Footsteps slowly creaked on every step of the stairs. The bedroom door handle turned slowly.

I lived in a large house, far from the cities.  It was a rather nice house, in terms of the size and area, but the only people living in this huge, 3 stories tall house were me and my parents, which made the place a bit lonely and cold. 

Most people had avoided buying this house, because they thought that it was haunted by some ghost. Well, it made sense, as everyone that lived in this house before us vanished with no trace left behind. There were also stories of the laughter of a young boy ringing out from the house, even when no children were living there. I thought about the rumor as I lay in bed, hearing wolf howls and gusts of winds outside blowing towards my direction. I decided to stop thinking and go to sleep. Then, I heard footsteps slowly creaking on every step of the stairs. The bedroom door handle turned slowly.  I flinched in horror, as the door creaked open. 

My dad poked his head into my room. “Isabella, why are you not asleep yet?”  he asked.

“Oh sorry, Dad,” I answered in relief, as I tucked myself back to bed. I smiled to myself. There was no ghost - I had simply convinced myself that there was. It was clearly all in my head. 

Not long later, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs again. 

“Dad, don’t worry, I am going to sleep!”  I shouted at the door.

There was no reply, yet the door handle turned slowly.  I went towards the door and opened it, but found nothing but thin air.  There was no one!  So I went to my parent’s room to check on them, but when I went there, they were all gone. On their dresser, the picture of me and my family had been replaced by a picture of a boy, a boy that I did not know, but yet seemed familiar….