THE ENCOUNTER

The went by faster than I thought, and before I knew it, it was Saturday. Stephen decided to sleep in since it was the weekend and I decided to get ready for the day before waking him up. After showering and making breakfast I went up to wake Stephen, "Stephen, wake up!", "...mmmm", "Stephen!" I yelled out standing by the door, my arms crossed in disbelief that this was the same person who was crying about wanting to be responsible for himself a few days ago, "hm! I'm up!...I'm up" Stephen said trying to jump out of bed, "...pfft hahaha calm down this isn't boot camp. Come on get up and get ready we're heading out" I said as I turned to leave, "huh heading out? To where?!" Stephen said fully awake, "get ready first then you'll find out!" I yelled from the hallway heading towards the stairs.

After 20 minutes Stephen came down casually dressed with curiosity written all over his face, "so...where are we going?!" He said as he sat down at the table, "hmm...it's a surprise" I said teasingly as I handed him his breakfast and sat down beside him. We finished set out for our mysterious adventure. Stephen repeatedly asked me to tell him where we were headed, even went as far as to guessing my hidden agenda at every stop we made trying to piece everything together and read my mind, but every guess was worse than the last. After what seemed like a lifetime of hearing Stephen guess wrongly, he finally gave up trying and decided to watch tiktok videos on his phone, "finally, silence" I said as I sighed in relief. As we walked past a bus stop I noticed a familiar house, as we got closer I felt uneasy and an unsettling familiar feeling crept into my chest. Chills ran down my spine as I stood paralyzed infront of the tall rusty gates of the abandoned house I and Steven saw on his tablet weeks ago, I never thought I would ever see the house in person, infact I had forgotten about it entirely till this very moment. Standing there unable to move, I felt drawn to the house...like something or someone was calling for me, and just as I was about to touch the gates, "Sam!", I snapped out of whatever trance I was in, "Sam! Let's go!" Stephen yelled from a distance after noticing my absence, "...I'm coming!" As I turned to leave something shiny caught my eye, I stopped in my tracks and peered through the iron gates trying to find the mysterious object, as I was so fixated on the tall unkept grass a gush of wind blew the grass hard enough for me to identify the object, "...that's... Stephens-" , in that exact moment the familiar feeling of being watched by dozens of eyes weighing on me causing me to almost have a heart attack, my heart raced faster and faster, as I raised my head up and faced the house, standing still on the porch was the same silhouette from before, before I could make a sound it raised its hand and motioned for me to come in, my eyes widened in shock, I was in utter disbelief of what I was witnessing. "SAM!", I fell to the floor, then reality hit me, I looked back up towards the house but the grass was too thick to see anything and then I remembered Stephen who had been calling me for a while now. I rushed down to meet him and we continued our journey.

After 3 bus stops we finally reached our destination. Using the excuse of wanting to grab something to eat, I led Stephen who was so focused on his phone, he followed my voice blindly. Unaware to Stephen who was still distracted by his phone, we had entered into one of his favorite places he's been dying to visit, this place was like Mac Donald's and an arcade game store had a baby with a bouncy house and a ball pit attached to it. I left to go meet up with a friend of mine who was also helping me to organize everything, Eleanor is my friend since highschool and we've always been there for each other no matter what. I asked Eleanor to help me plan this whole surprise for Stephen a few days back, so while Stephen was at school Eleanor and I would meet up here to organize everything with the manager who was familiar with Eleanor. "Are you ready?" Eleanor said eagerly putting her phone to get ready, "yes, he's at the the booth, I don't think he has noticed where we are yet , he's glued to his phone" I said as I rolled my eyes jokingly, "ok I'll start", "ok I'll keep him busy...not like I'll have to do much" I laughed as we parted ways to carry out our missions.

