Kathryn Dahne - Curse of the Nun

That was behind her now. She needed to let it go.

Anna headed back into the house, shoving her phone back into her pocket with a grim expression.

The rain had finally let up by the time night had fallen. Anna peaked into Claire’s room, wanting to tuck her in before heading off to bed herself. The room itself didn’t seem like a child’s bedroom at all. The walls were plain, beige with a single cream accent wall. The curtains over the windows were off-white and impersonal. The lighting fixtures were simple, unadorned brass. Even the bed was plain hardwood. Mike’s aunt would have had fifty fits had they tried to do anything that would have personalized the space for the ten-year-old.

Anna couldn’t wait to help decorate Claire’s room at the new house. She smiled widely as her eyes landed on a giggling lump under the floral-print covers.

“Claire?” She singsonged, playing along.

Anna made sure to make a great show of looking around the room as she entered.

“Where is she? She’s got a big day tomorrow?”

The lump giggled again and shifted slightly.

“I know I heard something… is she in here?!”

Anna bit back a smirk as she opened the closet door and pretended to be surprised to find it empty.

“No! How about in here?”

Anna pulled open a nightstand drawer and the lump giggled louder. She circled around the bed, preparing to pounce.

“Maybe she’s under - here!”

Anna pulled back the covers with a dramatic flourish, only to find the bed empty.

“Mom?”

Anna jumped and whirled around, her heart almost galloping in her chest as Claire, dressed in her pjs and hair freshly wet from the shower, fixed her with a confused look from the doorway.

“You sure are a good hider,” Anna said in a slightly stunned voice.

Claire just looked even more confused.

“I wasn’t hiding,” she said, hopping up onto the bed.

“Sure,” Anna replied, trying to swallow back her own confused fear with an attempt at normality. “Did you brush your teeth?”

Claire tilted her head back and proudly showed off her freshly brushed teeth. Living with an oral surgeon meant dental hygiene was of paramount importance to their family.

“Perfect. Excited to move into your new room tomorrow?” Anna asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed to tuck the covers in around her daughter.

“Very,” Claire said with an eager smile.

“Can you believe it, your very own room?”

“This is my room,” Claire said, as if she didn’t quite grasp the distinction.

“Not some boring guest room, your own room. One you can decorate however you want.”

Claire shrugged. “I’m just happy I don’t have to sleep on the floor like the old house.”

Anna’s heart broke a little at the declaration, and she reached out to smooth some of the damp locks away from her daughter’s face. Claire had still been pretty young when Anna had finally divorced Lex, but the memories she did have of that time were the sort of memories that Anna had never wanted for her daughter. It was during these moments that Anna remembered all the reasons she had worked so hard to get to where she was now.

“Me too,” Anna said, voice soft.

“Can I paint my walls black?” Claire asked with sudden enthusiasm.

“ Black ?!”

“I like black.”

Anna couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s probably my fault.”

They both turned at the sound of a loud thud from the hallway. Anna tensed, still not entirely calm from the strange incident from before. Had she only imagined Claire under the covers? She looked over at her daughter who was frowning slightly. Anna shook herself, trying to ignore the sense of unease that curled uncomfortably in her chest.

“Uh-oh,” Anna smiled, ready to play it off for Claire’s sake. “Sounds like Daddy knocked something over.”

Claire’s expression cleared and she brought her hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. Anna smiled in response, some of her tension easing.

“Again?” Claire asked.

“He’s clumsy, isn’t he?” Anna agreed, a teasing note in her voice as she kissed Claire’s forehead.

“Goodnight, Lovebug,” Anna whispered as she drew away.

Claire snuggled deeper into the covers as Anna crossed the room to flick off the light. Claire was going to love the new house and her new room, though Anna wasn’t completely sold on black bedroom walls just yet. She closed the door just in time to hear another thud from somewhere down the hallway. She flinched slightly at the noise. Her nerves still getting the better of her.

What the hell was Mike doing? Dealing with his aunt tomorrow was going to be hard enough without explaining any damaged property.

“Jesus, Mike, be careful,” She muttered to herself.

“What?”

Mike’s voice drifted up from the bottom of the stairs in the opposite direction that the thud seemed to have come from.

“Was that you?” Anna asked, leaning over the stairwell to look at him.

“Was what?”

“I thought I heard something fall.”

Mike just gave her a confused puppy look that Anna felt shouldn’t be as endearing as it was.

“Wasn’t me,” he said dismissively. “You coming to bed?”

Anna frowned. “Yeah, gimme a sec.”

She wanted to figure out what the noise had been.

Anna headed back into the spare room, wondering if it had been that box again. Sure enough, there it was, sitting in the middle of the floor. This time the only escapee had been the photograph of the nun. It had fluttered to the floor next to the box, face down. Anna approached the box with caution. She mentally scolded herself for being so jumpy, not sure if the move was putting her on edge or not. She picked up the fallen photograph, the edges of it almost unnaturally cool against her skin. The word “STAY” had been written on the back in large block letters. Anna used her free hand to rub at the goosebumps that had sprung up along her arm. She flipped it over and stared at the sad-eyed nun again.

She sighed heavily and put the photo back in the box before picking it up to replace on the shelf. This time she made sure to push it as far back as it would go. She just hadn’t put it back carefully enough the first time. That had to be the reason it had fallen again.

It was only as she made to leave and follow Mike to bed that she noticed the pull-ladder leading up into the attic was hanging down slightly. They had never kept anything in the attic, why would that be open? She peered up into the darkness overhead with no small amount of trepidation. Part of the reason they had never stored anything up there was how much Anna hated the attic. It might have been a little childish, but something about attics had always creeped her out. She hardly ever came into the spare room where the hatch was for that reason if she could avoid it. She licked at her lips, trying to get some moisture back into her suddenly dry mouth.

“Mike?” She yelled. “Mike, did you go into the attic for some reason?” She tried to keep her tone as even as possible.

No response.

It must have been Mike , Anna reasoned. It’s not like the hatch had opened itself. She physically shook herself. She was being silly. This move was really starting to get to her.

Anna huffed loudly and shut the ladder hatch with a small bang of her own. This day certainly felt like it was trying to last forever. She was ready to shower and crawl into bed. She was so done with this house. Anna headed out of the spare room and down the hall.

Behind her, the attic hatch slowly dropped open again.

Anna spat out the remains of her toothpaste in the bathroom sink and rolled her head to relieve some of the lingering tension in her neck. A good hot shower was sometimes all that was needed to put the stress of the day behind her. She tossed her toothbrush in the open suitcase on the floor before deciding to do one last check of the medicine cabinets.