The Shadow

Buried

That night, no matter how much i tried i just could not sleep. i sat up in my bed and looked in front of the mirror. I could almost swear that it was the exact same spot where she was lying. I was so preoccupied that i did not see my brother entering.

"LEAH..." he called.
"Yeah!! what??"
"Sorry i didn't mean to scare you..." he said getting comfortable on my bed.
"Its not you.. its me..." I assured.
"why what's wrong?"
"You're the last person i'm gonna talk to about my problem..." I stated.
"really why is that?" he asked.
"well, you're already having a hard time getting used to all this.... i don't want to add on the creep factor.." I reasoned.
"what are you talking about?" he asked concerned.

I walked to the bed and sat down beside him. "i'm getting really weird vibes from the house... have you been to the basement?"

"No... dad asked me not to" he replied.

"Well maybe that's descent advice" I said. 

"Wait i wanna know.... what's wrong with it?" he urged, facing me now.

"The shorter list would be what's right with it..." I sighed.

"Are you gonna tell me what's wrong or not?" he asked again.

"Promise me you won't think i'm crazy" I asked.

"Sweets i already think you're crazy.. but i promise to believe you.." he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"You gotta see it to believe it.." saying I hauled him down to the basement. 

"Hey are you sure we should be entering a haunted basement in the middle of the night?" he asked nervously.

"Hey that brings me to the question why are you awake in the middle of the night?"I asked curiously.

"I was thirsty... when i was returning i felt like checking up on you once.."

I couldn't stop myself and said "Awwwww.." hugging him.

"Shut up" he said pushing me away.

"Why are we whispering?" I asked.

We entered the basement. Once again the same eeriness.

"I already hate this place" he said while i was totally shocked to see that the paintings were covered once more when i distinctly remembered not covering them. I chose to believe that mom or dad might have done it.

"See this piano..." i told him

"yeah what's wrong?"

"this place has not been entered in over a decade and yet the piano manages to stay so clean and polished without a hint of dirt and it wasn't even covered up like these paintings.." I explained.

He thought about it for a second and nodded inattentively. He reached out to one of the keys in the piano and pressed it and weirdly enough there was no sound. "must be broken let me see" i hit the same key and this time to my great surprise it sounded just perfect. "yeah that wasn't creepy at all" I said, a bit spooked out. My brother mocked it saying, "the ghost likes you already.."
"Leo its not a joke"
I saw Leo reaching out to one of the paintings and I stopped him,"These paintings are really dark.. I'm not sure you would wanna see it."
After a moment of hesitation he reached out again. It was the one where the dead girl was lying in my room. "Okay.... " he was partially traumatized, i could say. "You haven't even seen the creepiest part yet.. check out the room she's lying in..." after a moment of staring, I could say from his expression that he had recognized. I said,"Ring a bell?" "yeah that's your room isn't it?"
"all the paintings here are of this house... and with the same girl in it except..."
"except what?"
"one of the paintings i couldn't make out the place... here let me show you"
I remembered it being next to the clock. I uncovered the painting and there it was.
"Its some kind of grey, the cement kind" said I.
"Its oddly familiar." he said, "remember that time at our old place back in Kansas, a wall in my room was broken, did you see how it looked inside the wall?"
I now completely understood what he was trying to say. I was horrified. The girl had been buried in a wall half dead.