18eighteen Sarah – Recent

“You cannot run, my sweet Sarah,” the shadowy man’s voice echoed in her memory. “The house keeps what it claims.”

The vision snapped back to the present. Sarah was stumbling, grasping the mannequin for support. The bloodstain on the dress was gone. She looked at her finger. There was no cut.

Sarah took a deep breath, stepping fully into the room, abandoning the fearful child she was yesterday. She walked to the window, looking out over the overgrown, wild garden, and spoke to the silence. "I'm home."

She looked around the attic again. It didn't feel menacing anymore. It felt waiting.