We had moved a day ago, the house was far from the town centre but it was big and for the first time we didn’t have to share a room with my siblings. We were playing hide and seek when I thought I saw a shadow, a human figure in the window of my room but when I looked I didn’t see it anymore, I didn’t give it too much importance and the day went on.
My parents went to town in the afternoon to buy some things that were missing: bulbs for the lights, and garbage bags and to talk to Roque, the town’s electrician since the lights were failing and flickering in the bathroom and in my room.
Before leaving they told us the same thing as always: to be careful, to behave well, that there were cookies in the kitchen, and that we should not open the door to anyone, that we are attentive in case they called and that we see that Ana, my youngest sister of 5 years, does not make a mess, and that little by little we take the boxes from the dining room to each room, to make room.
We all said yes, obviously, and as soon as my parents got in the car, we all went back again to what were we doing before: staring at the cell phone, because they still hadn’t connected to the internet my older brother, Javier, went to his room to listen to music and left me with Ana in the dining room.
I yelled at my brother to come and help but he didn’t come. After two minutes he had already put the music at full volume, I looked at my sister and told her ‘we can do it!’ We started moving boxes, choosing the ones that were not from Javier, to punish him for not helping and between Ana and me, we emptied a corner of the dining room. While I was arranging some boxes in my room, I heard Ana talking to my brother, and I thought that he had come to help. I could hear very little of the talk, more than anything that Ana said, I could not listen to Javier, but I did listen to his music.
I kept putting my things in order and I stayed calm because I heard Ana and she was laughing, but they did not seem to be moving boxes… I was a little worried but I did not think about it anymore.
After ordering my books and some of my things, I paid attention to my sister’s voice again: I could hear her, but different, as if Javier’s music was sad and in the background.
I left my room half curious to know what they were talking about, because they never talked that much, and half thinking about eating something. When I entered the dining room I saw my sister talking to a cloud of smoke in a mirror, the smoke seemed to vibrate, it moved undulating, between white, grey and black, they were wisps of smoke that vibrated….. I was paralyzed with fear for a few seconds, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t think, I didn’t hear anything but Ana answering to the mirror and reaching out to touch it… I yelled with all my might -Ana!!!!!! And she turned around and looked at me with blank eyes. I just managed to scream as I ran to grab her and when I got close, I saw a small thread of smoke released from his hand. Ana shouted my name as if waking up, and I shouted hers, scared.
I turned to look around thinking that smoke was coming at us, but there was nothing, just a large round mirror on the wall.
Student: Dante Buron
Level: Intermediate
