Denied

Clearly sage had no effect on my invisible house mate. When I found the note I had to stop myself from having a panic attack. Part of me was terrified but another part found the funny. This individual had a sense of humor, I hope. At the very least they had sass.

I went to my room and got dressed in my night cloths. After calming my heart rate I decided to think things through. So far there had been the knocking, the voice saying hello, and flowers left for me. Now there is the note. Compared to other hauntings I had heard about this was down right welcoming.

I stood up and went back out to my kitchen. I called out a couple of times and waited for an answer. Silence was the only response I received. Alright then. If this individual could leave me a note, I'd do the same.

'Thank you for the flowers. Please stay out of my bedroom. You are a stranger to me and I don't want you in there especially while I'm sleeping.'

I have no idea what possessed me to write that. I had intended to ask who or whatever they are to leave but something told me not to. The last thing I needed was for things to turn hostile.

I went to the bathroom and got one of my over the counter sleep aids. I would need the little blue pill in order to get any kind of rest tonight. It didn't take long for me to become drowsy. Soon I was curled up under my covers and drifting off to sleep. I was secure in the knowledge that so far, this person or thing meant me no harm.

The next morning I was well rested. There was no sign of anyone having come in during the night. When I left my bedroom I found a new bouquet of calla lilies had been added to the vase that held yesterday's offering. At least they weren't on my bed this time. I checked on the notebook and found a new entry.

' Forgive me. I didn't mean to frighten you. I will not enter your sleeping chamber again without invitation unless necessary.'

Necessary? What could possibly make it necessary for my invisible housemate to enter my room? And what was up with his wording? I decided not to make a thing out of it. Instead I grabbed the pen and wrote a response of my own.

'Thank you. My name is Laura. What is yours?'

Simple, I know. But it's not like I needed to write out complete paragraphs to the individual. I was just trying to be cordial. At least until I could find a way to get them out of my house.

Breakfast was a quiet affair with no response in the notebook. A couple hours later, after cleaning up the mess I had made during the unpacking process, I found myself lounging on the couch with a bowl of ice cream. I was engrossed in a new horror movie when a loud knock on my front door made me nearly jump out of my skin.

I put the bowl down on my end table before getting up and looking out the peep hole. My parents stood on the other side, waiting patiently for me to answer. With a resigned sigh I opened the door.

"I'm seeing you guys tomorrow. What brings you up here?"

"Do we need a reason to see our favorite Laura?" Dad asked sarcastically.

"I'm your only Laura," I replied as I gave Mom a hug.

She smiled and rolled her eyes at our banter. She was far to familiar with us to be the least bit fazed by it. As I hugged her, I looked over her shoulder and noticed that Dad was carrying a small box.

"Did I leave something at the house? I could have sworn I got everything." I said as I stood back and let them in.

Mom's smile widened as a glimmer of mischief entered her eyes. I knew that look all to well. I became both curious and wary as Dad smiled back at her. They were definitely up to something. Instead of answering me he looked me over and shook his head.

"You lazy thing. Do you even plan on getting dressed today?" he asked, laughter in his voice.

"Nope. Now what's in the box?" I replied as I closed the door behind him.

It was then that I heard a rustling followed by a meow. My eyes widened in surprise as excitement welled in me. I closed the distance between us and reached for the box only for Dad to pull it away.

"Turn off your TV first," he said.

I quickly did as he said, rushing to the couch to find the remote. By the time I turned around he had put the box on the floor and opened the top. A furry black mass looked up in curiosity. Bright yellow eyes blinked as the little thing took in its surroundings.

"So cute! Hi baby!" I cooed as I kneeled down.

I reached out to let the cat sniff me. It did before instantly rubbing its head against my hand. I picked up the cuteness and found it be a girl with a white patch of fur on her chest in the shape of a star. I gently hugged her to my chest only for her to nuzzle my neck and begin purring. My heart melted.

