In recent days, the Parker family home has filled with uniformed people. Police guarded the house day and night looking for those who caused the fire. The head of the town fire station had been surprised when he saw the evidence of the burned chair, but when he heard the rumor that the house was haunted; he believed that it had all been caused by a group of teenagers with the intention of summoning spirits. Since then, those who bothered Parkers were the police. However, that chaos did not last long because Mr. Parker only endured the presence of the officers for four days, despite the fact that he had called them, he kicked everyone out of his house and this offended the officers who decided not to patrol near the house.

Paula had regretted her decision to tell her aunt and uncle that she had caused the rumor. She saw Uncle Parker yell at men taller and wider than him, so she decided to say nothing about the rumor that the house was haunted.

The Parkers were very angry when they heard that there was a rumor in the town that her house was haunted, although they didn't know that it had been because Paula spoke to the nun about the presence that bothered her.

Daiana knew what had happened at her friend's house, so she went to visit her. Unfortunately she had arrived when the police were there, so they could not talk comfortably, she could only tell her what Paula already knew: in town people were talking about the house.

They were in the front yard, a little apart from a police officer.

"I can't believe what's going on, Daiana. I don't know what to do! Someone tried to burn the house last night," Paula whispered.

"Yes, I heard that in town," Daiana then told her what had happened in the church when she went to visit the nun.

This relieved Paula because she thought that if no one believed in that nun, so then no one would know either that it was she (Paula) who had told her about the spirits.

"It's better that way," the girl said and then added: "Last night I got lost in the forest."

Daiana was surprised to hear Paula's adventures. She couldn't believe that her friend had been running in the woods alone at night. But when Paula told her about the cemetery in the middle of the forest, she was even more surprised.

"A cemetery in the middle of the forest! I never heard of it."

"I thought maybe you would have heard about it. There was a candle there," Paula said in a tremulous voice.

"Surely Mrs. Pierre's children put it there," Daiana exclaimed. "The other day I heard them talk about spiritism sessions and those weird things. I thought it was boyish nonsense."

Paula silenced her with a gesture because Mrs. Parker had left the house to speak to one of the officers. Fortunately she did not see the women

"How does he endure all this?" Daiana said looking at the man.

"I don't know but he will not endure it for much longer," Paula replied.

Mr. Parker called Paula to ask her to explain to the useless police officers that last night they (Paula and Mr Parker) had listened to intruders in the forest. Unfortunately, Mr. Parker got fed up with the presence of the policemen who came and went from his house, so he fought with them.

Cops stopped going to visit them and a few days later everything returned to normal.

"Thank God today we won't have to bear those screams!" Mrs. Parker said as she put the dirty clothes in a basket.

"Nor will we have to endure the sirens of police cars. They make a horrible noise," Paula said. She was upset because unlike Mr. and Mrs. Parker she had felt safer with the cops inside the house.

Mrs. Parker handed Paula the basket full of clothes and they left the room. Paula placed it on the floor.

"I hope we have quiet nights because if something happens and the cops are not home..."

"Don't worry, Paula, nothing bad will happen Mrs. Parker said. It was terrible to wake up to the noise made by the cars. I couldn't sleep at night anymore. And when they got in through the window it was the last straw. We get too scared. And they did it because supposedly one of them thought he saw a child on the stairs Nonsense! Surely they just wanted to steal a bottle of wine."

Paula let her speak, it was always the same, she always complained. Still, she was glad she didn't have to hear her uncle yelling at the police.

"Can you go down with this? I will go down later," the woman asked pointing to the basket with dirty clothes.

"No problems, aunt. I can do it alone."

The basket was very large and heavy but Paula did not want to complain. She walked to the stairs and started down. In the middle of walking she stumbled a bit and stopped. Suddenly she began to feel a horrible stench. Paula reached the bottom of the stairs and placed the laundry basket on the floor.

The stench seemed to come from the kitchen so Paula went over there. She thought maybe there was something rotten inside the garbage can but when she got to the kitchen she realized that her aunt had already taken out the garbage.

"What happen, dear? You had to take the clothes to the laundry room. Heavens! What is that smell?" her aunt said when she entered the kitchen.

"There is something rotten somewhere," Paula said as she opened the fridge but there was nothing there. The Parker family's budget did not allow them to waste food.

She also found nothing rotten inside the cupboard.

"It seems as if there is something dead," the woman said as she helped her niece search.

They found nothing so they had to leave the kitchen because they couldn't bear the stench and they opened the door for air to enter.

"Maybe it's something out there. Maybe there's a dead animal," said Mrs. Parker.

"I don't know, the window was closed," said Paula but her aunt began to search for all over the yard. Paula followed her.

Both women searched near the kitchen, especially under the window, but they found nothing.

"What a weird! There is no smell here and the window is closed," Paula said.

"This cannot be possible. There must be something that smells bad over hear."

They entered the house and the stench disappeared and also everything was in order in the kitchen.

"Well, the stench is gone," Mrs. Parker said and left the kitchen. "Paula, can you help me with the laundry basket? It is very heavy and I cannot move it."

Paula turned and went to help her aunt but was scared when she saw the basket was across the hall.

"This cannot be possible because I left it next to the kitchen door and now it is next to the hall door," Paula thought inside of her.

"What happens?" her aunt asked.

"Nothing."

Both women were able to move the laundry basket. It was very strange.

The laundry place was outside in the backyard of the house. When they got there they realized they had left the key of the back door.

"This cannot be so heavy," Paula complained. She had previously been able to lift the basket with the clothes but now it weighed twice as much.

