Holiday work

Paula and I were supposed to find some summer work. We searched every possible job posting in the newspapers, but when we did find something interesting, the ad was either outdated or the phone number was wrong. Finally, I found something perfect for us: a position as caretaker of the winter residence of a very wealthy lady. Luckily, the property was only a few dozen kilometers from Wrocław, so we were able to accept it. Paula called: "

Good morning. May I meet Mrs. Louisa Karone?"

"Good morning. Yes, it's me. What's the matter?"

"My name is Paulina Lauer. I'm calling about the job posting for the residence guard." "Oh yes. Please report to the Municipal Office of Public Information tomorrow at 11 a.m. My representative will be waiting for you there. Goodbye. " "Goodbye." So the next day at 10:30 a.m. we set off

for the Municipal Office of Public Information. From the reception desk, we were directed to room 215, where a small man in his forties was waiting for us. He sat behind a black table, glancing from me to Paula. "Hello. I'm Klaus Pedro. I represent Mrs. Louisa Karone," he said, standing up and shaking our hands. " It's a pleasure to meet you both," I said, smiling politely at Klaus. " Ms. Louisa asked me to check your qualifications. So what are you currently doing?" "We're both second-year students at the University of Wrocław, Faculty of Law. " "Good... Do you have any addictions? Cigarettes, drinking...?" "No." " Excellent. And what about allergies? The manor is very old, and time has taken its toll on various fungi in several places. " "As a child, I was slightly allergic to fur, but not anymore. Other than that, nothing," I interjected, and Paula shook her head. " Do you believe in ghosts?" another question. I was very surprised. "You're joking, right? Ghosts don't exist," Paula laughed. "I believe them," I said quietly. "Okay. You have the job," Klaus said quickly. He looked flustered. "Mrs. Louisa will be expecting you at the manor in three days' morning. You'll get there in a car." He pulled a piece of paper with a phone number out of his pocket, then stood up, handed it to Paula, and left at a brisk pace. I ran after him. "Mr. Pedro! Please wait a moment!" I called, and a second later caught up with him. "Why did you ask about ghosts?" I asked. "Because... Uh... The manor is haunted. A ghost. A real one," he replied quickly, and practically ran away. I stood there for another five minutes before returning to the room where I'd left Paula and we left the building.

The next two days were a whirlwind of packing, getting ready, and cleaning. We didn't know what we'd have at our disposal at the residence, so we had to have everything. Saturday was our departure day. On Friday afternoon, we called the number provided. The caller was clearly expecting a call. "

Good morning. I'm calling about..." Paula said, but a male voice quickly interrupted her. "

Yes, I know. Mr. Klaus Pedro already called me. Please give me the address."

"Ulica Zabawna 14/23."

"Okay. The car will be here tomorrow at exactly 8:30 a.m. Goodbye."

"Goodbye .

" So the next day we woke up at 7:00 a.m. and began final preparations. As agreed, the intercom rang at 8:30 sharp. I went to answer it.

"Excuse me?"

"Good morning. The car is waiting.

" "Okay, we'll be there in a moment." And I hung up. "

Paula, come on.

" "I know, I know. I'm coming."

When we went downstairs, a real limousine was waiting for us. It was black and had three doors. Inside, the seats were upholstered in white velvet. A tinted window separated the passenger area from the driver's. As soon as our luggage was in the spacious trunk and the driver closed the door, music started playing and the limousine pulled away. The journey seemed a bit long, but only for about an hour. After that, time flew by. We arrived shortly after 11 a.m. and immediately set off for a stroll through Madame Louisa's vast estate. The only word that could describe it was "wonderful." Next to the residence was a large orchard, followed by a pond, a coniferous forest, and an orangery. The palace itself, if you could even call the house we were staying in that, was so vast that I wondered if I'd ever be able to count all the rooms.

After exploring the gardens, we went to meet Madame Louisa. She turned out to be about the same age as Mr. Klaus. She was tall and slender, but her face didn't match the rest of her. It expressed immense suffering and sadness. However, she greeted us with a smile that must have cost her dearly.

"Hello, my dears," she said. "

Good morning, Mrs. Karone," we said in unison, along with Paula. "

Oh, what a lady. Just call me Louisa. Now, follow me. I'll show you your rooms," she replied, and then she set off toward the house, with us following.

"I don't want you to get lost, so I've assigned you apartments at the very bottom," I sighed. "I doubt I could manage climbing up to the third floor several times a day and searching for the right door."

"Angela, this will be your room," she said, handing me the key to the door on the left side of the hall, to the right of the stairs leading up. "And this is Paula's room." She pointed to the door opposite mine. "I'll leave you now. Make yourselves comfortable."

My room, or rather, an apartment, was larger than our apartment in Wrocław. It was a good 70 square meters. The floor was covered with wooden planks, and the walls were painted with trees, shrubs, and other plants, giving me the impression of a garden. In the center of the room stood a blue velvet sofa set, a large bed straight out of a fairytale against one wall, furniture against the other, and the entire third wall was taken up by a huge window overlooking the property. Next to the bed was the door to the bathroom, which was tiled in blue. In the center of the bathroom was a huge bathtub built into the floor, and a large mirror covered all the walls. I was amazed. It was scary to think about the comforts of the rooms upstairs.

A moment later, I heard a knock on the door. I ran to answer it. It was Paula.

"I have a wonderful room. Come see!" she practically exclaimed, grabbing my hand.

