“Well that was dramatic”, Quiver’s small voice squeaked out as the floor beneath them stopped shaking. 

Molly's voice trembled as much as her knees. “Will it be over for now?”

Dobby pricked his ears. He sighed. “I hope so. With a bit of luck Ceana's passed for the night.”

Quiver, Molly and Jake glanced at each other. They hesitated knowing that the angel being passed out was no guarantee for their safety. The last time she was passed out, she had moved the kitchen to the bathroom and the miowls’ hiding spot to the eerie basement. 

Dobby noticed the hesitating glances and shook his head. “Youngsters…”

Dobby snuck out their hiding place. For one miowl the safe place felt already claustrophobic, but now that place had to hide four of them Dobby didn't want to spend a second longer in there than needed. 

When he stood up, his knees cracked. He stretched his back and thought to himself that he was getting too old for this nonsense. How many centuries had it been? 

He limped up the stairs. And it was always the worst the moment the trees lost their leaves. That was the moment family always came around to visit the neighbourhood children. 

Dobby looked around the hallway. The soft sun like colours from that morning had made place for muddy earth tones and the occasional mould. It had started again. 

Dobby shook his head. How could adults hurt children so much? 

A single white feather grabbed his attention. It lay in the middle of the cracked hallway floor. 

Dobby froze. Could it be?

He limped towards it and scooped up the feather. He stared at it in his small, dainty hand. 

The delicate, white feather formed a stark contrast with his skin. It glistened with a golden glow in the autumn sun that trickled through the torn, black curtains. 

Doubt filled his heart and his lips curled hesitatingly. This feather hadn't yet fully decayed. It had fallen off the angel, yes, but he sensed that life still lingered in it. Maybe there was still hope? 

He limped towards the console table and looked up at the dusty, oaken piece of hallway furniture. 

Even if he’d jump, he wouldn't reach the handle to open the drawer and he was already so brittle to begin with, what if he’d fall again? He drooped his shoulders and sighed. It wasn't easy to be short when the world was made for tall beings. Luckily, he wasn't alone. 

Dobby whistled. 

Molly, Jake and Quiver came to his rescue. They noticed the glowing feather that was no longer attached to the angel and stared at it in wonder. 

It was a miracle.

Dobby whistled them to focus. He pointed at the console table and the young miowls swiftly formed a small piramide - or ladder, as Dobby would use them.

Dobby stepped on Molly’s back, on Jake’s shoulder and then on Quiver’s head, urging the last one to stop trembling so much. When Dobby’s fingers hooked around the handle, he said: “Pull.”

Molly clung onto Quiver’s front and held tightly onto Dobby’s feet while Jake supported Quiver’s back and the two of them slowly moved forward. 

The drawer opened with a soft shuffle and Dobby said: “Stop.”

He looked at the feather. He wanted to bless it, tell it it was their first ray of hope in centuries of despair, but he didn't want to put too much pressure on the delicate, little thing, so he sighed instead. “That all goes well…”

Dobby gently swaddled the feather in some linen and placed it in the drawer. “Push.”

His three friends did everything they had done in reverse until Dobby closed the drawer.

Quiver’s voice meekly squeaked when Dobby had climbed back down. “Will this be the one?”

Dobby shook his head. “I don't know, but as long as it doesn't decay, there's still hope.”

🍁🍂🍁

As the mother and daughter duo drove by the familiar place–the eerie, haunted house, fourth in line in Paragone Street– the women behind the wheels shivered in disgust. 

“Lowlife,” she muttered and sped up as though the foul air of the place would chase after them. 

Lilette, too used to her mom's temper, just sighed and looked behind praying she got to visit that place someday. She had always been fond of darkness and that house allured her. It was all she could wonder about on their way home. 

As they were unloading the groceries, their neighbour called out. “Did you hear the latest news about Janet?”

Lilette's mother shook her head. “No, I haven't. Is it juicy?”

“It's even juicier than my crême brûlée.”

Lilette's mother ordered Lilette to unload the groceries and put everything where it had to be while she was talking to their neighbour. “Tell me everything.”

Lilette did exactly as told. The grocery bags went to the kitchen and from the kitchen everything went to its rightful place: vegetables in the fridge, mother's ‘homemade’ desserts into the freezer and the pile of study books onto the desk in the living room. 

