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Rising from the bed, I wrapped it around myself and padded toward the door. I needed clothes, and I wasn’t putting on those old, tattered rags again, but whoever had given me this blanket surely had to have clothes here too. Then, once I was dressed, I was going to find them. They had to be here. I’d sensed them all last night, and I couldn’t be crazy, especially now that they’d revealed their presence with this blanket.
I shuffled forward, crossing the room, and kicked something that rustled. My eyes jumped to the ground as I spotted the grocery bag at my feet. This was different from the one I’d been carrying for two days.
“What the hell?”
I opened it to find new clothes—a mini dress, a bra, underwear, socks, and a pair of shoes. I looked around once more, even though I was still alone, searching for a camera. Someone had been watching me close enough to get clothing sizes close to my own, but there was nothing.
With a frown, I returned to the bed and removed the quilt before dumping the bag and carefully pulling on the clothes. Everything was a bit loose but more or less fit, which only made me more nervous.
I ran my hands down the sides of the dress. It was late autumn, so a mini-dress seemed inappropriate. Whoever had gotten this had done it deliberately to see me in it. I sat on the bed, grabbed the knee-high socks, and rolled them up my legs as high as possible for warmth before jamming on the shoes. They were a bit snug, but they would do until I got to town to buy my own.
Still unsettled, I left the bedroom and walked down the hall, pausing in front of Jakari’s portrait. “You’d have to be in your sixties by now. A sixty-year-old man does not move stealthily enough to evade me for this long. So, who else is in your home? Help me find them, please.”
I touched my fingers to his hand, feeling a strange connection to this man staring down at me.The burning need to know why his home was abandoned still consumed me. When he’d assumedly left, he’d taken nothing with him but had undone the beds in the bedroom and emptied the cupboards in the kitchen. It’s a strange thing to do if you were abandoning the place. Instead, you would leave. You wouldn’t worry about food rotting in the cupboards or bedsheets getting dusty …
Speaking of food, my stomach growled. I grabbed money to buy something to eat. As I opened my gray plastic bag, I let out a sharp squeak and jumped back from the contents like they would bite me.
Pressing a hand to my chest, I tried to still my heart as I stepped forward again and peered at the bag. This was way more money than had been in there last night. I picked up the wad of bills and flipped through it. Hundreds, no thousands, of dollars in cash were sitting here.
“What the fuck?” I muttered, glancing around again. “Who are you? Where are you? Show yourself!” I was met with silence once more as I shook my head in disbelief. “Thanks for the cash …” I bit my lip before peeling away a few bills and sticking them into my socks.
I’d have to get a purse while I was out too. I couldn’t carry around a grocery bag full of money. Gnawing on my lip, I rolled over the options of what was happening as I made my way to the main floor.
My stomach rolled again, making me feel sick. It’d been a long time since I’d eaten, and while I checked earlier to make sure there was no food, at the very least, I could have a glass of water to settle myself for now.
I pulled back in surprise as I opened a cupboard in the kitchen. It was laden with food—not just dusty, forgotten-about canned things. This was fresh stuff. The saturation of the brightly colored boxes and labels was stark compared to the gloomy atmosphere. Someone had put these here—and recently.
I pushed onto my toes, staring at the dust marks in the cupboard. It was freshly scuffed as thick layers of dust were pushed back behind the objects. I grabbed a can of soup, figuring this would be the easiest and fastest thing I could make. I turned and was jolted with another shock of surprise.
“You weren’t there yesterday,” I said with full confidence, pointing at the fridge with accusation. Yesterday, there was an old icebox-type fridge like you’d expect in the fifties. This was a French door, cooling drawer, bottom freezer with a smart screen on the front with the plastic still peeled over it type of fridge.
I knew how these things worked, so I stepped forward and tapped the screen. It changed, lighting the fridge's interior to reveal the contents—eggs, juice, fruit, vegetables, bread—it was all in there. I pulled the door open and stared at the food in amazement.
I should’ve been afraid somebody was here, living with me, but I found my eyes welling with tears as I stared at the contents. Whoever was here could’ve hurt me last night while I was sound asleep, but instead, they’d gone out and bought a new fridge, installed it, and filled it with food. They’d bought me clothing, and then, on top of everything else, they’d given me thousands of dollars.
Not that I needed it now.
I swallowed hard, blinking away the tears until they ran down my cheeks. Setting the soup can down, I reached inside and greedily grabbed eggs, bacon, bread, jam, and the quart of milk. I filled my arms with everything I wanted to eat and then set it on the counters, which were notably clean now, before opening another cupboard to find brand new pots and pans.
I marveled and shook my head as I pulled out what I needed and started cooking. Within a half hour, I had a feast for a queen laid out on the dining room table, where a bouquet of a dozen red roses sat waiting for me.
To Irina,
All my love
XX
I held the card tightly and said, “Thank you so much. I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude.”
I placed the card back into the holder and then sat, devouring my meal.
Maybe it was Jakari looking over me. Monsters and demons were real, after all. Why couldn’t ghosts be as well? And I liked the idea that he approved of my stay. This all felt like his way of saying I was welcome and could stay as long as I wanted.
And as long as he didn’t mind, I would.
Jakari
I followed her into town,keeping my distance and sticking to the shadows where possible. To my surprise and delight, she barely blinked at the sight of the other monsters in town.
