Chapter 7 3: PART ONE

[3] : PART ONE

The backyard bathroom of the Stevenson's was locked for more than three months. The bathroom was built separately from their house building and originally was built because of its beauty and its charm of having a backyard bathroom, but had been avoided ever since the Jimmy's parents became more active in spiritual related activities.

The same reason why the Stevenson's son stayed up all night, watching the latest rom-com drama in his room with hands down his pants to keep them warm. Jimmy sniffed quietly when the two main protagonists lived happily ever after together in marriage, thinking how nice it must be to sacrifice your stuffs to someone who might divorce you after several years and run away with it.

The word FIN showed up and lasted for several seconds before the screen turned dark. It left Jimmy with a box of tissue. Hands still down his pants he pulled out his hands out of his pants, taking two tissues into his hand then blow his nose loudly. He sniffed once again, blinking three times.

Jimmy looked up at the ticking clock above his table, it was twenty to twelve. He turned off his laptop, crumpled the tissues, and walked into his bathroom. He washed his face, feeling nervous not because what he was about to do, more like whether he would be able to successfully do it or not. He ran a hand down his face, exhaled a heavy breath.

He wished he could do it inside his own bathroom if only his had a mirror placed on the wall, or mirror at all. He didn't have it. Maybe on purpose, maybe not. So instead he settled with his family's backyard bathroom that had been locked for more than three months without anyone getting in.

Jimmy went out, he opened his bedroom door as quietly as possible, carefully controlling his energy and lessening his pressure each time the door get wider. He slipped out of his room, almost instinctively looking at the room across his room. He held his breath, stepping closer to the room. He felt like someone put a pressure on his throat, it made him cough.

Surprised, Jimmy put a hand over his mouth, his breath was trembling.

He opened his parents' bedroom door, not making any sound. While still holding his breath, he looked inside. He found both of his parents were sleeping soundly-literally-as they both were snoring. Feeling more assured, Jimmy closed the door and went down.

He stepped down slowly, not wanting to slip and break his neck. By the time he was down, the clock showed fifteen to twelve. He walked into the kitchen, passing a few of his family portraits. Suddenly he remembered what his mother used to say, don't look at the pictures when there's no enough light or at night, instead Jimmy just scoffed and glared at the picture, saying 'I dare you' inside his head.

Jimmy he crouched down the kitchen drawers. At first he just stared at them, running his fingers down the barn wood. He felt pleasure in feeling the barn wood against his hand, maybe why he always asked his mother to put a barn wooden table in his room.

He opened the second drawer, rummaging through it. But sighed at his stupidity of not bringing a flashlight along, he stood up and turned on the light. He needed a candle, a lighter, and an incense. In the second drawer there was nothing but a candle, he took it out. He tried the first and the last drawers however found nothing but crumpled plastic bags and opened cooking products.

He knew where the incense was placed, above his head inside the cupboard. He didn't know where the lighter was placed as he never really found them lying around. Jimmy opened the stood in front of the key holder, taking a silver key for the cupboard and the bathroom key.

Jimmy unlocked the cupboard door again, not before running down his fingers on the barn wood because he wanted to feel it. Silently patting his own shoulder that he made it this far. Not that he actually had many difficulties seeing his parents snored like a bear on hibernation. Not that it actually snored.

Jimmy placed both the candle and the incense on a table, grabbing a plate made of glass. Turning on the candle using fire from the stove, Jimmy dripped the candle and stuck it on the plate. He slipped on old plastic slippers on both his feet, feeling its broken part under them as he stepped.

Outside, Jimmy found himself looking up, wondering if his parents heard him and decided to look outside. Relieved, he found the blind was still shut.

Stevenson's backyard bathroom was less than 40 square feet room placed in his backyard, white paint filled with markers and peeled as time went on. It created an unsettling appearance in the darkness, along with unkept grass around it. Jimmy scratched his left foot uncomfortably, frowning as his right foot felt as bad when the grass caressed it. He was pretty sure by tomorrow morning, his whole two feet would itch. Probably red spot would formed on his skin, causing suspicion. He sure hoped not. How was he supposed to explain? That he wanted to see the gorgeous spirit? Not only he'd get banned by his mother from going to the his obsessed friends' house because he practiced ritual there, he would be on watch for 24/7.

Jimmy first tried to open the handle, wondering if it was really locked or not. He found out it was locked. He wiped his hand on the fabric of his T-shirt, then inserted the key into the keyhole. He twisted it, it didn't move, he tried to twist it at the opposite direction, it still didn't work.

He wasn't surprised, his door was old and was never replaced or taken care of. The inside was rusty, maybe there was something that was almost broken there. He didn't know. For the third time, he tried to twist it again, slowly.

- END OF CHAPTER 3 PART ONE -