After college, Maple wanted to do something exciting and explore the world, so she submitted job applications to different countries that was interesting to visit. To her delight one of the applications had been accepted after a couple of online conversations. It was a large fancy company, and she could not help but look forward to this new part of her life. The first year was fantastic, and she learned a lot, were able to travel on the weekends and met some kind people.
Starting the second year Maple signed a one-year contract as an employee. The first month was good, but some new policies were implemented during the second month. This meant rotations and structural changes were made over the next couple of months. It allowed her to work on different projects, which was okay but not as fun since it felt like she did not get the time to fit in.
Then Maple was placed in a new team with the worst boss for a leader. Jasmine was a rich second generation, her sadistic tendencies made it a hell for her subordinates while her wealth and vast network of connections made her invulnerable. She knew just how to work her subordinates to make their life hell while not breaking any boundaries. It was Maple's first time feeling trapped, thus she wanted out but could not leave without breaking the contract she had signed half a year prior.
The contract stated; She would not be allowed to work in a similar job position in fear of competition for a year, upon breaking the contract. Secondly, a compensation was needed to quit early. As Maple still had student loans, mortgage and no large savings account, she was stuck.
The next 4 month were hard, very hard. Maple felt mentally drained every day, did not get enough sleep and felt like shit.
When the contract was over, Maple got out of there as fast as she could. With the rest her of student loans now paid off, she just needed a new start. Meanwhile, she avoided telling her family about her troubles, even if they might have figured it out as her enthusiasm for the job slowly dwindled.
Rather than moving back home to her parents feeling defeated Maple looked for something else nearby. The last month had been rough as Jasmine knew she could be more aggressive as Maple was at the end of her contract.
Maple did not have the time to search for a job as she was not sure what her next steps would be. Furthermore, not having a job meant not being able to pay the rent and having to sell her current apartment while desperately looking for something cheaper.
The search for cheaper accommodations in the city was a nightmare, it was simply impossible. The sale of Maple's previous apartment went by in a flash and if not for a stroke of luck she might have ended up on the streets. Money and timing were both quite significant when looking for housing. She needed a place large enough for her stuff and at cheap enough that it might be a scam. Additionally, she had to pay the moving company to drop off her stuff. She had packed it all with some help from previous colleagues into a moving container.
Due to not having a job and no financial backing Maple would not be able to apply for another loan. She somehow had to do with the money she made from selling the apartment. At least the sale of the apartment had gone well, and she had ended up with about a fifth of its value after paying off the mortgage.
The search for new accommodations was completely different. Not only was it a bad time due to raised house prices, but few homes were sold. Maple almost gave up when one of the realtors responded to one of their previous conversations with an offer.
It was a steal yet somehow felt forced. It was a large abandoned house in a family neighborhood far from the city she had been living in. Furthermore, it was about an hour away with 2 additional transit stops that could prolong the journey. It was not really a good choice, but she needed a place for now and could always move again. And who knows, maybe it could be a new magical adventure. At least after she had cleaned up the place.
The house was bigger than her apartment had been and in a price was definitely low enough that she might end up scammed for all she was worth. At least the current owners were a reputable large bank that had gotten the property after a realtor office had gone broke.
With Maple's remaining funds she would probably be able to last slightly over 3 months without income. And even then she still had some money for emergency repairs. So after moving in, a job would be the first priority.
The house was a very old house, and it was known to the locals as the haunted house of the town. It was in a decent family district. Apart from the reputation of a haunted house it was also avoided due to its neighbors. Over the years they had grown to become a rather diverse group a people and somehow that had made it even less desirable.
To the left of the house lived a strict and angry older woman that seemed to be rather relentless on her neighbors. The only neighbor she avoided was the guy across the street from the haunted house. He was known as the local mob boss, had two very large dogs and just scared the crap out of people. To the right of the house lives a pair of homosexuals with a thrill for the supernatural, which quite opposite to the other neighbors were quite nice, though it still deterred some people.
Even if you had no problem with the neighbors the property was in rather bad shape. The realtors had tried to cut down the forest growing on the front lawn, but somehow it kept coming back with vigor.
