The Last Letter

2

Chapter II

I got up and went to see the state of the basement. As I opened the door, and went down the stairs, it was dark but I could see stacks of big boxes and papers all over the floor.

I opened the lights and they flicked on and off, like what happens in every horror movie just like "The Conjuring". The feeling inside the basement was eerie, but thankfully, my dogs were by the door, checking on how I was doing. It’s funny how I rely on dogs more than people.

As far as I remember, these boxes were stacked before whenever I went to get cleaning supplies. Some of them were torn open and I could see the dirty figurines and trophies inside. The papers were all over the floor and I think a few of them were chewed and torn apart by my dogs.

Fortunately, the figurines and trophies and what I think are the more important things were not damaged nor broken, but they are extremely dusty. I moved them one by one to the sides of the room since they are quite heavy.

There are also books inside the boxes that I remember were my dad’s. My mom put them here after dad passed away because little things remind her of my dad as she was so heartbroken back then. Most of them are books about architecture and I could also see some blueprints tucked inside those boxes.

There was dust flying everywhere, you could see them piling up on the corners of the room and all over the floor. It grossed the hell out of me.

This basement is pretty big, maybe as big as the master’s bedroom.

There were also book shelves filled with small boxes, probably my dad’s things, some old appliances, old dining wares, some broken chandeliers, a vintage mirror and vintage type of cabinet you can see in horror movies, chairs and so much more. It can be overwhelming to think that I need to clean those.

This is the first time I explore deeper in this part of the house. I remembered when I moved back again to this house, that time I was finally living alone, I would get spooked out by the tiniest sound this house makes. Since this house is almost 20 years old now and there are many wooden accents inside the house, it is inevitable that those make sounds at the slightest movement me and my dogs make.

This basement part of the house is what I avoid the most since most of the horror movies I watched have something going on in the basement. For the first 2 years, even though I lived here, I didn't have the courage to go or even think about the basement.

I only went there with my grandma all the time and she would just laugh at me when I got too scared.

As much as I don’t want to, I still decided to arrange a few things in this room to make it at least a little organized. I’m not a clean freaky kind of person but I’m also not the kind of person who can stand seeing boxes and dust everywhere.

Even though my grandma cleans most parts of the house that I don’t use, I always make sure that I clean and organize the rooms I frequently use myself.

I kept the basement door open so I could take some of the boxes outside. I took out my phone and played some loud and lively songs just to make the ambiance in the room less eerie.

My dogs left me in this room by myself and I am spooked to look at that vintage mirror because my brain is playing me dirty by thinking I see shadowy figures everywhere. I probably should stop watching too many horror movies by now. But I can’t help it, I even like horror and survival movies more than romantic ones.

For a while, I went to the garage to get the big boxes I saved up for this kind of situation. My mom sends me so much stuff from overseas that’s why I have so many big boxes. After that, I rushed back to the basement to finish what I started.

I begin to take out some of the things inside the dirty boxes like the trophies and figurines and place them on the floor. I got myself some wet towels and spray cleaners and gave those dusty things a decent wipe then placed them one by one inside the box I got earlier. I repeated that after finishing 3 huge boxes.

In one of the boxes, I saw multiple picture frames and photobooks. I took the biggest out to see that it was my mom and dad’s wedding picture. It was extremely vintage to the point that the background has some brown spots in them. These are precious things so I wonder why they are here.

My mom was smiling in the pictures but my dad puts on a poker face, much to what I remember his face looks like when he’s serious. I wiped it cleanly and took more wedding pictures and as expected, my dad is frowning and looks sleepy. I chuckled and smiled upon looking at those. But I was proud of myself for not tearing up when I looked at my dad's wedding picture. Maybe because he looks so funny.

The photobooks were filled with my pictures as well as my mom’s. There were also those embarrassing pictures of me that our parents normally take in order to show them to their future son in law. Not to brag, but I looked really cute as a child, all my relatives told me that. I have jet black, shoulder length hair, brown eyes, chubby and rosy cheeks, fair skin and long lashes.

Well, all children are cute right? But they said I am on the next level.

I decided to keep the photobooks and place them on my bookshelf in my room to give myself a good laugh whenever I feel like looking at those. Just to reminisce about the good old times.

I pulled out the small boxes on the wooden bookshelf and they were some of my dad's office supplies. There were also my baby clothes, toys, and feeding bottles I used as a child. On the upper left of the shelf, there is what I think is a blue box, a little bigger than the small boxes beside. I used the ladder to reach for it.

The box was closed and taped really well, as if it would be shipped to another country. I shook it and not much is going on inside but it was a little heavy. Maybe it’s paperworks of my dad or my mom when they were still working? Did I mention it, my mom was an accountant in her early days but she quitted working when he married my stepfather and became a full time mom to my stepsiblings.

I took that blue box by the basement door, placed it on the floor to rummage on it later. Maybe I’ll find something valuable to my mom or dad since it was packaged very nicely.

I finished all the boxes on the shelf and arranged the bigger boxes again, swept and mopped the floor a couple of times. When I was satisfied with how the basement looks, I checked the time and it was past lunch time. I did remember being hungry earlier but I was too focused on cleaning the basement that I didn’t mind my rumbling stomach.

I locked the basement to make sure my dogs won’t go here again to make a mess. I brought the blue box on my way to the living room where I placed it on the center table. I got my dogs their meal and also prepared for my own meal. I cooked some corn beef with potatoes and stuff myself. Now that I’m about to eat, my stomach keeps on rumbling.

I was not yet finished cleaning and I don't want to do things halfway so after I rested after finishing my meal, I cleaned the other parts of the house like the kitchen, dining and living rooms decently. Not that it was shining and squeaky clean, but at least no dust on the countertops and tables and the floors doesn’t have that gritty texture.

I took a long and cold shower and I feel so wobbly. Due to exhaustion, my body feels heavy. I looked at the clock and it was just 2:30 pm. But I started cleaning about 10 am so I felt proud that I’ve become productive today.

I went up to my room and I felt relief as my back touched the soft mattress. In just a matter of seconds, I think I fell asleep. I didn't even mind if I locked the doors. If I ever die today, at least I got the chance to clean my father's house.