Lilette looked at how big the pile of books had become. A mixture of excitement and dread took over and she had no idea whether excitement would win again. Dread was becoming stronger every day, but for now she was lucky that excitement remained the strongest. 

She sighed and looked outside. The neighbourhood children had gathered around in the neighbours’ backyard. 

Curiosity took over. Lilette tiptoed to the front of the house and watched through the curtain. Mother was still talking with the neighbour and by the looks of it, it would take a while. 

She tiptoed back, grabbed the empty grocery bags and stored them in their rightful place. 

After scanning the kitchen and feeling satisfied that all was exactly how mother had ordered, she snuck out into the garden. 

The neighbourhood children spoke in a soft whisper. Lilette couldn't hear what they were saying. She climbed on and over the fence. It made much more noise than she had hoped and it startled the children, but luckily didn't alarm the parents. 

Aashna sighed relieved. “It’s only the new one. You sure know how to scare people. Hey, do you love a good scare? Do you know that eerie house on the other side of the street? Number 04?” Aashna waved with her hands. “It's haunted. You don't believe me? Then I dare you to enter it on the 31st and see for yourself. Nobody ever makes it out alive.” Aashna produced her most evil laugh. 

“Stop scaring the new one,” Lou said - or was it his twin Luo? Lilette never could tell them apart, but she did notice only one of them present. The other might be with his nose in the books again. He studied even more than Lilette's mother made her do. “We’ve all already got enough on our plates, haven't we? Besides, there's no way her parents will let her enter that place alone.”

“That's what makes it more thrilling, don't you think? Having to avoid being caught? What do you say, new one? Are you in for a challenge? Do it and we'll welcome you as one of us.”

Lilette looked at Aashna. “Won’t it be scary?”

“Once you're past your parents, nothing is scary anymore. Consider it a test for us to figure out if you're trustworthy and brave.”

Lilette nodded. “I'm in.”

The curtains of the neighbours’ house shuffled and a wide shadow appeared in the window. Lou froze. “He's back -”

The neighbourhood children's eyes widened and restless murmurs filled the garden. 

“Again?” 

“Wasn't he gone for at least a month?” 

“Why?”

Lou scratched his neck. “Mom says he's taking a break. Something with college or something.”

The shadow beckoned Lou into the house. 

Lou swallowed. Tears lingered in his eyes. “I have to go.”

Aashna placed her hand on Lou’s shoulder, making him dwell a bit longer in the garden. “Pray to the angel and know that it's just eight more years. Eight years and we can run away from all of this.”

The shadow knocked on the window, telling Lou to hurry. 

Lou looked from the window to Aashna. He placed his hand on hers and took a deep breath. “Eight more years.” 

He let go of Aashna’s hand and walked towards the house. The door closed. The blinds went down and with an agonizing screech another feather fell to the ground. 

🍁🍂🍁

Ceana stared at herself in the mirror. Eons of taking over the torture and despair had distorted her soft features so much she resembled more the vicious, demonic creatures she fought everyday than the angel of innocence she once was. 

Being a guardian angel was more difficult than she had thought. She always ended up biting more than she could chew and now her entire self was damaged beyond repair. 

She looked at her bruised body—her flesh decayed and decaying—emotionless. 

It was bleeding. It was bleeding from too many places and so very quickly. She wished she could feel something else than the constant numbness that clouded her mind. 

She wished she could help. 

The house trembled and crumbled and built up again just like every autumn. The smell of rot was sharper than ever before and the balconies trembled due to the house's broken core. 

The miowls huddled together trying to find solace in such a dreary place, but there was no time to rest nor to wallow in pain. 

The miowls dragged themselves to their feet and began setting up defences to keep the children far, far away. There always were one or two brave enough to venture upon the ever-changing house during Halloween and this year would not be an exception. 

Broken little things those children usually were, mostly neglected children seeking new homes. Some of them still held onto some hope that everything could become better if only they could escape, but most of them had lost hope a long time ago and just wanted to end it all. Molly, Jake and Quiver hadn't been much different back then. 

The white feather that Dobby had tucked away safely in the console table - the one refusing to rot despite it all - had indicated that they'd have another kind of visitor that Halloween and as Dobby and the other miowls scattered needles across the entire garden to scare that visitor off, he secretly hoped that it could be that once in a blue moon kind of child that wanted to visit - a happy one. 

