Sunday mornings in the Herlen household were usually slow and lazy… except for Shelly. Even on her day off, she was bustling around her father's little restaurant, wiping tables, arranging chairs, and ferrying ingredients to the kitchen.
Mr. Herlen watched her with a mixture of pride and exasperation.
"You're exactly like your mother," he sighed. "Even at home, you never sit still."
Shelly smiled, but her father's tone had softened into something wistful.
"If your mother were still alive… how wonderful that would be," he murmured, the shadow of old grief clouding his eyes.
Shelly, unwilling to let the mood sink further, quickly said, "Dad, this afternoon Kiki and Lucy are coming over!"
The mention of her childhood friends lit up Mr. Herlen's face. "In that case, the three of you should go watch a movie at the hall."
"Not today," Shelly replied with a mysterious little smile.
By afternoon, Kiki and Lucy had arrived in the neighbourhood. Kiki called from outside, asking Shelly to come down, and soon the three of them were walking side by side along the sun-dappled street, chatting about work, life, and the small dramas that had piled up over the week.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a huge, beautiful house. Or… at least, it must have been beautiful once.
"Whoa," Kiki breathed. "Look at that place! But it's so run-down now… feels like nobody's lived here for years."
Lucy lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I heard this place is abandoned. You could even call it… haunted."
Kiki's eyes lit up instantly. "Haunted? Then let's go inside and check it out!"
"Absolutely not," Lucy shot back. "And neither should you two!"
Kiki smirked. "Wait, you still believe in ghosts, Lucy?"
Lucy folded her arms. "I'm just saying, I'm not going in."
Kiki burst out laughing. "Oh, come on, scaredy-cat!"
Meanwhile, Shelly was quietly studying the house from outside, circling her gaze over the weathered walls, the overgrown yard, the way the wind rattled the loose shutters.
Lucy huffed. "We came here to spend time together, because we hardly meet during the week. And now you want to do this nonsense? Kiki, you haven't changed at all since childhood! Remember how in school, you used to break into classrooms that were strictly off-limits, even the ones with padlocks?"
Kiki only grinned and shrugged. "And you haven't changed either… still the same scaredy-cat."
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