Tomorrow was my final exams and I'd been studying all evening in preparation for it. I came downstairs to eat dinner with my parents and decided to watch a bit of tv.
We were all in the living room watching the news when my dad's phone rang. He went outside to pick the call and after a few minutes he was back. From the look he gave my mum i knew something was wrong.
She immediately followed him to their room and although their conversation was relatively quiet, i couldn't help but hear a few words in between. From what I was able to piece together, it seemed that grandma's condition had worsened and she was currently in the hospital.
A few minutes later they were both back in the living room and they sat down facing me.
"Neo you're aware Gran isn't well right?"
"Yes Dad. How is she?" I asked
" That call was from an hospital"
"Hospital" I exclaimed
"Yes son" he replied
Grandma had been sick for a few years now and we'd been getting a few scares just like this one from time to time. I'd thought i would've gotten used to it but from the worried looks on both my parent faces, it seemed this one had really been a close call.
We all went to bed in a subdued mood that night.
I was informed at the dining table the next morning that both my parents would be going to visit my grandma and would probably come home late. Since they couldn't leave just me alone all by myself, I suggested that I invite my best friend Sam over after school.
It wasn't the first time Sam would stay over at my place, so my parents thought it was a good idea.
I got to school and soon got in preparation mode for my exam so i forgot to inform Sam of the plan to stay over for the day. It was only after we had finished our exams and were about to head home that i remembered I hadn't informed him.
I told him the situation on ground but since it was impromptu, Sam decided to head home and inform his parents before coming over to my house. It sounded like a great idea, so we parted ways as we both headed home.
I got home, had a quick bath, ate a bit of the food my mum made before they left and decided to watch tv pending when Sam would come over. I must've dozed off because i woke up with a panic as I heard a particularly sinister laugh.
A quick glance and I discovered the laughter was from the TV. In that moment i also noticed it was almost night and Sam was not here yet.
Although I'd already discovered that the sound came from the TV, but being alone in the house made me quickly realize i was still spooked.
I immediately stood up and went to dial Sam's house number so i would confirm why he wasn't here yet as agreed.
I tried dialing the number the first time but no one picked but a few other trials and it was simply not going through. Now i was beginning to get worried and i was still holding the phone when the laughter came from the TV again.
This time around I dropped the phone and screamed. A few seconds later I was still standing there as the TV program went on.
Trying to give myself a boost of confidence, I chided myself that it was silly of me to be scared of laughter from the TV, so I headed back to my seat and changed the channel to another one.
Whether Sam showed up or not, or my parents came home late or not, the present fact was that i was home alone and I didn't plan on spending it being scared in my own house.
I was still watching TV when I noticed I was thirsty so I decided to get some water from the kitchen.
I was headed to the kitchen when I heard a knock on the door. Thinking Sam or perhaps my parents had finally arrived, I rushed to the
door, opened it and was greeted by empty silence.
There was no one at door which was weird because I thought I heard a knock. Thinking I must've been mistaken, I headed back to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
I was soon back in the living room when I noticed the tv was off. I didn't remember turning it off, but I'd had enough at this point. My mind must be playing tricks on me I thought as I turned it on.
A few minutes later I heard another knock which I initially ignored but it persisted so I was sure someone was actually at the door. It had to be Sam and I was ready for some serious tongue lashing but when I opened the door, instead i found not Sam but a young girl around my age standing there.
"Who're you looking for?" I asked
"I'm Anabeth. I lost my way" she replied
”I don't understand. How can you be lost? Where's your mum and dad?
" At the hospital" she answered
There were no hospitals close to our house, so I wasn't sure whether she was telling the truth or not. But after a series of questions that seemed not to generate any reasonable answers, I told her to wait outside while i call my parents.
I dialed my parents number but it wasn't going through, so I dialed the police station but it was still the same problem. I was headed to the door to inform her when i noticed she was already inside and seated.
I was about to tell her how ride it was to enter someone's house uninvited when i saw she was staring at the TV and this time it was off.
"Do you realize it's very rude to come into someone's house uninvited and start touching things" i shouted at her
She simply gave me a dark smile that sent shivers down my spine.
"I didn't"
I knew in that moment that I must've allowed a crazy girl into our house.
"You actually want me to believe you didn't touch anything" I demanded
Immediately the tv came on and went off again
"Just like this" she replied
I was really scared and visibly shivering now as i suddenly remembered that i was home alone. I turned and ran straight into my room as I heard the sinister laughter from the TV earlier behind me.
Frantically locking the door to my room, I heard the laughter once again inside my room and turned to find Ava sitting on my bed and staring at me.
I was still screaming when I fainted and passed out. I woke up the next morning to someone knocking on my bedroom door. When I didn't open up, the door opened and standing there was Sam.
I jumped out of bed and ran to hug him. He was here to apologize for not showing up the day before and was surprised at my physical display of emotions.
I heard my mum talking to my dad in the living room so I ran to hug them both. They both thought I'd missed them too much which was why I was excited this morning.
I soon explained to everyone what happened the night before, but from the incredulous faces staring back at me it was obvious no one believed my story.
My mum assured me that they'd arrived late the night before and found me snoring away in my bedroom. They were surprised I was home alone and had called Sam's parents who confirmed he wasn't able to come over.
I was still trying convince them that i wasn't lying but after awhile, everyone simply lost interest in my story. Sam was of the opinion that I must've been dreaming and my parents quickly accepted this explanation as the most logical one.
My parents informed me that they were going to visit grandma again and asked if I would like to go with them. Even if I hadn't finished my exams the day before, I knew there was no way i would've stayed in that house alone again.
We headed to grandma's hospital and after an hour drive, we were soon there.
She was awake when we arrived and from the surprised looks on my parents faces, it seemed her condition must've improved greatly from the previous day.
I saw a book on the stand just beside her bed and picked it up. I was flipping through when something fell off.
I looked at the ground and saw it was a picture. It looked like a picture of grandma when she was little. I was still staring at the picture when something caught my attention.
Standing some distance behind my grandma in the picture was another little girl who looked exactly like Ana. I was still shocked when I noticed some writing at the bottom of the picture. It said Miss you Anabeth Cortez my little sister
Cortez was my grandma's surname and I realized Anabeth wasn't a stranger but family. I looked around at the smiling faces in the room and realized no one would believe my crazy story.