“!” didn’t hear it. “!” came running up the stairs and in to her room. She didn’t show any sign of paying attention to him. She was sat on the bedroom floor with pieces of paper scattered all around her. “, I’m talking here,” said and sat down next to her. “Concentrating,” replied and switched places on some of the paper readings. “Finding anything relevant then?” he asked, just to make conversation. mumbled something he didn’t understand. He leaned over and read some of the headlines; ‘Widow found dead by own son’, ‘Man stumbles across dead animals while on foot trip’. Boring stuff, he thought. grunted in frustration. “There’s nothing here! I thought we’d at least find something, but no!” She threw the piece of paper she had in the hand down on the floor and got up. “Let’s go back then! I mean, we only got to check like half of the first floor. There are still two floors left, and a cellar, if it’s even there.” raised her eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously. “Since when did you get so excited about this?” she asked , who had also gotten back up on his feet. “I’m just saying…” he replied, smiling. laughed. “You find it more exciting than you thought at first, . And all because of that safe, which you can forget about. No way we’re ever gonna find out what the right combination is.” looked disappointed in ’s sudden change of interest. “There is bound to be something out there that we can find,” he said, collecting the newspapers from the floor. He placed them on her desk. “Let’s go then. Oh, did you get the photos?” nodded. “I’ll show you later.”
They came to the factory and parked the car on the back, well hidden from the only road passing through. “Where do you want to start?” asked as he opened the door. “I was going to ask you,” replied and let her in first. They switched the flashlights on. The beams of light swept across the dirty hall. “Continue on this floor?” suggested. nodded and followed behind him. After thirty minutes they were done with the first floor. They progressed to the second floor, but nothing could be found there either. “I give up. This is fucking useless!” stamped her feet in despair. “?” She turned around and looked for him. Her beam of light swept across the room, making almost no light by now. She cursed as she realised it needed new batteries. “! THIS IS NOT FUNNY!” she screamed and felt anger boil up inside. She was just about to scream yet again when the light died out and the room became completely black. was irritated. The flashlight hit the floor with a dump sound. She stepped up to the door, fumbling for it in the dark. She found it. She felt her way out of the room and reached the staircase. She held her hands firmly on the wall, feeling her way down it. “! GET YOUR ARSE DOWNSTAIRS THIS VERY MINUTE!” Her voice echoed in the huge hall, but nothing was heard of . That idiot, she mumbled as she reached first floor. She couldn’t remember where the door was. A sudden noise behind her made her turn around, although she was unable to see anything. “?” Her voice wasn’t so secure anymore. She heard soft footsteps from behind. She turned around again, trying her very best to sense what it was and where it was. She felt goose bumps on her back as she could feel something behind her. She turned around yet again, and was stood face to face with , who was now holding his flashlight underneath his chin. screamed in his face, hit him hard in the shoulder and rushed away. laughed from behind her. She started running towards the door and when she reached it, she slammed it in ’s face. He opened it and shouted after her. “I’m sorry, !” ignored it. She walked up to the car and got in. When reached it he had a hard time keeping a straight face. “Drive me home,” was all said.