"Thank you so much!" I said.

"You're welcome. She's a house warming present. I met a guy at a truck stop and he told me that this little one wasn't adjusting well to being in the rig with him. I offered to take her and he gave me all the necessities he'd had with him." Dad replied.

I stroked her soft fur as she purred happily. I went to put her down so she could explore only to find her claws imbedded in my top. She was clearly content right where she was.

"Well she has a good home now! She is going to be spoiled rotten!"

"We know. Jake, why don't you get the rest of the stuff out of the car so we can go." Mom said.

"Go?" I asked.

"We're looking at a few houses in the next town and want to get home before dark," Mom replied.

That made sense. Dad didn't want to drive a semi forever so he and Mom were trying their hands at flipping houses. I would have gone to them to find a new home but they were out of my budget. He went out and got the rest of my new cats belonging as I tried to decide where it all was going to go.

"So what's her name?" Mom asked.

"Star," I answered automatically.

I felt a furry head nuzzle my chin in response as if to say she approved of her new name. I didn't care what the driver had called her. She was mine now and so she would have whatever name I chose. As Dad put down the large bag of cat food with a grunt, Mom got up from the couch.

"Well you and Star have a good day. I love you," she said as she opened her arms for another hug.

"We will," I replied. She scratched the top of Stars head as she let me go.

Dad said nothing as he hugged me before following Mom out the front door. I took my bowl of now melted ice cream into the kitchen and rinsed it out. Behind me the pages of the notebook rustled as Star tensed against my chest. I turned around and found a new entry scrawled under my last entry.

'My name is Thaylin. It is a pleasure to meet you.'

Star jumped out of my grip and ran to hide. It would seem Thaylin had scared her. That wasn't a good sign. I had always been of the belief that animals were a wonderful judge of character. Her reaction caused my unease to return. One thing I knew for sure was that I wasn't about to turn the horror movie back on.

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I spent the rest of the day making the house cat friendly. Her litter box was placed in a corner of the bathroom while her food and water were in the kitchen. I had tried to place them next to the basement door but she refused to go anywhere near it. After moving it to the opposite side of the room she was fine.

After some consideration I decided to get dressed and go out. Soon I found myself parking in front of Spiritual Peace. Mac stood behind the counter with a knowing look in his eyes.

"Welcome back," he greeted.

"Thanks. Do you happen to have any decorations here made of iron?" I asked.

I knew it was a long shot. But it was a shot I needed to take. Part of me worried about the possible repercussions of this choice. Without a word, Mac walked to the back room. A few minutes later he returned with a delicate looking string of decorative ivy. I looked it over, unsure if he had heard me correctly.

"Uh, I said iron not ivy," I said uncertainly.

Mac chuckled. "It is made of iron. It's been painted. Don't worry, it'll work."

"What do you mean? I just want an iron decoration." I said defensively as he rang it up.

"Of course. Hang it over whatever door you choose, and you'll be alright," he replied.

I paid without another word. If I thought Star's reaction to Thaylin had been a red flag, then Mac's words were sounding internal alarm bells. What did he know? And more importantly, how did he know it?

I returned home to find Star hiding under my bed. I grabbed a couple of nails and hammer. I placed one nail in either corner above the door facing the interior of my bedroom. I draped the iron ivy over either nails so that it framed the opening.

Once I was done I laid on my bed with a sigh. A moment later Star joined me, seemingly relieved. A soft thud came from my doorway. It sounded like someone was trying to push through a locked door but that wasn't possible. Not only was my door unlocked; it was open.

Light rippled in the door way as the outline of a figure throwing itself at the invisible door appeared only for it to be repelled. It happened three more times then silence. I sat on the bed, tense for whatever may happen next. I didn't have to wait long as the notebook floated into view. Suddenly it was thrown at me in a clear show of anger. I picked it up hesitantly and flipped threw the pages until I found the new message.

'How dare you deny me entry!'