HAUNTED

Sandra woke up from sleep as aroma of freshly made pancakes filled her nostrils. She drifted to sleep, thinking about every single thing poor Annie had gone through.

She sat up as she yawned tiredly, stretching her arms. She was very famished and was very glad that Annie was making something nice in the kitchen.

Her gaze rested on the wall clock;it was already evening. She thought of having a bath and then going downstairs for dinner.

She stood up and walked over to the dressing mirror. She noticed scratch marks on her face and neck.

She knew it was not normal so she decided to talk to Annie about it after she was done having her bath.

She pulled off her clothes gently,watching her every move in the mirror.The scratch marks were all over her body.

She wondered if she was attacked by some spirits,.....no,she wasn't;she waved the thoughts aside and went to grab a towel.

She had never encountered spirits before and she never wanted to.Seeing what Annie went through at times,she understood that it must be hell of an experience.

She had almost walked into the bathroom when she heard frantic footsteps right behind her.

She jerked as she turned immediately.She was alone in the bedroom and Annie was in the kitchen, making dinner for them.

She wondered who it was,...or maybe her mind was playing a dirty trick on her. She waved the thoughts aside and went to have her bath.

She locked the bathroom door as she heard more footsteps in the bedroom;she was enveloped with great fear.

She did not hear the door open which clearly meant that Annie did not come inside and even if she had come inside,she would have called out to her to know where she was.

She swallowed hard in fear; unsure of what to do next,she stood still. She did not want to make even the slightest noise.

Her heart fluttered in fear when she heard glasses smashing against the bedroom floor

She prayed inwardly that they would not come for her but it seemed her prayers was heard because someone started banging roughly on the bathroom door.

She prayed silently;she had never experienced anything as such all her life.The banging stopped and the noises died down.

She wanted to call out to Annie but thought otherwise when she remembered that they might come back if they heard her voice.

"What if Annie is not fine",she thought as her mouth dropped open.

She summoned courage,twisted the lock and pulled the door open.She walked out of the bathroom as she stared at the bedroom floor in shock.

She had heard glasses smashing on the floor when she was in the bathroom but the floor was clean and there was no broken glass lying around.

She grabbed her robe,put it on and then headed for the kitchen. There was dead silence but she could still perceive the sweet aroma of freshly made pancakes.

Someone who was certainly not Annie was humming a tune, from the kitchen or maybe it was Annie.

She met Annie's unconscious body lying at he base of the stairs.She knelt next to her and felt her temperature;it was very cold.

She knew very well that Annie would be perfectly fine after some time but someone was still humming from the kitchen.

Fear gripped her as she stared hearing those strange footsteps and humming drawing closer. She closed her eyes as she held Annie's hand tightly.

"Sandra",Annie called out as they both opened their eyes,those footsteps and strange humming were gone.

"How are you,Annie?"she queried,her eyes filled with concern.

"I..."her voice trailed off as she coughed.

"Let me go get you water",she offered as she made to stand but Annie held her back, slowly shaking her head in negation.

"She's waiting for you,....in the kitchen", Annie snapped while Sandra gasped in fear.

"Me....?...but I...I don't even know her",she stuttered,her voice filled with fear.

Annie tried to speak but it seemed her words were stuck in her throat. Sandra sensed that something was wrong with her and tried lifting her up but she shook her head in negation.

A strong wind blew around the house, pushing and pulling the curtains as the lights started flickering.

Glasses started smashing against the kitchen floor. Annie's eyes met with Sandra's as they both swallowed hard.

She signalled Sandra to close her eyes and she did that immediately. Annie roamed her gaze around and they rested on the window.

There was a strange face smiling wickedly at her from the window. It was night time and the lights were flickering so she could not see who it was.

She closed her eyes tightly, trying so hard to move her body and hoped that Sandra would not.

A few minutes later, Sandra screamed out loudly....

**********

Sandra woke up with severe pains on her left shoulder.Her environment was a different from her bedroom;she wondered where she was.

She roamed her gaze and spotted Joe sitting on the arm chair in the corner; going through his phone.It dawned on her that she was in Joe's bedroom.

"Baby",she called out, struggling with the pains in her shoulder.

He looked at her and smiled,she smiled back in reply. She had missed him a lot! He stood up and walked over to her,his hands in his pocket.

"The doctor just left,he said you will be fine once you take your medications",he snapped as he bent over and kissed her forehead,neck and then lips.

She responded the kiss with equal energy and passion as he ran his hands through her hair and stopped almost immediately.

Their lips distangled as they both swallowed hard.She looked at him,her eyes filled with intense curiosity.

"You have to get better, sweetheart then.....",

"Where is Annie?"she queried, cutting him off abruptly. She was enveloped with so much guilt;,she could have asked about her when she woke up.

"She's at your house and..."

"No,she can't be there alone, it's haunted!" she snapped as she made to sit up but he held her back.