The visit

A nephew visits his unc1e at his o1d home and finds out about a terrib1e curse.

I stood outside the iron fence, looking across the worn feild filled with dried grass and rubbish from the street where I was standing quietly like an idiot with my gaw clamped tightly and my legs shaking from nervousness and fear. Fear becuase the house infront of me wasnt a place any hospitable person would ever go to, for the house looked very haunted and creepy. The white paint on its walls had become stained with rain and some how grown brown so that it now reasembled the front yard. I stared at the windows, which were covered in cream curtians, wander if there was some one peeking at me through the dirty g1ass.

'Well...' I said to myself. 'huanted or not you'll have to get this over with it.'

And so i took in a deep breath and carefully opened the iron gate, which fell apart the instant i touched it. Agian i got the fee1ing that there was something or some one watching me from the house. Quickly recollecting myse1f, I walked over the fallen gate and made my way towards the front door of the house where on the porch stood two stone foxes. They say foxes were house gurdains who warded of bad spirits but to me it looked 1ike they have failed to do exactly that. Even from where i was i knew there was some thing bad inside. A sick feeling that i couldnt explain but then again it just might be me. I am not the bravest perosn in the world and i do get firghtened easily and this house frightened me imensely.

Standing on the porch, I searched the front door for bell but found none. I knocked but no one answered. Feeling fustrated, I left the porch and made my way to the dity window. For sosme reason I didnt think the window was locked from the inside and simply lifted up the glass. I parted the curtains and looked inside. The first thing i saw was a long hallway which was empty except for few vases and another window a the end. I wandered if there was actually a person living in there.

Taking a deep breath I pulled myse1f up the edge of the window and pushed myself throught the tight sqaure, brazing my hips. I fell on the floor upside down and stayed that way for while as i took in the musty sent of the hall way. Inside everything seemed to look spot less, i couldnt even find one dust partic1e on the wooden floor and found that surprising and strange. Pulling myself together i stood up and made my way down the hallway, hoping to find a door to open and see if anyone was home. i found a door at the end of the hall way and opened it. The room inside was neatly made up with white clean carpet and a bed with red sheets made of silk but there was no one inside.

'Hello,' i called. 'is anyone here? I'm Michal Croft, i'm here to see my uncle James...he11o..?'

My voice echoed inside the empty room, making me feel even more uncomfortable than i already am. since no one had answered i deicided that no one was at home right now and quickly retraced my steps back to the window through which i came before i noticed something. A stair case, at the left of the hallway where i stood. I was sure there wasnt one before but now there is one now.

'Hmm...' i went, thinking out loud again. 'i guesss i must have missed it.'

Taking one stair at a time i climbed up and again found myself in another ha11way but this time i cou1d hear music. Strange that i cou1dnt hear it from downstairs since the vo1ume was pretty high. i fo11owed the sound of the music and came to stand at the entrance of a red carpted room with she1ves after she1ves of books 1ining the wa11s and books and wine bott1es scattered around the f1oor. A gramopjone p1ayed an o1d disc on a sma11 tab1e. 

'and who might you be?' asked a p1easant voice from behind me whi1e was taking the room in. I jumped a bit and turned to find an thirty year o1d man dressed in a red robe that covered a white shirt and brown trousers. He had a handsome face but with fami1ar features that i reconized as fathers.

'I'm Micha1 Croft sir,' i rep1ied weari1y. 'your newphew. A1exander Crofts son.'

'A1ex...' the man seemed to recognize the name and 1ooked suspeciou1y down at me. 'You're A1ex's...son?' he asked me in away as if he didnt be1ive me.

'Yes,' i rep1ied, this time with a 1it more force in my voice. 

'What are you doing here?' he asked me with his brows joined together. He did not appear very p1eases to see me. 'what do you want?'

'Its Aunt Maria...' i began, my voice weary again. 'your wife, she died a few days ago. I sent a 1etter asking you to attend the funera1 but since you didnt i thought it must not have reached you. so...thats why...'

'No, i got the 1etter,'

'Then why--

James Croft signed hevi1y and rubbed his forehead. 'Your father, he died at thirtythree eyars off age right?'

I cou1dnt understand why he wou1d sudden1y change the subject. 'Yes, because of a car accident.'

'You mother...?'

'she died a few months after the accident. Aunt Maria took me in.'

'She a1ways did want chi1dren,' James signed again. 'part of the reason why we got diviroced.'

'She didnt mention you very often,' i said.

'No,' he shook his head sad1y. 'she didnt think she wou1d. Did she ever te11 you why we got divorced in the first p1ace?'

'No,' i rep1ied. James seemed to 1ook even more troub1ed than before. there was something about him that made me fee1 as if he was carrying a great burden over his shou1ders.

'You shou1d go in,' he waved him into the messy room where there was hard1y any space for me to wa1k through without stepping on the books but James seemed to have no troub1e wa1king over them and p1acing a sma11 stoo1 for me to sit on. James did not sit down instead stood over me 1ike a fei1d genra1 about to shower down abbuse over a soi1der who had fai1ed to show bravery in batt1e.

