A short(ish), spooky story written by me below! Enjoy! (btw, Dunkel is their last name) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ There were two children who lived up the street in the "Forbidden House." The whole town said that it's the house that everyone should avoid. The two kids didn't know why everyone warned people to not go to their home or visit their family bookstore. The children never actually cared for this when they were younger. Once the Dunkel children grew up, they cared a lot more for the reasons the Dunkels shouldn't be trusted. On one cold, rainy Saturday afternoon, the youngest Dunkel child, Iris, said, "Let's go to the family book store! Mother always forbids us, but I don't think it'll be too bad." Rain tapped her chin and said, "Alright, we mustn't get into too much trouble, though." Rain looked around for an umbrella in their dingy, old cottage. She went upstairs to their attic to find an umbrella. The old attic was caked with spider webs, insects, and dust. Rain was also pretty sure that there had been some family of rodents living up there, but she had no way of confirming it. She searched for a while but eventually gave up. She came downstairs to where Iris was sitting on the worn-out, purple sofa. "Found nothing," said Rain as she looked down at her dirty, black shoes. Iris got up and tried to dust off all the dust that got stuck onto her dull, green dress. "Let's just go," Iris said after attacking the dust on her dress with her hands. Rain and Iris walked out the door and down the cobblestone pathway. "Do you think Mother will find us? She's always very strict about the bookstore," asked Iris. "Probably," replied Rain truthfully. They passed the pathway then started walking up the street. "Mother and father live a sad life. They work at a restaurant that no one goes to anymore, their main business is just no more, and everyone in town calls tells everyone to avoid mother and father and their bookstore," Rain said. Iris slowly nodded then said, "Do you know what the bookstore is called, Rain?' "Yes, it's called the 'Dunkel Books'" replied Rain. "Wonderful!" said Iris cheerfully. Iris started skipping down the street. "We have to walk a bit farther," said Rain. After a while, the two Dunkel children arrived at their parent's old bookstore. "We're here!" said Iris cheerfully. The two girls raced into the old bookstore. The walls of the bookstore were pealing in every direction. The shelves were thickly covered in dust and spider webs. The desk in the corner was broken. The desk was hollow, and a small rodent family lived inside of it. The whole store smelled like rotting cottage cheese. "This is nasty!" said Iris as she gagged. Rain nodded in agreement. They walked around in the mostly empty bookstore. There were shelves everywhere, but none of the shelves had any books in them. Instead, the bookshelves were covered in layers of dust and sorrow. Iris raced around the bookstore and searched for at least one book. "There's nothing here, Rain! Is this some kind of dusty joke the town is playing? If it is, the whole town surely is rotten!" said Iris nervously. "I'm certain that this isn't a joke," mumbled Rain. Iris kept on searching for one book. Just one. It didn't have to interest her, for all she wanted was one single book. "I just want one book! Is that too much to ask?" said Iris with a frustrated tone. Rain shook her head. After a long time of searching, Iris found a book. "A book! Yes, finally! I've been searching for you for ages!" said Iris cheerfully. Rain stood next to her with a smile. Iris ripped the book out of the shelf. As she did, she slowly turned into black ink. Her whole body melted into the ink. Rain yelled, "Iris! What's happening to you?" Iris became a puddle of ink on the ground. The book opened in the air. The ink puddle on the ground flew into the sky and smacked into the pages in the book. "Iris!" yelled Rain with tears in her eyes. A thin mist covered the book as it fell to the ground. Rain fell to her knees and picked up the book. She flipped through the pages, and she only found the story of her sister. "Her, her story is in, in th-this book now," Rain stuttered. "The book tur-turned her l-life in-into a-a story." Rain started crying. Her tears fell on the pages, but her tears didn't mess up the ink. Rain wiped some of her tears away and picked up the book. She got up and ran to her home as quickly as possible. "Mother!" shouted Rain as she got into the cottage. Rain raced to the living room to see her mother stroking their cat on the sofa. "Yes, dear?" replied Rain's mother. "Iris!" cried Rain. Rain's Mother stopped petting the cat and turned to face Rain. "What about her?" (continued in next slide)
"She got turned into this book!" cried Rain as she held up the book so her mother could see. A crooked smile grew on Rain's mother's face. "Ah, you visited the old family bookshop. I see," replied her mother slyly. "How can you be so calm?" shouted Rain. Her mother scooped up the cat in her arms and walked toward Rain. "Let me explain what happened, Rain. I always warned you about the bookstore. I also warned your sister. You didn't listen. Did you? Now, the reason your sister turned into ink then into a book is because these books aren't your average books. They trap people's souls in them. We were so rich because everyone would visit our bookstore. We lied and told the naive people of this town that these books were early releases. Several hundred believed us. We would give them the book. They would touch it. Their soul would be trapped in here forever. We sold these books to the ones who wish for a passed away family member to come back. Wealthy men and women purchased these books and gave them to the dead, and the passed away folks would come back to life but with a completely different personality. They would have the personality of the person who touched this book. We would sell these things for $100,000 each. Unfortunately, the people of this town figured it all out. Such a shame. Our reputation was ruined. We could not get anyone else's soul in a book. Until now," explained Rain's mother. Rain screeched, "Are you really going to sell your daughter's soul? Are you insane?" Rain's mother gave Rain a sly smile. She kneeled down and placed the cat on the ground. Rain's mother pointed at the only surviving Dunkel child, and then she pointed at the stairs. Rain nodded and went up the stairs. Her mother followed. "Let's go in the attic, dear," said Rain's mother suspiciously. Rain slowly nodded. Once they got to the attic, Rain's mother said, "You know my secret. I cannot let you tell anyone." She grabbed a book from inside the cloak she was wearing. Rain's mother pushed the book into Rain's face. Just like her sister, Rain melted and turned into a blob of black ink on the ground. The book raised in the sky and opened. The remains of Rain flew into the sky and hit the book. The book fell and a thin mist covered it-just like how her sister's had. Rain's Mother smiled, "Foolish children." The End.