Amazingly, her room was an exact mirror image of mine. This surprised me immensely, but after a few seconds I concluded that this was done so that neither of us would think the other was more comfortable. A moment later, a servant arrived, judging by his attire, carrying our luggage on a trolley, the kind used at airports or in fancy hotels. He too had a piercing sadness etched on his face.

After unpacking and placing the clothes on the shelves, I heard the bell ring. I went out into the corridor and saw Paula doing exactly the same.

"Is this dinner?" she asked.

"Oh, come on. It's still early," I replied. At that same moment, somewhere deep in the palace, a clock chimed precisely fifteen times.

"I guess it's a bit later than I thought..." I said.

"So? Shall we go find the dining room?"

After ten minutes of searching, Paula remarked,

"Is it just me, or do those doors keep moving?" And indeed, we finally arrived. Louisa was already waiting for us.

"I see you've gotten lost after all," she laughed in greeting. It wasn't a genuine laugh, though. It was more like a sob. "Sit down, sit down. Dinner will be served soon. "

After the delicious meal, I realized I was sleepy. Paula was also evident, for she looked at me questioningly, then stood up and approached me, waiting for me to get up as well. As we were leaving, Louisa said,

"Don't be afraid if you don't see me tomorrow. I'm leaving tonight. And if something keeps you awake at night, say three times: 'Die, perish, you evil force.' It should stop." I looked at her with fear. "

And what's supposed to scare us?

" "My daughter.

" "Do you have a daughter?" Paula asked with enthusiasm. "

I had..." Tears began to flow. "Well, go, girls. Goodbye."

I slept for two hours and decided I'd go outside for some fresh air. It was summer, so I didn't need to dress much. I knocked on Paula's door, but she was clearly asleep, as she didn't answer.

I walked through the garden. It looked beautiful in the setting sun. Returning to the palace, I thought about life here. Its pros and cons. Suddenly, something flashed between the trees. I was startled. A moment later, it flashed again. I started running. It was chasing me. The flashing light was getting closer. I stopped and looked around frantically. A shiver ran through me. I felt it was behind me. It grabbed me by the neck with cold hands. I closed my eyes and turned slowly.

"Boo," I opened my eyes. What I saw, or rather, what I didn't see, was a pearly glow, hovering about half a meter above the ground. I screamed. The ghost released me and, with a ghastly laugh, soared upward. I fainted.

When I woke up, I was lying in my apartment. Paula was sitting next to me.

"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know. Something strange..."

"What happened?" I told her everything in detail.

"...and now I'm awake." Paula sat speechless, staring at a point behind me.

"But... But..." she trailed off. "I don't believe you. It's impossible. Probably a trick of the lights or something. Ghosts don't exist," she added, doubt in her voice. "

Prove to you that they exist?"

"No... Yes... I don't know! And I don't want to know... It's enough that you saw it. I don't need to."

"No, no."

We talked for a long time about the palace, the estate, and all that nonsense. Finally, I felt terribly sleepy. I went to wash up, and when I returned, Paula was already asleep in my bed.

"It'll be more fun with two of us..." I whispered and lay down next to her. A clock in the distance struck midnight.

Paula's scream roused me from my peaceful sleep.

"There's something here. I can feel it!" she screamed.

"But what? Paula, what happened?

" "This," she said, and with a trembling hand, she pointed to a painting hanging next to the furniture. That evening, I examined it quite closely. Back then, it had depicted a dignified lady sitting in an expensive armchair. But now the woman wasn't sitting, but hanging, suspended from a tree branch, and real blood was streaming down the wall. I was terrified beyond words. I summoned my courage and shouted the formula Louisa had given us three times.

At that very moment, the painting stopped bleeding and depicted a sitting woman again. Suddenly, the room became completely cold. And yet, I hadn't opened the window. I got up to check it, but Paula stopped me.

"Don't go anywhere... I'm begging you," she whispered frantically. I obeyed. I had no desire to go to that damned window at all. As soon as I sat down again, a terrifying giggle rang out. A childish giggle. The apparition decided not to let go. Paula clung to me, shaking. "I'm

begging you... Go away, apparition... Leave us alone..." she whispered without a moment's pause. And then I felt the same cold I'd felt outside. Something grabbed me from behind by the neck. Judging by Paula's scream, it grabbed her too.

"DIE, DIE, YOU UNCLEAN APPARENT!!!" I screamed as loudly as I could. The apparition relented.

But only for a moment. A few seconds later, a stain appeared on the floor. Red. A stain of blood, growing with every breath.

"Come here and show yourself!" I called. In response to my call, a pearly figure began to emerge from the blood. I heard a soft slap against the pillow. I turned around. Paula had fainted. Now I was alone with the ghost. It floated lightly toward me. It was a child, maybe ten years old. A girl. She had delicately wavy hair and her mother's beauty.

"I won't hurt you. Don't be afraid," she said softly. "You can trust me." "What was I supposed to do? I threw myself at the ghost's mercy." "You're afraid, aren't you?"

"Yes," I whispered. "

You don't have to. I just wanted to play... I don't have any friends," she said, sobbing. "

You're Louisa's daughter, aren't you?" I asked

. "Yes. She did this to me.

" "What? Did she hurt you?

" "No... Yes... In a way. She kept me here and won't let me go to paradise.

" "What?" "

She didn't bury me. She locked my dead body in one of the rooms and won't let me go."

"And that's why you're scaring me?

" "Yes. I hope she'll bury me someday." Then I can leave here. And for now, I'll tell you one thing. You don't have to be afraid of me. You or your friend. I won't hurt you," she said, and vanished into thin air.

After a moment, Paula woke up.

"And yet it was true..."