The Science Of Words

Part 6: Haunted

I hope, as I walk up to my door with Tadashi and Hiro, that I have had some kind of bad dream, that my family will be there. All my family, even my dad. We'd go to the cafe and eat and laugh together. I really hope.

But the house is still empty and dripping with stillness. I open the door, and beckon Tadashi and Hiro in. 

"It's not..." Hiro starts, hesitating to go in.

"Not what?" I ask him.

"Like, haunted or anything?" He says.

Tadashi grabs his hand. "It's fine Hiro. I'll be there with you. And Ivi."

"Okay, if you're sure," Hiro says warily.

We go inside. Everything looks normal, except, of course, there's nobody here. 

"I'll show you the door I was talking about," I say, leading them up the two flights of stairs to the attic.

Just as we near the door, Hiro suddenly let's go of Tadashi's hand and runs back down the stairs.

"Hiro!" Tadashi calls, but Hiro doesn't come back. 

"I'll get him," I say.

"I'm his brother, I can do it," Tadashi protests.

"No, it's fine, I know the house better,"

"True," Tadashi says, and I start down the stairs. 

I search the ground floor, but he's not there. I start on the first floor, searching Evelyn's room, the bathroom, and the porch, before finally finding him in my room.

"Hiro," I say softly.

He's sitting curled up, leaning against my bed. I go over to him and sit next to him.

"Hey, are you okay." I ask.

"I want to go home," He says, and starts sobbing, dropping his head down to rest on his knees.

"Maybe we should call your aunt and she can pick you up." I suggest.

"She's gonna want to meet your parents," Tadashi says. I look up to see him standing in the doorway.

"I thought I said I'd go get Hiro." I say to him.

"You never told me not to come too." Tadashi says with a slight smile. "Anyway, I can walk Hiro home, but we definitely shouldn't call my aunt."

"Okay," I say. "I'll walk back with you."

"You really don't have too--"

"You think I want to stay in an empty house all by myself? You'll come back and I'll have mysteriously disappeared too! No, I'm coming with you."

"When you put it that way...sure, you can come." Tadashi says. 

----

"Back so soon?" Tadashi's aunt asks us when we walk in.

"Hiro's under the impression that Ivi's house is 'haunted', so we decided to take him back." Tadashi says.

"Oh, that's too bad," Tadashi's aunt says. "Hiro, come here bud." Hiro runs over to her and hugs her tightly.

"I wasn't that scared." He says to her.

"I'm sure you weren't. Do you want a doughnut, you look like you've been crying?" 

"I wasn't crying," Hiro says, pulling away from her.

"He was," Tadashi says.

"No I wasn't!" Hiro yells. He comes over and hits Tadashi.

"Hiro," His aunt says warningly.

Hiro runs upstairs.

His aunt starts to run after him, calling back to us, "He can stay here. You guys can go back if you want."

"Wait, Aunt Cass!" Tadashi calls back.

Her head peaks around the top of the stairs. "What?"

"Can Ivi stay over tonight?"

"Is it okay with her parents?"

"They're going to be out of town tonight," I lie. "They were planning on leaving me home alone, but I'm sure they'd be fine if I stayed here."

"Well, if you ask them and their okay with it then it's fine with me!"

"I'll ask them," I say as me and Tadashi head towards the door and Aunt Cass, as Tadashi called her, heads up the stairs again.