The Art of Family (Book 2)

Chapter 10 Stranger Danger

CW: A little bit of scare in the first bit and mentions of mature content in the last bit (not too descriptive but just in case). Skip the *** as usual!

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***Skip if you don't want to read slightly eerie content***

Shadows.

The house hidden deep within the forest was shrouded by the night that graced the ancient house of the Hyuns. On such a night, the owl hooted drearily into the eternal darkness, whereas every wall in the house seemed to shrink away from the moonlight.

Thud.

The dead sound of a heavy boot meeting the dusty ground sent a swirl of leaves whirling into the distance. From where the stranger was standing, the fierce ferocious glint in those stormy eyes reflected off the dark surfaces of the windows dangerously, as though he or she was planning a massacre that night.

Thud.

Thud.

Silence. It was a silence so jarring that even the owl stopped hooting to study the cloaked figure with its bright, yellow eyes. The wise owl felt its feathers stand up, sensing something off about the strange human slinking up to the ancient house it watched every single night.

Hoot hoot...

The owl spoke again, its hoots beckoning to the stranger with the question on every night creature's mind.

Who?

It was 4 am.

It was a time where the house was dark, where the earthen ground was cold to the touch, where nightcrawlers crept and thrived as the daylight creatures slumbered deep into the night. They rarely saw any of their kind walking around the forest at such an hour. Not when the world was quiet and devoid of the usual laughter that seemed to drift from the ancient house like a lullaby of happiness. 

It was odd...So very odd.

Thud.

Creakkkk...

DOOM!

The mysterious figure disappeared past the gates, leaving behind a wisp of cool air that would have frozen even the warmest creature on the earth. Where the stranger's boots met the ground, the leaves would drop slightly, as though they lacked the usual touch of warmth that emanated off the lovely inhabitants of the ancient house.

Past the heavy mahogany doors, the stranger's footsteps were muffled by the carpeted floors. Reddened eyes scanned the various portraits and decorations around the house, silently appreciating yet silently loathing the happy additions that beamed brightly with love and positivity.

To the cold, hardened heart, nothing about those smiles on the faces of the couple and the children stirred any semblance of life in that empty excuse of a human heart.

The house was warm but it has never been colder too.

Slowly and purposefully, the figure drifted up the stairs, the heaviness of the boots soundless, whereas the cloak swept past the edge of every step silkily, leaving an invisible mark of darkness that was now absorbed by the shadows.

A disturbance to peace.

A shockwave of terror.

None of that belonged in the perfectly wholesome atmosphere that the Hyun family worked so hard to cultivate and ingrain in the very walls that had its own fair shares of torment.

Now, which room would he be in?

A sliver of reddened lips could be seen beneath the cloak as the figure let out a frustrated huff of breath. Decisively, perfectly manicured fingers reached for the shiny doorknob of the door nearest to the stairs.