Second

Page 2; The Haunted Man

I escaped my past as most people claim to do but we know it will find us. I came from an abusive marriage in some ways and that is the price we pay for arranged marriages I suppose. I rented a house in a town outside of a big city this house was small but extremely cheap. The structure was strange since it was a one-floor house but stairs lead up to a second floor that where not listed in the original design I was shown. The door at the top of these stairs was locked so I called the one who sold me the house but he did not answer. So I left it be and went to unpack my things I figured it was nothing really important to be bothered with.

Late that night I had awoken to a sound of a man crying it scared me but for some reason, I felt sad. I followed the sound like a siren's lure up to the second floor with the locked door. Strangely it was unlocked now and when I opened the door I saw a man staring out a window holding onto a sheet. I was paralyzed but through a shakey sound I called out to him calmly it never occurred to me a stranger was in my home in a room locked previously. It was a pure concern and that consumed my thoughts as I continued to call out softly through shakey sounds. He responded eventually but I couldn't hear him so I asked him to repeat himself. That's when I heard what he said which sent chills through me.

"I was a man who once thought he knew love but she left me for another man who has forsaken love. Now she rests in a place far away from me and I rest here hoping she will one day find her way back to me."

That night I felt compelled to stay so I sat next to him and listened to his story while telling him my own. We talked well into the night till dawn came and sleep claimed me, but when I awoke that morning the stranger was gone. That sheet was placed over me as I laid upon a cold floor, I believe it was a dream that I could not explain. So I went on with my day and tried to fix my life that was shattered and repair the broken feeling I have inside. The people in the town were nice and I tried to ask about the man giving the best description I could recall but no one seen or heard of him. I even called the man who sold me the house but still no answer which became worrisome but I was safe so that was what mattered most.

That night I once more heard a sound from the second-floor room but not crying this time. It sounded like things being moved and for some reason my heart was racing with anticipation. Strangely enough, the stranger had done something to my heart to send it racing. The closer I got the more I recalled about the night before and I couldn't wait to open this door once more. Yet again he was here staring out that window once more wearing that sad smile so perfectly. We once more talked about things and he finally told me his name but I couldn't pronounce it so I settled for his first letter Q. He brought a strange smile and warmth to me even as I heard about the love he lost it made me feel connected to him the more we spoke. When I told him more about my story he asked if I wanted him to make it all go away. I wanted that desperately but what price would I pay for such a gift I couldn't fathom his request would be so simple.

He told me just as dawn was rising and sleep was claiming me once more to meet him here again. If I truly wish to be freed from my shackles he would take it all away in exchange that I stay by his side. It felt so real but when I awoke it felt like a dream yet again like none of it happened. I finally got ahold of the homeowner but the connection was terrible, I had asked him if he knew a man that owned the house before. But he told me a woman-owned this house never a man, he also said she disappeared thirty years ago. The dream became more strange and more real to me because I felt pulled to this stranger yet so many questions surrounded this house he visited only at night. And he left every night just as dawn breaks and sleep claimed me, when I went home it was almost time for bed. I heard a noise but I didn't have that feeling like I normally did I felt scared. I crept around trying to find the sound but then my front door was kicked in and the man I was fleeing from stood in its entryway. I was petrified even when he stormed over to me I couldn't move I feared this was my end and the stranger who brought me hope would remain a mystery. I felt the first strike which sent me spiraling across the floor I couldn't move no matter how much I urged my body, fear had paralyzed me.

As he came to grasp my wrist to pull me I found my voice to spit out a single letter, Q I said it with the utmost urgency. I don't recall what happened next because the lights exploded and the house shook violently I thought I heard a scream but my mind went blank when I felt familiar hands capture me. He came to save me I didn't need to see or know what happened because someone came to save me, that's when I realized he wasn't human. His teeth had a sharper point than possible for a human but that didn't matter. Because I was saved by this man who once told me how Haunted he was before he met me, that night I left to stay by his side. True to his word I was safe and he was no longer alone waiting for the love he lost, I pray I can help him the same way he helped me.