"Well, we're here!"
Anne lifted her head up with tired eyes as she gazed upon the house her parents had just bought. Her eyes lit up when she saw swings and playground outside in the garden.
"It's bigger than that stinky apartment," Margret said as she climbed out of the car.
It was. There was even a garage. It was so different to the city. Lots of trees, pretty mountains and apparently there was a park with a beautiful lake around the back of the house. Anne wasn't sure about the move, she enjoyed listening to the traffic and watching the people on the street from their window.
"It's so we can have enough room for our new baby," Mr Valentine said as he opened the boot of the car to unpack.
Ms Lockhart, who kept her name when she married, came out and supported the growing baby bump carefully as she walked into the house with Margret. Anne hopped out and ran to the boot, taking out her favourite white teddy bear, Alice. A cold breeze passed, making her shiver. She turned her head and thought she saw someone in the woods. She shrugged it off as she didn't see anything and helped her father load the boxes into the house.
Anne finished off her dinner and looked up at Ms Lockhart.
"Mommy, can Alice and I go out and play?" she asked sweetly, blinking her red eyes happily.
Ms Lockhart smiled and leaned over to squeeze Anne's hand.
"Yes, Anne. Don't stay out too long. It's getting dark."
Anne picked Alice up and ran out. Her white hair blew in the wind as she climbed up the playground. Her eyes wandered over the garden wall and her heart seized as she saw someone in the forest, staring at her. She placed a hand over her heart and giggled. That was scary. Maybe someone lived near here? She leaned against the wooden rail to take a closer look. But in the blink of an eye, the person had disappeared. Anne frowned and looked at Alice.
"Who do you think that was?" she asked.
Alice remained silent as Anne sat on the slide with her on her lap and slid down. Anne ran to the swings next and sat Alice in one whilst taking the other. She began swinging enthusiastically, daydreaming and thinking up of more stories to write in her journal that she got for her fifth birthday.
"Anne…"
Anne's cute white buckle shoes screeched on the ground as she heard her name being called and looked over her shoulder, expecting to see Margret wanting a go on the swings. But there was no-one, just the back gate swinging in the late summer breeze. Anne felt cold and shivered then turned away.
"Anne!"
Anne jumped out of her skin when Margret came and pushed Alice off the other swing. Anne clenched the chains that held the swing up but didn't react. As Margret swung, Alice got kicked away. Anne was used to the bullying from Margret. Margret always got away with everything. Anne got up, picked Alice up and ran back inside, tears brimming her eyes. Margret kept swinging with a smug look on her face. In the darkening woods, a stationary figure watched her.
Anne yawned as she scribbled down her story in her journal by her new desk in her sky blue pyjamas with little clouds printed all over the cotton. She left the window open because she ended up being in the room that accumulated the most heat. The cool night air was refreshing and it calmed the young child. The door opened and Mr Valentine poked his head into the room.
"It's time to go to sleep now, Anne," he smiled kindly at her.
"Alright," Anne smiled back.
Mr Valentine closed the door as Anne opened up the top drawer of the desk to put the journal and pencil inside. She saw a piece of paper wedged at the back. Curious, she pulled it out and took a look at it. The page was covered in frantic scribbles which looked like trees. Anne frowned as she studied the picture closer. There was a stick figure amongst the trees. With a shrug, Anne put the page back inside with the journal and switched the light off. She snuggled under the blankets and drifted off the sleep quite quickly, cuddling Alice close to her chest.
Anne dreamt a rather vivid dream. She was in the forest in just her pyjamas, holding a torch. It was cold, she was shivering. She could really feel the cold. And then…she saw a note pinned upon a massive scary tree. It was the page she found in her desk drawer. She took it off and looked at it, wondering how it got outside. Suddenly, she felt her heart throb and constrict. Something heavy, probably tension, probably her imagination, landed on her shoulders and she turned around. She dropped the note as she saw a suit but blacked out. She landed into a pair of skeletal hands, she could feel. They were so cold and they wrapped around her small body.
"You are different."
Anne woke up with a jolt and a silent gasp. She wasn't holding Alice and she wasn't anywhere on the bed. Anne looked down and sighed when she saw Alice lying on the floor. She bent down and scooped her up. But when she looked up, she dropped Alice again. In the corner, next to the desk, in the darkest shadows stood a figure. He was tall, his head nearly touched the ceiling and he had long arms. The shadows hid his face so Anne couldn't see him clearly. But with the blink of an eye, he was gone and Anne ran to her parents' room.
"Mom?" she whispered as she tapped her mother's shoulder.
"Mmm…Anne?" Ms Lockhart opened her eyes and looked at her daughter.
"Mom, there was a man in my room," Anne whispered as she started to feel sweaty and shaky "A very tall man. He…he…he was staring at me but he disappeared…"
"Anne, I think it was just a figment of your imagination," Ms Lockhart murmured and pulled the covers back "Would you like to sleep with us?"
Anne flinched when her spine shivered and she turned to see a brief figure rush across the garden. Anne looked towards her parents and jumped into bed with them, hugging them tightly for dear life.