4 Chapter 4:

'We're finally here!' my mum replied excitedly.

'Mom, what happened to missing your old home?' I bleated.

'I know honey, but I've lived in this house all my childhood years and It feels great to have the house all by myself again! You don't know this, but grandpa never leaves me alone in the apartment because he was scared I would wreck the house.' she laughed.

'What? You did that?' my dad asked laughing.

'Apparently so. One time, I accidentally knocked down grandpa's bookshelf in his room.'

'Wow, now that's something that's worth getting grounded for.' we laughed.

The house was old. No matter how you say it: musky, damp, ancient, dank, stale, aged, you name it! 'Are you sure it's not a haunted house?' I checked.

'A what?' my sister gasped.

She gripped her box tightly and hid behind mom.

'Mom, I don't want to go in there!' she cried.

'Oh, it's not that scary! You'll like it on the inside.' she ushered us inside.

Too bad, it was just as creepy on the inside.

'Let's leave this place for good.' I pulled out the car keys.

'Going somewhere dear?' behind us was grandma and grandpa standing.

'Granny!' kiki ran over and gave them both a big hug.

'How are you my little ladybug?'

'Granny is this house haunted?' she quavered.

'No of course not, if so we're already ghosts.' grandpa laughed.

I casually approached them and smiled.

'Nice seeing you gran-gran. I heard you're going over the world to help some sick kids.'

'We sure are! hopefully, we will visit you once we are finished with our charity once in a while.'

'Are you sure you will be alright mum?' my mother asked concerned.

'We will be dear, don't you worry. And don't be afraid, a little bit of cleaning is all we need. After that you'll see the difference in this house.' she smiled.

Grandpa come over to me and handed me a bunch of keys.

'Wow, that's a lot of keys for a small house.' I exclaimed.

'Ha-ha, I know. My parents used to say there's more in this house than what meets the eye. There are rumors about mystery doors that lead to either fortune or foe.' he explained.

'Wow. Have you ever found one?' I asked curiously.

'No...unfortunately not. Maybe you will have some luck.' he exclaimed.

'But be careful, sometimes it leads to your doom.' she exclaimed.

'Yeah, thanks, grandpa. I'll try not to lose it.' I replied.

'Cool, can I try some of those?' kiki jumped.

'Nooo. Grandpa entrusted it with me and me only.' I shrugged.

'Foo, that's not fair!' she fumed.

After a lot of goodbyes and hugs, my dad went with them to drop them off at the airport.

'Aww...how noble of them to think to help people at that age.' kiki praised.

'It's true, they were busy raising three kids in an old mansion that they forgot their hobbies and passions. I'm happy that they got to do what they wanted to do again.' my mom replied happily.

'Ok, helping people in need is not a hobby.' I rolled my eyes.

'C'mon dude, don't ruin the mood!' she yelled.

I counted the keys one by one.

'One...two...three...fifteen...sixteen...seventeen!'

There were seventeen keys altogether.

One was for the front door, one for the back door, one for the balcony, and another one for the basement door. Don't know why they have keys installed for that.

The other thirteen are the 'mystery' keys.

Unknown and yet to be found in this house.

Cool, mystery and adventure, are just what I need for my social media!

'Alright, mom, do the honors and open your childhood house.' I handed the bunch to her.

She instantly put the key into the keyhole and the house opened with a loud creak.

To be honest, it wasn't like a house you would see in a horror movie.

The inside was just as old. But not like a haunted house.

The house was dimly-light and gave off a chilly vibe. The wallpaper was chipped off and no matter how much you cleaned you can clearly tell it was an old house with its rusty furniture and creaky floorboards.

'The roof has a leak.' I stated.

'Is that right?' mum asked unamused.

'Alright kids, go and explore the house and pick your rooms. The movers will be a little late. Then we have to take some rest and start unpacking as soon as possible.' she breathed.

'We better get this place fixed soon if we're going to live here.' dad replied

'We'll work on that, dear. For now, let's focus on settling here.' Mum replied.

'Alright mum, we'll get going.' we replied and started walking together.

'Ok, time to post this house in Vipernet.' I pulled the phone and clicked some pictures of the antique vases and the big chandelier in the dining room.

'Wow, sooo much content to post here.' she replied sarcastically.

'Well, does their houses have mystery rooms that open treasure?'

'Do you think it's a good idea to post it then?'

'I don't think I can even if I want to. No internet.'

'Aww...bummer.' she snickered.

' No internet? Now, this is real horror.' I sighed and pressed the reload button again and again irritated.

I looked around.

The room was neat.

The wallpaper was chipped and the bed looked kind of broken on one side.

'Oh, my god. Just how much work do I have to do around this house to make it look nice?'

I looked outside the window. A cool breeze blew on my cheek.

'At least the wind is nice.'

'Yeah, it is.'

'Hey, do you know why we moved here?' Kiki asked quietly.

I didn't reply.

'So you do?'

'Yeah. Mom and dad like this house, so they want to move in.' I lied.

'That's not true, they couldn't afford the house. That's why they moved here, didn't they?' she yelped.

'...That's right, they couldn't afford it.' I swallowed.

'And now we have to live in this ancient house leaving Brighthill behind.' I sighed.

'I bet mom and dad are just as worried as we are.'

'Yeah, you're probably right. So, let's make this easier for them.' I suggested.