[September 1, 2042]

As the wind stirred the leaves of grass and lifted the smell of sea-salt along the hill that slopped gently upward, two figures stood, as if lost, before the old-fashioned manor. The taller, a young woman in her mid-20s with long flowing black hair, was dressed in a flowing coat of dark-blue cotton, with a thin blue scarf wrapped around her neck. She looked up at the manor with a puzzled expression on her face. The shorter was a boy, about nineteen, with similarly dark hair. He had a different expression on his face, almost of longing, as if the manor was a thing he had been long searching for. He held a single, small leather suitcase in his hand.

The woman pursed her lips. “It’s… how do you say it… retro? I suppose that’s the word. Not quite what a person expects from student housing.”

The young man nodded. “The owner said it's styled on manors that were being built two centuries ago. Apparently, his dad was a fan of old architecture when he built it on this land.”

“It’s funny looking, don't you think? A little slanted, maybe? Like it could slide down the hill into the sea.”

“Sis, you’re worrying too much.”

The woman laughed, and brushed a tangle of her from her eyes that the wind scattered over her forehead. “Yes, I know. I can’t help it. I never imagined this would happen so soon.” Her smile faded, and she turned to the boy. “Cal, I’m really happy for you. I mean it. I hope… I hope it’s everything you want it to be.”

Cal met the woman’s gaze, and nodded again. His eyes were dark and seemed as if they understood more than his face revealed. “Thanks, sis. I know. I’m going to miss you, too.” He reached over his free hand and squeezed the woman’s hand once, before releasing it. “Thank you. For everything you’ve done.”

The woman’s eyes widened in amazement at his gesture. She laughed again, though more out of a wish to conceal the small lump forming in the back of her throat than anything amusing. “Gosh Cal, you’ve grown up so much, do you know that?” She seemed like she wanted to say more, then abruptly clapped her cheeks with her palms, as if to steady herself. “Alright! The cab’s waiting back at the gate, I should start heading back. Oh! One more thing.”

Slowly, the woman untangled the thin blue scarf from around her neck, and draped it gently over Cal’s shoulders. “Here, a last gift for you,” she said, smiling. “It will get cold in the city, especially in the winter.”

“Thanks.”

“Goodbye. I’ll visit you as often as I can.”

“Goodbye, sis.”

The woman squeezed Cal’s hand once, reciprocating the gesture he had done to her previously, then she turned and headed back down the hill. Her blue coat billowed behind her, abstracting the form of her body. Cal watched her go for about half a minute, then looked up the manor before him.

Otter Manor, as previously mentioned, was a manor built in the style of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was two-stories, framed with dark wood and walls of white paint, with a sloped roof. There was a small portico supported by two smooth wooden columns, and wide windows that designated where inside the building the rooms were separated. The property consisted of the entire hill upon which Cal stood, which angled upward towards the sea until it ended in a steep drop to the water below. The water carved around the hill, leaving only a small corridor of grass at the base of the hill connected to the rest of the coast. This was the place Cal would be the part-time caretaker of for the next four years.

Among the tall, silver obelisk-like buildings of Extremis City, Otter Manor and the hill of grass it sat upon stuck out like a sore thumb, but Cal didn’t mind. The manor was only a fifteen minute walk from the campus of the university he would be attending this fall, and besides, he liked how the manor was close in proximity yet still isolated from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. The green hill of grass was attached like a small air-bubble along the coast of the city — the only way to enter the manor’s property was the iron gate at the bottom of the hill, at the place where the land abruptly narrowed before meeting the coast.

Cal took a breath, gripped his suitcase, and made his way to the impressive pair of oak doors, knocking once. After a few moments, one of the doors opened and a gloomy-looking, middle-aged man with curly dark hair emerged. He had wide circular glasses and dark circles around his eyes, as if he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time. Through the glasses, he looked at Cal with a speculative gaze.

Cal decided to speak first. “Mr. Frost? I’m Cal, the new caretaker. I was scheduled to arrive today. We spoke on FoxChat.”

