Age nineteen

Chapter eleven

The door creaked open with no effort. The darkness vanished, courtesy of the bright light eluding from my phone. I stared into the room I had discovered a few minutes ago. It looked like a shrine, except it was ruled by a  beauty goddess.

Beautiful pink dresses adorned the wardrobe closest to the door. There was no other color on it, just the color pink. There were lots of pink saris too, it was impossible to believe whoever owned the room wasn't an Indian. I took a closer look and spotted a couple of pink jeans, and pink tops. It was all pink. The shoes were pink. Pink heels and sneakers. A pink backpack hung on the door. The wall closest to it was adorned with pink paintings, and even the wall was plastered with pink wallpaper.

My eyes itched at the sight of it, it was a creepy sight to behold. I was tempted to go back. To call Davey, and tell him I'd be early. Spend some quality time with him, and probably wait for Annie's instructions, but the sight ahead lured me. From where I stood, I could see a big portrait of a young lady. It looked like one of the pictures I had seen before in the photo album. All I needed to do was get closer. Close enough to see it, and maybe to feel it too. Just maybe, it might come alive.

I strode graciously across the room. By my left, I could see another wardrobe. It was all the color yellow. And at the far end, by my right, one last wardrobe stood pretty. There were all blue outfits lined in it.

I was finally in front of the painting. As I presumed, it was a beautiful painting of Anabel. I placed my hand on it and ran it through her face. Although it was painting, I could see that her cheeks used to be rosy.

"I will not fail you, Annie." 

"I know you won't" It was the drawing talking back to me.

"Annie?" I recoiled, and my heart raced.

"Yes...." The drawing responded for the second time.

"But how? This is just a drawing" Usually, I would freak out, and probably race to the door. But during the course of the last few weeks, I had encountered so many strange things, nothing surprised me anymore. I paused and waited for her response, but none came. "Annie?" She didn't respond. I sighed and walked on. The next painting was that of Charlotte, and the last in the row was Sandra's. 

Like I had expected, I saw two more wardrobes side by side, with yellow and purple dresses stocked in them. These were probably their outfits when they were alive, but it was creepy that it was just one color.

I turned to leave, thinking I had seen it all, and I bumped into another wardrobe at the far end of the room, it was the last wardrobe in the row, and it had my favorite color stocked up in it, the color red. 

My eyes widened, and I gasped in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me." I was speaking to myself.

Beside it, was a portrait. It looked newly made and looked as if it was waiting for a painting to be put in it.

"This is my mother's evil hideout." I clenched my fist in anger.

The walk back to the main building proved to me that the basement was inhabited. I had initially thought it had been so long since anyone came into that room, but I was wrong. In fact, judging from the freshness of the portrait, it was only a few days ago.

At the door that connected the basement with the secret room, I found a necklace, and I remember seeing it in one of my mom's pictures. The necklace was hers. She must have dropped it when she came to prepare for my death.

Maybe she used some sort of magic to kill my sisters, I couldn't tell. But either way, I was so relieved to leave the room, and the basement, and be back in my bedroom. I looked into the silver-plated clock, and couldn't believe my eyes. It was way past two pm. There were only twenty minutes left until three pm. I gasped.

Retrieving my phone from the table where I had placed it when I came back from the basement, I saw thirteen missed calls from Dave.

My hands shook, I was expecting any kind of reaction from him. He could choose to block me, never talk to me, to call me a bad friend. I rang him for the second time. I shut my eyes, held my breath, and waited.

"Hello, best." My eyes were wide open. He had answered.

"Oh, Davey, I'm so sorry I kept you waiting, I really..."

"That's okay, dear. Can you still make it?" He sounded so calm, I was beaten up so much by guilt. I was so carried away with the activities of the basement, I didn't realize that hours had passed.

"Yes, yes! Right away." I jumped up from my bed and headed for the door.

"Kerahhh..." I turned around, and my eyes met with the woman I had seen in the first painting.

My purse dropped from my hand, my jaw dropped as well. My eyes widened. I wanted to scream out in disbelief, but my voice lost its strength, and no sound came from it.

"Shhhh!" She put her index finger on her lips, and slowly approached me.

I had always wanted to meet Anabel in person, and now that I finally did, I didn't have the time to talk with her. I wanted to stay and talk with her, but my best friend who I hadn't seen in a month plus was seated at our favorite hangout spot, waiting patiently for me. He had been waiting since an hour ago.

"Anabel! I am surprised." 

"I know you are." Her brown eyes shone and pierced into my soul. What was I thinking, maintaining eye contact with a ghost?

Looking at Anabel felt like looking in a mirror. She was only a few inches taller. She had died at age nineteen, and it felt creepy to say that she was my older sister, because judging from how she appeared, she was still nineteen.

"Annie, can we talk later?" I hesitated to say it, but I didn't have much of a choice. It was either to go out with Davey and keep my relationship with him or to stay and talk with my ghost sister who had a lot of clues on how I could stay alive.