The Haunted House

[MaidenM]

Thank you very very much guys!  Here's chapter one!

Chapter I
The House

Morning came, to no-ones surprise. The last few days Maria had heard her mother and her husband, who she wouldn't refer to as her "father" however nice he was, speaking quite a lot to each other only to fall completely silent once she came into the room. Maria didn't think of it much though, she was too busy trying to figure out what to do with her own life to wonder what other did with theirs. She was in the bathroom, brushing her teeth once more, for safety sake, when she heard her mother's and Yngve's voices from the dining room. Her mother sounded a bit worried.




After a few moments her mother came into the bathroom, wearing a slightly too nonchalant expression, like she was trying not to show her emotions.
  'Come to the dining room once you've dressed yourself honey.' She said. 'My husband and I have a surprise for you.'




Trying not to worry too much, Maria had never really liked surprises, she got dressed and went straight to the dining room where Samantha and Yngve where waiting for her at the table. She sat down, hoping that they did not give her any news like 'I'm pregnant' or 'We've arranged a marriage for you' or anything else that would only make her freak out. Her mother cleared her throat.
  'Well, Maria. We, that is Yngve and I, have been talking about this for quite a while and... We think it's time for both you and me to let you become... independent.' She said the last word as if she was scared to let it out there. 'So... We've... We decided to...' She trailed off.
Maria tried to calm herself without looking freaked out, as much as she wanted to stand on her own two legs she wasn't sure if whatever her mother was going to say was the way she wanted it to be. Her mother took a deep breath and looked Maria right in the eyes.
  'We've bought you a house.'




Maria stared at her. Samantha stared at Maria. Yngve stared at nothing, and seemed quite happy with what he saw. Finally Maria managed to get her throat working.
  'A house?' She croaked. 'You got me a house? My own house?'
  'Yes honey, your very own house.' Samantha answered, smiling slightly. 'We will help you with everything you need, for a start. We've bought you the house, renovated it and furnished it. You can even move in today. You have to understand though, you're going to have to manage on your own after that.' She added. Maria kept staring at her, but she could tell she was starting to smile her goofy, wide smile she always had when she couldn't stop herself.
  'My own house...' She said to herself. Then reality shook her. 'Bu-But I'm unemployed! I can't pay the rent of a whole house! I can't afford--' She started, but Yngve interrupted her.
  'Don't worry Maria, you'll get a job soon enough. And besides, the rent is quite cheap. I think you'll manage just fine.' He said, before he got a faraway look in his eyes. 'Ahhh, I remember when I moved away from home. Mummy cried and Daddy told me that I didn't have to worry and...' He kept talking, but Maria stopped listening. She knew sooner or later his reminiscing would somehow turn into something like a one-sided conversation about something like oysters or pool-ladders.




  'A house.' Maria said to herself. She could barely believe it. The thing about surprises that made them good was that sometimes they where just what you wanted after all. In her mind she already planned what she was going to do. She'd move in, get a job, meet new people, become friends with them. Prehaps she would even find herself a boyfriend...
She looked up. Her mother was close to tears. After twenty years, Samantha had just gathered the courage to let her daughter go.
  'Oh mom! Thank you! Thank you!' They both stood up and embraced each other. 'I'll be fine mom. Don't worry! I'll make you proud of me!' She said, trying to hold her own tears back.
  'Maria, darling. You know I am already proud...' Her mother whispered.




As soon as she could, Maria left her mother and Yngve, who was still talking to himself, and begun to pack. This did not take long. She had very few possessions that she felt like taking with her, and it all fit into her backpack. All the time she felt giddy and exited about moving. Sure, it was a bit scary. But it was wonderful as well.
As soon as she was done she announced that she wanted to move right away, not to get away from her mother or Yngve but because she had been waiting for this moment for years but never had the courage to go through with it herself. After yet a another tearful hug outside Yngve's mansion Samantha gave her the address, the keys and a soft 'good luck'. Maria had to muster all the strength she had not to say 'I can stay a bit longer'.




After just a twenty minutes bike ride she arrived at the house. Her house. And after a further twenty minutes of gwaping she went inside. It was better than she could ever have imagined.




Once inside, she kept gwaping. She couldn't believe she suddenly lived there. Everything was fantastic in her eyes. From the location, to the furniture and pretty much everything. Part of her was wondering how on earth this house could have a low rent, but that part was pushed away by the part that was too giddy to think about such thing.




After running around the whole house, squealing at pretty much everything she decided that, while it was fun to just go crazy and exited about this, she would never be able to keep anything going unless she had an income. She took a few deep breaths to calm down before deciding what to do. Her dreams where already beginning to become fulfilled, it would be foolish not to ride the wave while it lasted.




  'Look out world!' She said to herself. 'Maria Gilson takes the stage!'

Chapter I
End
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Thanks for reading! We'll see when the next chapter comes