HAUNTED BY THE HANDSOME GHOST

Big city.

So, this is how It's like. Crowded, spacious and bustling of course.

Cars, buses, four-wheeled or two-wheeled online taxis, orderly and neatly pass through busy highways.

Franchise shops, cafes, and all kinds of small and large businesses that line along the roadside are ones of the markers that this city is a center of business and industry.

Apart from that, here is one of the big cities with the best schools.

Some well-known private and public universities are in this city.

Many people who migrate here are those who want to continue their studies or people who want to try their luck for the better life.

Maddie was the one with the first goal.

The 18-year-old girl had graduated from senior high school and wanted to continue her study.

She's been studying as hard as she can, gave her best effort.

It paid off. She got a scholarship at one of the state universities with good rankings.

This university is also one of her dreams, because its accreditation reaches an 'A' grade.

She hoped that by doing this, she could make her parents proud.

Now, she just had to find a place to stay.

Renting a boarding house was the right decision, to think the money she had was not much.

She must be thrifty.

The money left by her parents should be enough, at least until she finishes school.

She walked along the city center looking for information about each empty boarding house, the ones that was definitely nearby the college building.

This was the second day.

Nothing.

She walked sluggishly.

Sometimes expectations don't match with reality.

She had already planned a one or two night stay at a cheap suburban inn, specifically to find a boarding house for her to stay in during college.

If she couldn't find it today, then she would have to look again tomorrow and so on...

That would waste a lot of time...

And and a lot of money.

Maddie steadied her steps towards the next building that she found in an advertisement on one of the social media.

When she met with the landlady of this boarding house, she got the same answer.

"Sorry, our room is full...."

Even though she was a little disappointed inside, Maddie didn't want to give up. She must do her best effort every day.

"Oh.. I see... Sorry ma'am, do you know any other boarding house agents? I've been looking for these two days but they're always full. Who knows, you know besides the ads that I got..." She smiled softly.

The landlady thought for a moment and then nodded slowly.

"Yeah... come to think of it, my friend is an estate agent, you can visit her and probably she has anything you need. I'll give you her number and office address in a moment."

She immediately took a pen and paper and wrote down something from her cell phone.

She was confused. Is real estate agent not too much?

"Madam, I'm looking for ordinary boarding houses... and you offered seems like an estate agent, I don't have much money to rent a house..."

She said while looking at the madam who was concentrating on writing.

"That's right sweetie, but my friend is the best real estate agent in town, you can see the rental houses with the best offers, besides that, she also has many acquaintances of boarding landlords like me. She can contact them directly without you having to bother looking for one - one by one... Trust me" she finally said.

Oh that's right...

It's not that Maddie couldn't call the number that's been advertised.

It's just that when she came, she felt that the place was not suitable for her.

Some are too far, some are close but the neighborhood is filthy .

There was also this place when she came, already a drunken man greeted her.

What's more, the strangest thing was, the advertisement stated that there were still empty rooms, and when she arrived, they were always full.

Tsk....

Alright she'll give this one a try.

The lady handed over a piece of paper to her and she saw that there was a cell phone number and an address on it.

"Here, just call her, her name is Trisha. You can come there right away or make an appointment in advance if you want to visit another time."

"Okay thank you." she answered politely.

After leaving there, she immediately headed for the address she already held.

Okay, after looking at the google map, this place is ten minutes away from here if she ordered an online taxi.

Not too expensive.

Besides, she also had to save her energy, one more week there will be a campus introductory orientation. She would be very busy.

Before heading to the housing agent's office, Maddie took a short walk in the center of the crowd just nearby her college building neighborhood.

She took advantage of this opportunity to get to know the environment in which she would live while studying here.

This place was crowded, congested, but neat and clean.

What she like the most was along the sidewalk there were lots of shady trees lined up to shade the pedestrians.

This big city was amazing.

The air was also mild.

Her mood got better.

Not far from here, was the college and school buildings.

Vast land filled with buildings ranging from early school to state lectures

The place where she will gain more and more knowledge.

She had visited it yesterday and felt gladsome about it.

Her parents must be proud of her....

Maddie stopped when she saw a small restaurant on her left.

Good, she's pretty hungry and doesn't need to cross the road.

She entered the restaurant with that "Since 1992" sign on it.

After eating her fill there, she returned to continue her journey.

----------------------

"How about it? Is there anything you're interested in?"

The bespectacled woman, with short curly hair, and beautiful brown skin stared at her with bright blue eyes that amazed Maddie with her beauty.

This beautiful woman is the real estate agent intended by the lady of the previous boarding house owner

She interpreted the woman who introduced herself as Trisha to be around 40 years old.

Trisha flipped through the housing advertisement paper she had again.

Maddie took a deep breath.