Over the next few days, and didn’t meet, which was relieved of. She was busy anyway with making rooms ready for the guests that were arriving later that week. Her parents were all over the place, all stressed out. When ’s work shift was over, she went upstairs to take a much needed shower. Her mother burst in to her bathroom while she was singing. “We’re going to the city to pick up the new furniture for the living room,” she said to . “Yeah, OK.” Her mother hesitated. “Well… I think we’ll be home in a few hours time. If you don’t want to be alone you can have over.” Then she left the room and closed the door. rolled her eyes as she shampooed her hair. Inviting over was the last thing she’d do. When the shower was done she walked back in to her room and got changed. She was bored. Luckily she would get both a TV and internet in a few days time, which she was really looking forward to. She was on her way to go downstairs when she stopped in the middle of the hall. She looked up at the staircase that led to the loft. She had never been there. She had never really liked cellars and lofts, but she couldn’t explain why. But now, a sudden curiosity led her up the staircase. As she opened the door it gave out a screeching sound, like it hadn’t been opened in ages. Most probably it hadn’t either. Not even ’s mother had been bothered with checking it out just yet. The loft was dark and covered in dust. It tickled ’s nose. She let out a sneeze before fumbling for the light. An old light switch could be found behind the door. It gave out a small and dim light beam that only lightened up a small amount of space. let her gaze sweep the room, in search for something that could catch her interest. But the room only held boxes upon boxes full of what looked like books, documents and paintings. dragged the nearest box closer to her. She sat down on her knees and didn’t pay attention to the dirt. She rummaged through the box. Old documents and books filled with dust made her eyes water, but she ignored it. The box didn’t hold anything of interest. She pushed it back. She took another box. All that held was old paintings of people dressed in huge dresses and old suits. Holly had never liked that type of paintings. She pushed the box away. She took a quick glance at the other boxes that was placed close to the door; nothing that screamed ‘exciting’. She walked towards the end of the room, where the light didn’t reach. She pulled forth a box that was placed close to the wall and brought it up to the door. She let her hands find their way through loads of books. She was just about to put them all back in and put the box away when her attention was caught by a book that didn’t look exactly like the others. It was thick and leather bound, with a golden inscription on the back. The book was so full of dust that had to wipe it off before she could read what it said. The golden inscription read; ‘Where dreams lie.’ raised an eyebrow and surveyed the rest of the book. It had a lock in the front. It was a diary. Iria’s diary!
pushed the box back in to a corner and took the diary with her downstairs. Her heart was beating fast. She ran downstairs and searched the kitchen for something to open the lock with. She tried a knife and a fork and even a hairpin, but to no use. She had to leave it for a while. She hid it in one of her drawers and forgot all about it as soon as her parents came back. They brought loads of new furniture with them, and had to help with getting it all in place. When she went to bed that night she was exhausted.
The next day when was busy with carrying clean towels to the bathrooms, was suddenly stood in the doorway. “Who let you in?” said in an unfriendly tone. “Your mum and dad just left and they said I could walk right in,” replied. snorted and continued walking without paying more attention to his presence. “, will you just hear me out?” he then asked. He had followed her to the main bathroom. “If you came here to promise that you’ll never do such a thing again, then maybe,” replied, putting the towels in a white closet. “I’m really sorry, . It was such a fucked up thing for me to do.” turned to face him. “It was. And you better promise NEVER to do that again!” smiled. “You weren’t a bit afraid of ghosts, were you?” he asked. “Don’t push you luck,” warned. “Alright, alright, I surrender,” frowned. shook her head and walked past him in the hall. “I brought the pictures with me,” said from behind her. “Let’s go to the room then,” said and started climbing the stairs that led to her floor. When they entered her room, took out the pictures from a brown envelope and put them on the table. flickered through them. “Nothing of interest really,” commented, but shrugged him off. “They’ll make great documentation, that’s what’s important,” she said. “Gosh, I’m so exhausted,” sighed as she put the pictures back into the envelope. “Much work?” asked, surveying her. She nodded. “The first guests arrive tomorrow afternoon.” “Will you be occupied for the next week then?” asked. “Basically yeah… I guess we have to put this whole investigation thing on hold for a while,” said and stretched herself. “Call me when we can pick up the thread again then?” asked as he got up. looked up at him. “I will.” walked out. The memory of the diary popped up. “!” she screamed as she ran after him. stopped and turned around at the end of the staircase. “What?” he asked, looking puzzled. “Come back!” He looked at her questioningly, but had already turned her back on him. He went back upstairs. “What?” he asked as he saw ’s back. She was rummaging through one of her drawers. “I found this in the loft,” she said and held up the book. “What is it?” asked as he received it. “! This is a fucking diary!” he exclaimed as he realised. smiled broadly. “I haven’t been able to open it yet though,” she said and looked disappointed. “I’ll try,” said as he clenched it to his chest. “I’ll call you if I get it done, and I’ll come right here.”
