• When Emma got home, she put her bag away and walked to lock the door. Her cat, Cleo, looked at her like she knew something, and Emma said; “What is it, Cleo?” But all Cleo could do was meow. But she knew. Boy, she knew. Emma let Cleo outside, and locked the door. On her way upstairs to surrender to the television, she saw her other cat, Garth, slowly slinking down the steps, looking as if he was haunted by a knowledge to big for his mind to contain. He stared at Emma as if to say; “Of to take my nappy. If only you knew how it felt to be old and lazy.” Emma giggled and continued up the stairs to see the newest episode of American Idol. Little did she know that both of those cats, Cleo and Garth, knew something to big for even her own mind to contain. For instance, if she learned the fact right then, right there, at that very moment, she would scream with terror, hyperventilate, and faint. This just proves how stupid humans are……….
    Only cats have the real smarts, such as telling if a house is haunted… which, in this situation is the case.

    The next day, while Emma was on her way home, she spotted a picture of a family on the ground. She picked it up, and saw that it was of a father, mother, and a little boy. She examined it for a couple of seconds before dropping it and continuing on her way. She shouldn’t have done that….

    When she got home, she found that her parents weren’t home, as usual. She locked the door, and started to walk up the stairs when she heard a distant and low humming sound, the tune of a lullaby her mother used to sing to her. It started to get louder, and louder. Then, all at once, right before her very eyes, a fire was lit in the living room. And this was a big, serious fire, not at all like one on a candle, stove, or even a fireplace. Her eyes widened. She raced to unlock the door, and Cleo and Jack, who were standing right next to her, chased her out before she could even think about going back in to get her radio, iPod, or any of her other prized possessions. She did happen to have her cell phone in her hand, for when the fire started, she was just about to call her Dad to tell him that she had arrived safely. Just then, she typed in the number her parents and teachers had repeated since day 1: wahmbulance 911. “Hello, Umm.. My house is burning down.” She said to the woman that picked up. “OK, honey. Now tell me your age, address, and Full name.” She replied sweetly but hurriedly. “ Um… My name is Emma Ann Belvale. My house is called Belvale Place, on Westward Road. I am 9 years old.” She started to scratch her face nervously. “OK. Are you alone?” “Yes.” She said nervously, now scratching an itch behind her left ear. “Okay, Honey. We’ll be there in a minute. Don’t you worry. Just promise you won’t go inside your house, Ok? And call your parents, and tell them to come as soon as possible.” “OK.” Emma hung up, and dialed her Dad’s number. “Hey, Hon’! How ya doin’?” Her Dad’s calm voice calmed her. “Not real good. I need you here as soon as possible. Uh….. Our house is burning down. I’m telling the truth.” “REALLY? Man, darlin’! Did you call 911 yet?” “Yep. They told me to call you. They’re on their way here.” “OK. Don’t panic, dear. I’ll be there soon. And I want you to know that I’m not mad you.” “OK, Dad.” She said, but he had already hung up. She then closed her phone, and fell to the ground, crying. Garth and Cleo had been watching her the whole time. Just then, the ambulance arrived, and firemen raced toward the house.


    1 hour later, when all of the firemen were gone, and her parents were off talking about financial problems, Emma stared at her poor, burnt house. They couldn’t live there anymore, to state the obvious. All of the flames were gone, and it was only burnt wood. They had all gone back in to look for anything that had not been burnt. Most of Ella’s possessions, were burnt, so in her hands she held a very small amount of objects: A slightly burnt Teddy Bear, (It was her favorite, and she some how convinced her parents to let her keep it) A couple of singed blankets, her old writing journal, and her slightly hollow iPod, which now only hummed a ghostly tune. And then, right then, right there, she heard the low hum of the lullaby. She looked up with a start, but saw nothing. Then, she took one step closer, and saw a mother, father, and a little boy. They looked very farmiliar to Emma, but she couldn't quite remember when she had seen them. question The little boy was holding the fathers hand. “Daddy! Daddy!” He tugged on his father’s sleeve. “When will we get the house back?” His mother looked down at him. “Soon, Victor. Very, very soon.” eek