That's... what she thought ...

This was a place where you plan to rent or buy a house, she doesn't have that much money for this...

"Sorry, but... I'm actually just looking for a boarding house. My budget isn't enough to rent any.."

She said with a smile, hoping that Trisha could help her.

"Aah... Yes-yes... Are you a freshmen college this year? Do you want to find a boarding house near the campus?" She said while fixing her glasses and looking around for something on her desk full of piles of papers and notebooks.

"That's right. If you can help, I would be very grateful..." She said as she looked at the woman hopefully.

Trisha smiled while waving her hand at Maddie, hinting that of course she would help her.

"Not a problem young lady. I'll look up the list here, in a moment..."

Maddie nodded hopefully, and continued looking through the contents of the flyer she was holding to kill time.

The house here is really expensive, thought Maddie.

"Near the college building on Strawberry street, huh?" Trisha asked, which Maddie immediately said yes to.

Of course it's expensive. This is a big city, owning a house here is a promising investment.

Even the ones on the outskirts of town won't be cheap.

"Okay, let me see here... This... No, it was full yesterday... This... this is for men only..."

Maddie heard Trisha's chatter while looking at the models of houses being rented or sold.

Until she turned the last page.

The paper looks older than the others.

But what caught her attention was...

"Um.. Trisha?"

"Yes?" She answered while fixing her glasses and kept looking at the list she traced with her index finger.

"Is.. the price of renting this house is this cheap?" Maddie showed her the last brochure.

"Which one? Oh that? Yes, the rent for that house is really that cheap, that old house hasn't been lived in for a long time."

Oh...

"It's only natural that it's cheap, because you might have to replace some leaky roofs or peeling walls, and all sorts of other damage. Well... It's an old house. If you're interested, I can take you there. It's not far from here, the house it's on the Grape Street...."

Oh...

Well...

Wait a minute. Grape street?!

During her two days here, she learned one thing, That the street names in this city have their respective groups.

The group is determined from the main road that becomes the estuary of its branches...

If the road leading to the college building is Strawberry Street, then Grape Street is...

"How long does it take from the location of this house to the college building?" Maddie's eyes twinkled with hope.

"Hmm.. 10 minutes? More or less... You can even take a leisurely walk if you want to exercise..."

Trisha stopped paying attention to the list on her desk, and stared at Maddie behind her thick glasses.

She noticed it too.

"You want to see it now?"

Maddie's POV

My guess was right.

Strawberry St where this house is for rent, is one the branch of the main road leading to my college building.

What a coincidence...

Only ten minutes walk?

Wow, this is really a great opportunity.

I have to admit that the streets in this city are really well managed.

Every branch of the road will definitely lead to one big road.

So are the small alleys.

After entering Strawberry St, there is an alley that leads to a residential neighborhood.

These neighborhood usually contains ten houses.

According to Trisha, every alley like Strawberry St. will be filled with five group of housing area, each of them will consist of ten houses.

This has been the case since 50 years ago.

***

Entering this neighborhood, made my mood greatly improved.

It is very cool and shady here.

There are tall Catappa trees and their wide branches stood side to side along the way .

Even though the blazing sunshine is kinda terrifying on the day in this dry season, we won't get overheat under here.

Their wide leaves will block the sunlight from touching our skin.

The gentle breeze blows and it makes you sleepy.

Despite how dry the weather's now, I like how neat and green this area is. Even though each house has a medium length fence in front of it and has their own garden inside. But outside, they keep the grass prim and the plants freshly maintained.

Wow, the atmosphere here is truly relaxing and comfortable.

This was way too far from my expectation. I thought, I would face the same scene like these two days of my visit at those boarding house.

Well, at least that was my hint, if I refer it to the price...

We walked towards the house from the front gate, on the right side of the road. House number three.

Wow...

This house is beautiful! And big!

It's not that kind of ridiculous huge house but for a single person, it seems too big.

I can clearly see the white curtains on the second floor window.

Obviously, this house, is an old house but still a very nice one.

I wonder why a house like this with a low cost like that?

In the middle of the city... Just a walk away from the crowd, education areas, moreover spacious, two levels....

Perhaps...

"I'll replace this fence lock if you decide to move in. This one is pretty rusty." Trisha said while tried to open the lock gate.

Just like every other house, this one does have a fence. But only as high as my sight. So, I can see the grounds on tiptoe.

The fence doesn't look as old as the house.

It is made of sturdy ironwood. We can see what's inside from the sidelines of the rectangular block vertically.

I am still in awe of the scenery in its yard, yet it also feels weird.

It was obvious that Trisha had said that this house had been occupied for a long time, but the small garden in the yard was very well maintained.

"The owner of this house pays a gardener, once every two weeks, to look after the plants, trees, flowers..."

