Thanks for the reviews you gave, and I'm truly sorry for making slight mistakes. You have to remember that this is my first time to write a fictional story and I'm still working on it. There's always room for improvement right? Anyways, here's Chapter 2.


Chapter Two

"Thank God, it's still here!" Despite her aching fatigue & her screaming muscles, Mimi managed a shaky smile as she dug up her old house key from among the clothes pegs stored in a wooden box by the back door of Laurel House.

Huddling under her hooded black slicker, she slipped the key into the lock & for a second, she met resistance…and then the door opened. She slumped weakly on the door heedless of the rain lashing down on her.

When she realized she was falling asleep where she stood, she jerked herself upright. She had to stay awake…at least till she had faced her father. She'd phone him a couple of days ago before setting off New York, but he hadn't picked up the phone.

"Tachikawa Resident. Please leave a message after the beep!" The voice of her father was heard on the voice mail. She didn't leave a message. She just wanted to confirm that her father was still living at the family home.

Apparently he was…but this evening he was out. She'd stood at the front door for a good five minutes ringing the bell over & over again. Finally, she'd given up, but she didn't leave.

On her long trip, she had time to think. And she made some decisions. One was that she was going to stand up to her father. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her the way he had when she was a teenager.

She opened the door and stepped inside. Nothing had changed. That was her first thought. But after she'd taken a second look, she saw that some things indeed changed. The appliances she remembered were gold. The appliances she saw now were black. Gleaming black stove, dishwasher, fridge, microwave…

Yawning, she walked through the kitchen, out into the corridors and along to the foyer. The doors to all the rooms were open and she peeked in every one, but they were all empty. Yawning again, she turned away and ascended the stairs.

"Daddy?" She called out as she reached the top landing. Her voice echoed back. It had a hollow sound.

She checked his bedroom. He wasn't there, but everything seems to be in order just as she remembered it. She moved to her old bedroom ad was surprised, but pleased to see that there, too, nothing had changed. And never had the bed seemed more inviting.

Shrugging off her slicker, she tossed it over a chair. She would lie down and have a short nap. But she would leave the door open to make sure that when her father came home, she would be able to hear him.


She woke from a deep sleep to the sound of movement. The thud of footstep, someone going down the stairs.

She pushed herself up to a sitting position and felt her fingers tremble as she brushed her long sleep-mussed hair back. Her father was home. And she had to go down and face him.

The courage she' built up during her trip now threatened to leave her. Her father's rages…they had always terrified her. But she had to confront him sometime.

Swallowing her dread, she made a decision. And before she could change her mind, she walked out of her room, across the landing and then she descended the stairs.


Matt had just gulped a mouthful of beer from his can when he heard a sound behind him. Turning around, he spluttered when he saw the pale apparition standing unsteadily in the doorway…a tall, curvy figure with long, straight hair and a perfect oval face.

"What the…?" Wondering if he was dreaming, he stared incredulously. Then shaking his head, he looked again…it was still there…she was still there.

And she was staring as if he, too, was a ghost. Her eyes were starkly wide, her lips parted in dismay, her oval face as pale as the crumpled ecru suit that hung so loosely on her thin body.

"There must be some explanation for this." He said.

"What," she asked in a voice as insubstantial as her appearance, "are you doing here?"


AN: What do you guys think? I hope I didn't make as much mistakes as I did on the first one. Please leave your reviews. Thanks!

Chapter 3 will be up soon! lol