Lakeisha Khadgi
Vixen stood by the window, looking at the bright blue sky. As the clouds turned dark and rain splattered on the window, he thought, “What is that?” It peered into an old apartment building's window, seeing a red glowing figure staring back. Then suddenly, it vanished out in thin air, leaving the inside of the building peach black once again.
Vixen ran to the kitchen where his mother was cooking dinner. “Mom, mom”, he yelled sitting down at the dining table. His mother turned around a bead of flour on her cheek and smiled in response. “You know that haunted apartment across the street?” He sat practically bouncing on a chair. His mother replied, “That apartment is not haunted.” She turned to continue cooking. Vixen stood on the chair and exclaimed, “I saw someone moving in the building.” That caught the mother's attention.
The room of the apartment had been empty for the past year and a half. The apartment was so old that everyone thought it would be demolished and be built into something else.
“Well, it may be a college student hitting the jackpot.” She said, placing a plate of food down for Vixen and herself. After dinner, she put Vixen to bed and looked at the apartment. Suddenly, she saw that same red glowing figure, but she did not think much of it and went to bed. The next day, when she was taking out the trash, she saw another man walk out the building. She thought, “Oh, a new person. I'll go greet him.” She walked over to him and turned toward the alley, but he disappeared. She again tried to forget about it, but she could not. So, she went over to the apartment and asked the receptionist if there was anyone living there. “Yes”, said the receptionist as she looked up with a bright smile. Then, she turned back to her computer.
The mother walked out a little relieved, but then she remembered she had to pick Vixen up from school. She got to Vixen's school and she looked over the gate to see Vixen talking to the same man from the alley. She stepped forward and greeted him. The man greeted her back and said, “This town is lovely and it is easy to get lost here. I got lost on Wednesday and did not come back till 12:00 am. He rubbed the back of his neck looking embarrassed. Then a realization hit her. That Wednesday she saw someone in his room at 9. She quickly told him, “Really?” “ So, that's where my watch went”, the man said looking annoyed.
Then, he stormed off to the police station across the street. Vixen and his mother looked at him and burst into laughter, but the man did not look angry, stuck with the mother. When she went home, she looked at the apartment. She saw the man leave the apartment earlier but did not see him come back yet. But there was a reflection staring back again. She saw the curtains close and locked the door.
She opened her computer and searched the hotel's website. She researched for a while and she found out something. The room was known to be haunted. There were rumors everywhere, but she did not believe it. Throughout the evening, she thought about it and at last, she called the man. “Your apartment is haunted”, she said flat out. The man was speechless, but then he burst out into laughter and said, “No, no, my brother lives with me.” The woman stood there speechless, then ended the call.
