"Hello, Ms. Fredricks. I am Lewis, your phycologist from now on." The man, who I just found out was Lewis, introduced. He held out his hand for a shake, but I politely declined. For a while now, I've had a thing against germs and didn't like to touch other people or things.

     He gestured to the couch in front of him while he settled into his own chair opposite of me. Along the walls hung several posters with inspirational quotes on them. My hand itched to push my blonde hair away from my face, but I refrained. Some part of me told myself to leave it be.

     "So Faith," Lewis started. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself."

     My blue eyes scanned the room, landing back on Lewis who was staring intently at me.

     "Okay," I began, holding my small purse closer. "My name is Faith Victoria Fredricks. I am 21 years old and I have lived here, in Maine, all of my life."

     Lewis nodded and scribbled something on his note pad. The continuous noise of the pen scratching the paper made my ears ring. On Lewis's desk, there was a nameplate.

     Lewis Jones.

     His name was basic, nothing special, which suited him. He was sort of attractive with his strong jaw and pointed nose. His left eye was a clear blue, but his right was mostly honey brown with a small section of blue.

     "When did you first start noticing any sort of abnormal activities?" Lewis questioned.

     I chuckled, but my laugh was hollow. I crossed my left leg over my right and pushed my purse off to the side.

     "When I got home from work, I don't own a car so I walk every day, One of the windows were open."

     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     My feet ached from the two-mile walk. I had already made this trip once this morning and had to stay on my feet all day. The cafe was busy today since it was Sunday; everyone was fancying some Sunday coffee, I assumed.

     The sun had already gone down and the upcoming Autumn air nipped at my cheeks. A few gray clouds floated around in the air, but I could still admire the deep blue sky as I walked.

     I smiled as my house came into view. It was small, but I didn't need much. The only people that lived there were me and my cat, Opie.

     The walls were peeling and the wooden porch was starting to grow mold while weeds slipped through the cracks. I didn't particularly care about appearances, so I never tried to control the overgrowth.

     I walked up to the wooden steps of my porch. There was an old swing that I used to sit on and read. That was until one of the chains broke and I couldn't be bothered to fix it. A limp, crystal windchime hung from the roof. My sister bought it for me as a going away present right before her and her boyfriend moved back down to Florida.

     I pulled out my keys and unlocked the front door. The netted screen-door creaked as I pushed the heavy, wood barrier open. All of the lights were off, so I flipped the entryway's light switch.

     I chucked my shoes off near the front door, closing it right after. My bare feet padded into the tile kitchen. I looked in the mostly empty pantry and grabbed a box of cereal. I shook the box and concluded that there was enough for one more bowl.

     "I have to go grocery shopping," I mumbled.

     Sadly, there was no milk, so I ate the meal dry.

     I never wanted to go to college. I barely made it out of high school, so I didn't want to suffer through another four years! Even after those thirteen years of schooling, I never found my purpose in life. By middle school, everyone wanted to be a doctor, or own a random business of theirs, but I just shrugged my way through school, taking basic classes that I needed to pass.

     Now, I just worked day-to-day, with no worry in the world.

     My cat, Opie, jumped onto the couch and snuggled up against my leg. I pet her fluffy head as she prepared for a long nap. This was our daily routine. I wake up super early, leave and go to work, and when I come home we cuddle all night.

     As I ate my food, a chill swept through the room. I shivered and glanced around the room to find the source of the chill. Opie snuggled closer to my leg.

     Finally, I realized that the window was wide open. I gaped for a moment before standing up and slamming it shut.

     I couldn't help but feel baffled. When I left work this morning, every window was closed! Was I just being irrational? Or was someone inside my house?

     I quickly finish my dry cereal and set it down on the coffee table in the middle of the living room. It was half-past 10 and my eyes struggled to stay open, even though I was almost at a point of hysteria. I layed my head down on the couch and Opie stirred. When I closed my eyes, I saw shadows flashing against the wall.

     'It's probably just the trees.' I thought, but the shadows kept moving, even when the wind was flat. I sat up slowly and Opie rolled over, nearly falling off the couch. The shadow stopped. For a second I thought it really was a tree, but my nerves were telling me to check, just for my peace of mind.

     I stalked up to the window and saw the shadow bolt away. My heart felt like a sledgehammer against my chest. It looked like the shadow ran to my front porch and I prayed that it wasn't a person trying to break inside.

     After a minute, I sat back down on the couch. I layed my head back down and finally managed to close my eyes.

     I was debating in my head whether or not I was being crazy. Was there actually someone outside my house, or was I just paranoid from the lack of sleep these past few days?

     Either way, this would make a good story to tell Julia at work.

     Julie had started working at the cafe a few months ago, though she was only 17. She planned to finish her last year of school then quit her job and go to college. We really hit it off. I was like her mentor for life, even though, in her words, I wasn't really living it.

     I was almost asleep when a piercing shatter rang from outside. I jumped up and ran to the door, yanking it open. No one was there, and I thanked the gods for that, but as I closed the door, I noticed the broken remains of my windchime scattered on the wooden porch.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hello readers! We are back with a new book! Let us know what you think about the story and any ideas or predictions you may have!

We are deeply encouraged by your comments and votes and we are already so uplifted by all the positivity we got from The City Of Love. After that mushy romance story, we wanted to try out luck with a thrilling mystery!

This book will most likely be the same length as COL, but maybe a little longer.

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