3 The Howl

Margaret is kind and sweet. That's my first impression of her.

"Mom, I'm taking Eva to our room. Is that cool?", she asks impatiently like a small kid.

Aunt Edith passes looks between me and Maragret and says, "Eva, she has been talking about having a roommate, nonstop for the last few days. If she pesters you, let me know immediately", she laughs mockingly at her daughter.

"Moooom! Be cool!!", Margaret whisper shouts and rolls her eyes which breaks out a grin on my face.

I take my absence from everyone and follow Margaret through the narrow stairway lining the side of the living room. It's old and dingy and creaky when we step on it too hard. This house feels straight out of a horror movie.

She opens the room door which I notice doesn't have a lock outside and once we both enter in, she latches it from inside. I've never been to such an old fashioned place before. it's like living in a different era than ours.

This room is fairly spaced with two wooden cots. I thank all gods that the beds are not connected. There is only one wardrobe which means I have to share my stuffs with her. Okaaay... That's cool, I can do that. Easy peasy. I convince myself.

There's a dresser in one of the corners perpendicular to the door. I turn and stand in front of it. I'm actually very self conscious when it comes to meeting new people but it's sad that today I didn't get a chance to look at myself or correct my hair.

I'm a complete mess. Two tired looking green eyes stare back at me through the mirror. My wavy blond hair is tangled because of the wind and travel. The freckles on my cheeks peep out of my fair complexed skin like sesame seeds on a burger. I hate these freckles but can't get rid of them. I quickly comb my hair with hands and straighten the t-shirt which I'm wearing.

Margaret is silently observing me from behind. She smiles as soon as my eyes meet hers, like she's hiding something. Weird.

Hmph! I'm about to tell her that I need the bed which is beside the window because I'm claustrophobic when she chimes in with, "you can take the bed by the window and I'll take the other one, unless....you want to change?"

Can she read my mind?

She sends a knowing smile in my direction. I nod at her and say, "No, it's fine. I'll take it" and as a show of approval, I roam around the room and sit on the bed. The mattress feels like a stone bench against my ass but I try to hide the unpleasantness and put on a fake smile to her who is gauging every second of my reaction. "It feels good"

She raises a disbelieving eyebrow at me.

"You don't have to lie. I know it's not that comfortable like your place but we hardly sleep, so we didn't care much about interior designing", she says nonchalantly taking a seat on her bed.

"Oh, why?", I ask curious to know.

"It's just our way.", she shrugs and continues, "So, tell me about your place. What you used to do... how many friends you had...."

She purses her lips and looks at me expectantly.

"Umm... okay....", I stammer to find a proper reply.

"Actually, I used to live in a much smaller apartment which my parents bought before I was born so that's the house I practically grew up in. And.... I had my high school nearby, had a couple of friends there. They were fun. But yeah, that's about it!"

Phew! I need to stop being flabbergasted every time someone asks me a personal question.

"I see... What do you do for fun?", she shoots her next question.

"Hm....I play guitar or read books", because I do these whenever I'm free. That's fun for me, I don't know about others though.

"So, that's your guitar?", she asks pointing to the red guitar which is slanted towards the wall near my bed.

I nod in agreement.

"Can you play a song for me?"

"Ah.....", I trail because I never play songs for anyone except my parents, but telling her that will be rude so instead I just reply, "I feel tired now because of travelling. Maybe next time?"

"Yes, sure. I'm sorry, I should've known! Do you want to rest?", she asks concerned.

"Yup, that'd be great! Thank you", I don't want to lie to her. I feel exhausted to my bones because of the long journey, but as its my first day here and I'm full of nerves, I didn't notice it till she mentioned just now.

"Okay!", she smiles and gets up from her bed. She moves swiftly and reaches the switchboard near the door.

"You're not sleeping?", I ask.

"No...We'll chat for awhile and sleep later. If you need anything, give me a call", she answers in a sing-song voice.

"Okay....but hey, I don't have your number!", I remind her.

"You do... just check your phone. Good night, Eva and once again welcome to the family", she winks at me and leaves the room.

"Good night, Margaret", I reply to the closed door.

I immediately search for Margaret in my phone and it's there in my contact list. How did she do that? She was sitting with me the whole time, right? Weird again! Is it only me?

I pull up the blanket and close my eyes. I really don't want to overthink anymore and rot my brain. Right now, I'm very tired to think anything.

Fatigue and exhaustion engulfs me in few moments after I close my eyes and I slowly fall asleep.

~~*~~

I'm deep into the sleep, when I hear the sound. At first, I don't wake up because I'm still not sure if it's dream or reality.

But a sudden sharp noise makes me jolt up and sit upright in the bed.

What the hell is that? I ask myself in shock and open the blinds of the window.

I see nothing for a good distance. Only dark lonely trees covering acres and acres of space in the wood till my eyes can register.

I hear another freaking howl which shakes my entire body.

A chill runs down my spine. This is the most scariest sound I've ever heard in my life. Maybe some wild animal? it's very primal and predatory. I see slight movement in the woods among the trees and immediately call Margaret in panic.