Chapter 1: Part 2 – The Move

Elena stuffed her boxes inside the single bedrooms and went looking around. The apartment was small but cosy. There was a living room, an open kitchen with an island counter, a room with an attached bathroom across the hall, finishing with a balcony. The furniture smelled fresh, as if it was moved in recently, but the thin layer of dust over it told otherwise. She lightly dusted the cream-coloured couch with one of the pillows, before plopping onto with the remote in hand. The TV flickered to life. She navigated through the channels, frowning when she couldn’t find anything interesting, before switching it off and getting up, walking into the kitchen. It’s been long since she had a proper meal, so she took a quick glance through the fridge and cabinets, even though she expected herself to come out empty-handed. Sighing, she fished through the pockets of her denims, making sure she had her wallet and her phone, before leaving the house, locking the door behind her. She jogged down the building steps, contemplating on taking the bus, but then deciding on walking, so that she could get to know the area better. Taking out her phone, she looked for close-by grocery stores or supermarkets, finding one a couple of streets away, not too far. She went over it a couple of times, memorising the route, before sliding her phone back into her right pocket, looking around her. The street was deserted, not even one soul in sight.

Probably because of the weather. She thought, shrugging it off and tipping her head up, letting herself warm up in the scorching heat of the summer noon sun. Her slow, wandering steps turned into light skips, a light grin lighting up her face as she turned around the corner. It’s been long since she’s been so carefree, and even though she knew this was limited, she decided to make the most of it.

***

Pushing the cart down the aisle, her eyes raked through the shelves, looking for anything she might need. Since this was an impromptu decision, she didn’t have a list with her, so she had to keep her eye out, checking everything so she didn’t have to keep coming back. Stopping momentarily at the last aisle, she threw in a couple of cup noodles before making her way to the check-out. The young cashier had his earphones on, too engrossed into his phone to notice her presence. She tapped one of her fingers on the counter, somewhat impatient to go back to her apartment, though he paid no heed towards her. After a solid 3 minutes, his large chocolate eyes drew to her and just stared, before scrambling up in realisation and muttering a quick apology, red flashing through his cheeks. A light chuckle escaped Elena’s lips, while the boy reached out to her cart, placing the items on the counter and scanning them. While this was going on, Elena’s eyes wandered around the store, reading through the posters and advertisements, until one of them caught her eye.

“That’ll be $6.58.” He squeaked out, placing the items into one of the bags. Paying for her items, she casually started up a conversation.

“So, there aren’t many people around, hm?” She asked, letting out a tiny chuckle when the boy just nodded his head. “Is it ever busy around here?” She queried again, raising her right brow.

“Well, it’s pretty busy during the mornings and evenings.” His eyes flicked up to hers, “Are you new here? I’ve never seen you around.” She smiled.

“Yeah, moved in today morning. So… Turns out I’m looking for a job.” She tilted her head, causing a flash of red to pass through the younger’s cheeks, before continuing, “Are you guys hiring?”

“A-actually, yeah we are.” He stuttered slightly, eyes fazed, then cleared his throat and nodded his head towards a door at the far end of the store. “We need workers for the evening shift, and boss’s in the staff room right now. We might be able to get you an application right now.”

“That’s perfect.” She answered, her lips curving into a wide grin.

***

Closing the front door with the side of her leg, she carried the heavy bags and placed them on the kitchen counter with a tiny groan. She flexed her arms before stocking up a couple of items into the fridge, just as her stomach let out a low growl. Sighing, she went back to her huge plastic bags and fished out one of the many cup noodles. She grinned at her victory on the first try itself while going around the kitchen, looking for a water kettle, but couldn’t find one. Frowning, she looked through the drawers for any kitchenware, groaning tiredly when she realised that she had to go shopping again.

Alright, take-out it is, then.

Plucking out her phone, she scrolled through her options, settling for mac-and-cheese with tater tots as a side. After ordering, she opened her notes and started listing down whatever she would need to buy while strolling through the house, looking around.

There goes my Saturday.

***

It was late in the evening when she finished unpacking. Her parents didn’t pack much. Her clothes, books and other itty-bitty stuff that belonged to her. After folding up the last cardboard box and sliding it under her bed, she looked around her room. It felt a bit homier. She smiled weakly, plopping onto the bed. It was still slightly early for bed, but she was exhausted.

I guess I’ll just catch a couple z’s before dinner.

Closing her eyes, she patiently waited for the blankness to take over her, when she heard… tinkling? Something like the soft sound of wind chimes...

I don’t remember hanging up a wind chime...

Abruptly opening her eyes, she looked around for the source of the sound. There was nothing out of the place.

Ugh, let me sleep already.

She was about to go back to her vain attempt of going to sleep, when a light simmer in the corner of the room caught her eye.

Huh?

Getting off her cosy bed, she walked up to the corner, squinting slightly to get a better look. It looked like a splatter of white glitter floating mid-air, glimmering beautifully. Intrigued, she reached out to touch it, though, as the tips of her fingers came in contact with the tiny particles, they disappeared.

What was that? Is it the ghost the landlady was talking about? That’s a ghost? But...

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, before her lips curved into a sly smile. “This is going to be fun.”