I walked up to Stephen who didn't even notice I sat across him for a minute, "hey!" I said as I snapped my fingers right in his face attempting to grab his attention, "oh Sam when did you get back? And where's the food...I thought you were hungry and when are we gonna reach out mysterious destination ?" Stephen said now fully aware of reality, with a tired expression, Stephen looked at me with his eyes hungry for answers, "woah!...slow down with the questions, I feel like I'm being interrogated" I chuckled lightly trying to avoid his piercing gaze and his pressing questions, "well, Mr detective, I just got here a few minutes ago and I came back to ask you what you wanted to eat, I wasn't gone for long and I came back as soon as I remembered. Also just be a little more patient for a little while...okay?" I said trying to reassure him and redirecting his attention, "*sigh*...fine, whatever you say. Since we're on the topic of food, I'll just have a pepperoni pizza and a big size diet coke", as he told me his order I could feel how bored and tired he was and I could tell the excitement he had a few hours ago was all gone. Perfect!. "Ok, are you gonna finish all that by yourself?", "mhm" he said passively as he picked up his phone to continue entertaining himself, "ok then I'll jus-" as I got up to leave the lights suddenly went out, concerned murmurs filled the room and Stephen looked up for a second and back to his phone, "I'll be back, don't go anywhere and if you do have your phone on you", "mm" he responded dismissively. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday happy birthday happy birthday to you!", "SURPRISE!" I yelled as I placed the cake on the table and I and Eleanor with some of the staff set off mini confetti cannons above Stephen. Stephen looked around suprised and confused, the his eyes landed on my smiling face, requesting for an explanation, I went over to Stephen and knelt down beside him,"this...this is just a little thank you and...an apology. You've been through a lot ever since your birthday and I'm mainly responsible for the most of it if not all, I want you to know that although mom and dad aren't always around it doesn't mean they don't love you and I'm always here for you no matter what.", he looked at me with teary eyes trying to say something, "no Sam I-", "-shhh it's ok don't say anything...if you wanna say something just say thank you..." I said, cutting him off as I pulled him in for a hug and comforting him, "...also, Stephen, you don't need to force yourself to wake up early and do whatever else's in that mischievous brain of yours, just focus on living your life, when the time comes for you to care and be an adult you'll know, but for now...just let me enjoy taking care of you, okay?", "...o...okay..." Stephen said trying to hold back his tears. After calming him down I then told him about the restaurant and brought out his friends who with their parents permission I had invited, Stephens reaction was nothing less than I had expected, he excitedly ran towards his friends who extended their arms to welcome him but he unexpectedly turned back midway and gave me one last hug, tighter than I have ever received before leaving to meet his friends. He was happy, so was I.

After thanking the manager and the staffs who had helped out earlier I sat down with Eleanor thanking her once more before admiring Stephen happily playing with his friends in the kids zone. While we were eating I suddenly remembered the little incident from earlier while we were on our way here and decided to ask Eleanor if she knew anything about it since she's been around long before I moved here. "Eleanor?...",I said feeling a bit hesitant, "Yh", she said lifting her head to face me, "...do you happen to know anything about an abandoned house about 12 blocks from my house?" I said discreetly, Eleanor seemed lost in thoughts, " you know there's a lot of abandoned houses...but 12 blocks from your house...-" I look up to see why she'd stopped taking, Eleanor had a slightly terrified yet unsure look mixed with concern, "Eleanor...?", "Sam...please tell me the house you're talking about isn't the house I'm thinking about...." She said now with a cold expression, I honestly hoped it was the house she was thinking of, but I couldn't say that, "what do you mean...what are you talking about... Eleanor?"I said discreetly, "Sam there's only one abandoned house 12 blocks from your house...and...I don't think you should be involved with anything concerning that house!" She said dismissively as she resumed eating her food. I was shocked by her response and a bit uneasy but I had questions that need answers and if Eleanor knew something I wasn't going to back down cause of a subtle warning, "Eleanor...if you know something, anything! About this house please tell me..." I said hoping she'd reconsider, Eleanor looked up to face me, staring at me in silence "...no" she said sternly as she continued eating, with my hope shattered I was frustrated, "what's up with you Eleanor...why won't you-", "Sam I said no!" Eleanor said without lifting her head, "...why...why won't you just drop it! Huh Sam! Why won't you just drop it? Why is it so important to you!" Eleanor yelled under her breath trying to respect this was a public area, with her head lifted I could feel the pain in her voice and tears began falling from her eyes which were filled with sorrow. The bright jovial happy girl I've known for over 10 years crying with so much pain in her heart which she hid so well over the years or...she'd forgotten till I brought it up.

