We lived in a small apartment, where the building was 10 storey tall. We lived on the ninth storey, with one other home right next to us. Each storey had two to three homes, and ours had two. Our neighbor from our storey was a gentle and kind old lady, who lived with her 4 year old granddaughter. Her name was Mrs. Williams and her granddaughter's name was Ashleigh. Right below us, were a young couple who always made a lot of noise during the night.
Below us was the eighth storey, and it contained two apartments. One of them was out of order for whatever reason, and the other one lived a gothic lady who was in her 30s. Her name was Amber, at least that's what we heard when another neighbor was talking to her the other day. She had a naturally callous looking face, with childish piercings, but all over her face. She dressed like a doll, with light pink hair and dresses that children wore in the early 1900s.
We all tend to avoid her, due to her uneasy nature. The way she stares at my brother while we go down the elevator was very spine-chilling for us, and the way she would frown and smile at me. She always hated Mrs. Williams and Ashleigh, because they were dark-skinned and she was a Caucasian. I could tell, because one time she deliberately closed the elevator when they were coming in. Amber also hostiled my sister, Pandora for some reason. She once tried to trip her over.
Our parents didn't like her at all, especially after she told us about what Amber tried to do to her. They warned the three of us to stay away from her, because she was a creep. One evening, we smelt something burning next door. We ran over to Mrs. William's apartment, only to find that there was a fire. After calling the fire engine, police and ambulance, it turns out Mrs. Williams and Ashleigh had already died. It was very unsettling, the whole idea the the police explained "it was just a coincidence".
All four of us knew who could've been the suspect behind it. Amber lived right below the Williams, and Ashleigh would always make a lot of noise at night. At one point, Amber even went to our storey and said something to them. So it would make common sense for a egregious woman to set fire at their doorstep. Our mother warned us not to tell this to anyone, because we had no proof and Amber might come after us if we messed with her.
Since then, the three of us had to go to school together everyday. Henry is only 10 years old at the time, and didn't know much about it. Our mother made Pandora and I to walk him to school every day, and wait for him afterschool. If one day any of us walked home alone, our father would be really upset. We knew the fire and death wasn't a coincidence. At night, Pandora and I shared a room. My bed was right next to the wall that seperates our apartment to the hallway of the storey. I swear I can hear breathing on the other side of the wall.
One night, everything happened that will forever mortify us and the reason our parents immediately moved homes. The three of us children were awake and playing video games in my brother's room. When we heard a knock, it was 3am in the morning. Our parents were out for work, and being the oldest, I knew I had to go and check it out. I looked through the peep hole, only to see Amber. Her eyes were blood-shot red and her skin became as pale as white paper.
She hummed something when she knew I was looking through the peep hole, from the other side of the door. I double checked the lock, and went back to my siblings.
