John is a smart cat. He got his inheritance when he was twenty-four.
At $100,000.00 he could've blown the whole sum on an awesome party in
the Caribbean like an extra long Spring break. That's what many dudes
would do but John wasn't ready to trade in this once in a lifetime
chance to turn his money into more money for a finite shot at the high
life. A $100,000.00 is a lot of dough. If he sucked it through the
drain like that he would never get a second chance at a free chunk of
dough again.
John was already well off for his young age when the family attorneys
cut him the promised check. He went to college. He worked hard. He
partied hard. He used his money well on good investments that paid
off. It wasn't like he was hard up for some liquid cheese or was
craving a new toy. He wouldn't throw a nickel of his inheritance away.
The new heap of dough hadn't affected anything at all in his private
life.
Once he had his inheritance in the bank he went on an adventure around
town to find a house in his price bracket. He aimlessly explored parts
of town he had never been to before. A $100,000.00 inheritance
couldn't buy much in the way of freshly built modern housing and John
knew that.
He went driving through the older neighborhoods. He needed a house he
could pay for entirely with his inheritance. A house in a good
location. A house he could rent out to a tenant. A house that would
conveniently pay for itself. A house that screamed, ''Buy me! I'm a
bargain!''
One day in his search for his bargain house he happened upon exactly
that desired house that he had pictured in his mind.
On the top of a hill near the center of town he smiled when he saw it,
the one situated on the left in a row of three. Surrounded with trees
and thicket, the area had the appearance of being in the country but
wasn't at all.
The house looked long abandoned but was in great condition for it's
age. It looked like it was erected in the WW1 era along with the other
two on the same lot.
A seller's sign was out front of the house in the driveway with
''PRIVATE SALE INQUIRE FOR PRICE'' and a phone number neatly
handwritten on it with paint.
John shifted his car into park and turned it off. He got out his
wireless phone to call the number on the sign. The seller was
energetic and excited that he called, agreeing to show him the house
the next day. When the call was done John sat in the driveway for
awhile, soaking in the magnificent vintage atmosphere of the
neighborhood.
All three houses were in great condition. The yard of the house up for
sale was unkempt and grown over. A fresh paint job was needed, maybe
some small repairs, but as far as he could tell it was well cared for
when the last owners had lived there. Surely nearly every house built
in the same era was long condemned and demolished before he was even
born. This house must have some sort of historical value.
Behind the picket fence, a grand old tree provided the whole yard with
much needed shelter from the scathing sun. A single lone swing hung
off the lowest branch, appearing so old and worn that it would surely
snap if he would sit on it.
John generally liked the area and the tidy appearance of the
neighbor's yards. He was sure that with some elbow grease and a small
construction crew he could pretty up the house enough to attract a
renter fairly easily.
The young man who sold him the house was a businessman with a knack
for quick deals. He had a plethora of houses for sale under mainstream
market value but they were profitable enough to let go of at his
reduced rate. "Quick money," he said, "accumulated at a higher rate
than intricate financing deals." He did all of his business deals that
way and he suggested John should do the same.
John was happy to take the house on the bargain deal. He paid for the
house, taxes included, and made the repairs all with his inheritance
and had enough leftover to leave in a savings account. He calculated
that the house would pay for itself in fifteen years if it were rented
at the price he set for it.
John would make many of the small repairs on the house himself. He
hired a painter to paint the exterior and he hired some masons to
relay the pathway to the door and lay a sidewalk along the fence at
the driveway. When the repairs were done the house looked great with
all the new alterations.
John advertised his newly restored house in all the papers with a bold
print and a photo. Several renters contacted him right away who showed
interested in his house. They called him within the same thirty minute
time frame of each other the same day the advertisement hit the paper.
Surprised at the strong and timely response, he had to call them all
back and notify them that he would need to do a raffle to decide who
would get to rent the house. They all agreed to participate in the
raffle because they all really wanted it.
John did the raffle and notified them of who was the winner. She was a
young immigrant from Estonia with the name of Sally. A professional
perfume saleswoman working hard to advance in her career, she would
end up being a good tenant that never brought him issues.
When the day came for him to show her the house and give her the lease
to sign she brought her mother and a female friend along with her.
John was happy to close the deal and establish himself as a landlord.
This put him on top for once in his life and became a milestone for
his life as a businessman and a property owner.
Sally seemed very ordinary and professional to John and John liked
that. When the lease was signed and he handed her a house key they were
at the newly restored house on the sidewalk that he had the masons
build for him.
An odd thing occurred at that second when she took the key that
accentuated an otherwise perfect day with a hint of the abnormal.
A cat hissed.
None of them were aware of any cat and in fact, John hadn't seen any
animals, domesticated or not, the whole time since he got involved
with the house. The hissing surprised them and they all looked around
for where the cat was.
A second cat hissed. The second hiss came as they realized the initial
hissing cat was hiding in the low lying flower bed that clung to the
inside of the picket fence. The second cat was beyond it on the swing
that hung off the old tree in the yard.
A third cat hissed. They quickly saw where the sound was, seeing a
flustered cat on the doorstep, it's tail stuck out, it's hair raised
on it's back and it was looking right at them.
