Okay finally I'm done writing this fantastic story, I've been on it quite some time now... I've read alot of stories about Mysteria Lane and here's my own piece on the little scary town... Hope you guys enjoy it

Hello! My name is June Carter. Ever since I
moved to Mysteria Lane I've encountered
several mysterious happenings that have now
started to affect my life! I don't know who to
trust anymore and therefore I am going to
share my experiences with you. I am trapped
in this town and I have been warned to never
leave or else... I'll be killed!

CHAPTER ONE

This is the last time I am standing here, in
my most favorite and "secure" place in the
world, Grand Central subway. I am here to
embrace its beauty for the last time before I
migrate from this town. The noise of the
arriving and departing trains, the muttering
of people and the stench of the station will
always reside in my mind. My strange
association with this place goes back to my
childhood. As far as my memory serves, I
recollect coming here with my father and
admire this man-made marvel called train.
Trains were the subject of my fascination all
throughout the childhood. My daddy would
lift me up in his arms as I stupefyingly
observe them scampering through the tracks.
"I want to ride in that, daddy," I'd plead to
him and reluctantly he would comply with my
request. The reason of his reluctance was the
fact that once I got into the train, he'd have
to use all his force to get me out of it.

Oh! How badly I miss my childhood! How I
wish my father to be here right now and stop
me from leaving my home. Daddy, why did
you leave me alone? I don't want to go. I
don't want to leave my home. But my wants
are inconsiderable now. Nevertheless, I am
going to miss coming here. I'll miss the
hustling crowd, who have always reminded
me of little black ants meandering in search
of food, also the noise of the traffic which
have gently soothe my ears, the lonely alleys
where I was mugged once, and of course,
going to the cemetery where my father is
peacefully resting.

Walking home, all I can think of is going to
Mysteria Lane. The name is enough to spook
me out. I belong here, in New York. This is
my home. Damn! I wish Irina would
understand this and drop the idea of moving
to that "sick" place. Are you asking me who
Irina is? Well, Irina was married to my father
and now she is my guardian as I have no
other relative left. She has generously
accepted me as her "responsibility".

Ah! I've reached my home, home for now at
least. It's only 8.30 pm and all the lights are
off? My house is looking like a dungeon or
something. Irina must be home. I don't
understand why she is attracted to darkness
so much. I wonder if she was an Emo or Goth
or something. Anyway, I should go inside and
rest for a while. I have just climbed up the
stairs to my room and I can hear a strange
noise. Wow, what is that noise? I think it's
coming from Irina's room. Should I knock at
her door and ask if she's alright? May be
not. I think her lights are on as I can see a
faint ray of orange glow emerging from the
threshold of the door. I can also hear
someone whispering or maybe it's just the
TV. Whatever it is, I am too tired to bother. I
should proceed to my room and call it a
night.

Ugh! I've always hated this alarm clock; I
don't need it to wake me up in the morning.
The sunlight that's falling onto my face right
now compels me every morning to wake up.
But today, instead of filling me with passion
to welcome the new day, the sweltering rays
of the sun are burning my eyes to such an
extent that water is flowing out of them, or
maybe it's just the tears. Huh! I can just
hope that Mysteria Lane is a sunny place.

Irina is already in the kitchen, "Good
morning."

"Good morning sweetheart," she said in her
husky voice.

Irina and my father, Mr. Benjamin Carter
were bound in the bond of matrimony five
years ago. "There's something magical about
her," I remember my father saying that to
me the first time he met her.

I don't fully disagree with him. Irina is
certainly a charming woman and she proved
it when she charmed my father into marrying
her.

Her outward appearance is worthy of
mentioning too. Her long black hair which
she always lets loose perfectly complements
her sparkling dark brown eyes. Even though
she is slender but she possess a draconian
aura that makes you want to submit to her.
Her eyes, for some unknown reason, always
sparkle but sometimes I wonder if it's
nothing but deception.

"Coffee, June?" She is asking me with a smile.
Why wouldn't she smile? After all, if it wasn't
for her I wouldn't have to leave my home.