She halted but her eyes stared at something above.

I followed her gaze.

She looked up at the house. On the second floor.

One of the blinds on the window pane was open

Hmm?

Was that already open before?

Uh, I'm not sure. Maybe it's was like that before..

"Er... Wanna come inside?" She turned to look at me with an awkward smile.

Her movements were not as confident as before.

She repeatedly rubbed her palms and fingers, or rubbed her wrists against her skirt...

As if she was alarmed by something.

"Okay, of course...." I nodded with a smile.

After I said that, her nervous expression disappeared.

"Okay! Let's go!"

Aahh... I almost snorted because I felt ridiculous with myself.

Of course she was nervous, because the appearance of the house might make her think that I would change my mind about renting it.

Right? But I think the house looks nice...

Well... My valuation isn't over yet.

We walked through the beautiful arranged Roses, Jasmines and Hibiscus to the front door.

"Don't get me wrong. The garden is well-maintained, but the landlord only hires a gardener. As for the situation inside the house..."

She began with the first key for the front door, from dozens in her pocket.

"...The last time I visit this place myself was since the last tenant here..."

Finally, a key that worked. She managed to open it.

"Here we go..." She said as she turned the knob and pushed the door inside.

"When was the last time someone rented this house? I asked as I stepped inside.

"Two years ago..." Trisha replied.

I forced a smile wondering how dormant the situation inside.

We entered the house which was...

Bright...

My expectation of a house that has not been lived in and maintained for two years, turned out to be very different from the reality.

I thought it would be bleak because all the curtains were definitely closed, the floors were dusty, the walls were full of cobwebs...

But it's really bright in here. The curtains were opened, I don't see any cobwebs or insects this far, the air is fine, although the white sheets were still covering all the furniture, the floor is kinda clean from dust?

"It's... clean. Are you sure the last time you visited was two years ago?"

Trisha looked a bit taken aback but she immediately smiled.

"You know. Even so I always hire someone to clean it." She laughed awkwardly.

Of course...

The floors and walls look fine.

Now that I look more into it, the ceramic floor looks like it's been mopped.

Yeah, being an estate agent always has to take care of every single house they manage.

"Come on, I'll take you around..."

Trisha showed me all the rooms in the house.

Downstairs, there is a living room, family room, one guest room, kitchen and dining room, laundry room and a bathroom.

Upstairs there are two bedrooms and one of them is the master suite.

We entered the main bedroom and I saw the curtain that had been drawn earlier from the courtyard.

It looks like it really has been opened before.

"So this is the last room. It's in better condition than you imagined right?" Trisha walked around the room and closed the curtains.

"Hm... That's right. This house is comfortable and has great location for me. Exactly what I was looking for...."

"Well... you are you going to rent it?"

I sat down on the soft bed and looked around.

It would save me a lot of money and I would get an incredibly comfortable place to live.

Although it might be a little trouble if I take care of this house alone. But this is the best offer I can get.

Very close to my main purpose here..

One more thing, the price is the best.

It doesn't even drain my savings too much.

I can even bring a friend or more so we can split the bill. At the same time, in order to not so lonely around here.

Hmm...

However, I had a somewhat strange feeling ever since I came in here.

Why is this place so neat?

Trisha said no one had lived here for two years.

I could catch her lying when she said she hired people to clean this place.

I also remember her saying the house was cheap because of the damage from the old house.

I am not a fool to notice that her words didn't match with what truly happen here.

The house looks and feels fine....

The walls are not chipped.

The furniture is I can say in their great shape.

This place is well maintained.

It turned out disturbingly better.

But why does she look nervous?

It was clear that this woman was restless.

"Maddie?"

I turned to look at her and she was looking at me worriedly for a moment.

"Okay. I'm moving in tomorrow, can I?"

But I don't dare to bet that I will get another precious offer like this.

----------------------------

She brought another person.

This time, this one looks pretty...

He hoped this girl wasn't like the previous ones...

But beautiful women are usually not that bold right? Or not..

Tsk... He rolled his eyes

You big fat liar, since when did she pay people to clean this place?

Peeking from the bedroom door, he looked inside.

Wow that girl is sitting on his bed!

Luckily he always keep this place at least presentable...

What? Tomorrow?

He grinned.

At last he wouldn't be lonely any longer...

At least now Maddie's mood have improved a little.

Finally she found a place to live.

She can focus on her study without worrying about where she lives or how far she was from the campus area.

She already paid for one year.

Maddie actually wanted to pay for two years, but she also wanted to make sure she was still comfortable living there the first year.

Or in the first month...

Anyway, she was more relieved now.

She was now at the inn to tidy up her things.

This place was 45 minutes away from the house she had rented.

She deliberately chose an inn that was a bit far from the city center, because it was cheaper.

