The Preternatural by Daryl Hajek - HTML preview

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  6

Lunchtime, Caden thought to himself as his stomach growled. He went downstairs to the kitchen and made a ham-and-cheese sandwich, then headed back upstairs.

When he reached the top of the stairs and turned to go down the hall to his room, he saw that his bedroom door was closed. He wondered if his sister might have closed the door, then assumed the wind must have shut it. He opened the door and eyed the window that overlooked the east side of the house. The window was closed. He couldn’t remember if the window had been open or closed earlier.

Caden opened the windows, then sat down to eat his sandwich and check his e-mails.

Trina entered Caden’s bedroom. “I just came from the kitchen where I made my lunch,” she signed, “and saw that my bedroom door was closed and the rabbit cage had been moved from one end of the room to the other. Were you in my room?”

“No,” Caden signed. “Not at all. I’ve been here the whole time on the computer.”

“Well, I know I didn’t close my bedroom door or move the rabbit cage.”

“Maybe Mom or Dad moved it for some reason and closed the door out of respect.”

“No, I don’t think so. Abbott and Costello have been in the same place I put them after we moved in, and I only close the door when necessary, which isn’t often.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you, Trina. But you could always ask Mom or Dad, if you want.”

“Nah. That’s all right. I’m just gonna let it go for now.”

“Are your bedroom windows open?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think to check if they were open or not. I don’t even remember if they were open or closed before I went downstairs to fix lunch.”

“Do you get the feeling that something weird is going on here?”

“I sure do.”

“It feels like I’m being watched and the doors and windows supposedly open and close on their own.”

“I don’t feel as if I’m being watched, but I’m seeing things that I can’t explain. Do you think someone—maybe a neighbor—is watching us?”

Caden shrugged. “Maybe it’s our minds playing tricks on us, especially since this is a new house and we’re still getting our bearings after moving in only two weeks ago.”

“Yeah, that could be it. Anyway, I'm gonna go back to my room.”

Trina went to her room and sat at her vanity table to eat her lunch. She felt something brush the outer part of her ear. What was that? she wondered as she brushed her right ear with her fingers and glanced around the room.