I never give up and therefore I would make a
last attempt to convince her into not leaving,
"Irina, there's something I need to tell you."

"Go on," she is sitting on the table in front
of me, piercing me with her splintery eyes.

As intimidating as she is, I am going to be
more firm in my appeal, "Irina, I don't want
to go to Mysteria Lane. This has been my
home for seventeen years and no way in hell,
I am leaving it. You don't have to stay here
with me. You can go to your hometown with
a clean conscience. I can take care of myself,
you know. I am not a kid anymore. I am
seventeen now and I can make my own
decisions. I don't need a babysitter to watch
over me." Phew! I am so good!

Irina has been listening to me very patiently
with a grin on her face. Why doesn't she say
anything?

"June, I can't agree with you more. You're a
grown up now and you don't require a
babysitter anymore, but darling how can you
expect me to leave you here alone? There's
no one here to take care of you, to cook
meals for you, to wash your clothes, take
care of the house, to pay bills and taxes,
running errands and..."

"I'll go get my bags..." You win Irina!

So here I am, in the car, after bidding
goodbye to my home of seventeen years. I
went into each of the rooms, where the
memories of my childhood still persist and
where the presence of my father can still be
felt, to bid them farewell. As our car is
moving ahead, my heart is panging for
leaving the city where I grew in behind.
Goodbye New York, but I promise that I will
be back soon.

"You're going to love your new house," she
said to me with a smile. Don't smile at me
Irina; I know you're faking it.

"I sure will," even I faked one for her sake.

As I am looking out of the window and the
wind is gently brushing my hair, I am
wondering what life has in store for me.
Maybe it's not going to be that bad there, but
something in me is insinuating that I am
falling into a trap. Whatever it is, one thing
is for sure! I am going to get out from that
town as soon as possible.

I can skip the planning and plotting now as
the long journey is over and here we are,
approaching the border of our destination. I
can clearly read on the board, "Welcome to
Mysteria Lane," as we're entering into the
town's territory.

CHAPTER TWO

Our car has swayed into the town which is as
desolate and cryptic for me as my companion
with whom I am bound to inhabit. I can
notice a slight modification in Irina's
countenance as we have started breathing the
air of Mysteria Lane. Her spirit has flushed
with excitement; a glow has loomed on her
face as if she has finally procured something
she was indefinitely longing for. She looks at
me and smile, or is it a grin? I hate grins,
Irina. They are pretty nasty! Moving along I
can finally behold the town I am about to
call my home, or that's what Irina wants! I
can never accept Mysteria Lane as my home.

If you ask me, what is your first impression
of this town? Then I'd answer it in one word
- quiet! It's awfully quiet here. No wonder,
only 115 people occupies this secluded
domicile. I guess there are more trees in here
than people. As far as my eyes go I can only
see tress, trees and more trees. Some dead
and some have blooming flowers on them.
Weird!

"You're going to love it here, June," she is
saying to me erratically. I can do nothing but
nod and fake a smile in response. Damn I
can't wait to get out of this car. I hate long
drives! Ah! It looks like my wish has been
granted. She has pulled over and we can
finally get rid of her excitement now.

"This is our home sweet home," saying she as
we get out of the car, gesturing at the small
Victorian house which seems haunted to be
honest.

Even the house is covered with trees, dead
trees to be more precise. But if you ignore
the wilderness, then it is pretty decent to
look at. Painted in white, it has steeply
pitched roof with elaborate vergeboard trim
along the roof edges. The slightly pointed
arched windows of stained glasses provide
the view of, well, trees! And the porch, ah
the porch! How I always longed to live in a
house with an elaborate porch since we
owned an apartment in New York which
clearly had no place for a porch.

"Like it?" Asked Irina as she is coming
towards me with smile on her face.

"Home sweet home," I muttered with a big
smile as we are moving inside the house.

The interiors of our new adobe are
fascinating too. The persimmons colored
walls are accompanied by the mahogany
furniture. Raising my head to adore the
elegant crystal chandelier hanging in the
middle, I can notice the perfectly carved
ceiling moldings painted in lighter tones
taken from the color of the walls. Awesome
stuff!

