Walking, listening, watching, I see the rain glistening and running down people’s windows. Children sit by the windows, pretending the raindrops are in a race to see which one is going to go all the way down first. The soft pitter-patter of the rain is gentle. Sometimes I hear a light splash coming from a raindrop falling in a puddle. My feet lightly tap the sidewalk with water coming up with my shoe.

         In the distance, I see an old house. Maybe not abandoned but definitely, people have not been taking care of it. The House looks like it was once beautiful. I can just see a happy family living there but, like an old child’s toy, it was forgotten. It boggled my mind that I have never seen this house, and it’s just at the end of the street.

         My curiosity grew as I got closer to The House. I can’t help but wonder what made this house so gloomy and secluded from the rest. As I got closer, I can see there is a person standing by the gate, just like you would be waiting for a friend. It beckoned me over. When I get closer I see it’s a man but, it’s hard to decipher his age.

         “Do you know what happened here?” He asked me. I shook my head, no. All I can tell was this house had suffered. He took in a long, deep breath and began talking. “There was once a family. A mom, a dad, a sister, a brother, and a younger sister. They were the perfect family, the family everyone aspired to be.”

         I turned my gaze to him, his eyes looked to The House and they held some type of familiarity and pride talking about the family. “The oldest was the sister, she was extremely intelligent. She had tons of scholarships and colleges at her fingertips. The brother, he played varsity football and had his whole life ahead of him. The younger sister was talented, she could put you in her spell right when she stepped on stage.” His voice slightly cracked at the mention of the younger sister.

         His lip started to tremble. “One day the younger sister went out. She was just going to the library to get a book for her project. She assured her family, she would be back in time for lunch.” He looked around as if she walked right by us. His gaze lingered down the street like he was watching her do it all over again. He shook his head as if to snap him out of his trance.

         “An hour passed, then two. Her sandwich was wrapped up for her. The mom called the library to see if she was there, they said she left an hour ago. They started to walk down the street to see if they could find her, they didn’t.” His eyes were glossy as he told that part.

         “They called the police. As the investigation went on the family became more anxious. They were like a pack of lions waiting to pounce on anything they could find. A year passed and the police gave up; no evidence was found and no new evidence was brought into the light.” His voice was now trembling and a single tear rolled down his face but never came all the way down. The rain began to fall down harder as he continued his story.

         “The family broke apart. They scattered across the states. Trying to get away from all the pain that this town had brought upon them. The dad stayed in that house. Hoping and praying for his little girl to come back. She never did. They say he stayed there and died, but his spirit still wonders around. Hoping he can tell someone what really happened.” The rain began to pour harder. I can’t see anymore, everything is blurry.

         “Remember this one thing: Never take anything for granted, because it can be taken away in a flash.” The rain continued to pour. Making a thunk, thunk, thunk, sounds. There are a clash and a bang of lighting in the distance. In an attempt to steady myself, I reach out to the man and swiped nothing but air. I try again but once again I turn up empty-handed. I had heard nothing indicating that he walked away. I was by myself in the rain with no one around me.