeted the man. "Sure, go ahead. Who are you two? You don't seem to be from around here," the man replied. Sean nodded. "That's right. We're not from here. We got stranded here because our speedboat ran out of fuel. Is there a town or village nearby? We want to buy fuel for our speedboat." "There's a village over there, not far from here." The man pointed ahead. "You can go there and buy fuel." Sean smiled, looking cheerful. "Ah, thank goodness. We'll head there right away. Thank you, sir." Sean held my hand, urging me to go. The man also continued his interrupted steps. "Wait a moment, sir." However, I quickly stopped the man; there was something bothering my heart and mind that I needed to ask right away. "Yes, what is it, Miss?" "I want to ask about the house near the pine forest. Do you know who owns it?" I asked directly, avoiding small talk. "Oh, that house belongs to the Watson family. Why do you ask, Miss?" So, the owner of the house has the surname Watson; I became more interested in finding out more about the house. "Leslie, let it go. Our business with that house is done. There's no need to ask about it anymore." I ignored Sean's words, released his hand, and walked closer to the man. I had decided to ask everything I wanted to know about that house. "Last night, we stayed in that house. It seems empty because there was no one there. Do you know where the Watson family is? Why aren't they at home?" "Oh, that house is currently vacant. About a week ago, they left." "Where did they go?" "I don't know, but Roul Watson works in London; maybe his wife and child went there with him." My curiosity increased. "So, how many people live in that house, sir?" "Three people. Roul, with his wife and child. But Roul works in London, rarely coming home, so only his wife and child stay in the house." "Is their child a five-year-old boy?" "Yes, that's correct. The child's name is Rory. He's a handsome and cheerful boy. When I go to the forest to cut pine trees, I often see him playing with toy cars in the yard of the house. But I haven't seen him for a week now. Maybe he went with his father to London. But I'm curious, how do you know the child is five years old?" I swallowed my saliva; it seemed that what I feared might be happening. "I saw his photo in the house." Of course, my answer was a lie because I didn't pay attention to any photos displayed in the house. "Oh, I see. Is there anything else you want to ask? I have to go to the forest to cut trees." "Ah, yes, one more question," I quickly responded. "Do you go to the forest every day?" The man nodded. "Yes, I cut trees every day in the forest." "Have you ever seen a woman lost in the forest?" "A woman?" The man shook his head. "No. I've never seen anyone in the forest, including the woman you mentioned. Why do you ask, Miss?" I smiled, not intending to reveal what I was thinking right now to the man. "No, sir. Just asking. That's all I wanted to ask. Thank you, sir." "If that's the case, I'll go now. You just go straight ahead; the village is not far from here." "All right, sir. Thank you again." The man then left us, and I just stood there, staring at his back as he walked away. "Leslie, why did you ask the man like that?" Sean asked, standing right beside me. "Because I'm very curious." "Huh, I told you we have nothing to do with that house anymore. Come on, let's go. We need to quickly buy fuel and return to the hotel." Sean held my hand and intended to lead me away, but I quickly released his hand. "What's wrong, Leslie?" Sean asked, puzzled by my behavior. "Sean, aren't you curious how I knew the child of the house owner is a five-year-old boy?" One of Sean's eyebrows raised. "No. Didn't you say you saw his photo?" I shook my head. "No. That's a lie. I didn't see any photos. The reason I know their child is a five-year-old boy is that I saw him last night." "What? You saw him? How?" "He's dead, Sean. I saw the ghost of the little boy." Sean widened his eyes, looking extremely surprised. "Impossible. Maybe the ghost you saw is not the Watson family's child." "I'm sure the ghost I saw is Rory because he invited me to his room. The ghost also moved the toy cars, making them hit my feet. Didn't the man just now say Rory likes playing with toy cars in the yard of the house?" Sean sighed. "Even so, it doesn't necessarily mean the ghost you saw is Rory." "My heart says the ghost is Rory. Something must have happened to the Watson family, and I need to investigate it, Sean. The mystery of that house must be revealed because I won't leave until everything is uncovered." My determination was firm; I would find out and uncover the mystery of that house, no matter if Sean agreed or not.