From 2014: The Happening

From 2014: The Happening
Clodagh Delahunty-Forrest

David was awoken by his coughing and the smell of smoke. He heard rummaging in his room, he looked up expecting to see his mom but instead he saw that his bedroom had changed and to his horror it was a ghostly figure of a boy that was making the noise. David was terrified, he froze and his heart filled with fear. It was beating so fast he thought it might burst. The figure was trying to open a door that had not been there before, a chandelier hung from the ceiling giving the room a strange eerie glow. David screamed but no sound came out, the boy seemed unaware of David’s presence. A scratching, whimpering sound came from behind the door and the boy was franticly trying to open it. It seemed to go on forever but then he faded and David was alone.
Next morning David tried to tell his mom what had happened, she said it was because it was his first night in his new room and it was probably a dream. She would not believe David, thinking he was making it up because he had not wanted to move here. The boy came every night at 1.00am and his room always smelt of smoke, David was quite used to the ghost’s antics now but the noise was unbearable. He was intrigued by what lay beyond the door.
One day David’s curiosity got the better of him and he decided to investigate. David thought the boy looked Victorian so looked through all the old newspapers at the library. He was just going to give up when he stumbled across an article relating to a fire that happened in his new house on 5th May 1889. He learned that a family and their pet dog had all been killed when a fire had broken out due to a candle. It mentioned that a boy called Albert had been trapped in his bedroom and that his dog had died outside his door trying to get in. The fire broke out at 1.00am; David decided to help Albert by looking for the key to the door that didn’t exist.
Months passed, David and his mom were working in the garden. His spade hit something hard he looked down and saw a rusty old key; David picked the key up and hid it in his pocket. He said nothing to his mom as he had tested her patience over the last few months taking any key he could find. That night he placed the key where the boy always appeared. David waited in his bed patiently; smoke gave David the signal that Albert was in his room. Albert started searching around the room, he found the key and he rushed to the door to unlock it. Out sprang a tan dog with happy eyes glad to see his owner, suddenly they both disappeared and the smell of smoke was gone. That was the last time David saw Albert and his dog.

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