1 Entry #1: New house

"Shh! There's a dead body in the kitchen."

The rough texture of a gloved hand muffled my cries. My eyes automatically scanned the floor. I could feel something sharp poking into my side.

I looked down and was horrified to see a knife targeting my lower abdomen. Chills spiked through my entire body when I heard the creepy teeth-grinding sound, followed by a raspy whisper in my ear.

"Daddy's dead."

My body froze as I heard those words escape from the stranger's lips. I focused my eyes on the body lying on the floor, which I could now recognize.

"DAAAAD!"

I jerked awake from the nightmare; screaming and drenched in sweat, breathing hard.

Roxanne got up from her bed and felt my back. "Gosh, you're soaked. Did you have a nightmare again?"

I couldn't answer her. My brain replayed the man's voice, the feel of his gloved hand on my mouth, and his distinct smell. They tormented me every night.

I looked at my sister and quickly wiped the tears off my cheeks. "I told you. It was murder. Someone killed dad! Why don't you believe me?!"

I could hardly breathe. My sister sighed and looked at me with pity. She embraced me, and I clenched my fists in frustration.

‘Why is nobody taking my words seriously? I know what I saw that night!’

"Everything will be alright, Ate. We're moving tomorrow, and you'll forget everything, and we'll all move on," Roxanne said hushing sympathetically.

**

I sighed in dissatisfaction as I stared at the huge house I would call home from that moment. It looked haunted, for goodness sake!

I glanced at my mother. "Ma, I don’t like this house at all. It looks like a dwelling place for ghosts."

Mother shushed and narrowed her eyes at me. "Do you see this, Jasmine?"

She raised her palm and showed it to me. "If you don't want this flying to your face, shut up. This house is the cheapest I could find."

Papa was no longer around, so we had to spend money smartly.

My sister walked up to me and whispered in a shaky voice. "Let's share a room, Ate. This house gives me the creeps. I won’t be able to sleep alone."

I elbowed her stomach to let her know I despised her suggestion.

"New life, girls," Mama commented. "New life."

As if moving to a new house would erase that tragedy in our life.

The house looked old, but oddly enough, it didn't look unclean. When the creaking door opened, shiny wooden floors greeted us. Obviously glimmered by and reddened with floor wax. A thin layer of dust covered it.

What I hated the most about old houses was the furniture shrouded by cloth. I found it creepy.

"You two," Mother called us, "come and help me get these cloths off."

Roxanne and I hurried to uncover every piece of furniture that was covered. We coughed away the dust that got in our lungs.

"I already arranged your rooms beforehand. Go and check it out while I prepare lunch," Mother said.

When mother left and went to the kitchen, none of us went to our rooms. Instead, we scuffled and raced toward the remote control. I happened to win, so I stuck my tongue out at Rox.

"Hmp!" Roxanne hissed at me.

I turned on the television, which miraculously turned on quicker than I expected. I immediately tuned in to the latest local news only to stumble upon a gruesome headline.

"Yesterday morning, a dead body was found inside a drum inside the abandoned Garossa Factory. It was believed to be a case of suicide as Mrs. Reyes, mother of the sixteen-year-old girl, Angel Reyes, revealed that her daughter left a suicide note–"

‘Of all the things!’

I switched off the television. The suicide news was too grim to handle.

"Ate, I will help Mama in the kitchen. I hope you meet some ghosts here in the meanwhile!" Rox stuck her tongue out. I nearly threw the remote at her face but restrained myself.

"And I hope you trip yourself!" I yelled, and she responded with a grimace.

When Roxanne was gone, I looked around the quiet house. To be honest, the house was gigantic for three people, which gave it an eerie ambiance.

I strolled upstairs to check out my room. The creaking sound of the wooden stairs echoed, and I jumped up with a frantic heart.

‘Crap!’

I climbed the stairs while holding my breath subconsciously to lessen my weight because I was scared it couldn't carry it, which was stupid and impossible.

Many doors greeted me upstairs.

"So, which one is mine?" I muttered aloud in a sing-song to release the tension in my body.

Coming up to the first room, I opened the door and peeked inside. The room was clean, and I saw Roxanne's luggage inside.

"This is not mine," I concluded.

The next room was locked, so I moved over to the next one, and it opened. When I saw my luggage inside, I entered the room.

I felt a sudden cold breeze pass by me that made the hair all over my body stand up.

"The fuck," I mumbled.

I wasn't usually scared of paranormals, but I suddenly got the chills and started overthinking. I looked around suspiciously as I felt like someone was watching me from behind.

When I realized how stupid that was, I lightly slapped my face.

The room was huge. It had a queen-sized bed, a vanity mirror on the side, and a study table. Next to the vanity mirror was a large pastel yellow closet. The floor was tiled in white, and the walls were painted sky blue.

It didn't look newly decorated or newly painted. I guessed my mother had left the room as it was because it still looked new.

I sat on the bed and caressed the soft mattress. Somehow, the place felt distant and alien.

“You know what, Jas," I uttered to myself. "This is totally fine! New house, new school, new friends, new life!”

My hair hung on my face loosely so I took off my scrunchie to adjust it. It slipped from my hand and rolled underneath the bed.

‘How annoying!’

I lay on the floor on my stomach, reached out my hand under the bed, and tried to search for it. Until I touched something–

"ACK!"

I screamed and rolled away from the bed when I touched something squishy and hairy.

"Holy shit!" I frantically stood up when a squeaking mouse appeared from under the bed. "You freaking rat! Why scare me like that!"

When I was sure the rat was gone, I searched for my scrunchie again. I touched something for the second time. But this time, it wasn't like the squishy and hairy mouse.

I took it out and saw that it was a notebook. No, it was more like a diary and had a tiny padlock with a 4-digit combination to open it.

I searched for my scrunchie for the last time, and when I found it, I smiled victoriously. I tied my hair and breathed out in satisfaction.

Then, I inspected the diary. It had a yellow leather cover. On the right side, at the bottom, was a name in cursive letters.

"Angel," I read the name aloud.

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