The wooden floorboards groaned in agony with each laboured step he took, the rough soles of his brown snakeskin boots scraped against the unvarnished planks, kicking up clouds of dust like fingernails against dry skin. He turned into the room at the end of the hall. The blinds on the two windows were drawn, red and rectangular in the light, dark and shapeless in this domestic eclipse. He felt around for the light switch, running his fingers over the wall which was strewn with nicks and bumps, but to no avail, the darkness eliminated his sight and misguided his touch. Beads of sweat dripped down his rosy cheeks and his voice cracked as he called out, ‘Taiwo! James! Can you guys stop this and come out? I know you’re in this house!’. His shouts bounced around the house, off the walls, against the beat-up floors, and even up the stairs, but they all came back to him as ghostly echoes, his own voice showering him in fear. He leaned against the wall and attempted to slowly make his way out of the room into the equally dark corridor, at least from there he would have a clear escape route, he could make a dash for the front door.
He was a few steps away from the safety of the corridor when he heard a rustle that froze him in place. He thought back to his primary school days, Mrs Oba had told him that when he was scared all he needed to do was take five deep breaths to suck in the courage hanging in the air. He inhaled deeply through his nose but as he was about to exhale he heard another rustle and choked on his breath. He recomposed himself as best as he could and tried again. One…two…three…four…five. He remained frozen to the spot, there were no traces of courage lingering in the air of this house. He heard another rustle, then a sudden whisper that made the hair on the back of his neck jump whilst he remained still. ‘Please, whoever is there, come out. I’m begging you.’ he pleaded, the whispering stopped and the room went silent once again. Tears began to well up in his eyes, mingling with his sweat and engaging in a salty dance of despair as they trickled down his face. His heart was beating furiously, his throat dry, his clothes drenched. All he needed were a few more steps but his body refused to respond. He closed his eyes and wished for whatever, or whoever was creeping in the darkness to hurry up and end his misery.
At the back of the room, he heard a flick and bright yellow light abruptly filled the room, turning his closed eyelids into red blinds. He quickly opened his eyes and was met with a sea of smiles, their mouths opened in unison and he heard them drawl the word ‘surprise!’ as he clutched his left arm and faded back into the darkness.
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