Spirits don't go on vacation

It had already been ten days since the schools had closed and that was enough for Amy to rest. After all, fourth grade didn't seem difficult to her, but now she was housebound. Only on some warm days did he go to the sea, while in the afternoons he watched the same boring programs on TV. One morning she couldn't stand the monotony any longer and asked her mother if she could stay a few days at her uncle's house. She didn't object and arranged it with a phone call.

The very next day, her uncle appeared at the door. Amy already had her suitcase ready. She put on her floral dress, she placed her pendant with the green stone around her neck, he took the tablet in his hands and in a few minutes he was in the car. With destination, of course, the house that would host her for the next few days. Her uncle had recently rented it and Amy hadn't visited it again. They arrived in a desolate area with lush vegetation, a little further out of town.

– “But there are hardly any cars here;”, Amy wondered somewhat aloud.

– "There are very few neighbors here, so I have peace of mind", her uncle replied, somewhat abruptly.

They arrived at a maisonette, comfortable and nicely furnished. It offered a separate space for the visitor on the upper floor. Delighted, she threw her things on the couch and turning to her uncle exclaimed:

– "We're going to watch a movie; I heard there's one out, see what it's called…”. She didn't have time to finish her conversation and he interrupted her:

– "No, we won't see any movies! I'm tired, I'm going to lie down for a while", he replied curtly and went downstairs to his bedroom. He looked a little restless and that surprised Amy. He took the tablet and started playing, hoping he wouldn't do the same boring things here.

An hour or two must have passed and her uncle appeared in the living room where Amy was playing. He looked as listless and serious as before. Without uttering a word, he also sat on the couch. Amy decided to break the silence a bit and suggested they play a board game. He nodded his head. Amy opened her favorite tabletop, with some cards depicting human figures. He noticed that two cards were out of their plastic bag. She was impressed, because he always collected the cards meticulously. He looked at them and saw that it was the figure with the blond young man and the dark haired young woman.

She had already spent half an hour silently playing with her uncle and Amy got up to go to the fridge because she was thirsty. He stared for a few moments at the magnetic letters that were stuck on for decoration, which her meticulous uncle had in alphabetical order. He was in a hurry and opened the refrigerator door somewhat abruptly, so that when it's her turn to play, to be in her place. A plastic bottle fell from the refrigerator door. Her uncle used to keep small bottles like these in the fridge with ready-made cocktails, that you could just add ice and drink them. Amy was a bit curious, it was a margarita cocktail. He didn't know there was a drink named after a flower.

He quickly replaced it and returned to continue the game, that her uncle with his behavior, it made it look boring. He was slow to play and didn't seem interested, he treated it more like a chore. Waiting for her turn, Amy's gaze fell on the wooden calendar her uncle had on the coffee table. The cubes that made it up formed the date 23 of July 2016. He gave up, but she didn't ask her uncle anything. Changed to today's day in June 2023.

The time has passed, it got dark outside for good. Her uncle as if programmed, without waiting for the game to end, he exclaimed:

– "The evening has come, I'll make toasties for us to eat and then sleep."

– “But.. The game is not over…”

– "We will not dawn it for an old game...", he answered without leaving any room for doubt.

Amy was about to cry. She had never seen him like this before. She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, as she thought of the way her uncle had spoken to her before. Why did he call her that?;; Nevertheless he lay down without protest. Her uncle turned off the lights and went to sleep too.

An hour had now passed, Amy had just fallen asleep, until an unpleasant, a very strong smell woke her up... She knew that her uncle has a gas appliance for cooking and that worried her. He jumped out of bed and ran straight to the kitchen. Her fears were confirmed, as the switch was fully open. He quickly closed it and opened the window. He was left wondering how the LPG could have been on, since they only used the toaster in the evening.

In the morning Amy told him about the LPG incident, but he wasn't interested, as if it was something ordinary and harmless. He asked her to put on her tracksuit and go for a walk. She, although particularly troubled, he did not object. In a few minutes they were both in the quiet neighborhood, walking towards the main road. Speechless, they were walking at a fast pace, each absorbed in his own thoughts. Nothing made sense to Amy since yesterday. He didn't like being there; Since he accepted. Is his behavior hiding something?;

Her thoughts were interrupted by an encounter with an old friend of her uncle's. He worked for a transport company and traveled by motorbike:

– "Where are you old friend?; This is your niece;”, she asked her uncle.

– "I'm fine... Oh yes yes my niece", he answered somewhat reluctantly.

– "You live here now;”

– "Yes, I rent Mrs. Daisy's house, it was quite cheap and quiet…”. He didn't have time to finish his conversation and his friend interrupted him:

– "You live in this house where the accident happened; It was in a guest house for many years…”

– “What an accident;”, Amy broke into the conversation abruptly… She immediately pulled herself together and regretted being thrown, without anyone giving her the floor. But her uncle's friend smiled and answered:

– “A couple had been burned before 7 years in that house. It was a terrible accident, young people were charred…”, he answered as if he were monologuing.

– "Good, we don't have a problem, the house does not appear to have any damage”, her uncle replied, interrupting his friend's monologue. "We will continue the walk, before the sun hits us for good. It was nice to see you again after so long.”. He grabbed Amy's arm and pulled her away, somewhat violently, to proceed…

Amy was scared with what she heard about a house so isolated but she didn't say anything... And given that she wasn't having a good time, he was now thinking of what excuse he could find to get out of there.

It wasn't long before they got home and Amy ran to the tablet she had brought to look up the accident. It wasn't hard to find. It was indeed a horrific accident with two young people dying from burns. In the same house where she was now... The couple was also in a photo. Although a bit blurry, it looked like the boy was blond and the girl was dark. She broke out in a cold sweat as she thought about the cards in the game, even if she pretended to be fearless to her own people...

But he continued to read the details: A man 25 years old and a girl 22 were the victims of this tragedy, who had decided to stay together after their college years. The fire department was unfortunately too late to reach the isolated house to put out the fire, while the experts concluded that the fire originated from a gas leak. Amy remembered the leak that woke her up last night, as well as her uncle's indifferent reaction, and scared for good. Now the most improbable scenarios crossed her mind. Thoughts were rushing through her mind, while he was constantly looking at the article in the online newspaper…

It didn't take long for her gaze to fall on the date of the accident... 23 July 2016… The tablet slipped out of her hands and landed on the sofa, as he jumped up... He remembered well that the date he corrected in the calendar yesterday, she was the one who had the accident. He wanted to raise the voices, she started pacing nervously in the small living room… Maybe she should talk about all this to her uncle, who once again had locked himself in his room. Or maybe she shouldn't talk to him; Was he in danger?;

(The second part here)