Maddie tidied up her things and made sure everything was ready and not left behind.

Books, clothes and little other things she valued.

All of that neatly placed in the two medium-sized suitcases and a backpack.

For people who were actually moving house, those were very few.

What else would she brought with her? She really didn't have much stuff.

Since her parents died, Maddie had started to save some of her pocket money. She realized that she only depended on her parents' inheritance which could run out one day. It's not that much, really. But enough for her at least until she was old enough to get a job. Which was now...

That's actually need so much effort. Not to mention, her cousins even asked her for the money, because they said it was also their aunt's money...

Maddie could only shake her head slowly, sighing when the scenes came into her mind. That's how the behavior of people who still had blood relations with her.

They don't at least pity her, they rather bully her...

What has she done to them? What make them hate her so much?

Maddie, who was still in junior high school in her first year at that time, still needed help to live her lonely life.

They abandoned her, as if she had infectious deseases.

They said, she is a jinxed.

Maddie tidied up several pairs of clothes she had just bought. She patted her cloth from the dust, even though it was very clean.

These were new clothes, she bought it because she was going to have a new life in this city.

She was happy, now she could bought anything she needed without fear of being caught by her wicked cousins.

In the past, if they knew she spent even a little money for a cake, her cousins would gossip about her as a thief, even snatched her food away.

Her aunts and uncles will continue to probe for information on where she kept her parents' savings books.

She smiled looking at her new stuff.

Well... Now she could breath freely...

After everything was finished, Maddie realized that it was already dark.

She will leave tomorrow, and take care of her new home.

She quickly took a shower and got ready for bed.

Maddie threw herself on the not so soft bed and lay down on her stomach. She turned her gaze towards the suitcases that she still deliberately opened on the floor.

Her eyes caught a little edge of a photo frame, sticking out from under the folds of her shirt.

She got out of the bed, sat down on the floor in front of her suitcase and picked up the frame.

Sadness and loneliness enveloped her heart.

"I've moved out from our home. Mom, Dad, sorry... I can't stay there any longer, not that I don't want to..."

She couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

She caressed the picture lightly by her thumb and looked at her mother's beautiful face.

She inherited her mother's oval face, high cheekbones when she smiled, and her dark hair.

Her mother is smiling beautifully and happily in this photo. Holding her hat which was almost blown off by the wind.

She then looked at the photo of her father, his right hand was around his beautiful wife's shoulder.

She had clearly inherited the shape and color of her father's eyes.

Their eyes are almond shaped with light brown pupils.

She also got the shape of a small sharp nose and straight hair from a handsome man who smiled broadly with two small dimples on both sides of his cheeks.

She missed them terribly.

She really wanted to be angry with whoever made her fate like this.

Both of her parents left while she needed them the most.

She is lonely

But, even if she continues to lament over her situation, that won't make her parents back to live.

Maddie realized that what she had to do was move on with life.

She is the only child in this family.

At the very least, she had to live her life well in order to make her parents proud and calm wherever their souls were now.

"I'm sure you two already in a beautiful place... I promise, I will live my life well. Don't worry about me...." She sobbed.

"...look, I'll be starting my studies in a few days, I've also rented a house to live in this city....

Mom dad... You guys if you were here, I could tell we would celebrate this together.

If you were still around....

If you hadn't left then..."

Maddie cried silently, clutching the photo to her chest.

Her parents' death was a deep trauma for Maddie.

Plus, she was ostracized by her family and other people in her village, because she was considered a child who brought bad luck.

This made her an introvert and not as cheerful as she used to be.

The more mature she was, the more she used to live with less people around her.

She was proud of herself for being at this stage.

Breaking away from her toxic family that only aiming for his parents' wealth.

Maddie struggles for her rights with difficulty, facing her cunning uncle and aunt.

But in the end, she still lost their home.

Her mother's family, kicked her out of there. They said she was old enough to move out, and they don't want a jinxed still living in their sibling's house.

She was helpless.

No one helped her. Neighbors and other villagers did not dare to interfere and also thought that Maddie had brought bad luck to the family.

She sighed in between her sobs.

She looked back at the photo and kissed the picture of her parents.

"I love you guys..." she said softly.

"Watch and guide me from there, so I can live my life here peacefully..."

She wiped away her tears and took the photo with her.

Maddie lay down and looked up at the low ceiling of the inn room with the frame she still held to her chest.

"Mom, dad, please see me in my dreams tonight, I miss you so much..."

That way, she finally fell asleep while hoping that her parents would come to visit her in the dreamland.

Back then, Maddie even wished her parents would become ghosts so they could accompany her forever.

Maddie just hasn't realized it yet, it seems her hope will soon come true.

Even if not in her father form...

Nor her mother...

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