Late Night Light Trick

There is nothing better than a hot shower before climbing into a comfy bed after a long day partying, I think to myself as I braid my hair after drying it. I never would have thought mom and dad's anniversary party would be such a crazy party, but it certainly was.

It was a costume party like it is every year because they got married on Halloween. This year was different though. Since it was their 25th anniversary, my siblings decided to make it a haunted maze leading to the party.

While this was a great idea, they didn't think it all the way through. I can't even begin to count the number of people I had to help get out of the maze. They decided that was my job since I couldn't get to town early enough to help set everything up.

That meant I was tired before the dance party even began, and of course, my mom had me dance with every single guy left in town.

Now that I can finally stretch out in bed and relax, I am going to enjoy sleeping in tomorrow. I don't have to leave first thing, so I am going to leave after having lunch with my parents.

I take one final look around the beautiful room I am staying in before stretching out on the big bed. For you see, I am staying in this adorable bed and breakfast. Someone bought an old Victorian mansion that was falling apart and turned into a bed and breakfast.

I'm very glad they did too. As a kid, I passed this place every day on the way to and from school, and I always loved how it looked even with it needing work. When mom told me what they were doing to it, I just had to book my room here.

They only had one room left, and I remember the manager trying to convince me to find a room somewhere else. I thought it was so odd, especially since she wouldn't tell me why. All she said was the room wasn't finished, but it sure looks finished to me.

I rolled over and lay there looking out the window at the starry night sky. Just as I am starting to doze off, I bolt wide awake after seeing a sudden flash of green against the window. I quickly look around to see what might have caused it, but I cannot see anything. I even get up to check outside, but there is no one out and about at this time of night.

I must be more tired than I thought and am seeing things, I think to myself as I check the time on my phone. I see that it is midnight, so I set my phone back down and lay back down. This time, I am facing away from the window and manage to doze off pretty quick.

The next morning I find myself shaking my head at how foolish I was being last night over seeing something that didn't happen. I make sure to pack up everything I brought with me before heading down for breakfast.

I just sat down with a plate of food from the buffet when the manager starts making her rounds seeing how everyone is doing. She gets to me last, so I offer her the extra chair at my table.

"Did you sleep alright last night?" she asks after sitting down.

"Yeah. I was pretty tired when I got back, and that bed is nice and comfortable," I say, smiling at her. I thought about telling her about what happened but wasn't sure.

"That is good. I thought I had heard you up and moving at one point, so I was worried," she says, which makes my eyes widen. "Your room is above the office, and I had some paperwork I was finishing late."

"Oh, I had thought I saw something as I was settling down for the night. I just got up to check and make sure everything was ok."

"You saw something?" I can't help but feel worried when I see the worry in her eyes.

"Is there something you didn't tell me about the room?" I push away my plate that is just about empty as I lock eyes with her. She holds my eyes for a moment before looking down at her hands.

"When I bought this place, I was told to never let anyone stay in that room."

"Why?"

"Supposedly the woman who lived in this house passed away in that room."

"I have a feeling there is more to that story than what you are telling me."

"She was killed by a sister of hers. Her sister was a greedy woman and was mad that their grandma didn't leave her anything."

"I'm guessing this place was a gift from their grandma?"

"Yes, it was. I honestly don't believe in ghost stories, but the person I bought this place from swore it was haunted."

"I don't believe in ghost stories either. The green flash was most likely just my tired eyes playing tricks on me."

"Green flash?"

"As I said, it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. There is no other explanation for it. Now, if you will excuse me, I promised my parents I would see them before I head back home."

I quickly excuse myself from this weird conversation and head up to the room to get my bags. The manager still seems on edge when I check out, but I just shrug it off. At the end of the day, all I know for sure is that I will not be letting some silly ghost story affect where I stay the next time I visit.