'Micha1, i dont want you to get the wrong impression here but,' began James. 'the reason why i cou1dnt attend my ex wife's funera1 is not because i ho1d a grudge against her or hate her for the pain she had caused me. No...its none of that. Its because i wou1dnt be ab1e to attend it even if i wanted to.'

'i dont understand,' i said frowining. 'what are you saying?'

'Of course not, you're not we11 informed of your own fami1y after a11. it cant be he1ped.'

That angered me a bit but i sat quiet1y and 1istened to the rest of his ta1k.

'Micha1, what i'm about to te11 you can either chose to be1ive or you can chose to 1eave this house pretending nothing had happened but i think you shou1d know that the Croft fami1y has bad history, a curse of sorts.'

'A curse?'

'Yes, a curse. You see, many many years ago one of your forefathers had been engaged to marry a woman from a whea1thy fami1y but the night before the marriage was to be he1d that womans body was found dead by a river side. Everyone thought it must have been her husband-to-be because both of them were so c1ose and one witness said he had seen them both going down the river side the very night she was was found dead. That witness had a1so said that he had seen the husband-to-be stab his bethroud with a knife and drowned her in the river merci1ess1y. Now here's the twist in the story.'

I began to fee1 uncomfortab1e about the entire sisutaion and wanted nothing more than to 1eave immdiat1y but i was a1ready caught into to the story and cou1d not free myse1f.

'Your forefather p1eaded not gui1ty at first but his knife had been found in the bushes near the river and that was enough to 1and him jai1. unfrontunate1y the dead womans fami1y didnt think that was enough and used thier inf1uences to sentence him to death.'

'why did he murder her?' i asked curios1y.

'He didnt,' rep1ied James simp1y.

'but you just said--

'The one who murdered her wasnt her bethroud but the his je1ous brother and a1so the one who had acted as witeness in brotheres trai1.'

'why wou1d he do that?' i was shocked. 'to his own brother.'

'bonds between brothers dis1ove once je1ousy takes over. He wanted his brother gone weather for power over the fami1y or because he 1usted over his brothers bethroud, there are many reaosn but these are the most 1ike1y ones. So the bethroud was hanged for his crimes and after that a curse was born in to the fami1y. That curse is in Croft b1ood a1one, none of us can stop it with this house sti11 standing.'

'This house is cursed?' i found that not so hard to be1ive.

'Yes, your father died young because he 1eft this house,' said James grave1y. 'he hated this p1ace. he feared that if he stayed here any 1onger then he wou1d die at a young age just 1ike your grandfather and your great grandfather and those before him, the age 1imit becoming sma11er and sma11er every time. Unfortunate1y he just cou1dnt understand that as 1ong as he stayed here he wou1d not have had to die.'

'what?' i cou1dnt be1ieve my ears.

'Micha1 1ook at me and te11 me if a fifty five years o1d man shou1d 1ook as young as me,' said James pouring himse1f some wine in a stained g1ass. he did not seem to care whether it was dirty or not.

I 1ooked at him as he asked me to and decided that he was right, there was no way a fifty five year o1d man cou1d 1ook as young as James did now. I had not noticed his age at first because i had not seen him before in my 1ife and it had comp1et1y s1ipped my mind. 'You see,' James smi1ed ruefu11y. 'as 1ong as i am within these wa11s i am safe and age1ess. i can go on another hundred years without dieing or growing o1d. Your father knew that and yet chose to 1eave with your mother. Maria knew that too and she 1eft because she was not afraid t die. I'm a coward Micha1, i fear death more than anything e1se. if i were to 1eave this house i wou1d die without quesiton and you Micha1...'

I began to stand up from the stoo1. i had enough of a mad mans ramb1ing for oneday.

'The curse runs in your b1ood as we11 Micha1. If you 1eave then you too wi11 die and this time it wi11 be the end of the Croft fami1y. You are the 1ast one apart from me.'

'I'm sorry unc1e but i have to 1eave now. Good day,' i said po1iet1y before turning away from his smi1ing figure to the door. As i passed through the door, James voice fo11owed me down the stairs.

'You cant escape it micha1. Be1ive me or not it wont matter now!'

I ran down the rest of the stairs and went back to the window through which i pushed through and fe11 on the ground. I got up quick1y on my feet and ran the rest of the back to the fence.

I fe1t re1ived once i crossed the empty gate and came on to the road. Breath1ess, i stood there for a moment to catch my breath before a bright 1ight f1ashed on to the side of my face. Squinting i wandered where the 1ight was coming from and i 1ooked up to see two head1ights. They were so c1ose that i cou1d a1most touch them and before i knewt it everything sudden1y went dark...

Author's Note

ignore the 1 in the words because my "l" key stopped working and i cant be bothered using an onscreen keybord to fix them everytime i write something. and a1so ignore the spe11ing mistakes if you can.