The Ghostly Emporium
Prologue
There are many places that people dream of going. The Ghostly Emporium is not one of them.
Despite the smell of freshly made bread coming out of it. Despite the colourful chocolate eggs in the window at Easter time. Despite the sound of melodic bells coming from it during the year. Despite the breath of fresh air you get when you walk in front of it.
Yet no one ever went in. They were too frightened because the door looked like it would suck you into darkness. No one had dared to enter… until Natasha came along.
Chapter 1
Natasha’s friends had always told her she was too daring- Natasha agreed, but she liked that about herself. One rainy day, Natasha was so bored that she had the urge to do something dangerous. Beyond daring. She grabbed her yellow coat and a hair pin and set off into town. After 10 minutes, she arrived. The Ghostly Emporium. A heavy lock hung from the door. Natasha swiftly inserted her hair pin into it and picked the lock. Slowly, the door creaked open. Hesitating a little, Natasha stepped into the dark hallway. WHOOSH.A row of candles lit up in an instant. THUD. The heavy, wooden door shut behind her. She didn’t care. Something met her eyes along the hallway which she found much more interesting. A bookshelf filled with rotting books, cobwebs covering them like a blanket. Natasha moved forward and looked to her left. A skeleton hanging from a string. She looked to her right. A doll, with piercing eyes.
“I see you have found my house little girl,” growled a voice.
Chapter 2
Natasha immediately turned her head round. She saw a middle-aged man standing before her, staring into her eyes.
“My name is Emmanuel Silvers, I own this Emporium,” he explained in a low voice. ”Feel free to look around if you wish, it isn’t that bad after this part- it is just here to scare the faint of hearted…apparently you are not one of them,”
“But-“ said Natasha, but by the time she had said that, the mysterious man had vanished in an instant.
Feeling confused, Natasha went further down the hallway and came to a stop at a cabinet with only 1 object on. A glasses case, old and worn. She gingerly picked it up and opened it. What she saw made her gasp with surprise. Beautiful golden sunglasses. Natasha instantly tried to picture herself in them, as a 13 year old girl does. She quickly put them on. All of a sudden, she felt her world spinning until her vision had faded into darkness.
When she opened her eyes, a perfect, tranquil beach stood before her. She looked around. No one to be seen. Natasha walked towards the clear, blue water. The warm ocean covered her ankles and Natasha felt enlightened.
Chapter 3
Feeling like she was in heaven, Natasha turned around to face the sand and a quaint little beach-house caught her attention. Because it looked so gorgeous, she decided to have a closer look.
Approaching the light blue house, she noticed that the front door was ajar, almost inviting her in. As she entered the kitchen she saw: the sight of fresh scones on a pink tablecloth; matching mint coloured cupboards; and ivy growing up the walls of the cottage-like place. Natasha’s favourite food were homemade scones, so she simply had to try one. The flavour was immaculate. The texture was crumbly and light.
“How could this day get any better?” exclaimed Natasha.
“I don’t know little girl…” bellowed a voice. She froze. Slowly turning her head around, a hooded creature with red eyes that stared into her soul met her eyes. Natasha darted out of the open door, and back down onto the beach to where she had first arrived, frantically looking for those sunglasses. Yet they were no where to be found.
“COME HERE LITTLE GIRL,” yelled a voice from behind.
Chapter 4
Blocking out the rough voice, Natasha was still desperately searching for the glasses, when, all of a sudden, she spotted them. In a deep pool of water that had formed in the sand, clear as glass. Natasha glanced over her shoulder; the beast was getting closer by the second.
Taking a deep breath, she jumped in. It was unexpectedly warm, not freezing cold like she suspected. At least she had attended swimming lessons for the last 10 years. Breathing in another deep breath, Natasha dived down. Further. Further. Further. She could not afford to go back up to the surface. She was nearly there. Natasha desperately needed to breathe, but she was too close to give up the ghost. Finally, she reached the sandy bottom. Natasha immediately started fumbling for the sunglasses and then quickly put them on.
In a blink of an eye, Natasha had returned to the creepy corridor laying on the floor, gasping for air. Incredibly, her clothes and hair were completely dry! What on earth had just happened to her?
Natasha did not want to stay any longer, nor see Emmanuel Silvers again, so she tiptoed back down towards the entrance, trying to be unnoticeable.
“I see you have returned little one… did you find what you were looking for?” questioned Emmanuel. Natasha shook her head.
“Well there is always another day to find what you seek… yes. Well it must be time for you to head out now… Natasha,”he said, holding the heavy door open
“Hang on I didn’t tell you my na-“. But before she could finish, she had already been hurried out of the door with it being closed behind her.
Still having many more questions to ask the man, Natasha turned back around, but what she saw flabbergasted her. The building had completely vanished with no trace of even existing. As she walked home, her mind was still racing with questions and wonder. Little did she know that a crow was following her home. Watching. Waiting. Observing. It had all of the time in the world…
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