Evelyn, the mother, steps out first, clutching her coat tighter. Thomas, her husband, unloads their bags, while Sophie, their teenage daughter, lingers by the car, staring up at the house.
"Did someone leave a light on?"
"No one’s lived here in years, Sophie. It’s probably just the wiring," replies Evelyn, forcing a smile.
Thomas investigates the source of the flickering light, finding nothing but an empty bulb swaying gently, as if disturbed.
"Let’s just get some sleep," he calls out, trying to mask his unease. Evelyn tucks Sophie in, her voice trembling slightly.
"We’re safe here, sweetheart. It’s just an old house,"
Sophie sits up in bed, heart pounding, straining to listen. The footsteps pause outside her door.
"Mom?" she whispers, voice barely audible.
The footsteps retreat, fading into the distant creak of the attic stairs.
Evelyn[/@ch_1] goes to check on Sophie, but as she passes the parlor, a translucent figure glides through the room. Its features are twisted in sorrow, eyes hollow and searching.]
Evelyn freezes. The ghost’s gaze meets hers, and for a moment, the air turns icy cold.
"Leave… before it’s too late," the ghost whispers, voice echoing from nowhere and everywhere all at once.
Thomas stares at the apparition, desperate for answers.
"Who are you? What do you want from us?"
"I am bound to this house. My family vanished here long ago. You must go—before you become part of its story,"
Sophie glances back, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Will it ever let anyone go?"
Evelyn hugs her close, offering only silence as the family drives away, leaving the haunted house and its sorrowful ghost behind.