Then as surprisingly as they hissed, they all made a run for the
backyard around the left side of the house.
Sally's mother touched her forehead with the back of her hand and
said, ''My, my. That made me dizzy.''
Sally slid the house key into her purse then asked John, ''Are those
your cats?''
John replied, ''No. I never saw them before. Maybe they belong to a
neighbor. I will look into it tomorrow. I wonder why they were
hissing.''
Sally's friend shrugged and said, ''Cats can be curious, they act
squirrely every now and again.''
''Okay, folks,'' said John, ''It was good to meet you and I will talk
to you again, Sally. Enjoy the house. If there's anything you need go
ahead and give me a call.''
John wouldn't talk to Sally again for quite some time. She always paid
her lease. John would go about his life as usual, letting the rent she
would pay accumulate in a bank account without using it. Owning a
house was great and he was happy to have made the investment.
Then one day, John was at his bachelor pad with his girlfriend Layla,
preparing to go out for the evening. On their way out the door, John
checked his answering machine to find a distressing message left on
it. It was Sally.
''Hello? Are you there Mr. Michaels? Uhh... I don't know how to tell
you this. It... it's probably a lot better if you came to the house
and see for yourself! Should I call the emergency people?! I really
don't know what to do. You must come to the house to know what I'm
upset about! I'm waiting for my boyfriend to show up. So don't worry,
I'm going to be alright. But your house! I don't think your house is
alright. No, not at all! If you could call me back as soon as you get
this, please do. Thank you Mr. Michaels.''
John and Layla looked at each other silently for a second. Layla said,
''Who is that?''
John replied, ''That's Sally. I rent my house to her. She's never
called me before. I'm curious as to why she is so worked up.''
Layla said, ''Well, she seems very upset about the house.''
John replied, ''Yeah, it seems so. I will go ahead and call her then
we'll go out.''
Layla crossed her arms and bit her lower lip while John snatched up
his house phone and pressed a speed dial button labeled, ''SALLY''.
There was a disconnected dial tone on the line. John had a perplexed
look on his face and told Layla, ''Huh. Disconnected.''
Layla said, ''Maybe we should call the emergency people. This could be
serious. She could be in danger.''
John replied, ''She said in her message that she was waiting for her
boyfriend. The message was recorded four hours ago. I don't know.
Maybe we should go check it out ourselves before we involve the
emergency people.''
Layla said, ''Okay, let's do that. I want to see your house anyway.''
John said, ''Let's go then.'' He winked at her and nibbled on her neck
playfully. She giggled. They left his bachelor pad together for his
house.
- - - - - -
A car and a truck were in the driveway at the house. John assumed that
they were Sally's and her boyfriend's. The neighbors were gone, their
driveways empty.
John and Layla sat there silently for awhile, looking at the house.
Neon light was emanating and pulsing through the windows, lighting up
the thin white curtains and glowing through.
Layla said, "That glow is unreal."
John dialed sally on his wireless phone and got a disconnected signal
for a second time. He said to Layla, "Well, should we go in there?
What do you think?"
Layla replied, "I don't know, but it's all so hypnotizing, look!"
John looked up at the house and felt a deep resonance like the dim and
grumbling whirr or a motorboat engine sounds to scuba-divers. The
pulsing glow through the windows seemed to work in synchronicity with
the resonance. John could hear the yearning of a nether voice call to
him.
John took Layla's hand and squeezed it lightly. "We will go." He said
with a lifeless monotone character to his words. Layla locked eyes
with him and said in the same monotone lifeless demeanor, "Yes. We
will go."
They slowly got out of the car together then reunited, holding hands,
at the end of the newly laid walkway to the main entrance of the
house.
The walkway was pieced together with thick slate like a stain glass
window and held together with fine cement in the cracks.
As John and Layla walked toward the house their feet would noticeably
sink into the slated walkway like they were walking on heavy duty
gelatin. They didn't seem to care though, as they were mindlessly
vacant in the head, nearing the house like wandering scarecrows.
Sally burst out of the house before John and Layla could reach it. She
was screaming, "Run! Run!" John and Layla hadn't seemed to care as she
ran past them. She quit running and screamed, "What are you doing! You
have to run! C'mon!" John and Layla continued walking toward the house
without pause.
Sally ran over to John then shook him hard on his shoulder, yelling,
"What's the matter with you!"
John nodded out of his stupor and was visibly confused. "Wh- where am
I?" He asked.
Sally quickly shook Layla out of her daydream and said, "There's no
time to explain, c'mon, let's go! Like, right now!"
At that second, Sally's boyfriend came dashing out of the house but he
wasn't alright at all. His clothes were tattered as though he were in
a monumental fight. His face was puffed up and covered with deep lines
and he grimaced like a gargoyle. He growled like a wild beast and
snarled inhumanly.
"See!" Shouted Sally, "He's out of his mind! Let's go! The three of
them took off down the walkway to the car and got in hurriedly.
"Lock the doors!" John yelled as he turned over the ignition. The
engine fired up and as he drove away Sally's deranged boyfriend came
running along the driveway after them but he never reached them.
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