The abandoned, possibly haunted house had been for sale without getting touched for at least 25 years. The contract had been in the hands of multiple realtors who had tried to sell it. Time passed as the story of the house became forgotten. The bank had long since gotten the land because of some debts and had tried to get rid of the house with no luck.
The houses around the property went for about a third of Maple's previous apartment in the city, and the haunted house itself went for about a half of that. So the 20% of the apartment value Maple had left made it possible for her to buy it.
It had been years since the place was cleaned or painted, which made the already extremely low price even lower. Getting the bank to lower the price of the property made it possible for Maple to barely afford the house. So she ended up very low on cash and still had to cover the move with her shrinking budget as well as future renovations and food.
Maple could only pray that the house was in good condition after more than 25 years. She would have to work hard to find a job, as more expenses could crop up out of nowhere.
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After a long train ride Maple was finally able to see the actual house. Or at least some of it, as the actual house was hidden behind several wildly growing bushes and trees. What Maple noticed first was the black iron fence running around the property. It was sturdy looking but parts of it had sunken into ground making it look like it had been centuries since it was built.
Apart from how wild the small forested area looked, it seemed to have been trimmed at the edges. No stray branches were blocking off the sidewalk at least.
But it almost seemed as Maple would need a machete to create a path up to the house. Maple had not needed any gardening tools for her nonexistent garden at her apartment. Luckily, someone had placed some pruning shears by the fence.
It was still possible to see a path to the house, but Maple needed to clear some additional space for the furniture. Not that it was possible to clear everything. Some obstacles such as tree roots would make sure she had to move slow to avoid miss stepping and getting hurt.
As she slowly got farther into her new property she noticed she was not alone. She actually found herself with multiple guests and residents. A couple of large bugs were scaling the trees. A murder of crows were squawking from the tree tops and a couple of great tits and robins were jumping about. She even spotted a couple of mice scurrying past the edge of her vision and a hedgehog digging through a stack of leaves.
The house itself could have looked worse, all else considered. No windows were smashed, though most had cracks running through. The house seemed to be made of some kind of charcoal wood as if the house had been on fire. The wood had grown twisted over the years. Deteriorated by wind, rain and a couple of natural disasters.
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Getting up close made Maple sigh in relief as the wood was not rotten. It did not feel as rough or neglected to the touch as expected, instead it felt more like a type of stone than wood. It was quite smooth and nice to the touch.
Even though Maple was having a rollercoaster of emotions she was still excited to see the rest of the house. The condition of the house front meant she had not been completely scammed and somehow ended up with a ruin. Instead, it was very likely she would be able to live well after giving the place a loving touch.
Rolling up her sleeves Maple got to work. Emptying the container of all her stuff was the priority. To do that a cleaning of the house would be required and in case it needed a quick layer of paint she had bought a can of paint for small touch ups. But if it was bad or more paint was required she would have to buy more using her ever shrinking wallet.
With a turn of the key, the lock gave a satisfying click. At least it was not rusted shut just yet. As she twisted the handle and leaned against the door nothing happened. The door felt almost fake as if she had been leaning against a wall, or it had been nailed shut from the inside.
Maple's hands grew clammy, her heart started pounding, and she felt a little dizzy as began to panic. "Do I have the wrong key?" She thought. "No, the unlocking sound was unmistakable". Maybe a little more force was all she needed to loosen the old door from its frame. Hopefully the old and run-down door would not give in or damage the frame as she tried to increase the force used.
After a once over, she made sure that the door did not have any old mechanical hinges or additional locks, she might have missed, keeping the door in place. Not finding anything Maple gave the door a firm shoulder tap, which was all it needed as it swung open.
The gust generated by the front door agitated the dormant layer of dust by the entrance. Before Maple got to see the inside of her new home a cloud of dust swallowed her whole and covered up her vision. The roiling motions of the dust cloud made it appear like something was stirring up waves throughout the house. Before the thick brown-greyish fog of dust even started to descend, Maple instinctively surged back. It made her lungs contract and her nose twitchy as she started an all-out sneezing spree. Followed by a dry throat and coughing.