This is certainly a really big house! There are
several bay windows set outward from the
face of the building administering the flow of
natural light in the room. Even though the
view outside the window is not really
picturesque but the white muslin drapes
covering it are quite magnificent to gaze and
soft to touch. It's official! I like this place
even though it reminds me of ghostly Gothic
mansions.

"Which room do I get?" I must claim the
most beautiful room!

"Pick your favorite," Okay, Irina here I go. I
am rushing up the stairs to pick my room.
Phew! Those were some never-ending stairs!
It's a really long corridor here and damn
there are so many rooms. But it's easy to
pick. Since, I want to stay as far from Irina
as possible therefore I must pick the room
right in the corner. Let's go inside and see
what it looks like!

Wow! Freaking awesome! It's a really huge
room. My room back in New York is nothing
compared to this. The velvety navy blue walls
and the white ceiling provide a decent
contrast. The large wooden canopy bed
placed against the center of the right wall
covered with drapes of white net, adds to the
beauty of this place.

An antique wooden dresser attached with a
mirror is placed opposite to the bed. There's
also big wooden study table facing the
balcony and on the wall opposite to it erect a
large white cupboard which can contain all
my clothes, hopefully. Huh! I am content
with my room even though it needs a little
makeover.

"So this is your room, huh?" Looks like Irina
won't let me admire the room in peace.

"Yeah, this is it I guess."

"Beautiful. Here's your bag, freshen up and
I'll send rest of your stuff later," Oh! She's
gone. I thought she would come in and
advise me on how to decorate this room but
looks like she is in a hurry.

************************************
******************************

All I need is 20 minutes in hot shower to
revive my senses. Now that I've washed up, I
am ready to face the dilemma of picking out
the outfit to wear. Stepping out of the
bathroom I can see a dress already picked
out for me. On the bed, a red strappy dress
has laid out, probably by Irina. I usually
make my own choices but this dress is lovely!
Let me try it on.

I am looking incredibly beautiful in this. I
wonder why Irina gave it to me. May be she's
trying to compensate for making me leave
my home.

"Are you going to keep staring yourself in the
mirror or come downstairs too?" It is Irina,
standing on the door with folded hands.

"Ugh, I was just coming..."

"You're looking lovely, June," she is coming
towards me, "Now hurry, child, we have
some people waiting downstairs to meet
you."

"People? Who?"

"Why don't you come and see for yourself,"
she is tucking my hair behind my ears.
What's up with her?

Anyway, I wonder who these "people" are. As
far as I know we don't have any relatives
living here in Mysteria Lane. Never mind,
lets' go downstairs and see what's going on.

"After you, Irina," it's better I let her lead
this time.

As we are stepping down the stairs, I am
trying to sneak into the hall room to get the
glimpse of our guests but to no avail.

"They are in the kitchen." Irina caught me
sneaking!

Following her into the kitchen is giving me
goosebumps, I don't know why! It feels like
my stomach is knotted up. My body is
burning. Something is not right; I am having
this weird feeling. "Irina, I think I've got
fever. My whole body is burning."

"You're going to be fine, sweetheart," she is
smirking at me... Oh God! Who are these
women?

There are six women in the kitchen, all
dressed up in red. They are all smiling at me,
as if they are amused to see me. The woman
in the middle is stepping up to greet me,
"Hello June. My name is Katya. I am your
mother's sister."

"What?"

"She is my younger sister, June," said Irina as
she is wiping my sweaty forehead with a
tissue.

"I am Meredith," another woman is coming
up to me to introduce herself.

"Enough, let's get June something to drink
first. She's not feeling well." Thank you Irina!

Katya nodded as she picks up a giant antique
wine glass and hand it to Irina with a devilish
grin. Her elder sister is now offering me to
drink from it but I don't intend to.

"Drink it, sweetheart. Don't you want to get
better?"

I think I am going to faint so I might as well
drink it. "Okay," I took the glass from her
and now drinking the red liquid it is
containing. It tastes weird. But I think I am
feeling....

