Can you see me

I dare you to...

Iorwen Howell rolled her eyes at her friends when they told her about the dare.

“You now I am not afraid of these stupid things.” She said almost glaring at them.

Each New Year Eve she and friends would do something different and weird, something that they will always remember. Last year they all took a dip in an almost freezing lake and somehow survived to tell about it. This year they were standing in front of the famous haunted place in their town and Lucas and Rachel dared her to go in alone and stay there for fifteen minutes.

Iorwen was the tough girl, the one who laughed at horror stories, one who shed tears on minor matters, one who was into games and superheroes and one who was taking self defence classes. Sending her into a haunted house was a kind of lame joke.

“So it is just fair to send you in there as it is an easy and fun task.” Lucas said grinning.

“Just fifteen minutes Howell, just do it already.” Oswald, another member of their group said.

“Or are you getting more like actual girls?”Lauren said giggling like one.

“Rachel I am sure you suggested this.” She said this now almost holding back a smile.

She nodded chewing a gum and gave a brilliant wide smile.

“Fine, I will walk in and stay there for twenty minutes, just for you suckers.” She said firmly inserting her hands into her brown leather jacket pocket and turned to enter the house.

It looked nothing like a house, it clearly fit the description of a palace. People of the town said some old soul of a tortured princess or some King with vendetta lived inside and they heard voices. It was almost big as their school painted in creamish white colour with black iron gates. The outer wall was now covered with roses and thorns since no one bothered to actually work on the plants there.

She opened the gates which naturally creaked and leisurely walked inside the palace. This was going to be fun and they will hold the tag of cool gang in their even in the last year.

The interior surprised her as she noticed a fountain build in centre of now messed up garden. It was like a portico with intricately designed columns on regular intervals and a vast dust covered porch. There was not a single sound now that she was about to enter the main hall, not even her hooting friends, night insects or screeching owls. It was oddly silent.

She took out her cell phone and opened up the camera to click some pictures to add to their gang’s online journal. But as she worked through the lock screen, she felt someone watching her. Her heads turned sharply to look for the culprit but darkness was all that she could see. A chuckle escaped her mouth as she realised that she was acting like the damsels in distress in horror flicks.

Removing the beanie from her head she posed for a selfie hoping the flash would work in that much darkness and clicked a picture.  She clicked a few more of the wall hangings covered in cobwebs and dust, of the long circular staircase, three doors with jasmine carved into them.

She still had time to kill so she thought of climbing the stairs feeling braver with each passing second as nothing happened. As soon as she climbed the stairs her cell phone rang making her jump in shock.

“Nin, come out now. That’s enough.” Rachel said with a worried tone.

Nin was her nickname, short for Ninja as Rachel thought she was.

“I am fine Rach, just clicking some pics for the journal. This place is beautiful, little dirty but amazing and definitely not haunted.” She explained to her now concerned friend.

It was her who sent her in and now she was scared for her. This was Rachel, a caring friend.

“No please, enough now. Come out or I will not talk to you for week.” She threatened.

“Fine, fine, you know I can’t live without you.” Iorwen said feigning defeat.

She turned to leave disappointed that she couldn’t explore the whole place.

“Good bye so called haunted place.” She said waving a hand into nothingness.

Suddenly something fell on her feet and she leapt back her hand flying to her mouth stopping her from letting out a scream. Her heart was thudding painfully. She noticed a shining necklace and sighed in relief. Bending down she picked it up hesitantly. It was not dust covered like other things in this place, it had lustre of being brand new.

She hated jewellery but this piece was simply attractive, two inter-crossed platinum swords. She looked around as if she was stealing it. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she shouldn’t pick it up because such spiteful spirits were attached to such objects. But she was too practical and brave for all this crap. So she decided that this was her New Year gift and picked it up.

But this time her pace fastened as she left the palace clutching the locket tightly in her hand.

“Happy  New Year guys!” Lucas said as she came out and pulled her for a hug.

She grinned proudly on her dare completion.

“Damn girl you are stronger than half the boys at our school!” Oswald said giving her a high five.

“Let’s head back home; our parents must be worried sick.” Rachel said putting an arm around Iorwen.

“Well I am lucky that way; my aunt is half drunk by the time I will reach home.” Iorwen said.

This brought on the awkward silence since Iorwen was an orphan without any sibling. The only relative she had was her young careless aunt who was least bothered about her life. She considered friends as her family.

“Come on you know we are your family, how lucky could you get?” Lauren said hugging her tightly.

A smile spread on Iorwen’s face. Her family died when she was very young so she couldn’t even remember them. She had grown up with her aunt and her multiple boyfriends. Never once in her life she had been in a relationship, drunken hook ups maybe but never a relationship.

“I am the luckiest in this world.” She said feeling festive on New Year.

In group of five she was the loner, Lucas and Rachel was a couple and so was Oswald and Lauren. They began as friends but formed pairs much later.

She was beautiful, she knew it. She had wine red hair and jade green eyes, an appealing combination. Her oval shaped face with high cheek bones was adorned with big eyes and an arrogant smile. She was curvy with average height and whole lot of attitude.

No one asked her out or even flirted with her. It was like she was invisible to opposite s*x.