Together Forever

Late one autumn evening, when the chill of the bitter Long Island air bit my lungs and skin through all the layers my mother forced me to wear, my girlfriend and I made the long walk through our densely forested neighborhood to go watch the sunset at the park. I let my mind wander to the lighting on the frozen plants by the roadside and the memories of a lost summer that seemed fossilized inside them. We trudged on, breaking leaves underfoot. We watched as the leaves danced along the sidewalk and as the sun set we watched our shadows grow larger, intertwining as we held hands. I felt the warmth of her heart just by the touch of her hand. We found a bench and sat down. I looked into her sunken grey eyes, like reflections from the aspect of an angel. I put my hand on her soft blushed cheeks and kissed her passionately. Our eyes locked and I knew we would be together forever, our love was eternal. Resting her head on my shoulder, we watched as the sun went down and the sky filled with glorious colors. Once the colors began to fade we began to see the beautiful bright stars in the night sky. As we were about to leave we saw a shooting star. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

“Nick, did you just see that? We have to make a wish!” exclaimed Brooke as she jumped into Nicks arms.

Holding her tight, we closed our eyes and both whispered softly, “I wish we would be together forever.”

We began to walk back to my house, taking a shortcut down a long, winding, path with lights so dim, we could barely see what lie ahead. In the distance, we could hardly make out the black isolated figure. As we picked up the pace, it came into view that the black figure was an abandoned house. As we walked by, there was a gust of wind which scattered the leaves around us. As I continued to walk, I noticed Brooke was not by my side, my heart dropped but as I turn around I see her staring at the house.

Looking at me, Brooke said, “Did you see that shadow in the window!” she runs over and grabs onto me as if she saw a ghost. Her voice was shaky and the color in her face has depleted. “There was a shadow in the window and the shades closed by themselves.”

“Brooke nobody lives there, it’s an abandoned house. Come on it’s getting late, we need to go back to my house, and we will come back and check it out tomorrow.”

At this point the path was pitch black. Feeling unsure, Brooke latched onto my arm as I used my phone flashlight to guide us back home. As we were walking, we couldn’t help but feel something’s presence behind us, however every time we turned around, all we could see was the dark eerie house. Suddenly, something dashed across the path and disappeared into the dark night. Brooke screamed in terror and we stood in shock. I grabbed her arm and I started running with her down the path. Once we reached the main road, we felt safe and calmed ourselves down. We walked back to my house and I told her to stay for the night. Once we were home we got ready for bed and we watched a T.V until we drifted off to sleep. That morning I woke up from a terrible nightmare. Feeling I had to get it off my chest, I woke Brooke and explained to her what I had dreamed about.

“In my dream we were at that abandoned house we found last night and we went inside to look around and the door locked behind us. This man and what seemed to be his family, wouldn’t let us out and they chased us around. We ran into the basement seeking safety, but instead found ourselves trapped in a cellar with dead bodies in it. There was no place to hide and once the man cornered us, he grabbed my arm and I jolted up from my dream.”

Brookes face dropped and she started to cry. “Nick, I… I… I had the exact same dream.” She said in a frightened tone.

It was then that we decided to get up and go and venture off to the abandoned house. We went downstairs and I made Brooke pancakes as she packed a backpack for our journey with snacks, water and a flashlight. We went out the backdoor of my house and began to make our way back to the abandoned house. As we entered the forest, we walked cautiously. A man walked past us out of nowhere. The side of his head was badly wounded, dripping blood down his colorless face. His eyes were as empty as his soul. We walked by and did not want to look, shaken because we didn’t hear him and he came out of nowhere. As we followed the path the man walked by once again but this time he looked at us. Brooke and I swallowed hard but moved along as if we saw nothing. For a third time the man walked by once again but was covered in more blood than the first two times. We started to sprint. Arriving at the house we see the man that walked by us three times in the window. A shiver goes down our spine. The house is as black as coal and at this point we feel as if we cannot go any further. But we feel as if we have to go inside. As we walk up to the house, we find the door wide open and step inside. The house smelled like a rotting corpse. The door slammed behind us and Brooke exclaimed,

“This is just like the dream, we are going to die!”

Knowing what was to come next, we ran up the stairs instead of the basement where we knew we couldn’t escape. We ran to the back of the hallway and entered the last room on the right hoping we could hide there till we find a way to escape. As we opened the door, everything in the room had writing all over it which said, “Those who stay together, die together,” and “Give us your soul.” As were about to leave the room, we heard the voices of children surrounding us saying, “Your wish has come true. You will now be together forever,” and “You will never escape.” Running as fast as a bolt of lightning, we find ourselves in another room. Sitting in the corner, a little girl in a bloody dress rocked back and forth singing “together forever,” over and over and getting louder and louder till she begins to scream it. I turn around about to run for my life and I notice Brooke is gone. Trembling, I begin to scream her name. Turning around, I find myself face to face with the man we seen in the window. I freeze in horror as the lights go out and I feel a blow to my head. I fell to the floor, dazed. Something smashed against my jaw, then my nose, crushing it into my face. I gasped for air and seen the man holding Brooke by her beautiful brown hair and yanking her head backwards as she cried in agony.

“Let her go,” I pleaded, “take me instead.”

In a panic, I gather enough strength to lift myself from the ground and tackle the man. Brooke is now free from his meaty hands and begins to stomp on his face. Before we know it, the lights come back on and he is gone. Brooke takes her scarf and holds it against my shattered nose to stop the bleeding as we try to find a way to escape before the man returns. We ran around the corner of the hallway and end up back at the front door. The lights flicker, and before we have time to open the door, it has disappeared and we are now in the basement. Looking over to the left, we see rows of coffins. To our right, there are coffins with silver name tags labeled “Nick and Brooke.” Brooke drops to her knees and sobs. I pick her up, look her in her eyes, and hold her tight, as if this were to be the last time I ever got to hold her. We shared our last kiss and I grabbed her hand, ready to fight whatever we would come into contact with. We heard the creak of the basement door open and heard the man’s heavy footsteps and he slowly walked down the stairs.

Remembering the house was making us appear in random places, I told Brooke that this house plays mind games and that there is a way out. Looking at a wall that didn’t look correct, I told her to take my arm and run directly into it. As fast and we could, we ran towards the wall and went through it landing back in front of the front door. We now see that people get lost since the house and spirits in it play mind games and instead of running to the front door, we ran into the back door and fell outside into the dirt. In shock that we escaped, we sprinted away back to the path where we came from and looked back at the house and we saw the man and his family looking out the window. Without looking back we ran to my house in a hurry to seek help.

Bolting through the front door, my parents become worried once they see the blood and bruises on my face. We tell my parents what happened and they immediately called the police. The police rushed to the scene to investigate what had happened and who lived in the house. With the police following behind our car, we pull over and show them the path which leads to the house. As we begin walking there, we notice something is wrong. We stop in our tracks and freeze in horror. I feel as if I am going to throw up. The abandoned house was gone. The police angrily call off the investigation and tell us to stop making up stories and starting trouble. There was nothing left to say. We looked all around and tried to explain that it wasn’t made up, but it was worthless. Heading back to their cars, they left the scene. Standing there in complete shock, Brooke and I turn to each other in disbelief. Before walking back to the car, we decide to go look one last time for any evidence. As we walked back to the car, Brooke kicked something shiny. We look down and pick up the shiny objects. Our hearts sank and tears formed in our eyes. The shiny objects we picked up were two silver name tags inscribed with the names “Nick and Brooke.”

Credit: Nick Cimino Credit Link: https://www.instagram.com/nickcimino/?hl=en