************************************
******************************

Oh! Ugh! Damn! My head is aching like hell.
When the hell did I get here? I was
downstairs in the kitchen, how come I ended
up here in my room?

"You're awake!"

"Irina. How did I..."

"End up here? You fainted, June. I brought
you here so you could rest. How are you
feeling now sweetheart?" Stop caressing my
cheeks Irina.

"I am feeling much better, thank you,"
another fake smile!

"I've called up a doctor, he'll be here soon."

"There's no need, Irina. I am feeling okay
now."

"But you said you had fever. Let him come
and check on you."

"No, I am fine. Yes, my whole body was
burning earlier but now I feel brilliant."

A man is knocking at the door, "May I come
in?" Irina got up and invited him in with a
courtesy smile.

"She just fainted, doctor." So he's the doctor,
a good-looking one!

"How are you feeling now?" He must be in
his late twenties.

"Oh I am feeling fine now." God I hope I am
not messy.

"Can you tell me exactly what you were
feeling right before you fainted," I like light
brown eyes.

"Umm I was just fine before I came
downstairs. My whole body was burning like
hell and I was dizzy. That's what I
remember!" Blonde men are hot! As he put
the thermometer in my mouth his soft hand
touched my skin.

"When did you guys come here?" Come on
doc, don't turn away to Irina.

"Few hours ago. It was a long ride from New
York."

"Did she eat anything in between?"

"Yes, we stopped for lunch but she wouldn't
eat anything. I somehow managed to
convince her to have some coffee."

He's taking the thermometer out. "Everything
is normal. I think it is the combination of the
strain of a long journey and empty stomach
that caused her to faint. There's nothing to
worry. Give her something to eat and she'll
be fine. If you need anything else then you
can call me." Can I have your number?
Should I ask him? No? Okay!

"Thank you Mr. Crawford," Irina, invite him
to dinner.

"Of course not, I am just doing my job. And
hey if you need any help, you can always ask
me or my family. We'll be happy to help."

"Of course, thank you." And he's gone. Looks
like some really cute guys live in Mysteria
Lane. Damn I should get out of the bed now
and take a look at myself in the mirror. I
hope I made a nice first impression. Yeah, I
am looking fine! Thank God! Wait a sec...
what the hell? What's this mark on my arm?
Oh my God! Was I burned?

Hmn, a drunk man in a scene and a gal surviving a terrible life.

[bCHAPTER THREE[/b] I

My first night in Mysteria Lane elapsed in a
bat of eyes. As soon as Irina and I were done
with the supper, we both retired to our
rooms, ceasing all opportunities for a
conversation. That's the last thing I
remember, after that I must have fall asleep.

Unlike New York where every morning, the
rays of sun descended on earth to arise me
from my slumber, my first morrow in
Mysteria Lane commenced with the drops of
rain knocking incessantly at the windows of
my room, forcing me to wake up. Their call
was desperate enough to get me out of the
bed and head to the bathroom.

Donning black shorts with gray tank top
alongside sneakers, I was ready to explore
Mysteria Lane. But as soon as I climbed down
the stairs I was greeted by Irina who for
some strange reason seemed really pleased to
see me, "Good morning, June. How are you
feeling now?"

"I am okay. Morning Irina."

"Come, breakfast is ready," she said walking
towards the kitchen.

"Umm, I don't feel like eating anything and
besides I am heading out..."

"Out? Where?" She asked interrupting me.
Typical Irina!

"I want to explore this place a bit, see what
it's like."

"You can do that June but not when your
stomach is empty. Have something to eat
first."

"Huh! Okay!" She is pretty damn convincing.
So I sat down to have breakfast with her. I
had decided to eat quietly and sneak out of
the house as soon as possible but she
couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"Be careful while you're out there. I don't
want you to get lost."

"I am not four anymore. I can take care of
myself," I answered annoyingly.

"I know you can but is it wrong to feel
concerned for you? This is a new town. You
aren't acquainted with anyone yet and we just
arrived here yesterday. You're not even
familiar..."

"Thank you," I said cutting her off, "I
understand your concern. Thanks a lot. But I
have a cell phone and if I get lost I can dial
your number, just make sure that you pick up
my call this time," I said getting up and
walking out of the door.

