“Pish-posh.” Terry frowned at Sara. Mina had to hold back a grin; she didn’t think people spoke like that anymore. “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. I’m telling you, I pulled a huge favor out of my hat, and I can tell you there’s not going to be another offer out there like this. I did this for you because I think of you like my own daughter. And you deserve this.”
Just then a weird buzzing sound came from a square box in the kitchen. Terry ran forward and pushed a button. “Yes, who’s there?”
“It’s meee. We bring Sara’s car like you asked. Now push button and let us in.” It was Mrs. Wong. Terry rolled her eyes before she pushed the button. Mina assumed the big iron gates at the end of the drive were opening. A few minutes later the Wongs entered through the front door, carrying boxes from the Happy Maids van.
“Eh, nice big house you get, Terry. What ex-husband did you get this from? Maybe you can give him my number.” Mrs. Wong’s broken English made her attempts at being funny sound awkward.
Mei’s husband placed his hand over his heart with dramatic flair. “Oh, Mei, you wound me. Now stop yammering, and let’s help them settle in.”
With only a few more failed attempts to talk themselves out of the house, Sara finally gave in and helped haul the last cardboard boxes into the foyer. The Wongs and Terry tried to keep some light chitchat going, but it was obvious from the rings under Sara’s eyes that it was time for them to go. Once everyone was gone, the house was eerily empty.
Sara stared at one of the blank walls covered in striped wallpaper in puzzlement. “This house. There’s something about this house.” She reached out a hand to touch the wall and then shook her head as if to clear the troubled thought from her mind. “I’m sorry, honey, I’m exhausted. Let’s find a room and unpack and talk tomorrow. It’s been—” she started to sniffle but held it back, “—a long day.”
Mina agreed. Was the funeral only a few hours ago? The rain was still coming down outside, and the occasional lightning illuminated the night sky. The second floor was filled with more turns, wings, and darkened rooms. Sara found a room to her liking and settled in by immediately crawling onto the bed and not moving. Not wanting to leave her mother alone, especially tonight, Mina crawled onto the large king-size bed and lay next to her mom.
Sara’s eyes were shut, and Mina could see the barest glimmer of tears sliding out of the corners. Her mother’s long hair had fallen out of its bun, and a hint of gray could be seen mixed in with the brown. Had this tragedy aged her mother years in only a few days? Mina took a deep breath and quivered with pain and sadness. She slid her hand into Sara’s hand and squeezed gently, comforting her mother without words. Sara’s breathing evened out, and she squeezed her daughter’s hand back. A few minutes later, they were both asleep.
Chapter 5
A thudding noise woke Mina in the middle of the night. She sat straight up in bed and looked around the darkened room in fear. Nothing stirred, and nothing moved. The rain still poured outside, and the night sky lit up, followed by the delayed sound of thunder. The brief flash of light proved that nothing was in their room.
She turned to look at her mom, who was still curled up in a fetal position and was sleeping very deeply. She knew that Sara had been worrying about their lack of housing situation, and now she looked like she could sleep for days. Mina lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling, then the walls. She rolled over and tried to sleep on her stomach, but it was no use; she was wide awake. Her mind kept trying to catalog all the possibilities of what could have made the noise, and her paranoid teenage brain wasn’t going to let her go back to sleep until she found out what it was. She was still fully dressed, so she tiptoed out of the room and closed the door with a soft click.
The hallway had never looked more foreboding than it did in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm. Mina didn’t care who owned the place or what the utilities would cost; she was going to bring light to the darkened mansion. She felt along the walls until she found a light switch and clicked it on. The electric candelabras on the wall flickered on, and nothing jumped out at her.
Phew, she thought, one down, only a hundred more to go.
She turned the corner in the wing and was once again greeted with another darkened hallway. She repeated the process and almost panicked when she couldn’t find the switch, because it was hidden behind the drapes. When the hallway was illuminated, she didn’t move on to the rest of the house. Instead, she decided to tackle every room. How could she sleep if she didn’t know what lurked behind each of those ominous doors?