Day 73 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Your character is moving and leaves behind a note for the next resident.
Erin:
Dear Future Resident,
Welcome to your new home. You have made a great choice in all of the choices of abodes. If you treat her right she will care for you like a royal. While I am going to miss her, I hope she can bring you and your family as many smiles as she has brought us.
In order to facilitate your relationship there are a few things you should know. First of all, in the attic, in the farthest back left corner there is a circular window. It faces to the sky. You must press your face close to the glass to get any type of view, however there is no prettier place to sit during a full moon. Appreciate that fact and appreciate her when she brings you that gift.
Second the oven can get a little hot in the back-left corner. But if you utilize the front right corner, you will get the yummiest gooiest brownies you have ever tasted. Avoid the bottom rack at all cost. And for havens sake if you make a lasagna place the pan on the top shelf in the center.
Lastly for me to tell you, is in the basement there are treasures. Walls can speak and books can move. Most importantly, the floor boards will revile more than you ever knew you wanted to know.
That is the wisdom I leave you with today. The rest she will reveal to you in time. I wish you all the best.
Love,
Her Previous Family
Shannon:
To whomever finds this letter,
Hopefully this page has found its way into the hands of the next resident. I thought it might be fun to leave something behind for you, and let you know what you’re up against with this place, considering I did live her for three years.
I’ll start with some things you should be aware of, so you can learn from my mistakes. The winding staircase is beautiful. Enjoy it, but don’t underestimate the danger. The metal bars under the steps might as well be knives to your heels if you use them too carelessly. Also, the front door clicks once before it truly locks. Don’t let it fool you. Test the handle. One last thing, and please understand that I don’t want to scare you, I just want to prepare you for what’s to come. The small storage closet downstairs is apparently a spider’s heaven. Hopefully you don’t mind them, or at least none of them will catch you by surprise.
Now for the fun part, you may figure these things out on your own, but I personally wished I had realized them sooner. Feel free to stop here, if you don’t like spoiler alerts. First, don’t forget to open the blinds even when it dark. You have a perfect view of the moon, and I’ve always found moon to be quite peaceful. Your view of the sunrise is memorizing too. Wake up early enough to see it once in a while. It’s worth it. Finally, the nearby park has an amphitheater. You can hear the music if you open the windows. Some of the performances are quite amazing. Give them a chance before you try to drown out the noise.
I could make a ton of other suggestions, but I suppose I’ll let you figure the rest out. I just wanted to make sure that no matter how long you stay you remember to really enjoy the place. I know I did and it feels weird leaving it behind now. I guess that’s why I felt the need to write this note. I felt this place deserved a goodbye. Maybe you will too.
Sincerely,
An Previous Resident
Tell us what your character must tell someone else.
Pelky Sisters 
Dear new caretaker,
Some of them wished me to call you the new, “homeowner,” but that seemed a little ambitious for someone none of us have met. So, caretaker it is. “Caretaker of what?” you may ask. Well, my dear, the house and all who reside in, under, and round it.
For many a century it has been the curse of this elegant home to play keeper to the secrets and mysteries that have plagued it. If you want a history lesson, the library is positively bursting with books and documents from every time period you could be curious about. But, perhaps leave some of those pages unread and stones unturned, just to keep up the lovely façade we have built over the years.
At any rate; I must warn you about some of the unwanted surprises you will come across in the first walk of the home. I can’t possibly list them all as I stand by the doorway with the very emotion of the house begging me not to leave, but I’ll hit on a few.
The first is to never touch the doorbell. While it’s haunting melody is a wonder to behold, its charms do not end when the final notes fall silent, of no. It will take hold in your soul like a parasitic worm, latching on to the gooey parts of your soft heart and vow never to let go. First it buries deep into the tissue and creates a safe hollow as you experience a slightly faster heartrate and sweat that beads on your brow. Next, it makes you nervous as it feasts on your inhibitions and slowly devours every scrap of thinking it can sink its teeth into. Then, well, they disappear so no one really knows. The point is; don’t touch the doorbell.
The second is that the spiral stars are a real tripping hazard; we have three spectral pooches than enjoy wandering up and down between peoples’ feet. Though you won’t be able to see them at first (they’re terribly shy and stay translucent until they trust you), I would suggest making your way up and down slowly and keeping your hands on the rails.
The third is that the observatory ought not be messed with. It may seem fun and intriguing to adjust the enormous metal disks on the third floor, but you mustn’t. Each symbol painstakingly carved into the steel is set at precise points to open portals and keep out evil and let it in. You see, there is a secret room past the circular windows and the exposed beams, through the long attic, down the first flight of stairs, through the tiny doorway that is always left ajar (even after you close and lock it), up the back stairway where you have to squeeze through the two foot wide space. Don’t go there, lest the spirits be angered and throw a tantrum. They can bring hell raining down, through the doorway that opens in that circular room, on you until you can take no more plus a day.
The fourth is that a full list of spirits, their functions as passengers on the journey around the sun, how they died, why they died, and why you should be terrified of them is available in the ledger laying on the reading table in the library. Every single soul that had ever entered the footprint of the house you have just bought will someday reside within its walls. That does mean, when you die, you’ll come back to this very spot, cursed to walk the earth until we are released (no, I don’t know how to release us or them).
The fifth is simple: good luck. I lasted twelve horrible years of dusting dingy cupboards and being too terrified to move a splinter. So, just, good luck on your purchase. She may have been a beaut in her day, but she’s a pain in the ass now.
– We’ll meet when I’m dead
LikeLike
Created to Write:
Heather walks passed the agents working on fixing the house. She takes a piece of paper and pen, then walks up the stairs. There are no agents clearing out her room. Heather was adamant about them leaving the rooms for her to handle, at least until she can find things her family would want to keep. She climbs out her window to sit in the tree, the same tree she went to when she needed quiet. And the exact same tree that she and Steve climbed down when she left her family.
Heather takes a moment to look around, thinking. SHIELD is working with Heather to sell the house, and she needs to write a message to the future buyers.
She looks at the paper. She knows how to write, she’s just getting used to the actual action of it, since everything that’s happened. She thinks of how to start.
‘This house was bought by a young family that wanted a new life. The mother wanted to move from the farm, and the father wanted her to be happy. Their daughter, me, did not like the move. I love the farm and this house was never my place of growth. But… it has the charm that gives it a second home type of feeling for me. If you decide to buy this house, it will keep you warm-hearted in winter, and temper anger in the heat of summer. The large backyard is great for kids, and a dog. This house has seen great triumph, and deep sorrow. And though my family can no longer live here, it stays standing. Please take care of it, and know that it stands, and we have grown, with the love of God to guide us. This house has no power, no influence on the life of those inside, unless the Holy Spirit lives with and within them.’
Heather finishes and looks up. The midday sun is now touching the horizon. She leans her head back on the branches and allows herself to go back to all the memories this house holds within the walls. And she’s scared to give it all up. Her memories play out in the backyard, from her first day there, to the last time she saw this place.
Then she takes a deep breath, and climbs back into her old room, to give the agents the message, and to start going through the rooms. She isn’t tired enough to wait until the next day, and no one else will be there during the night except a few guards. That means she can remember and cry in peace.
LikeLike