"You'll never forgive me for that, will you?"
Asked she raising her voice and temper.

"If only you had taken my call that day, Irina,
Dad would have been still alive!" I said with
teary eyes and walked out of the house.

Irina sure knows how to spoil my day. I am
aware of the fact that she has no concern for
me, she's just acting. I wonder why she's
putting up with this mother-daughter drama
in the first place. Anyway, so I set out to
explore this "Mysteria Lane" town and I
couldn't find a trace of civilization until I
covered the distance of about two miles.
From there on began a series of several small
and big houses. Things were looking pretty
"normal" here. Children playing in the park,
people exiting the Church after the Sunday
mass, signs of "close" being flipped to
"open" as store owners get ready for their
business.

My meandering was forced to desist when my
dry throat tweaked. So I began looking for a
café and finally found one at the corner of
the street. Entering in I was astonished to
find it empty, well not "empty" but there was
not a single human being there. "May I help
you?" Asked someone from behind. Turning
around, I found a woman in her early fifties
staring at me with suspicious eyes.

"Umm I need some coffee," I said with a big
smile.

"Sit down," she instructed me and left. I
chose the table in the corner and engrossed
myself and my cell phone in replying to the
emails and texts my friends in New York have
sent me.

"Here's your coffee," said the lady as she
came back with the coffee and put it on the
table, "Sorry, we've just opened up and it's
not been set up completely."

"Oh, it's okay. Actually, I'm new in town
myself. We just got here yesterday."

"Welcome to Mysteria Lane then," she said
with a smile as she sat on the other side of
the table, "Where are you from?"

"New York," I said proudly.

"New York?" She asked astonishingly, "Wow!
Usually people from small towns migrate to
big cities like New York."

"Yeah, it's true. Actually, my father passed
away recently, granting my guardianship to
his second wife. She decided to move here so
I had to tag along."

"I am sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, me too. I never wanted to come
here."

"No, I meant I am sorry to hear about your
father's death," said she correcting me.

"Oh, that's okay," I said with a smile.

As we were conversing, a group of friends
entered in and sat on the table before mine.
The group consisted of three teenage girls,
with very bad dressing sense, annoyingly
babbling and tittering in their screeching
voices.

"Excuse me," said the lady and left to attend
them, meanwhile I got back to my business
of telling my friends in New York how poor
and miserable I am in this ghost town.

"I really got no clue. Damn what am I going
to wear tonight?" I heard one of the girls
expressing her concern.

"Don't ask me. I haven't even got permission
from my mom yet," said the other girl. Huh!
These small town girls are so naïve!

Suddenly they all stopped talking and when I
raised my head to inquire the reason of this
silence, I was astounded to find them all
staring at me. As I fiercely stared them back,
they turned around and started muttering
something, probably about me.

"No...you...ask...no you do..." I could hear
them whispering.

Then a Blonde, completely dressed in pink,
turned around and said aloud, "Hey, umm
are you new here? 'Cause you look like...
new!"

Gosh! "Yeah, I'm new here," I tried to be
polite.

"Oh! Where are you from?" Asked the other
girl in shabby clothes.

"New York," I answered gravely without even
looking at their faces.

"Wow!" They exclaimed in unison, looking at
each other with utter dismay. And in no time
I found them gathered around my table
gazing me with those puppy dog eyes.

"I knew it," said the Blonde, "You don't look
like you belong here."

"Tell me about it," I sighed.

"Can we sit with you?" Asked she.

"Sure," I nodded in agreement. To be honest,
I needed a little amusement.

"Hi, I am Audrey," said the blond one as she
introduced me to the rest of her lot. The red
hair in shabby clothes was Santana and the
petite brunette was Becca. I hope I got their
names right!

"So how did you end up here?" Asked
Santana.

As soon as I got over her shabbiness, I
managed to answer, "Mom's dead, Dad died
too, no one's left, so moved here with dad's
second wife."

"Oh! That's a pity," exclaimed Lily, "Leaving
New York for a place like this. It must be a
cultural shock to you."