I sat in silence staring at Eleanor's half eaten food, thinking about what might've happened for Eleanor to have acted this way. Eleanor came back from the restroom 20 minutes later, now stable and composed "what happened..." Eleanor suddenly asked as she sat and continued eating without looking at me, "...I'll tell you, but let's talk about you first, seems like you've been carrying something heavy in your chest", "... Sam if I telling you this you have to promise me that you won't go to that house, ever!", I hesitantly noded as she sighed, "Sam...a few years before we met, before I even entered high school...I had a childhood best friend, her name was Melody, she and I have been friends since we were toddlers and one day my family moved here cause of some environmental issues, sooner or later while chatting with Melody over the phone I found out she and her family were looking for a place to move to because of the same environmental issues that caused I and my family to move. There has been a 'for sale' sign in my neighborhood for months, so I decided to send Melody the number of the agent thee next day and before I knew it 3 months had passed and we were reunited once again...I was so happy Sam...so happy, we spent a whole month together in my house while her parents were rounding up some things with the house,it was wonderful. A year later while at their house, I and Melody found a locked up door with scratches and marks on it, we asked her dad about it and he said it's been like that since they moved and he's just left it be since the rooms they had were enough, that if they needed more space he'll open it up. Melody had taken her dad's words and left it but I...I was too curious back then, so I persuaded Melody to help me persuaded her dad into opening the door. We succeeded, and once he got it open...there was absolutely nothing!. I was confused and more confused cause the room was spotless but Melody's dad brushed it off as a good thing...things never felt the same with Melody's or her house, when I would plan to come over she'd decline or make an excuse for me to not come over and times I would come Unannounced she'd strongly insist on us playing downstairs or outside, I found it very strange but I wanted her to tell me on her own without making her feel uncomfortable. It went on for a few more months till I stopped going over and she stopped coming to school. After the semester ended I went over to her house...she wasn't there, the doors were locked and the grass had grown quite a bit, I went back home and tried to call her several times I even tried her parents line...but no one answered", Eleanor wiped away her tears as she forced herself to finish the story, "...one night I had woken up towhat felt like a minor earthquake, it thought it was just a minor earthquake before the 'real' earthquake started. I leaped out of bed heading to my parents who seemed to not have noticed...I mean how could they, I was the only one who was fighting insomnia since Melody's changes. As I passed by my window heading to the door, a bright burst of red light caught my eye, I stopped to look further and It was coming from Melody's street. Something felt off but I ignored it and went to my parents room, my mom told me to sleep with them for the night. The next day, I went over to Melody's house and was shocked to see the police all over the house, the house which for some reason looked like it was burnt was now covered with police tape. I was so confused as to what had happened, I asked some of her neighbors what had happened last night, they said the house looked like it was engulfed in flames and someone hurriedly called 911...I was so scared a lot of thoughts filled my head of what could've happened to mel and her family. I went up to the police tape restricting entry into the property to take a closer look, as I examine the house in fear, I overheard two police men talking, one of them said," It was said the house was on fire and from the looks of it, that could infact be the case...but, if it was on fire last night...why does it look like it was burnt years ago. There were no signs of ashes, burnt wood and the grass...the grass doesn't look like it was touched by fire despite being so close to the house" "you've got a point, there's not much evidence to prove this house was on fire last night but record shows a family lived in this house for a year and it was fine till last night" the second officer said trying to make sense of everything, the first cop was as confused and curious as I was "yeah but where's the 'family'. If there really was a family here, they certainly aren't here now, and no one in HQ can seem to trace them or the shady salesman of this house." He said in frustration. I stood silently still listening in on their conversation, as much as I was worried about Mel and her family's sudden disappearance and change in behavior, it all just didn't make any sense, my thoughts were interrupted by the cop, "you know that's not the worst part, from what people at HQ found, this house was bought 7 years ago and the previous owners, from testimonies their relatives and friends gave, had been acting strange after moving into the house, and guess what the exact same thing that happened then is exactly what is happening now. The house burning, the disappearance, even the testimonies are the same, their neighbors said they had stopped seeing them 3 months before the incident." From there I ran back to my house straight to my room. After locking myself up for a month, I finally got over the incident by telling myself they didn't find any body so that means they're still alive. I passed by that house a lot on my way to school, then you came around and we became friends, and before I knew it I had forgotten all about everything and the house became just an ordinary old abandoned house...until today...".

I sat there shocked by the history of the house and the story of Eleanor. I took her hand trying to comfort her, she nodded to reassure me she was okay, "so...now's you're turn...what's your business with that house" she said seriously, I told her everything that had happened for the past month. Eleanor was too stunned to speak, she looked back and discreetly pointed at Stephen "Stephen?!" "Yeah, I can't imagine how hard it must've been for him, I mean he's just a kid" I said lowering my head feeling a mix of gratitude and remorse, "yeah well, luckily he was there with you and you were there for him..." "Yeah" "...hold up! So lemme get this straight, you want to go to that house all because of a drone?! And everything that has happened to you throughout this month hasn't discouraged you even in the slightest?!" Eleanor said in disbelief, "...hmm yeah I guess so, I mean I got it for him as a gift and he's been feeling bad about loosing it on the same day I gifted it to him and honestly I worked my ass off for that drone and since it was the last one I had to work extra hard, I can't just let it rot

In some abandoned houses unkept yard" I said passively, Eleanor was stunned by the fact I wasn't shaken at all after everything she'd told me and what I had told her, "still stubborn as ever" "besides a little ghostly visit doesn't scare me, it's actually been quite lonely with everyone so busy, seems like the ghost noticed and decided to keep me company" I said jokingly trying to lighten up the mood, Eleanor laughed in utter disbelief and our conversation drifted from the mysterious house to our highschool days.

The day came to an end, Stephen said goodbye to his friends as they left with their parents, we paid our respects to the manager and the workers. We packed up and Eleanor dropped us off at our house, Stephen happily thanked Eleanor and I as I stayed back to chat with Eleanor a bit. I leaned down to the car window, "thanks a lot again..." I said trying not to bring up our depressing conversation but seemed like Eleanor didn't mind " it's fine. Sam do me a favor...I know I can't stop you but if you eventually decide to go through with whatever you've got planned, you've got to let me know ok!" She said seriously, looking me dead in my eyes with a hint of worry, "don't worry I'll be fine... I promise I'll let you know once I've decided okay" "ok... goodnight " she said in relief as she started her engine and drove off.

I went in and headed into my room. I showered and laid down on my bed thinking about everything Eleanor had said today, slowly I began drifting off to sleep and decided to just sleep on it.