IV
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The first few days went by with no incident and Ema was so excited that she didn’t even notice some strange things that happened. First, it was the white rose that appeared on the floor at her bedroom door. At the time, Ema asked Daniel it he had left it there. He had been gathering roses in the garden, but he asseverated he had not taken them upstairs.
«I put them all in the living room, in the vase, to surprise you. Don’t you remember? Maybe you took one for the bedroom». Ema did remember the roses in the vase but she had not touched them. They talked about it for a few days and then they let it go, each convinced the other had taken the rose upstairs and then forgotten about it.
Then, there was the window. One night, Ema was woken up by a strange noise downstairs. She sat up in the bed for a moment, trying to figure out if she was dreaming. When she realized it was no dream, too afraid to go alone see what it was, she woke up her husband. They kept no weapons at home but didn’t want to face a potential killer unarmed, so each grabbed a heavy object and they both walked carefully down the stairs. Halfway down, Ema felt a cold draft. «It’s the window», she gathered. «It’s open».
Ema was right. The noise they had heard was the wind, causing the window to continually open and close. Daniel checked the whole house to make sure there was no intruder but even after they were sure there was no menace, they couldn’t sleep.
«You should be more careful», Daniel said. «Forgetting the windows open can be dangerous». «I should be more careful? I didn’t even open it. You’re the careless one». «Ema, you know I never remember to open the windows. It had to be you...» «I haven’t touched that window in more than three days» «Then, it’s open for more than three days».
The logic in his answer seemed to convince Ema and none of them realized how strange it was that with the window open for three days, only tonight they had noticed it.
And there was even the matter of the piece of cake. Every Sunday morning, Ema and Daniel had a kind of ritual. They liked to get up early and while he worked on the garden, she cooked breakfast. She used to put Daniel’s plate on the windowsill, so he wouldn’t have to come inside to eat his breakfast. That day, she cut a slice from a cake she had baked the day before and put it in a plate. She put the plate and a cup of coffee on a tray and she left the tray on the windowsill, as usual. Then, she continued with what she was doing, never leaving the kitchen. It didn’t take long before she heard Daniel. «How about a piece of that cake you baked yesterday?» She turned around and saw the slice was gone. She smiled, feeling pleased. «What a sweet tooth!» She cut another slice and put it in the plate. Daniel finished uprooting some weeds and only then approached the window. «Hey, how about that cake?» Once again, Ema saw the empty plate. «Don’t you think you’re exaggerating?» «What are you talking about?», he said in surprise. «You just had two pieces. Three might be a little too much. Why don’t you leave some for later?» «Ema, I didn’t have any cake». For the first time, Ema realized he was serious. «I don’t understand... I put a piece in the windowsill and it was gone. I thought you had eaten it. When you asked for some cake, I thought you wanted some more and I cut another slice. If you and I didn’t eat it, what happened?» «Maybe some kid saw you put the cake in the windowsill and grabbed the opportunity». «What if it wasn’t some kid? Strange things have happened since we moved in». «What do you mean? You’re not thinking it was a ghost...» «Well... No, I guess not. You’re right, it’s impossible. But... what if it’s someone trying to scare us? We’re kind of isolated here, on top of this hill, and you never know what kind of freaks might show up». «Well, I had thought about that before, that night when we left the window open... But I don’t think there is any reason for concern. I’m sure it was just some kid who took the cake».
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