"This couldn't be possible," Paula thought.

"I forgot the key!" Mrs. Parker said.

Suddenly Mrs. Parker took Paula's arm abruptly. Under the shade of the apple tree was a boy, staring at them. Paula was startled.

"Is there a child? Next to the apple tree," said the aunt. "The shine of the sun doesn't allow me to see well."

"I think you're right," Paula said. She was surprised. "But what is he doing there? Is he one of those teenagers in the woods?"

"Surely, yes. We should call the police!" Mrs. Parker replied.

"I'm going to get the phone," the woman said before running away.

Paula didn't answer, she was very surprised, looking at the boy who didn't seem to be a teenager, his silhouette was too small. As he moved, she felt chills. That boy caused her an ugly memory.

Maybe she was hallucinating again? Before, she thought she saw a child inside the house and also in the forest. No! Aunt Parker also saw the boy. Perhaps he was one of the village children who wanted to check if the house was haunted.

Suddenly she heard a noise to her left, it was something that sounded like a moan. Then Paula saw the shadow of a man inside the house and very close to her.

"Ahhhhh!" she screamed in horror as she backed away.

"Don't scream! Why are you screaming?" said the man.

"Uncle? I haven't seen you before," Paula said, relieved.

"What's going on?" Mr. Parker asked. His breath smelled of liquor. Paula felt sorry for him.

At that moment her aunt arrived.

"Paula, what happened?" asked the woman. She had the cell phone in her hand. When she saw her husband she was surprised. "Sweetie?"

"What happened, Laura? There are too many screams. I cannot stand it! I have a headache," said the man. His voice was thick and he dragged out the words. "There is a child under the apple tree. We think that maybe..."

The man turned abruptly, so much that he staggered.

"There is nothing there. You guys are a couple of screaming blinds!"

Paula and her aunt looked through the window again. He was right. There was no one under the apple tree.

"But... but."

Mr. Parker clutched his head, his back to the courtyard.

"I didn't feel well, Laura, that's why I went home. I have a headache."

He stumbled a little while walking, so his wife took him by the shoulders.

He looked like a grown boy seeking the support of his mother. I swear it's just a headache. When I have slept it will disappear he said with a guilty tone that caused the compassion of his wife and niece.

"Okay, let's go, his wife answered and they both walked away."

Paula stood there, looking out into the backyard. There was no one under or near the apple tree. She looked for the key to the door and went out into the courtyard. Paula was not afraid of the boy because she was tired of the boys of the town making fun of her family.

She searched around the house, in the shed, and among the thorns, but she found no one. Maybe the boy left when he realized we saw him, Paula thought. That was the only rational explanation she had at the time.

They did not mention the strange child among them again. In the afternoon Mr. Parker already felt better but very guilty for having relapsed into the habit of drinking alcohol. He hardly spoke in the entire afternoon and even treated his wife and niece with more kindness.

Even he seemed to have forgotten about the teenagers in the woods and the policemen already.

That night Paula was asleep and woke up abruptly at four in the morning when she heard distant noises. She heard a door slam and Mr. and Mrs. Parker chatting at the corridor. Then she got up worried.

"What happen?" Paula asked as she tied the ribbon of her robe around her waist.

Mr. and Mrs. Parker were also wearing nightwear, and it was evident that they had also just woken up.

"I don't know, her aunt replied in a soft voice, but her voice was overshadowed by that of her husband, who had recovered his usual bad mood."

Damn policemen! I told them not to trespass on my property! he yelled furiously and ran downstairs.

Apparently he was right because from the outside of the windows a rather annoying light poured in. The two women followed the man to the bottom floor of the house and there they could see the police cars.

They were parked on the forest path, lighting up the trees around them. One of the police officers was approaching the house.

Mr. Parker couldn't contain himself anymore so he left the house and walked to the rusty gate, impatient and grumbling, accompanied by his family. Although the two women remained on the threshold of the street door. When the policeman got closer, they knew what was happening in the forest.

Earlier that night the police had received an anonymous call from a woman. A group of teenagers had planned to meet in the forest and then try to break into the Parker's house, so the policemen had guarded the area and managed to catch the boys, but they never knew that the person who called the police station was Daiana.

The boys were seen in the distance, illuminated by the lights of the cars. They screamed saying they had no intention of entering the Parker's haunted house and claimed that they had a right to be in the woods if they wanted to. There was a huge uproar, the boys screamed insulting the Parkers, the police, and everyone.

When it Dawned, they had more news. The boys had been found guilty of the events that occurred at the Parker's home, even though they denied it. The police turned them over to their parents for punishment because they were minors. Mr. Parker didn't agree because he wanted to put them in jail.

Despite all the trouble the family was calm. A couple of days passed without anyone daring to approach the Parker house and not commenting on what happened.

The daily routine returned to normal, Mr. Parker returned to his work, without relapsing into the addition of alcohol. Mrs. Parker went back to her daily chores and Paula had a couple of good news. On the one hand Daiana had assured her that things in the town were calmer thanks to the firmness of the police, she had not seen the nun again, and the townspeople no longer believed that the Parker's house was haunted. Most of the villagers thought that these rumors had been invented by the boys who tried to enter the house.

On the other hand, Doctor Rush called her and said that on his next visit he was going to bring her news about her recovery. He implied that Paula was already much better and ready to join society again.

She was happy because now she could get a job and help her uncle and aunt financially. Paula's good humor lasted all week, she was no longer bothered by her past, she had overcome depression and there were no strange rumors in town.

Paula had a lot to be thankful for and reasons to be happy, but unfortunately that happiness was not going to last long.