🍁🍂🍁

No matter how hard she tried, Lilette couldn't concentrate on her syllabus. Normally she'd get excited about all these medical wonders she had to study for extra points on the exam, but her mind just wasn't interested in how it was possible to live with a big hole in your skull or how your skin could literally have a different texture. At least her mind wasn't interested in it today, not with such an intriguing house across the street.

Was it really that dangerous? The house wasn't in pristine condition with its rotting front door and its wonky balconies Lilette swore weren't there yesterday, but it still looked sturdy enough to not collapse? Who lived there anyway? Ghosts? Her mother had called the inhabitants lowlife, but then again everyone who wasn't perfect was considered that, even Lilette. Maybe the people living there were nice, but just couldn't afford repairs?

The more she thought about it, the more she envisioned a happy, but poor, family with non-judgemental parents, maybe some pets and children she hadn't yet met, and definitely a fireplace. Oh, how she wished her home had one too! How cozy it would be in the winter to sit at the fireplace and actually talk with her family instead of being spoken to. 

That old, wonky house across the street must have one. Maybe she could find it when she sneaked in on Halloween and take some pictures of it? She could then use them to prove to her mother how beautiful a fireplace could be? Yes, that would be her excuse if she'd get caught: taking pictures of the fireplace as research and reference. 

A plan slowly formed in her mind and on the 31st, Lilette knew exactly how to sneak out. She was practically a professional by then. 

She had even googled multiple ways to trick her parents! 

It was all a piece of cake that Halloween night. She rolled up her pillows, wrapped them in her favourite blanket and patted them well as though to lull them to sleep. 

Her mom was nowhere in sight and like every year she would not be back for a day or two. This makeshift dummy would work well with her drunk-out-of-mind stepdad. 

Lilette took one last look at the dummy and nodded satisfied. She grabbed her phone and tiptoed down the stairs. 

Lilette heard loud snoring coming from the living room. As planned, her stepdad was already asleep. She crawled on hands and feet through the hallway and silently passed the living room. 

A glass thud made her stop in her tracks. Lilette held her breath. She listened for sounds.

The snoring had stopped abruptly and her stepdad yelled alcohol laced threats. He picked up the bottle that had fallen and threw it at the shadows on the wall. The glass scattered in million pieces and Lilette let out a sigh. More shards to clean up tomorrow…. 

The threats made place for loud snoring and Lilette sneaked out through the back door. 

🍁🍂🍁

The house across the street was frayed like the leaves on the trees. Barely hanging on. The golden blazing fireplace Lilette could see through the window formed a strange contrast to the grey decaying shell of a house. 

But such was autumn. Dreary yet hopeful and the uncanny resemblance of the house to the deciduous tress was beautiful in Lilette's eyes. 

She noticed something glistening across the garden and path. Lilette squinted. 

Were it glass shards that had been sprinkled around? No, it was smaller and much more regular in shape… Needles? What were thousands of needles doing there? 

Lilette shrugged. Maybe they just like them? She scanned the patterns and swiftly tiptoed around them. Easy peasy. Avoiding glass shards was much more difficult. 

Lilette looked up and stared in awe at the huge rotting door adorned with an enormous brass knocker. She always wanted to use one of those. They always felt so fancy and ominous. 

She reached out her hand, grabbed the knocker and let it fall back against the door. BAM. BAM. BAM. 

The door opened and the scent of freshly baked bread welcomed her in. 

🍁🍂🍁

The house was exactly as she had imagined: a big, warm fireplace in the middle of the coziest living room she had ever seen and magnificent stairs leading up to what she imagined to be big bedrooms with feathery beds and not a single shard of glass on the floor. 

Lilette took photographs as she walked through the room. She stopped and stared in awe when an older man and three children came out of their hiding place. 

The man introduced himself as Dobby and the children as Molly, Jake and Quiver. They heaved a big sigh and said: “Since you've made it, you're welcome to warm yourself, but make sure to leave before midnight.”

Lilette played with the children and for the first time in her life she felt accepted. She didn't have to get good grades for it, nor did she have to prove her being trustworthy, just being there was enough for Molly, Jake and Quiver - and even Dobby - to accept her as one of them by the end of the evening. 

