Follow the Rules

2 - Something's Not Right

I was preparing breakfast in the kitchen. I decided to make mashed potatoes for me and Mr. Heelshire. I opened the fridge to get the potatoes but there's only one left.

"I swear there was one more yesterday." I mumbled.

I searched all the drawers and I didn't find any potatoes. Because one isn't going to be enough for two, I decided to make the mashed potato for Mr. Heelshire and a toast for me. I washed the potato, chopped it, and then boiled it. While waiting for the potato, I prepared the toast. After they're all done, I served them on separate plates.

I picked up the mashed potato and brought it to Mr. Heelshire's room. I knocked on his door and he came out.

"Breakfast, Mr. Heelshire."

"Ah, mashed potato, one of my favorite. Thank you." he accepted the food and smiled at me.

I smiled back at him. "You're welcome, sir."

I went back to the kitchen to grab my toast. When I got there, there's only a half left. Why does this kind of thing keeps happening to me?

"You've got to be kidding me." I mumbled. "At least it's quite enough for myself."

After I ate my breakfast, I went outside to clean the traps. The traps were never empty, there will always be a rat or something else trapped in it. The house was surrounded by a lot of trees that it looked like it was in the middle of a forest. No wonder why they set these traps. After I cleaned the traps, I took a walk around the house for awhile.

Something suddenly catches my eyes, I stopped in front of what seems to be a tombstone. I read the name on it, it says, 'Brahms, 1983-1991'. The name sounds familiar, I was thinking for awhile and remembered the paper I found last night.

"This must be the Brahms that's written on the paper." I thought.

I stared at it for awhile and then I felt a presence behind me. I turned around and saw Mr. Heelshire standing behind me.

"Who is Brahms?" I asked.

"He was the son of the Heelshires, the owner of this house. I'm his father's younger brother. Brahms died in a fire 21 years ago, it was his 8th birthday. Such a tragic death." he explained with a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's alright, I was about to show you anyway. But you've found it yourself." he said. "Well, I better head back inside, you can continue your work."

After Mr. Heelshire left, I continue to finish my work. I was so curious about the history of this house and the reason why the owner left the building. I planned to find out more after I finished working. Something doesn't feel right.

I've finished all of my work, now I'm going to find out about this house. I went to the library and found a desk with a pile of papers on it. I searched the papers and found one about the fire. It says that the other Mr. Heelshire and his wife were saved, but Brahms was killed in the fire. The other interesting part is that they found another body in the woods, it's a girl.

It makes me even more curious, who is the girl? The Heelshires only have a son, and no one else lives here except the family. And what makes me wonder more, why was she found in the woods? I decided to find Mr. Heelshire and ask more about this house. I looked around and found him near the fireplace.

"Mr. Heelshire?" I called.

He turned to look at me. "Ah, Miss Woods, is there anything you need?" he asked.

"Can I ask you a question?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Of course, what do you have in mind?"

"Can you tell me more about the fire?" I asked.

"Well, I'm afraid I have nothing more to tell. It is the only thing I know, I'm sorry." he said.

"It's alright, thank you Mr. Heelshire. Sorry for interrupting."

"It's alright. If you need anything else, let me know." he said.

Then I left Mr. Heelshire. Somehow I'm not so sure that it's the only thing that he knows, maybe he just didn't want to talk about it. It is very tragic indeed. I head back to my room and took a shower. I don't know why, but I always felt like someone is watching me, this house is very hideous.

After I took a bath, I found out that some of my stuff were missing. I changed my clothes and decided to look around for it. I searched the library, the kitchen, Brahms' room, the fireplace, everywhere. It's nowhere to be found. All of the missing things, what is actually happening? I started to think that there's someone else other than Mr. Heelshire.

After looking around, I went back to my room. I thought that maybe my stuff will be back again, but no, it's still gone. Then I went to the kitchen to grab a drink, I started to feel a bit dehydrated. As always, I felt like someone is watching me. Every time I move, it's always like that. Mr. Heelshire did warn me to always lock my room at night.