Haunted House

By Sonakshi Seetohul

Hannah didn’t remember much before the crash. Accompanied by her parents and brother, they were driving to a beach holiday in Spain – then the car began to jerk, they started screaming, then darkness.

Nobody was conscious. Hannah could stay in the car or go look for help. A mile away, she saw a sign just hanging on to a gas lamp, reading ‘Welcome to Southfield’. Getting nearer, she noticed that the buildings were unkempt and an overgrown park, bombarded by weeds and ivy, lay in a dilapidated corner. She saw a creepy-looking house at the end of the road. Tentatively, she stepped inside and discovered it was grubby, dimly lit and decorated by cobwebs. A threadbare carpet covered the floor, surrounded by knights’ armour and medieval weapons. A grim-looking portrait of what Hannah assumed was the house owner began to glow with a blue haze. Suddenly, a skeletal hand shot out of the frame, followed by the rest of its body. Standing in front of her was a creature with sunken eyes, hollow cheeks and straggly hair.

Hannah croakily asked ‘W-who are you?’.‘I’m a nobody.’ answered the ghost. When I was alive, nobody wanted to be friends with me, the ‘harmless old bag’. When I died, I vowed to destroy the neighbourhood. The ghost fixed his bloodshot eyes on Hannah. ‘I may be a nobody, but I still have enough strength left in me to kill anyone who sets foot in this town.’

After that day, Hannah was never seen again.


March 2020

It was March 2020

Nature’s own month

After so many months of winter

The sun shone

Birds sang with bees buzzing around

The sky was clear and blue

Mornings arrived early

There was a chill in the air

Winter was gone but the memory still here

The scent of flowers filled the air

Everybody awaiting impatiently for Spring

But oh! What did it bring?

Not a soul in sight

The streets were empty

People have been put on lockdown

To protect close and dear ones

Young people had to study online

As schools were closed down

No more meetings or family gatherings

As social distancing was the new norm

Although gardens were filled with flowers aplenty

The parks were empty

Only a rare few ventured out during this plight

Despite all the scenes of despair and chaos

Critters chattered playfully

While new shoots found their way through the ground

Trees were filled with leaves

Leaves were green and flowers blooming

It was March 2020…

 

Sonakshi Devi Seetohul, who is only 11 years old, has qualified for and become a Member of Mensa, The High IQ Society, in September 2019, after scoring brilliantly in the Mensa IQ Test. This has allowed her to join a community of more than 20,000 with a high IQ. She is the daughter of Gautam and Shoba Seetohul, who live in the UK.


* Published in print edition on 12 June 2020

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