No call came. But the guests came as expected. had her hands full with tending to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, a rather adorable old couple. liked them from the very start. She usually sat and chatted with them before bed time at night. They had many exciting stories to tell. She didn’t see much of . She had met him in town once, but he could only tell that the diary was still a mystery. was disappointed. She wanted more than anything to read what was written in the diary. She thought about telling about it, but it never came up those times they spoke. was busy with school and work. He was unable to tell when he could come, although he wanted it very much. On the third day since the guests’ arrival, appeared in the kitchen while was making herself a long deserved lunch. “Stressed are you?” he asked as he saw ’s tensed back. She was rubbing her shoulder at the same time as she was putting on cheese on a sandwich. She turned around and smiled at the sight of him. “A bit,” she replied truthfully. She brought the plate with her sandwich to the table and sat down. sat down opposite her. “Are you free now?” he asked, smiling. “For like three hours,” replied between mouthfuls. “Want to do something?” he asked. swallowed and looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Do ‘something’?” she asked. “Yeah. I can’t tell you what. It’s a secret… for now.” laughed. “I could need a pleasant secret now,” she said and took another bite.
“Close your eyes,” said as they got out of the car. He had parked it in front of the hardware store, which was closed because it was Sunday. did as she was told. took her hand and led her away from the car. “Where are we going?” she asked, feeling like she was fourteen again. “I can’t tell. You just have to wait and see.” After a ten minute walk, said she could open her eyes. When she did, all she could see was a huge fence with some houses inside them. “What is this?” she asked, feeling disappointed. smiled broadly. “It’s an amusement park!” he exclaimed, obviously expecting her to get impressed. “And?” she asked. “And what? This is it!” couldn’t believe that he had dragged her all this way for this. “It shut down a couple of years ago because no people came. I used to work here during the summer I was fourteen. I loved it.” still didn’t see the bigger picture. “And why did you take me here?” she asked impatiently. held up a key. He put the key in the lock on the gate and it swung open. He motioned for her to enter. So she did. “Come on,” he said and took her hand. “Where did you get the key?” she asked. “I found it,” replied. “Yeah, right,” said and stopped. She crossed her arms over her chest. “What? I didn’t steal it if that’s what you mean!” said. “You just happened to find it?” she said. “Yeah, in fact I did,” said. He continued to walk. She didn’t follow. “Are you coming or what?” he yelled over his shoulder. followed. They came to a huge stone building. “You know what this is?” asked. shook her head. “This is a funhouse,” said and opened the door. didn’t bother to question why the door was open. They went inside. turned on the lights. There were paintings on the walls of various puppies, kittens and clowns in bright colours. The colours had faded quite much. “How many girls have you taken here?” asked as she followed through something that looked like a hall. They walked past a booth that had been the place was they would have to pay to enter. stopped and looked at her. “None,” he said. “Really? And you want me to believe that?” she asked. “Believe what you want,” said hurt and walked in to the next room. speeded up and caught up with him. She touched his arm. “I’m sorry,” she said. nodded and continued to the next room, which was completely dark. He turned on a switch, and the room filled with lights that made funny paintings on the walls around them. The room had once been bright yellow. “Follow me,” said and led her to a room filled with mirrors of all kinds. Whenever they turned, twisted versions of themselves were staring back at them. laughed so hard she started to cry. laughed at her and she laughed back. sat down, trying to regain her breath. “If you haven’t had girls here, how come you know all of this?” she asked. “I come here every now and then, on my own,” said, staring at a version of him that was at least three times bigger than he really was. got back on her feet and laughed of a really tall that looked ridiculous. “Alone? Why? Feel you need the kick or something?” turned around to face her. “I come here when I need to be alone.” was puzzled. “OK, meaning?” smiled. “I like to play the guitar and write songs. But my parents don’t approve of it. They’re old fashioned that way. Their opinion is that music is something you can’t live of. They obviously haven’t heard of John Lennon/The Beatles or Bruce Springsteen, who came from basically nothing.” “You play the guitar? How come you never told me that?” smiled again. “You never asked.” started spinning around with her eyes open. She saw all the freaky ’s stare back at her in twisted positions. She giggled. It was like she was a child once again. “I’d like to take your picture once, if you don’t mind.” What had just said made her stop. She was dizzy as hell, and had problems with concentrating. “A picture of me? What are you on about?” She tried to shake away the dizziness, but without much luck. “Another hobby of mine,” said smiling slightly. “I love to take photos and portraits, and you are truly beautiful in a natural way. It would be an honour to take a picture of you.” giggled. “In here? With me looking like that?” She pointed at a very small and compact . They laughed in unison. When they stopped, agreed to it. “The honour is all mine, really.”