Lilette basked in the warmth of the fireplace. A rare smile adorned her face. “I want to stay here forever.” Her eyes glistened in the cozy fire. 

Dobby shook his head. “You don't, child.” He glanced at the clock. “It's better that you go home now. It's almost midnight.”

“Mother won't be back in two days and stepdad is drunk as usual. Nobody misses me.”

“It's not safe here, child. Looks deceive. It's best that you leave before-”

Ceana’s dreary abode shook and snarled like a demon coming to life. Lilette's perfect dream world broke and faded into the brutal reality. 

The warmth of the fireplace made room for the cold of a frozen hearth.The walls started to bleed and speak in ancient tongues. Tales of sorrow and despair were written across the room.

Lilette's eyes widened. “What's happening?” 

“It's the angel… She-”

Lilette turned to Dobby. His human mask crumbled apart. Lilette squeezed her eyes. “Where is she?”

Dobby shook his head. “Please don't play around, child. Run while y-”

Silence. Dobby’s words drawned out. The room filled with an unpleasantly loud silence that sucked out the air. 

Lilette shook her head. She wasn't going to abandon her new friends, nor their home.

Then it came, the soft but angry murmurs from the topmost room. Lilette jogged up the stairs. She soon ran out of breath but she had her priorities straight and her priority was set on reaching that voice. 

She slowly entered the room and looked at the scene.

Blood and scattered glass mingled with tears, but blood was all Lilette could see. It should have scared her, but instead it strengthened her resolve to help this wounded person. She knew how bad it hurt when broken glass poked her feet and made her bleed. This person with her white, disheveled wings and broken body must have been in agonizing pain. 

Lilette gently moved to the angel, careful not to scare her. The glass shards broke further on Lilette's feet and she too bled.

When she reached Ceana, Lilette fell to her knees. Her hand hovered over the angel’s distorted wings. Lilette bit her lip and pulled back her hand. She wanted to console the crying angel, but she knew how terrifying even a well-meant touch could be. 

“Hey,” Lilette softly spoke. “Are you the angel?”

Ceana looked up. Her eyes felt so familiar, but strange at the same time and her voice was as soft yet cold like an autumn breeze. “Yeah.” 

“I'm Lilette. I live across the street.” She reached out her hand. “I’d like to be your friend.”

There was no blinding white light as you'd expect in fairytales to happen, but slowly change occurred. Some would say it was a miracle, others would call it friendship, compassion or love. After all, in a kind heart magic is born.

After Lilette had helped patch Ceana up, they started talking. Ceana explained why she felt the agony and how and how Lilette had been the only child who wasn't afraid of the reality of this house. 

Lilette's eyes widened when she heard about what was happening with Lou and Luo and how Ceana took over their body whenever it happened. 

An anonymous call to the police when it was happening again and a well-placed innocuous remark to make the other adults rush to the twins when it did, finally revealed the truth and got them the help they had desperately needed, but were too afraid to ask for. 

Slowly, but certainly more anonymous calls were made and the house at Paragone Street 04 started to patch itself up. The balconies became less wonky and the mould in the hallway retreated. The smell of rot made place for the scent of freshly baked bread and the furniture repaired itself. There were no more needles in the garden and no more broken glass on Ceana’s bedroom floor. 

By the time autumn traded places with winter the following year, Ceana woke up in a soft, feathery bed instead of on the cold, hard floor she used to pass out on and the miowls only occasionally had to hide in their safe place which now was much larger and no longer in the basement. 

That was the miracle that happened for the angel and miowls and just like every miracle, it brought forth another one.

That Christmas was truly a gift for Lilette. She didn't wake up to glass shattered on the floor but to a fluffy white carpet underneath her feet. She was in a daze. She was so dazed that it took her forever to figure out that her entire house was different and that there was a beautiful fireplace in the living room. Just like the one at Ceana’s. 

But her mother who woke up hours before Lilette was freaking out in the kitchen. 

But hey, when does she not? 

Since that day, the house at Paragone Street 04 changed every Halloween and the house across the street from it changed every Christmas. 

Quiver squeaked: “Hurry before momster wakes up.”

“I'm hurrying! Come on, miowls, let's give Lilette the indoor slide she mentioned during dinner.”

❄️☃️❄️

THE END

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Word count - 3490
An extended is version coming soon !!

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