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Back at the container Maple got herself some tissues, a dust mask and a vacuum cleaner, which seemed to be the bare essentials. Good thing she was prepared. Before entering the house she could not help praying a little as she tried turning on the power for the vacuum. Ready to go, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
Maple barely made it 2 meters before the small vacuum was full, at this point she was happy that the vacuum was a bag-free variant, or she would probably have had to use money and time on getting more vacuum bags.
Vacuuming the whole house was a taxing process as she had to empty the vacuum cleaner every 2 square meters but at least it gave her some time to scope out the rooms, get a sense of the house and where she would want place to everything.
The front door opened up to a large square entry hall with 4 doors. The two doors on the left led to an office space and a living room with a fireplace. The door on the far wall, beside the stairs to the second floor, led to a bathroom and the door to the right led to a kitchen-dining area. The kitchen was perfect. Maple would probably have to buy a new propane tank for the stove. Everything else seemed to work even the water turned on and went from brown to clear in a couple of minutes.
As she kept removing thick layers of dust, the house seemed to come out really nice. Any damage or wear and tear seemed to be at a minimum. The floor would probably enjoy a good sanding and polish though.
Apart from the dust Maple found spiderwebs everywhere, some dead insects in the windows sills and some traces left behind by kids who had been inside to explore. The traces left behind included dried boot prints, twigs, stones and old toys.
The parts that Maple was not able to clean with a vacuum were the windows and walls. The windows had clearly been neglected, be it the dirty fingers of kids or humidity and dust. The walls had some drawings on them and really needed to be repainted. Sadly she did not have enough paint.
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The weather app on Maple's phone foretold rain tomorrow, so she wanted everything moved today. So with the trashcan filled halfway with dust, she had finished vacuuming and mopping the ground floor of the house. The first floor would have to wait for another day.
Maple had marked all her boxes and furniture with markers and post-it notes. Thus, most of the work was just hard labor.
As she was about to start moving the boxes and furniture herself, one of her new neighbors pulled up in the driveway to her right. As the subtle chocolate colored model of a man stepped out of his car in a casual grey suit taught by his well-built physique, Maple could not help but stare a little. He was quite handsome with his deep hazel-brown eyes, and before she knew it he had come over to say hello.
"Hi, I am Kevin" said Kevin. "Would you mind a helping hand?" he asked as he started rolling up his shirt and sweater sleeves.
"Hi, I am Maple and I would appreciate any help you can give" Maple responded with a smile and a handshake.
Even though Maple had been a little surprised by her well-endowed neighbor she did not dally. With the first boxes in hand she gave him a tour of the house and pointed out where she imagined labeled boxes to go. The office would be Maple's bedroom for the moment.
While they worked, they got to talking about their daily lives. Kevin's husband, Casper, were usually working late at the office. Kevin on the other hand got home rather early from his veterinarian clinic that he co-owned together with one of his college buddies.
Maple wanted to inquire about any available openings, but thought better of it and chose to delay asking for any favors. At least until she had thanked him for helping her move.
The neighborhood was apparently as the realtor had said. The neighbor Surly was a notorious busybody that put her nose in other peoples business with a notoriously sour and bitter attitude. People actively tried to keep distance, avoiding her at all times.
The man living across me, Vincent, were working at weird hours and his job status was quite sketchy. His two dog were a large Doberman and Rottweiler. He usually hosted a BBQ in the summer for the whole neighborhood which was quite popular. He was also the only person that Surly seemed to avoid.
Surly had been japing and complaining about the state of the local haunted house for years. Vincent had grown annoyed and started trimming the edges of the property about two years ago. This made Surly shut up about it, whether that was due to Vincent intervening or her not wanting to complain about Vincent's work was unknown.
It seemed like Maple would have to thank Vincent at some point since he had lessened some of her burdens.
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Finished with cleaning and moving her stuff into the house, Maple notified the moving company that their container was empty and ready for retrieval.
As she had finished she felt the need to be rewarded, at least to some degree. It was time for a late lunch. She had bought a lunchbox at the train station which she gobbled up in a jiffy. Afterwards she chose to repaint the entryway and dining area. They would be the parts of the house she would frequent the most. Apart from the office. Which she skipped so that she could sleep in a room free off paint fumes.
With the last touches Maple felt sore and tired but not hungry enough to start cooking dinner, so instead she laid down on the mattress she had prepared in the office and closed her eyes.