They met the next day outside of the fence. They walked in, and only spent five minutes getting the camera ready. was amazed by all the equipments. “This must have cost you a fortune!” she exclaimed as she saw all the different lenses and the camera easels. “Indeed. My mum and dad don’t know, but I spent all my savings from the previous two summers on it.” realised that wasn’t what he seemed in more than one way. “Are you ready?” he asked as he laid the finishing touches on the camera equipment. nodded. “What do you want me to do?” she asked him, feeling uneasy. “Just what you would have done without the camera here,” replied, getting ready to take a picture. “I guess I can do that.” took picture upon picture of her while she was spinning around on the floor, laughing. He took a few portraits also. “I’ll have them ready for you tomorrow,” he said and smiled. He moved closer to her. was stood still on the same spot. Before she knew it, was so close that he could kiss her, only he didn’t. He just looked her in the eyes. avoided it. Then their mouths locked. backed and ran out of the room. didn’t follow. That much he had learned of .
“HOLLY!” woke up from her mother’s yelling in the end of the staircase. “WHAT?” she yelled back. She heard angry footsteps coming up. Her door slammed open and her mother came in. “I woke you up an hour ago and said I needed you in the kitchen!” she said angrily. “I’m so sorry!” jumped out of bed and started finding clothes to put on. “This is the last warning, ,” her mother said as she turned her back on her daughter and walked out. was ready in ten minutes, but her head wasn’t. Thoughts of the previous day appeared in her head all the time, making her lose focus and concentration. Maybe she was wrong to run out on that way. Or maybe it wasn’t. As that day’s work was over, got changed and went for a walk in the garden. The flowers that her mother had tended to looked beautiful and healthy. sat down in the green grass and looked at the sky above. It was starting to get darker outside; darker and chillier. Although she was getting a bit cold she stayed. She closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift like they pleased. A shadow above her made her open them, and there stood . He looked uncomfortable. “Hi,” was all he said. got up. “Hi.” There was a really uncomfortable silence between them. “I’m sorry about yesterday,” said, staring at his feet. “Don’t be… I… I guess I should have stayed to explain why…” lost the thread. She tried to pick it up again, but it was hard. “You see… I’m not a relationship type… Or at least I think I’m not. I didn’t do it very well the last time. I like you a lot, , but… I don’t trust my own feelings, because they have cheated me before. And all guys in my lives have turned their backs on me when I was unsure… The only one that never has is , and him I haven’t been with him that way.” She paused to say more, but nothing came. “This of yours, is he Superman or something? Because you sure make him seem that way!” looked at and couldn’t believe what he had just said. “What?” laughed of her. “To be honest, , I don’t even think this ‘’ exists! How would I know? For all I know you all may have moved here because you were a troubled kid. Drugs, mental problems? So save me this bullshit about this so-called ‘’!” walked off. He dropped an envelope to the ground as he did. let herself slide down to the ground, shaking while crying violently.
