I felt the weight of the locket as it dropped to my chest. The cold, gold chain pressed against my neck, surely leaving marks. A strange smell wafted up from it, but feeling it around my neck, it felt like it was made for me.

I stepped forward, no longer hearing the hollow thud of a hidden box. Glancing around, I was transported back into the beautifully decorated home of the past. Around me, footsteps could be heard, as well as calm, cheerful voices of what I assumed to be a normal family.

I continued up the stairs, mentally preparing myself to enter the strange room on the balcony.

Wait. Whatever I do affects whoever is here. They don't see me, but they'll see the door opening by itself.

Anxious to see what was behind the door, I willed the ghosts of the past away, wishing that the noise would die down already. One, two, three hours went by before I realized it would be long before they left.

I probably don't have much time here, I should look around some more.

Starting on the hallway to the left, I opened each door. First was a bathroom to the right. Simple tiles lined the floor and walls, while only a sink and a chain pull toilet took up the little space.

The next four rooms were very clean and empty. Each had one large bed in the center of the side wall. A dark brown armoire was placed on the opposite side of the room, giving the plain white and cream colored guest rooms a little more variety. I carefully closed each door as I left.

Proceeding to the right hallway, I listened carefully to nonchalant chatter downstairs, hearing nobody else walk up the stairs. The sounds of cheerful family in a warm, comfortable house seemed almost strange to me.

My family had always been harsh judges on just about anybody they could find dirt on. Living in apartments and small homes, they were the epitome of "minimalist". Although I never had a problem with living small, being quiet, and forming opinions of others based on their actions, I've always wondered how different my life would be if I lived like those ghosts. Extroverted and wealthy, from what I've seen and heard of the strangers, their family seemed very welcoming.

What are the chances of them living with some sort of evil poltergeist?

With a heavy sigh, I opened another door, seeing a similar bathroom to the other. Four more doors lined the walls of the hallway, all were the family's bedrooms. The first was what I assumed to be a boy's room, with bright pink walls and many small toys. Cars and train tracks were scattered across the floor, a large chest in the far corner of the room overflowed with more similar toys. A bunk bed with dark pink covers and soft looking pillows. Stepping further inside, I saw a white dresser next to the door, it had six drawers, three for each boy.

I closed the door and moved onto the next room. From the sky blue walls and frilly white bed sheets, I guessed it was for a young lady. Her room, unlike the boys', was neat and orderly, not a thing out of place. A small rocking chair in the corner - as well as a short dresser across the room - had cute little dolls sitting like people.

A few Parian dolls caught my eye. I have always had anxiety around them, because of their pale, shiny skin, and their dead eyes, but those seemed almost possessed. I shook off the thought and went to leave the room, but a little voice stopped me. "Are you the ghost?" Her voice was high pitched and sweet. It shocked me that she didn't sound afraid at all, but children didn't ever seem fearful of anything to me.

I waited for a moment longer. "Do you make the creaks and move things in my room at night?"

I shook my head, forgetting that we couldn't see each other. "No." My voice was hoarse, deepened by the lack of use. I sounded unrecognizable, and to push out the word was difficult for me.

"Mama says a demon is here to find the bad ones. Did you kill Auntie Lisa?"

I remembered the moment in the kitchen, the choking woman. Was the girl there? Did she have to experience that? "I'm afraid I did. But I'm not a demon."

"You talk funny. Are you a angel?" she asked me. I laughed at that.

"No, I wish. What's your name? How old are you?"

"Mary. I am four." Without seeing her, I knew she was holding up four fingers.

"That's a very pretty name, Mary. My name is Remi." I wish I had some water.

"Remi? You have a funny name, Mister." My voice was so deep that I sounded like a man. How cute.

"I guess I do," I laughed. "Tell me, Mary, what year is it?"

"1882."

"Well, Mary, thank you! I know it's a lot to understand but I'm not from this time. I'm from waaayyy in the future, and I'm afraid that I have gotten myself stuck in this house. There may be something else here with me, so I might need you to help me some. Okay?"

"Okay."

"First, I need you to not tell anyone about me, not even your mama, okay?"

"But I need to tell Mama and Papa everything. Mama always says, 'a lying lady will not marry a good man.'"

I start to worry at that. "Listen, Dear, it's really, really important that you do not tell your parents. Don't think of it as lying, but more of keeping a little secret. What they don't know won't hurt them, right?"

"Uh, okay." Her voice began to falter.

"Okay. Now tell me, how long have you had this house?"

"My Papa's great grandpapa owned this house, and a lot of my Papa's family."

Stupid question, there was no way I could pinpoint the person who died here and started haunting the place. "Okay... Look, Mary, I'm not gonna be here all the time. The only way I can come back is if I change something here from my time. I cannot know when I come back or where, so I don't know the next time you'll meet me."

"Okay."

"I want to try something, okay? I'm going to move a doll, and then I want you to move another doll to the same spot. I'm going to see if it changes something in my time too, okay?" She didn't reply. Carefully, I picked up a doll from her dresser and placed it on the rocking chair. A few seconds passed. Then she picked a different one up and placed it on the rocking chair. "Okay! Now do not move those dolls from that spot anymore. Always put them in that spot, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'm going to leave now. Thank you Mary, it was nice meeting you, and I hope to meet you again!"

"Okay... Good bye, Mr. Remi." I chuckled, slowly taking off the locket.

With a blink, I was back in the future, except in the faded bedroom of a little girl. The blue paint had turned white, almost completely chipping off the walls. The dresser lost a drawer, but upon opening one, I found an old, torn up dress with frills on the hems. The rocking chair in the corner had been mostly eaten away by termites and rodents, but there I found the two dolls that Mary and I moved.

Placing the locket on the dresser, I wished that I could send a message back to Mary. "It worked! Thank you!"

She seemed so bright, so cheerful. It reminded me a lot of my mother.

A/N - I realized in this chapter that I have more historical aspects than I expected, so I am going to put a small pause on the story for the next chapter so I can give a little background and history lesson! I hope you are all enjoying the story so far!