The little boy was what was on her mind before she peered through the kitchen window. Samantha was sure she saw the same knotted tie laying on Paul’s garden on him yesterday when he was at her house for dinner. It was amongst the things she admired about his outfit, but did not openly compliment his looks. A behaviour which she thought later was unusual and corny. Her thoughts were swiftly swept away when her phone rings and on seeing it was Lucia calling her face unexpectedly brightens up .

“Hi Lucia.” Samantha response in a questioning tone.
“Hello dear.” Lucia faintly says as though she was waiting for a not so pleasant reply.
“How are you?” Sam asked,
“I am fine Sam.” she says dragging her words.
“Ok, I am coming back tomorrow” she continues, hoping that sam will ask her more questions of her whereabouts, but Lucia was shocked when Samantha responds with an “okay!” and then ended the call.

Sam knew something was wrong with her partner but chose to ignore her instead, as she did not want to start a fight. She just wasn’t interested in having that quarrelsome conversation again. She already had an issue to deal with and needed to speak to someone about the boy in her class and was at the point of calling Paul before Lucia’s phone call.

Lucia was feeling some type of way. She felt empty and lost, and needed someone to tell her everything was going to be alright. Aside from secretly battling her finances with the bank, her girlfriend Alice was cheating on her with a man. They had been fighting before she made the call to Samantha, hoping to stay on the phone for a couple of minutes but she knew it was unlikely. Lucia and Samantha have not been at their best for quite a while, in spite of that she knew Samantha would never cheat on her. Samantha could be crazy but she wasn’t a cheat, she thought loud in her head.

Lucia did not stay out of the house because she wanted to. She knew that there was something wrong with the house. Not only was she terrified of her own home, she knew what that particular window their bedroom was capable of. Most times she got lost in the window and witnessed frightening things come out from the wall next to the it. Experiences which scared her to death.

The last old farmhouse she saw through the casement scared her so much because she had seen it before and also knew who lived inside. Three disturbed children and an old man lived in there and Lucia knew what they wanted. She have had her own fare share of the demon in the farm house. These mysterious occurrences has been happening before she met and married Samantha, but she never told her the house was hunted. It was during those late nights away from home, when Lucia had decided to abandon it, was when she meet and fell in love with Samantha. It was as though the house had drawn her back in. She was however surprised that Samantha had not witnessed it yet, because sam never mentioned a thing about the english mansion being weird to her.

At the time, Alice brought Lucia so much joy and romance. The new apartment which she had acquired in town for the both of them was peaceful, finally finding rest and good sleep. Lucia was not going to trade this small apartment for her mansion. But now that Alice had stormed out of the door, she had began to rethink the situation.

If I tell Samantha to come out here with me in this small cozy apartment in town, will she consider the offer, she thought to herself. “I haven’t been fair to her, so I might as well go home and endure, and see if I can persuade her into selling the house and coming to live with me here,” she says to herself as her thoughts grew stronger.

Later that night, Samantha picks up her phone and dials Paul’s number. It didn’t ring for a second before she hears him on the other end…

“Hi Samantha.”
“Hello Paul.”
“How are you” he proceeds to ask.
“Very well. I cannot help but to ask why your tie from last night is laying on your lawn.” she says, in a worrisome tone.
“Oh my God! Thank you my dear for letting me know, I have been looking for it everywhere.”
“Anyway, I want to speak to you about a little boy in my class.” Sam continues, “Have you got some time” she enquire.
“Please go ahead, I am all ears” Paul responds, now curious more than ever.

He listened as Samantha went on about what had unfolded between her and the little one, and how the word “MAMA” sliced her heart into halves. Paul was now certain why she had been nice, but still withdrawn. As he listened to all her unanswered questions, he felt her curiosity, but still did not have any pity for her, even though he was very pleasant and attentive over the phone. While Paul was paying attention to her on the phone, he never took his eyes off the wall in front of him. It was a large wall covered with Samantha’s pictures from top to bottom. Pictures of her leaving for school in the mornings, when she was in her room naked and moments she was engrossed in conversation with her bedroom window. He captured the times she cried and struck the window, days she cooked and ate alone, nights she walked to empty the trash, her quarrels with Lucia and the days she sipped her green tea alone by the balcony. He had a picture documentary of her from the days his wife was still alive.

The basement was where he spent most of his time plotting and preparing. In there, the handsome man kept series of weapons, from guns to multiple chainsaws. The many containers of chemical made it smell awful and the interrogation bed with chains above it sat in the middle of the basement as though a piece of art.

“That is rather strange,” Paul admits to her as soon as she had become quiet.
“Thank you Paul for listening to me, I just wanted to speak to someone,” she says
“Anytime Sam, I am here whenever you need me,” he murmurs, staring angrily at his wall of fame. He couldn’t put it past him to lay a trap for her. “Bye for now Paul”. “Bye for now Sam.” They both say after another.

X pj

To be continued next week Friday…. (Episode 7)