Mara Chapman stared solemnly out the window, glazing with big brown eyes at the old gothic-styled house, which she had done every night for the last two years– well, whenever she was over her grandmother's house. She squinted her eyes, hoping for her vision to become more focused and sharp, but the mansion remained the same. Sometimes, she hoped to catch a glimpse of something, she wasn't sure what.

A knock at her door startled her out of her daydreams. It opened a crack, and in poked her grandmother's head. "Go to sleep sweetie," she said softly. "It's almost midnight."

"Yes grandma," Mara replied. Grandma Kim closed the door, and she went back to her daydreams, staring up at the old mansion.

The mansion rested on top of a large mound; too big to be a hill, but too small to be a mountain. It was almost like an in-between mound of dirt, a mountain-sized hill if you will. The mansion's towers rose high into the clouds, and dense fog coiled itself around it. Mara had been trying for years to be able to see through nature's wall into the mansion, but it blocked her way, making it impossible for anybody to pass, physically or mentally. Of course, during the day, there was no fog. Just dark clouds. There always seemed to be something surrounding it's highest towers, making it seem ominous and disturbing, but mysterious all at the same time. But rumors and local urban myths about a psychopathic killer living up in the old house made it a place to be only watched at a distance, or ignored.

Mara remembered that day two years ago, when her grandmother told her about who really lived up in that house. A man with scissors for hands, a man who was created from scratch, but never finished, and a man who was sweet, and gentle.

Mara, poor innocent Mara, who had always been afraid of the house looked down beside her feet at the little duffel bag she packed up for herself. Inside the small bag was a sweatshirt, a pair of flip flops, and her stuffed bear named Ralph. She planned to stay the night in the old house, see if she could find the man with the scissors– what was his name?

Oh yeah, it was Edward.

Mara went over to bed and sat down on it. Rested on a hardcover library book (which was a week overdue), was a piece of paper and a pen. Mara picked up the paper and scanned it before putting it down again. She then grabbed the duffel bag, and opened the window. Jumping onto the roof, she practiced what she had been practicing for a long time. She climbed down the side of the house, and started to waltz down the street, bag in hand.

After a long journey, Mara looked up at the mansion, craning her neck to see the top. She looked forward, staring at the rusted gate that was the entrance. This was it. The moment of truth. She put one foot through one of the openings, and slid her small body through.

She was met with a view that was so surreal and so beautiful, that she pinched herself to make sure she was awake.

She was awake.

Dozens and dozens of garden sculptures, all different sizes, stood in front of her, glaring back at her not menacingly, but welcoming. They were saying, "Come in Mara, come in. We haven't had many visitors in a while." Mara squeezed her bag through the gate, and ventured up to the front step. The door was enormous! As it loomed over her, Mara started to have second thoughts about what she was doing. Mara had learned from television that if there is a big, wooden door looming over you, there is something spooky inside. She reached up to the door-knocker, standing on her tip-toes, and banged it against the door. She waited silently on the stoop, the only sound she heard was the beating of her heart in her chest, wanting to burst right out. After a while, Mara became inpatient, and tried the knob. It opened with a little effort, but it was open nonetheless.

The second sign of a haunted house... an unlocked door.

Mara was afraid now. She forgot about what her grandmother had told her about Edward. Maybe her grandmother lied. Maybe he was a deadly killer like all of the children said he was.

But was he?

Maybe he was a harmless, innocent person, like a child. Maybe he was just lonely. Mara knew how that felt. To be lonely, and not have anybody around. Her mother and her father were constantly away on business, and she was either at her grandmother's house, or alone at home (depending on how long they were gone).

With that in mind, Mara stepped forward into the house, closing the door behind her. The room she entered was tremendous, and was covered in cobwebs and dust. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in decades, maybe never! Various machines lined the walls, along with gargoyles and statues that ran chills up Mara's spine. They were all so creepy, and so unwelcoming that Mara didn't want to stay in the house any longer. She ran towards the door, but stopped. She took a deep breath, and walked towards the long, winding staircase that seemed to go up to heaven itself. Mara adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder, and started to climb up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs was a large room, almost the whole length of the house. The first thing she noticed was a large, gaping hole in the roof above her. She looked out, and found that she could see the town below. It was beautiful, especially at night.

She looked around the room some more. The next thing she noticed was the fireplace. Nestled inside of it was a straw mattress on a broken and rusted cot, apparently very old. Mara went over to it, and sat down carefully, as if not to break the bed. Inside the wall of the fireplace, clippings from various magazines and newspapers hung, all covered in dust, which made them very hard to read. Somebody lived here a long time ago, she thought to herself. She looked at the clippings for a little while longer before getting up, and taking another look around the room. She walked from end to end, searching for Edward.

But he was nowhere to be found.

After looking, she searched the second floor. Various rooms, some locked, some open, and some totally destroyed, lined the walls of each hallway, but no sign of life was to be found (except for a few spiders and some rats).

Finally, Mara checked the bottom floor. Also, as in the other rooms, there was no Edward to be found.

"My grandma lied to me!" she said out loud to herself. "It was a made up story after all." Finding no reason to stay, Mara picked up her bag, and walked out of the house, leaving it in peace and loneliness once again.

Edward watched as the little girl stomped away from the house, and out of the front gate. He was happy, yet sad at the same time. He missed another person around, but liked his isolation from the rest of the world. It was the one thing that made him feel safe.

As soon as she was completely gone, he walked over to his straw bed, and fell asleep, awaiting the next day that followed

I thought this would be an interesting take on what Kim's granddaughter might do. There are always ones when the girl would find Edward, befriend him, yadda yadda yadda. This is something new. Enjoy it

Usagi Kurari