Old Spa Haunts
“It’s a bit, erm, old, isn’t it? Gonna cost a few bob to sort that one out.” Douglas surveyed his son’s new investment with a little apprehension.
“Yeah, but Dad, I got it dirt cheap. Saved so much on the actual property purchase, I’ve managed to set aside a pretty sizeable lump sum for the renovations.” Duncan rubbed his hands together, and his eyes lit up. “Just think of the potential!”
“What are you actually going to do with it?”
“I was thinking, spruce it up, maybe create a boutique spa hotel experience. We’ve not got anything like that around here, and I reckon we could rake the cash in. Women nowadays love splurging on these pampering weekends away, with a little bubbly thrown in. Could even add another dimension and pretend we have some old ghost lurking around. People love a little haunting too.” Oh, the plans Duncan had. “Come on, let me show you inside.”
The front door creaked as Duncan unlocked and pushed it open, allowing a wave of musty air to drift out.
“Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here for a while.” Douglas ran his finger over the surface of a side table by the side of the door, leaving a long clear mark across it, and a large pile of dust on his finger.
“Nah, it’s been in the market for ages, apparently. Whenever anyone’s offer was accepted, something would happen and they’d have to bow out before closing the deal. Even though I offered just half the asking price in cash, they snapped it up and got me to sign the papers pretty much as soon as they’d accepted.”
Douglas glanced at his son, a little concerned, “Isn’t that a little bit of a worry? I mean you haven’t even had a survey done. There could be all sorts wrong. I mean, have you seen the roof from the outside? It looks like it would take just one more of those awful storms we’ve been experiencing recently for the whole thing to collapse! All those lovely wooden beams on the outside? I bet they’re riddled with wood rot, and even they are bowed. It looks like someone is pressing on it from above!”
“I told you, Dad, I’ve got it all covered. The money is there for the work, and I’ll bet, if I get my team started asap, we could be up and running in six months! Now look here, I thought we could make this a bar area.” Duncan pointed towards a door, walking towards it.
Douglas’s mind was elsewhere. He swore he’d seen a shadow moving across the staircase.
“Duncan, I think someone is here.”
“What? Don’t be silly Dad. No one’s here but us.”
“I just saw a shadow moving upstairs.”
“Look, the wind is picking up outside, you probably saw the shadow of a tree from outside waving around. Come on Dad, I want to show you the back, where I might put the spa area. Might need a little extension.”
Douglas looked back towards the staircase. “There!” He started towards it. “I saw someone. It was definitely a person’s silhouette!”
He ran up the stairs with Duncan hot on his heels. They combed the empty rooms, flinging open doors, and only disturbing the dust that had gathered, nothing else.
“See?” Duncan guffawed. “You’re saying someone’s here? Nothing.”
“No, Duncan, I definitely saw someone.”
“What, like a ghost? Oh, leave off Dad! Like we even believe in ghosts!” He made his way downstairs. “Come on, let’s go. I’ll show you another time. Ghosts, ha! Well, if there was one, that would definitely be a selling point for the hotel, eh!”
***
They closed the door behind them, dislodging a piece of paper that had been lodged in the letterbox. It floated onto the hallway floor.
“No such thing as ghosts, huh? We’ll show them…” Had they looked back then, they would have noticed two figures peering out of the upstairs window.
And that paper? An old letter.
Mother, we’ll never let your plans go ahead. This is our home. You cannot sell it. You can keep us locked up as long as you like. We’ll find ways to make sure you can’t do this. And we promise… Even beyond our mortal days, we will be here, making sure our home is just that. Ours.
Peter And Jane
Ritu 2019
But I Smile Anyway... 