"Damn straight!" I retorted.

"So will you be staying here forever then?"
Asked Audrey.

"Forever? Hell no! It's not even been a day
and I am already bored!"

"You must have a glamorous life in New York,
didn't you?"

"Well... umm glamorous is probably the right
word," I said nodding.

"I want to go to New York too. Like I wanna
be a model," said the brunette.

"Me too!" Joined the Blonde.

"Did you ever try for modeling? I mean you
lived in the fashion capital of this country!"

"Lived? Honey, I still do! I still own a place
there, so I can like totally go back. Answering
your question, no, I never tried though all
my friends pushed me all the time, but I
never intended to be a model even though I
got the perfect looks and attitude to be one!"

"Totally! You should have tried, you know."

"Huh! To each his own!" I said sipping my
coffee.

"Do you want to come to the party with us?"
Asked Audrey.

"What party?"

"Oh! It's the coolest party in town, the
Crawfords are hosting it," she said winking.

Crawford! The name was enough to ignite my
senses. "One of the Crawfords is a doctor,
right?" I asked inquiring.

"Yes, right. Have you met them already?"

"No, I've only met the doctor. By the way is
he going to be at the party?"

"Probably."

"Okay. Well, I don't go to parties uninvited."

"Oh, there's no formal invitation as such. We
can take anyone we want to. The whole
town's going to be there, we can formally
introduce you."

Since when do I need girls like them to do
me such an extravagant favor? "Girls, I don't
need you to provide my introduction to this
town."

"We didn't mean it that way," they said
realizing their grave mistake.

"Yeah, whatever!" I said rolling my eyes.

"Umm so what's your plan for today? We can
be your guide and show you around, you
know."

Well that was a sweet gesture so ignoring
their mistake I replied, "Cool, let's go."

These poor little small town girls needed my
guidance to pick dresses for the party, being
a selfless person that I am; I happily obliged
and picked them the dresses that are going to
make them stand out in the party.

"Thank you so much, June. You've helped us a
great deal," said the grateful Audrey.

"Yes, if it wasn't for you, we would still be
searching for the clothes to wear at the
party," added Lily.

"Girls, huh, I know you need help, so I'm
always here to help you," I said with a big
smile.

"I wish you could come with us to the party
tonight," asserted Santana.

"I can't unless the Crawfords come to my
house to personally invite me."

************************************
*********************************

It was nearly 5 in the evening when I reached
home. A very upset, Irina was standing at the
gate of the house with folded hands, waiting
for me. "Where have you been, June? Why
didn't you take my calls?" She bombarded me
with questions as I entered through the door.

"Chill, Irina. Let me have a glass of water
first," I said walking into the kitchen to pour
myself a glass of water.

"Do you have any idea how worried I've
been? This is a new place for you June, you
have to be a little careful."

"Yes, I am aware that this town is new for
me and that's why I wanted to get to know it
better, explore it a little bit."

"But you could have picked up my call. You
didn't even come for the lunch."

"Irina, I found few girls in a café and we all
started talking and they asked me if I could
help them pick dresses for the party tonight
and I couldn't refuse so I helped them
shopping. Is it a big crime?"

"You could have informed me that you're
going to be late."

"I know and I apologize," I said accepting my
mistake.

This brought down Irina's temper as she
came towards me with "motherly affection"
and gently putting her hand on my shoulder
said, "Honey, I was just worried about you.
But it's good to see that you've already found
some friends here. And I am sure that you'll
form more acquaintances in the party
tonight."

I was dumbstruck, "Wow! What? Party?"

"The Crawfords are hosting a party in our
honor tonight at their mansion. They visited
here in the afternoon to personally invite us
and I accepted their invitation."

"You didn't even ask me or inform me about
it..."

"I tried, but you weren't picking up your
phone!"

Damn! She always proves me guilty. "Irina,
I...I can't go. I am sorry." I said sitting on
the couch.

"They are hosting the party in our honor,
June. How can you not come? Wouldn't that
be rude?" Asked she sitting beside me.

"Well, yes, but... I don't even have a dress to
wear," I said pouting.

