"Our final wishes are that if we were to both die at the same,my wife and I,are to be buried together, side by side,in each others embrace under the big oak tree on top of the hill.Where the air is fresh and the grass is green,"John,their nephew,read out loud the contents of the will to the rest of the family,one which they had already gone through several times earlier that morning with their family lawyer.
"Bullocks!,"uttered Arthur.His nose scrunched up as he leaned back on the uncomfortable seat,thinking of the amount of money they had to fork out for that to be granted.A lot ,he thought.He had always been hard when it came to spending money,even if it was for a good cause like giving his parents a decent burial.After hours of arguing and calling each other names like a bunch of 13 year olds,they all settled for Arthur's decision.Despite their complete disapproval of the choices he had made,he always had the final say as he was the oldest and supposedly the stupidest,they just went with it.
The funeral arrangements were made,Henry and his lovely wife Jane,were buried together like they always prayed for just not on the hill like they wanted.Six feet under,they all peered into the darkness of the hole as they murmured their goodbyes.In one day,two wonderful people were snatched away from them in a heartbeat and all they were left with were memories which they desperately clung onto.Whilst others screamed and cried their lungs out,Arthur didn't shed a tear.He was so lost in his selfish thoughts to even engage himself any further as they left the crowded graveyard for another gathering at home.It was packed and Arthur hated every single moment of it.He got tired of the endless number of questions and handshakes that he wanted it all to be done with.The day was over and soon as the people left,he retired to his chambers immediately and swore to himself that he would be out of his parents house soon as the sun came up.
He had always been distant growing up as a kid and family gatherings weren't his thing.Even at 30 he still despised the thought of hanging out with his siblings.At dawn,his packed suitcase stood next to the front door as he waited for his taxi driver to come pick him up.
"So you were going to leave without saying goodbye?,"Jane his sister,questioned as she walked into their parents kitchen to make herself a cup of tea.
"Hmm,"he hummed as he adjusted his glasses to look up at his sister briefly before burying his nose in his newspaper again.
"I already did that last night,"he mumbled,not sparing her another glance.Jane,not wanting to pursue the matter further because she already predictated how it was going to end,with her almost choking the life out of her selfish brother,she ignored him and went back to making her cup of tea.
"Oh!,by they way,they're people coming to see the house later on today and they might be considering to buy it,please if you don't mind,just make sure it's clean by the time they arrive,"he spoke suddenly as he stood up and tucked his paper underneath his armpit ,"the place is a mess Jean."
"It's Jane!," she yelled back,
"how dare you sell this house,its where we grew up,think of the memories we shared,the good and the bad,besides it's the only link we have left with them,why would you want to sell it,it's our home!."
"Because I don't need it,neither do you and Charles."
"It's Chad!," she fumed,she didn't know how much more of him she could take,"do you even know us at all."
He ignored her question and continued,"we have already got pictures to keep their memories alive,and keeping this house will put a strain on me I can't afford to pay for this dump too."
Jane's mouth hung open.She was speechless.Her brother had just disrespected their parents without any hint of remorse lingering in his eyes.
"Why are you like this,what did we ever do to you?," she asked as her eyes welled up.She was hurt at the idea of her brother being so unimaginably self centered that he didn't care to even remember any of their names. "Do you even remember their names?."
"Enough with the questions I already had my fill of those yesterday,now remember to tidy up before they get here," he muttered as he made his way to the front door.
"I can't believe this,I swear over my dead body,you will never get away with this,"she sobbed.
"Oh spare me the theatrics Jean and just get the damn house ready."
"It's Ja-."
She was cut off immediately as he slammed the front door shut,leaving her mind reeling with a thousand questions.The muttering engine of the taxi as it drove off filled the air,he was gone.
"They won't let you,"she whispered as another emotion took over.Hatred.
......................................................
The Will 2
With Arthur's endless list of friends in high places,the house was sold in a heartbeat.The money he got he kept to himself.
"Consider it as a way of paying me back for everything I have done for you,"he had said to his poor sister and quickly left before she started crying like she always did.He always wondered why she wasted her tears on him,she could never crack him,no one could and no one will.He wasn't terrified of anything,never has and never will.
One evening after a long day at work,he came home exhausted and immediately went to bed.In the middle of the night,he awoke to a loud thud coming from the other room.He warded it off and went back to sleep.As he was drifting off,he heard the sound again.Growing frustrated,he got out of bed and switched on his bedroom light.He stood by his door and listened for the sound but he was met with nothing but complete silence.
As he turned to walk back to his bed,he heard the sound again and it was a little louder this time around.
"Ah,"he groaned as he swung his bedroom door open and walked out.A cold chill immediately gripped him and he felt his hair tighten.He was always skeptical when it came to anything superstitious and always found an explanation to everything even if there was none.
"Must have left the stupid window open,"he muttered to himself.He might have solved the change in temperature issue but he was still not in the clear yet.He pushed the guest bedroom door open and he was met with nothing but complete darkness and an open window.
He tsked as he slammed the window shut and reluctantly walked back to his room and climbed back into his bed.Not even stressing himself about the noise that got him out of bed in the first place.It was only 2 am,if he didn't get a few more hours of sleep,he was definitely going to have a bad day.
Knock!knock!knock!.
The pounding sound on his front door woke him up,again.
Knock!knock!knock!.
The person knocked again,a little louder.He quickly glanced at his watch on his nightstand,3:30 am.Who could that possibly be he wondered?.Ah,it must be Je-,oh wait Jane,he thought to himself. She could really be persistent sometimes and it wouldn't be the first time she showed up in the middle of the night unannounced.
He threw the covers off him and quickly walked down the hall to his front door.The person hadn't stopped knocking and this angered him even more.
"Alright am coming,if you keep at it,you will end up waking up the whole goddamn neighborhood," he grumbled as he unlocked his door.He practically flew it open and was shocked when he found no one standing on his front porch.After 5 minutes of standing in complete darkness outside,he was now fuming with anger when he realised what it was.Must be some teenagers who think its funny to wake other people up in the middle of the night,who unlike them have jobs to do in the morning.He banged his door shut and it immediately locked.As he walked away,the knocking started again and this time it seemed as if more than one person was knocking.
"Nice try,if you don't go away,am calling the police!,"he shouted.
Instead of scaring them off it fuelled them and they knocked even louder.
"Screw this!."
Arthur shouted and grabbed his baseball bat that stood behind his living room door.
"Am gonna teach them not to mess with me,"he hissed and flung his door open,ready to pounce.
"Wha-,where did they g-,they were right h-,I heard them they were right here banging-,"he sputtered trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened.This creeped him out abit and he quickly went back inside.He had had his fair share of pranks when he first moved in to the neighborhood and on Halloween,and it was neither.Also,no one could possibly ever be that fast.
As he leaned against the front door trying to calm himself down,the knocking sound began and the door shook.A hand gripped the door handle trying to open it.He quickly jumped away from the door as fear creeped beneath his skin.Whatever it was,this was no ordinary prank.
"What the hell!"he screamed as a thousand breaths floated up to him and he heard his name.
"Arthur," the voice whispered.
"What do you want!" he yelled.
"Arthur,"the voice sang.Although he was still convinced that it was still a couple of kids playing a trick on him,part of him knew that it was no ordinary prank. He slowly walked up to the window,his heavy breathes drowned out by the scuffle outside.
He carefully opened the curtain and peeped outside.His breath hitched in his throat as he stared at them.
"Mom,Da-,"he breathed and both their heads snapped in his direction.With only the whites of their eyes staring back at him,he froze.
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