TWENTY FOUR

I walked slowly into the yard of my house which looked deserted. From the outside I saw absolutely no sign of life inside the house. Maybe mom isn't home yet or she's making something in the kitchen. But the car that my mother used to use was still beautifully parked in the garage. It means that mom  is in the house and is not going anywhere.

"Mother." I call her loudly from the front door.

A few minutes later mother came from upstairs, her face pale and with a hint of fear. Mom didn't immediately approach me who was standing in the front room and she instead froze at the end of the stairs for a few seconds.

“Mom, are you all right?”

My mom suddenly gasped as if my voice had startled her. She then trotted over to me and shook my shoulder hard.

“Laurel, tell me what happened. You have to explain everything to me. What have I seen in your house?”

After shaking my body hard, my mother suddenly grabbed my hand and immediately dragged