The man nodded, and gestured with his hand. “Yes, hello. It’s nice to meet you in person at last, Cal.” His low and quiet voice didn’t indicate any such pleasure. “Come in, and call me Isaac, please.”

Cal stepped into a large room decorated with red carpet, artwork, and leather chairs pushed against small wooden tables — upon which were haphazardly placed books, used mugs, and someone’s discarded cardigan. To the left and right hallways stretched away into other rooms, while a large staircase took up the back of the room opposite the door, the steps also carpeted. Cal bent his head up to look at the high ceiling supported by a pair of wooden columns a few paces from the door.

Isaac caught his stare, and met it with his blue eyes. “Do you like it? I understand it’s not exactly the modern accommodations that young people like yourself are used to these days.”

Cal shrugged. “That doesn’t matter. I like it. It’s fancy but not… ostentatious, I suppose. It feels homely.”

Isaac smiled faintly, though there was no real warmth beyond the expression. “My father would be happy to hear that. He would also be happy to see that there were young people living in the house he designed, after such a long time.”

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Cal frowned. “Such a long time?”

Isaac started to walk further into the room, and Cal followed. “Nobody has lived in Otter Manor for many years. Twenty-five, to be exact.” Upon saying the number, Isaac’s eyes narrowed in melancholy. “I suppose I got sick of it sitting up here on this lonely hill, unoccupied. Since I’m the owner now that my father has passed, I thought opening it up to students would at least give this place a purpose. Finding tenants hasn’t been easy, but I found my first a month or so ago. I’ve been taking care of things since that time. Cleaning, cooking, ensuring this old house doesn’t fall apart. Now that you’re here, these responsibilities will fall to you. There’s an old laundry machine. You can coordinate with the girls on how to approach that.”

As he said this, Isaac laid his hand on one of the pillars, tracing miniscule indentations in the wood with his fingernails. “Anyway, let me give you the tour.”

The first floor of Otter Manor had been designated for faculties. The left hallway led to a kitchen, which had a long dining table and was large and well-stocked, though Isaac gently reminded Cal that he would be responsible for buying and cooking food for dinner and breakfast — for himself and the tenants — since Cal’s role as caretaker allowed him to live in Otter Manor without paying for accommodation fees. There was also a bathroom, and a library with large bookshelves that reached the ceiling. Off the right hallway was a cozy living room with an old-fashioned wide-screen television, and a laundry room.

“All the bedrooms are upstairs,” explained Isaac, as he led Cal back to the staircase. “You’re in 01, at the end of the hallway, next to the bathroom. There’s a shower there, and in the bathroom downstairs, as you saw. Currently, there’s two other tenants. The one in 02 is terribly shy, poor thing, so be patient. You may not see them out and about for a few days at a time. Ellie is in 03. You said you’re majoring in sustainable energy at your university, right? Likewise for her. You should see her around. She’s a very bright girl.”

Isaac scratched his nose. “Oh, and another tenant is scheduled to arrive in a week or so. She’ll be taking up the room in the loft. I think she’s from a foreign country, so try to be accommodating. That means rooms 04 and 05 are currently empty, though some tenants may still apply later, of course. Regardless, it will still be your responsibility to keep them clean. Any questions?”

Cal thought about it. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Then you’re set.” Isaac reached into his pocket and dropped a keychain into Cal’s palm.

Very retro, thought Cal. You were right, sis.

“The large brass key is the front door. Every tenant’s door can be unlocked with the corresponding labeled key, though of course, you will be expected to respect their privacy. You can take it easy for now, if you wish. You are not expected to begin fulfilling your duty until the start of your university term, on the 7th-”

Isaac paused suddenly, and looked around, like something had broken his concentration.

“Mr. Frost — Isaac, I mean — are you okay, sir?” said Cal.

Isaac smiled sadly again. “No, there’s nothing. It’s a peculiar building that’s all. Dredges up old memories. I spent my summers here, as a child. Sometimes I fancy I can hear noises or see things that I recognize from the past.” He sighed. “Well, that was a long time ago.”

