Chills…
Chills ran down her spine the moment the tip of her right fingers touched the door knob. It was cold… everywhere. It felt like an ice queen built the place to her taste.
Licking her lips, Kathryn tried to remember how she got to her current situation as she took a step forward and turned the doorknob quietly as if praying for a cat to jump on her or something.
The creaks from the door raced her heartbeat like she was high on drugs as the cold air from the open door hit her face, almost knocking her down only that… her right hand was stuck on the doorknob keeping her steady.
She could hear the voices of her parents and younger brother downstairs searching for her, and she wanted to really speak, but she was still mad at them.
Little tears stained her eyelids as she struggled to take her hand off the door knob and then…
Then…
”Bam!”
For a second, Kathryn thought someone shot at her which doesn't make sense because none of her parents own firearms and her little brother, Aaron, is too young to own one… unless maybe, the ones in his video games.
With eyes tightly closed, Kathryn's nose couldn't help pick up the smell in the wind like…
A chilly mist mixed with flowers, but that doesn't make sense either because there wasn't a garden close to the house. Taking a deep breath, Kathryn calmed her nerves and then silence.
Silence reigned for a few minutes as Kathryn tried to peer her closed eyes open and… and… and her breath cut stuck at the view in front of her.
”A garden? Really? But, wait..” ”What if I… am I truly… In this old cranky house? How can I… no, no…” She continued, biting her lower lips in the process..”how can I be dead? Did I open death’s door when I touched that door in the attic? Oh, no! I can't be…”. Kathryn's body shook as she tried to hold her tears from pouring out.
Biting her inner teeth together tightly, she stood up from the flowery ground she sat and looked back, hoping to see the door she came from, but … nothing.
”Absolute nothing? Like, what the heck? I knew we should never have come to this old looking thug of a house.” she spat out.
Closing her eyes, she tried calming her heart beat and… It was hard.
Now, she wished she hadn't taken her finger off the doorknob or even been in the attic in the first place… better still, followed her parents or even entered the worn out house in the first place.
”It's their fault! I had a perfect life, and they just ruined it with their loan. They just had to sell our house and move me from the bustling city to this old cranky old house … I…”
In anger, she kicked a pebble close to her feet up a far distance, only to get knocked by it on the face.
”Ouch! What was that?” she questioned.
”That was you.” A very familiar voice spoke out.
”Mom?” Kathryn called with a furrowed eyebrow.
”Nah. Your great grandma.” The voice replied.
”Pardon?” Kathryn questioned.
”I mean, I am your great grandma. Your mother and I surely have the same voice and face too, hehe I just couldn't stop glancing at her face when you all came in last night. She could have been my twin if we were born at the same time.” The voice replied.
”Sorry, but what?” Kathryn asked.
”Either you have a hearing problem, or I am not speaking loud enough. I mean, you won't blame me. My soul has been here for ages with no one to talk to.” The voice said before the person appeared.
A slender, yet sophisticated woman who looked exactly like her mother appeared, and Kathryn almost gasped.
”Wait, haven't you been listening? I thought I told you your mother looked like me.” The voice said with a huff.
”No… I mean, yes, I did but… wait, what's going on? Like I don't understand what's happening. Why am I here?” Kathryn asked.
”Well, you were… cut that. You are angry your parents brought you here from the city after selling all they have to pay up their loans. Anyway, I am Martha, but you are to call me Gran Marth.” Gran Marth said.
”I know why my parents are here. I mean, why am I here with you, Gran Marth. Am I like … dead?” Kathryn asked.
”Oh, you are very much alive but trapped.” Gran Marth replied.
”Why?” Kathryn asked.
”Well, my spirit can leave this garden and roam around the house, just the house cos I am buried close to the house and whenever I leave from the attic which you came from, because I am dead, I leave ice particles around and the ice was on the doorknob you touched because you could see it which… which is because whenever I come out, it takes an hour for the doorknob to disappear and.. you saw it before it did.” Gran Marth replied.
“...and that was because you were angry. Your parents didn't want to live in debt. Do you know your dad was laid off from work because of his age? And that your mom's income as a nurse can't keep the home running. There's debt, a lot of it, and selling the house and moving here was for both you and your brother. I know you are angry you had to leave your friend and boyfriend, but staying there means more debts and debts can be crazy.”
Taking a step toward Kathryn, Gran Marth continued, ”Despite the house's rustiness, it works, and there's a school not too far from here, your dad got a job here and there's a hospital for your mom to work at. The house is free, though it needs some painting, fixing and all but it is a good place. They had everything planned out before selling. Your parents aren't young anymore. And if they didn't pay up the debt, you and your brother will." Letting out a sigh, she continued, "The reason my spirit still wanders around is because the house is empty, and do you want to know why the pebble you kicked hit you back?” Gran Martha asked, standing close to Kathryn.
Nodding her head, Kathryn replied.
”This garden gives back to you what you give it. The house is like that. Cranky? Yes, but if you feed the house with love, kindness, and family, it'll feed you back with more good deeds. That is why the house has been in our generation for years and more years to come. Sometimes, a little change in one's life can be the perfect peace you need. If you truly look at the house, you'd see the beautiful memories it has given and that it has space for more. I told you.. you are trapped in here, and now, you need to leave before you can't.” Gran Marth said before placing her icy finger on Kathryn's forehead.
...and, whoosh.
Stretching her body on her bed, Kathryn felt like she had just had the longest sleep of her life. Placing her hand on her forehead, she felt like she was missing something and before she could truly grasp what was going on, her legs moved as she ran out of the house passing her parents and brother on her way out.
”Kat, honey, where are you..?” Her mom asked but stopped midway. The look on her daughter's face staring at the house warmed her heart.
”Is she... smiling?” Her husband asked behind her with a perplexed look on his face, and Kathryn's mom couldn't help nodding.
Kathryn right outside the house couldn't help smiling as she truly looked at the house. She could see the beauty, hear tons of laughter, and feel what it is like to live in the house.
”... and it's truly breathtaking.” she murmured with a dashing smile.
