I sipped a warm cup of tea carefully as my mom stared at me. She claims she found me having a seizure outside, Salem licking me as I yelled "Please", "No," and "Leave me alone!" I knew what had actually happened, but there was no way I was going to share it.
Salem mewled and rubbed his face against my hand as I sat my cup down, and I didn't react. My mother had called the school, saying I was dealing with something and probably wouldn't come in for a while.
I yawned, and my mom curled the blankets around me and left, turning the lights off as she did. I shifted onto my side and lay there, staring at the wall.
"You... wanna talk, Sam?" Salem asked quietly, laying down by me. I may hate him, but he's sweet sometimes.
"Sure..." I answered. "What's the 'mighty oak that once stood'?"
"What?" Salem asked. "I'm not sure what you're talking about." I sat up, letting the blanket fall around me.
"They spoke to me again. The ghosts."
"What did they say?" he asked.
"They... they gave me a riddle. The mighty oak once stood tall, now he stands not at all. Now he stands and stares in wait for one to open up the gate."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Salem asked. "You know what, never mind. I don't want to know."
"I do," I replied. "That's why I'm going to figure it out."
"Well, I suppose I can't stop you... so I'll go with you to make sure you're safe," Salem sighed.
"Great!" I grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. "So what's made of wood and has a perfect view of a gate?"
Salem shrugged. "Oh well, we tried."
"Hey, you're gonna help me or I'm gonna do this on my own," I laughed. Salem growled, but helped me think anyways.
"A porch."
"A window."
"Salem, that's not made of wood."
"So?"
"So, the clue says that whatever it is, is made of wood, specifically oak."
"A porch isn't always made of wood."
"A window is never made of wood, or it wouldn't be a window!"
"Details." I sighed. I was never getting anywhere with this cat.
"Let's start again. A wall."
"A window."
"SALEM!"
"Fine! A door." I scribbled it down.
"So far we've got a porch, a wall, and a-"
"Window."
"DARN IT, SALEM! NO MORE WINDOWS!"
"Fine."
"A door. We've got a door. Anything else that's not a window?" I growled.
"Yeah. A window."
"SALEM!"