was so mad at that all she wanted to do the next time she saw him was to slap him in the face and scream to him of all her might. What irritated her the most was that he had Iria’s diary. She couldn’t exactly call him and ask him to hand them over. She was sat by her desk, holding an envelope in her hands. had dropped it. She hadn’t opened it yet. She didn’t want to, because she knew what was in them. Somehow her hands opened it. She took out a bunch of pictures. She couldn’t help but to be amazed by ’s photography skills. The pictures all looked amazing, like they had been taken by a real educated photographer. shrugged the positive thoughts of away. After all he had accused her of being a problem child. That fucker. She put the pictures back in the envelope and put it in the nearest drawer. Out of sight, out of mind. Almost. It didn’t last for long. came and startled her later that same day. “I don’t want to see you,” snarled and walked away. followed, as usual. “Can’t I at least say that I’m sorry? I feel so terrible.” continued walking. “That’s something you should have thought of before you said those things!” took hold of her arms and turned her to face him. “Give me two seconds, please?” stayed put. “I feel horrible for what I said. I didn’t mean it. I was stupid… And I’m really, really sorry.” This is becoming quite a habit, with apologising all the time, thought to herself. “It was the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to me, ,” she replied calmly, although what she wanted to do was to hit him in the face. took hold of her hands and clenched them in his. “I know, and I’m so sorry! I was just mad, and I said things I didn’t mean.” She surveyed him. “Only if you promise never to say something like that ever again.” nodded and smiled. “I promise!” he said. turned away and started rummaging through the bunch of all papers. “Do you fancy going back to the factory then?” asked. He had sat down on her bed. “I can’t. I’ve got my hands full.” “I better go then,” said and got up. “Well, I’ll see you later then?” nodded without facing him. Then walked out. A grin spread across ’s face.
turned on the flashlight and let the beam sweep across the room. He knew the room well enough to know where he was going now. He walked with steady steps towards the staircase. He climbed them, knowing exactly where to go next. He went to the room with the safe. Although he knew it was no use in trying several times, he did it anyway. He searched the room yet again. The drawers of the big wooden desk were empty, so were the cupboards. He was about to walk out when a sudden sharp sound stopped him. He froze on the spot. It was the sound of footsteps in the staircase. “?” he yelled, knowing that she would be the only person it could be. The footsteps were closer now. felt his heart beat faster and his breathing sharpen. He turned off the flashlight and hid behind the door. The footsteps vanished. Another sound took over. A door creaked open. Footsteps could be heard again. was scared. He clenched the flashlight in his hands. They were sweaty, and he was afraid that the flashlight would fall to the ground. The footsteps stopped outside the door. A window slammed. closed his eyes and prayed that he would get through whatever it was that was happening. The door, which had been half opened, did now open wide. collected his thoughts and jumped forward. The light beam hit the source of the opened door; a portable iPod docking station. He recognised the black iPod. “!” came forth in the light of the flashlight. She giggled. “How does it feel?” she asked, not being able to hold back the laughter. was outrageous. He rushed past her and run downstairs. picked up the iPod and ran after him. “IS IT SCARY FOR YOU, BABE!” she sang loudly behind him. She giggled yet again. walked angrily back to his car, blanking her out. She caught up with him and grabbed his arm. She managed to stop him. The look in his eyes scared her. They were black and full of anger. “I just wanted to show you how it felt, . Now we’re even.” was about to say something, but changed his mind. He shrugged her hand off and opened the car door. “?” looked at her. “OK, so we’re even. None of us will ever do that again, is that all right with you?” nodded. “I promise.” closed the door and took her hand in his. “So let’s check out the last floor then.”
“, look!” was almost jumping up and down on the spot. walked up to her. “What is it?” smiled broadly and pointed towards the end of the hall. couldn’t see anything. “Where?” he asked. took his arm and dragged him the way down the hall. “Look at this,” she said and tugged at an old carpet that hung on the wall. The colours had once been crimson and gold, but the carpet was so faded and old that it looked rusty red. As she tugged it loosened from what held it up. Behind it was a door.
“I can’t open it!” said. He had tried everything. He turned to , who was stood anxiously behind him. “We need the key, or else we will never be able to open it.” was disappointed. She slid down onto the floor and pulled herself up against the wall. slid down next to her. He put a hand on her knee. “Sorry.” She shrugged it off. “Let’s go home. We’ve done searching the place now.”