The Ghost of You I Cannot Deny

~2~ The Fear and The Loneliness

~ He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life. ~

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Shrugging aside her earlier uneasiness Kalia glanced around once more, taking in the extravagant room with a sigh as she tucked the old key into the back pocket of her jeans.

"Well Kiyoshi," She said, moving over to where the small kitten now lay sprawled out on the rug, "We might as well take a look around right?" Almost as if she understood her the kitten stood, arching her back in a stretch before reaching up to place her paws on her leg. She bunched her muscles underneath her small body before jumping upwards, her momentum giving her the leverage she needed on the fabric of her dark blue jeans and in moments she was perched atop her shoulder, purring as she rubbed her small head against her cheek.

Kalia laughed, shaking her head in utter bemusement as she reached up to scratch the small animal. "Jeez, you really are something aren't you?" Kiyoshi merely purred louder causing her to sigh before turning towards the stairs.

She eyed the dark doorways at the top, apprehensive of what she would find once she reached that point. "Well no using in procrastinating, right?" She muttered lowly before taking hesitant steps towards the large stairs.

The marble up close was more of a dark gray color and she found herself hesitant to mar the seemingly gleaming steps with her dirty shoes, a fact at which she scoffed at. It wasn't like she had stained the carpet before so her shoes weren't that dirty; besides, when did she start caring about that sort of thing anyways?

'Oh gee,' A mocking voice in her head whispered, 'Maybe when you found out you would be living in a freaking mansion?'

Shaking her head and nearly unseating the cat perched on her shoulder causing sharp claws to dig into her skin, she frowned, grasping the just as polished silver railing in one hand as she began to make her way up the steps.

The steps were large, long enough to fit two people without them even touching and walking up them they seemed to go on forever, making her already tired legs ache; however, getting closer to the top she found herself wishing that the stairs were longer, for if they were longer she would have more time to prepare herself for the darkness at the top that seemed to open up like a gaping maw just waiting for someone stupid enough to approach it so it could snap shut and-

'Stop it!' She chided herself angrily, 'You're just freaking yourself even more! Besides, when have you ever believed in that sort of stuff?' Her mind fell silent, however, whether it was for the fact that she had reached the top or from her comments she did not know, but what she did know was that never before had she longed for light more. The darkness was pitch black and even the light of the chandelier could not breach it. It was cold looking and terrifying and it reminded her of sleepless nights full of nightmares where she simply wished to crawl into bed with her Mother, except she couldn't because her Mother hadn't been there.

…Just like always. Just like now.

She shook the thought off angrily, stepping forward to feel along the wall for a light switch, silently thanking whoever this Linda was for keeping the house clean of cobwebs that in the dark she would not have been able to see. Moving fully into the darkness she became aware of the fact that Kiyoshi had stopped purring, however the thought was shrugged aside quickly with a muffled curse as she tripped over something she couldn't see.

As her voice rang through the halls she instantly became aware of how silent it was. Unnaturally silent. And a sudden feeling of cold washed over her as chills ran down her back. Something whispered urgently for her to go back into the light, to safety and she stiffened, fear of the unknown making her heart race in her ears as she searched frantically for the switch. It was too dark, it was too dark-