THE LOSS

Eztli

I gasped when I heard a soothing yet dangerous voice behind me. The voice was so chilled that it sent shivers down my spine. The darkness in the house was adding to the grill and fear in my racing heart.

“What am I supposed to do now?” I rushed to open the door which seemed stuck somehow.

The windows were painted black with some sticky material on it. I rubbed it with my fingers and smelled it, it was grease and smelling foul. I banged the door hard but nothing happened.

“What is this place?” I was really scared, and I might shit my pants if this door doesn’t get open.

“Someone help me.. I am stuck here….” I screamed at the top of my lungs but nothing worked.

This place is almost empty and now my friend has no idea where I am. The horror of getting stuck here was killing me and the grizzling sound of the wind from the windows was terrifying to the core. I was literally guilty of coming to this place. My exploration thoughts brought me here and now I will die here.

Suddenly, something fell inside the house and the noise scared me, I screamed and rushed to open the door yet it was stuck and won;t budge.

I realised that I had a flashlight in my backpack and I took it out. Turned the flashlight one and I screamed while watching the wall’s of the house. They were painted with handprints dipped in blood. So many prints, I can't even count. The place looked abandoned from years and moldy fungus was there everywhere.

“Scared?” Suddenly, I saw a face in the darkness, and I screamed as loudly as I could. My flashlight slipped from my hand and I watched the woman crawling at me. Her arms and legs were burned and the wounds pustulating.

I threw up after seeing that and lost my voice to call anyone for help. My pulses started to low down and the darkness was consuming me as I saw her approaching me bit by bit.

Suddenly, the door burst open and someone dragged me outside that haunted house. I can hear the commotion yet every noise disonnent and lights fade out.

“Wait.. water.. Give her water!!!!” I heard Andre’s voice and I gasped loudly.

“Andre…. She was there….” I said with a wheezing sound coming with my voice.

“Drink water.. You are fine now… why did you go inside that house? It could be dangerous.” Andre scolded me but I can bear anything now.

“You got us scared, you know we were so worried for you, Ezi…” Layla was shouting as well.

But it was my fault, now i was confused whether to tell them what i saw there inside that house. I guess that will be a bad idea, Layla will curse all the way back to home, or maybe she will tell our parents about this.

God damn! My parents will never allow me to go anywhere.

“I was just hyperventilating. It was dark there and the door won't open.” i said to them.

“These doors are years old, they might get stuck. Don’t do this again..” Andre was concerned and explained politely.

“Maybe we should go back?” I asked him.

“Are you sure?” he inquired.

I nodded and stayed silent. My inner girl was still scared of what I saw. Suddenly, I recalled what that man said. She spotted us. Who is she?

“Okay.. but after spotting the place where that witch/woman was burned. I will take some photographs of the place for my project and then we will leave, okay?” he asked and I nodded in agreement.

Layla puffed her face and went ahead of us.

“She will be fine…” Andre assured me and I shrugged that weird feeling of me getting watched by that woman. 

She will haunt my nights for sure. I was wondering what could have happened if I stuck in that house? Maybe they dragged my dead body outside. I shouldn’t think much about this. Once we leave this place, I won't be coming back.

Soon, we reached that spot where the witch was burned. There were some signs where it was written clearly that her ghost has been spotted several times so please don’t roam around. Suddenly, the hair on my body raised and I had that feeling of getting watched that bothered me again.

“It was a big discussion place and this was the main garden, where that witch was burned. I heard from the local tourists that the witch had a daughter with her whom the townsfolk took away and killed her later.” Andre read the guide book about this place.

“What if her daughter never died and she is still alive? Maybe she is the one haunting this place to seek revenge…” Layla chuckled and I scrunched my brows at her behaviour.

I saw the pole where she was tied and burned alive. There were burned marks on the pole and it was black from the fire. Somehow, I felt sad for that woman.

“Or maybe she was never a witch and falsely accused by the town folks.. Maybe she was just an innocent woman running away from her misery. Maybe she was independent and that was never accepted by the townsfolk. Who knows?” i put up my point of view about this rumour.

“Anything can be possible but no one knows the truth…” Andre said.

Suddenly, I had this urge to touch that pole as it seems familiar to me. When my hand was in contact with the pole, my surroundings changed and I saw a beautiful woman tied around the pole. It was a horrific night and the people around her were throwing stones at her.

Calling her names and I saw everything with my eyes. She was screaming and crying for her baby which was in the arms of a stranger. She smiled devilishly and went away with the child while the others set her on fire. Her screams went through my ears and I bleed for the tortured she was through before she died.

My surroundings returned to normal when Andre’s camera flushed a light. Until I realised that Lyala is nowhere to be seen, i become panicked and asked Andre to help find her.

“LAYLA???” we called out her name numerous times but no response.

“Layla, please stop parking.. This is really important.. We have to head back as the time is getting over…” Andre called her but still no response.

“Did she go back without us?” I thought amd asked Andre.

“No… that couldn’t be… she is a coward and won't risk it at all.” yep he said true.

Suddenly, I noticed her back running into one of the random streets.

“She was there, come…” I said and followed her.

I kept watching her back before she ran away.

“Layla…”

“She is back… she is back… the blood will be shed and she will bathe in that….” Layla chanted these words facing her back at me.

“Layla?” I called her.

She laughed and turned to look at me. I was shocked to see her black eyes, bleeding and I fell to the ground.

“She is back…..” she said before falling off the cliff behind her.

“Layla……” I screamed and Andre rushed to get her but it was too late.

“Oh no…” he pulled his hair in frustration.

I got the courage to stand and watch the horror in front of my eyes. The cliff wasn’t an ordinary cliff but it was a small well, and there were metallic spikes standing long in which Layla fell and died.

“LAYLAA!!!!!”