"Well, you got so many dresses in your
wardrobe. I am sure there must be
something appropriate for tonight's event."

"No, I don't have the right dress Irina."

"But you updated your wardrobe before
coming here and if I remember correctly you
bought some ridiculously expensive dresses?"

A smirk spread across my face as I
remembered how cleverly I made the
decision of updating my wardrobe before
moving here to this ghost town where, let's
face it, you can't find Gucci. "Yeah, I did. In
fact I've a dress that would outshine
everyone in the party," I said getting up with
sheer enthusiasm, "Let me go and work my
magic," I winked and rushed upstairs to my
room.

************************************
*********************************

Rome wasn't built in a day now, was it?
Beauty takes time and this simple fact of life
seemed indigestible for Irina, who was
continuously poking me to get ready and
head out with her.

"15 minutes," I said for the seventeenth
time.

"June, it's not a beauty pageant," she said
walking inside the room, "You're looking
wonderful! Now come on, let's go."

"Just give me another 15 minutes; I swear I
won't take a minute more."

"It's not good to arrive late at the parties
where you've been invited as special guests.
It's already 9 and the mentioned timing was
8 pm."

"It's fashionable to be late," I said curling my
lashes.

"I am done with you," she said surrendering,
"Listen, I'm going to the party and I expect
you to arrive there within 20 minutes or else
you're grounded for life. Your "exploring"
trips will also be canceled no matter how
much you beg."

"I'll be there in 20 but tell me one thing,
how am I supposed to reach at the venue?"

"The party is being held at the Crawford's
mansion and soon as I get there, I'll send
someone to pick you up. So be ready, okay?"

I nodded in agreement as she left.

************************************
*********************************

Like I said, I only needed fifteen more
minutes to get ready and so there I was,
waiting for that damned car to arrive but I
couldn't see a sign of it. I tried calling Irina
but it was unreachable, so I patiently waited
for another ten minutes and before I got
determined to break something in anger, the
car pulled over at my doorstep.

Checking myself out in the mirror I headed
outside. "You're late," I scolded the chauffeur
as I got into the car and we drove off.

"How long will it take to reach the mansion?"
I inquired from the driver who didn't have
the courtesy to say a word in response.
Rude!

So I sat there quietly waiting to reach my
destination. The car had still not reached the
"civilized" part of the town yet which was
just two miles away from our house. We were
still driving in nowhere and the street lights
seemed to have forgotten to light tonight.
Looking through the window, I stared at the
utterly dark and gruesome sky.

"Where are we?" I nervously asked my
irritating chauffeur again.

"In a moment..." he replied grimly.

"Looks like Crawfords live in the woods with
gummy bears," I said to myself.

To tell you the truth, I was very frightened.
We were not driving on the same highway
through which I entered the "civilized" part
of the town this morning, even though it was
black as hell but I could still comprehend
that we were following another route. The
road was grumpy, maybe it was not meant
for the cars, maybe because we were in the
middle of the jungle.

I tried calling Irina once again but damn, her
cell phone was still unreachable. "Listen," I
said as threateningly as I could, "You don't
know me. This party that you're "supposedly"
taking me to is being hosted in my honor, so
you better get me there in 10 minutes or else
you will regret... just take me there okay."

It seemed like my warning had an impact on
him as he pulled over. Turning towards me
he said, "Can you see that old mill over
there? The party is shifted here."

Sticking my head out of the window, I
replied, "No, I can't see a damn thing."
"It's right over there," he said pointing at an
"invisible mill".

"I still can't see anything," I replied rolling
my eyes. "Wait," said I getting out of the car
and after taking two steps forward, I could
miraculously see that old mill, "Yes, there it
is," I exclaimed energetically turning around,
but to my utter shock the driver was gone.
Yep, he disappeared into thin air.

I rushed towards the car and pulled opened
its door to find a trace of him but it
appeared like he was abducted by aliens when
I was looking at that wretched mill. "Mr.
Chauffeur, are you there? Hello?" I called out
several times and looked all over for him but
the woods were so dark and deep that I
couldn't see find anywhere.