He turned to Cal and extended his arm. “I wish you luck, young man, with your studies and your work here. Call me if there is anything you are unsure about or need clarified. I live very close, so don’t be hesitant to call me up here if there’s anything that I can assist with.”

Cal looked at the man’s pale hand, which seemed fragile like the twigs of a branch. He took the hand, a little awkwardly. “Thank you, sir.”

Isaac nodded, and exited the house with a particular gait, as if he were turning his back to something painful. Cal was alone in the large room.

Cal took a deep breath. He put his suitcase down on the carpeted floor, and holding the keychain loosely in his other hand, he crouched down low to the floor to exhale deeply. “Here we are,” he said to himself under his breath. “The starting line, the final starting line. Your only chance, your last chance, so don’t screw it up. Show them what you’re made of. Show that you can do this after all.”

For a moment, Cal pressed the soft material of his scarf to his cheek, and then he stood back up. He pocketed the keychain, picked up his suitcase, and dragged it up to the second floor of Otter Manor, which was little more than a hallway of labeled doors, leading to tenant bedrooms. Upon pieces of cardboard tapped to the doors, numbers had been written in black marker, from 01 to 05. At the leftmost end of the hallway, door 01 and the bathroom. At the rightmost, door 05 and another staircase, this one thin and curling, which Cal presumed led to the loft. Door 03 was in the middle, and the first thing Cal saw when he came up the staircase. It was left open ajar carelessly, and seemingly unoccupied at the moment.

03 is Ellie, he remembered, I should introduce myself to the tenant in 02.

Cal came up to door 02 and knocked once. Immediately, there was a loud squeak like a field mouse, and the sound of something heavy being knocked over. Next, there followed a particularly pregnant silence, as if someone on the other side of the door was holding their breath, desperately trying not to make another sound.

Mr. Frost wasn’t lying when he said they were shy, I suppose.

Cal left his suitcase against the wall, and went back downstairs to find a paper and pencil, which he found in a drawer in the living room. Upon the piece of paper he scribbled this long message: “Sorry for startling you. I’m the new caretaker of Otter Manor, and just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Cal. I’m nineteen, and will be a student at the university this term. If there is any issue at any time, I will be more than happy to assist you or contact Mr. Frost. I will be preparing breakfast and dinner every day, at 8 in the morning and 5 in the evening respectively, for all tenants, but it’s up to you whether you want to attend. You don’t need to eat a single one of my meals, I won’t mind.”

Cal returned upstairs, pushed the paper under the door, picked up his suitcase, and found himself standing before door 01. His room. Beyond this door led to the sort of life he had only ever dreamed of. A soft life, a simple life, with no sudden twists or complications. For the first time, a look of contentement came over Cal’s face.

My normal life starts now.

Cal smiled to himself, and opened the door.

A girl, dressed in a white sundress, was levitating in the middle of the room. Her short black hair was a disheveled pixie-cut. She was perhaps a year younger than Cal in appearance, with beautiful pale skin and blue eyes. There was something about her face that Cal noticed immediately: a striking familiarity that he couldn’t quite place.

The girl floated in the air, her bare toes hovering about two feet above the wooden floor, counting something on her fingers and seemingly oblivious to Cal entering the room. “First,” she muttered, “I’ll do something classic, like shake the table or the bed frame. No, no! It should be something more subtle. I need to build up the appropriate atmosphere. First, I’ll make sure things go missing one by one. Make him jumpy. Then, in the night, I’ll start whispering vague and threatening things, like ‘it’s so dark…’ or “leave this place, mortal!’ Oh, this will be fun!”

She clapped her hands together in delight, and a wide, childish smile lit up her face. “Don’t get too excited! This is your first haunting! You don’t want to mess up the art of the thing. There's craftsmanship involved, a tradition that has been inherited, a certain beau idéal. Remember what your masters taught you.”

“Ah, dammit.” muttered Cal aloud.

His normal life, minutes into its lifespan, abruptly and cruelly ended, evaporating like a teardrop in the sun.

There was a ghost haunting room 01 of Otter Manor.