The Attic
“Hey mommy, I love the attic! I can draw in there and play with my friends,” said 8 year old Kaia as she walked down the stairs, into the living room. She was wearing denim overalls over her favorite sparkly purple shirt, paired with her bright green shoes.
“You don’t have any friends you weirdo,” said Caleb, her 12 year old brother who loved to make fun of his little sister every chance he got. He wore his minecraft t-shirt with cargo pants and flip-flops, a combination he was very proud of.
“Of course I have friends! I have a new friend named Edith and she’s living in the attic! She’s been living here since she was 8 years old, like me! Now she’s all old and wrinkly but she still likes to play,” said Kaia.
“Stop playing with imaginary friends. You’re so weird. Be more mature, like me,” Caleb said, rolling his eyes.
“Hey, stop you two. Help me organize the living room so I can make some spaghetti for dinner,” said Sandra, their mother, whose age I will not disclose because that would be rude. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and loose denim jeans, the typical attire for a freelance writer.
“Uhhhhhh spaghetti?” said Caleb and Kaia in unison. They looked at each other, wide eyed.
“Hey! What’s wrong with my spaghetti?” said Sandra.
“Nothing! It’s just that we’ve already eaten it two times this week but we’ll eat it again! Can we please just eat something different tomorrow?” pleaded the kids.
“Oh alright. Tomorrow, I’ll make something different,” replied Sandra.
They ate at the kitchen table while they talked about their day.
“Let’s all say something interesting about our day. Let’s start with Caleb,” said Sandra.
“Um, I played Minecraft and watched Youtube,” said Caleb with a mouth full of spaghetti. Although, it sounded more like “Um, I pldjn Mincrf and wahed Ewtube”.
“Gross Caleb! Wipe your mouth,” squealed Kaia. She hated whenever Caleb talked with his mouth full.
He opened his mouth more and showed her all his chewed up food. The tomato sauce flew out of his mouth and landed on Kaia’s forehead.
“Caleb! Stop that right now. It’s not polite to do that!” said Sandra as she wiped crying Kaia’s forehead. “Ok Kaia, how was your day?”.
“It was good. I drew with my new crayons and Edith came to draw with me!” said Edith with a smile on her face.
“Stop lying Kaia! It’s creepy,” Caleb said as he put his hands over his ears.
“I’m not lying! Edith is real! She just hides in the attic” Kaia argued.
“Ok ok Kaia, we believe you. While you see Edith, do you still see daddy too?” said Sandra, a sad smile forming on her lips.
“No, I haven’t seen Daddy in the new house. Edith is different from Daddy. She’s not dead,” Kaia said bluntly.
“Don’t say the d-word Kaia!” yelled Caleb.
“Hey hey it’s okay. Let’s just eat and get ready for bed,” said Sandra.
They all ate and washed up for bed. Kaia went to her room, turning on her nightlight. She fell asleep, excited to play with Edith the next day.
Couple of days later
Kaia ran down the stairs, groaning the entire time. “Mommy, I haven’t seen Edith! I looked for her everywhere but she hasn’t come,” she said as she tugged on her mother’s shirt. Her mother ignored her as she looked through the cabinets and mumbled something. “Mom mom mom mom!”.
“Kaia, I don’t have time for this. I swear we had a whole bag of bread. We better not have rats again. I think I heard them moving in the attic last night,” said Sandra with a grimace.
“No momma, it’s Edith! She’s just hiding from me,” said Kaia with a frown.
“Mhmm okay. I’m going to the store that’s down the street. I’ll be back in 20 minutes,” said Sandra.
“But what about Edith? What do I do?” cried Kaia.
“Go look for her, honey. I’ll be back,” said Sandra as she hurried to the front door.
Kaia ran up to her room to put on her green shoes, something that she thought helped her think better. She couldn’t find them so she decided to give the attic a try. She tried to turn the light on but the bulb burned out. She inched closer to the window and saw Edith in the corner, her shoes sitting next to her. “Edith! There you are! What are you doing with my shoes?”.
20 minutes later
“Kids! I’m back! Come downstairs and help me!” yelled Sandra. Caleb ran down and went straight for the snacks. “Hey, where’s your sister?”.
“I don’t know. She’s probably in the attic,” said Caleb, more interested in the bag of chips he was holding.
“She better not be hurt,” Sandra mumbled under her breath as she walked up to the attic, Caleb close behind. “Ugh it’s so dusty here. Kaia needs to stop playing up here”. There were boxes everywhere, things left by previous owners. She heard a chewing sound and stopped in her tracks. All she could see was somebody’s back. “Hello?” said Sandra, her voice shaky. The person turned around, mouth full.
“E-Ed-Edith?” stuttered Caleb. Kaia’s lifeless body was on the floor in front of Edith. Edith had ripped her, limb to limb, leaving a bloody mess.
“Sorry. I got hungry,” replied Edith. She was stuffing her mouth with one of Kaia’s arms. “I like her shoes. Mind if I keep them?”. As she said it, a chunk of Kaia’s meat flew onto Sandra’s arm.
“M-m-mom. S-she’s t-talking with her m-mouth f-full,” said Caleb. He looked to his mother and saw all color being drained from her face.
Edith stood up and they got a good look at her face. She was just as old and wrinkly as Kaia described. Her long white hair reached the floor and she wore some of Sandra’s clothes. Her eyes were pitch black and she was as pale as a sheet of paper.
“I’d like for you all to leave now. This is my house. I’ve never left and I will never leave,” said Edith, as she reached for Caleb.
