Hailie wasn't ready to go into the house, so she spent some time walking around the neighborhood. What if Lucien was at work? Or worse, what if he wasn't? She'll just walk in and yell, 'Who are you?' No way. There must have been another option. If he had told her the truth, it would be better, but right now he was still sure that Hailie didn't know his secret. She didn't, but she knew he was hiding something.

It was too hard. She spent almost an hour thinking and walking circles on the street. When she finally came back to the sidewalk leading to her house, she saw the lady from the window, but this time the lady wasn't looking through the window. She went outside and slowly took out some letters from the mailbox. Hailie saw her the first time in person. She looked really old, with thinning gray hair that was neatly pinned in a small bun on the head. Her face was full of wrinkles, looking a bit like a wrinkled sponge, but at the same time there was something beautiful in her. Something that Hailie couldn't quite name. Maybe she was a beauty queen in the past? Now she must've been around her eighties or nineties. She was walking with a cane and saying something under her nose. Hailie slowly walked closer, trying to catch the words coming from her mouth.

Yesterday, upon the stair,

I met a man who wasn't there

He wasn't there again today,

Oh, how I wish he'd go away!

Hailie had no idea what it was that she was reciting, while looking through her mail. The old lady didn't seem like she noticed Hailie's presence at all. Not once she looked in her way. It felt weird, because until now she always felt watched by this woman. Her face was always in the window, watching every move carefully.

When I came home last night at three,

The man was waiting there for me

But when I looked around the hall,

I couldn't see him there at all

These words seemed to have a meaning for the lady, but Hailie had no idea why. Right now, she looked a little bit crazy. Did she live alone in this old big house on the opposite side of the street? Hailie has never seen anyone visiting the old lady. She was always alone, always by the window.

Go away, go away, don't you come back any more!

Go away, go away, and please don't slam the door

Suddenly the old lady raised her head and gazed right at Hailie, who shuddered. It felt like she did something wrong by watching and listening to the woman.

She wasn't sure if it was better to say 'hello' or 'sorry' and while she was trying to choose between those two words, the oldy lady spoke, "It's Antigonish. A poem written by the American poet, William Hughes Mearns. It refers to your house quite nicely, don't you think?"

Hailie blinked a few times. For a moment it seemed like the lady knew the truth, but then Hailie remembered that everybody from the neighborhood believed that the house was haunted. Of course, she thought that this poem referred to the house. It was about a ghost.

"Yes, considering that everybody thinks it's haunted."

"Do you think otherwise?" the old lady asked. "Or maybe you prefer to say that it's inhabited by demons?" She laughed, seeing Hailie's mouth partly opened. "Have you met them all? Demons, I mean. Pride, Gluttony, Wrath, Lust, Envy, Sloth and... Greed," she took a breath, while whispering the last name. She drifted away for a moment, but then suddenly the new energy came into her. "Please, come, I think we have some things to talk about. You like cookies?" She started walking towards the house.

Hailie was hesitating for a moment. She looked at the Bloody Mansion and decided to follow the old lady to her house. Lucien could wait. He might have been at work anyway.

From the outside her house seemed much bigger, than it actually was. The walls were all painted in bright yellow color or calming green one. There were curtains on every window, along with plants in every corner and on every shelf. Seeing so many of them, Hailie started wondering if watering all of them didn't take the whole day. She felt like she walked into the greenhouse, but at the same time this house seemed really comfortable. There were plenty of cushions on the sofa, and also on the armchairs. Everywhere Hailie looked, there was a hand-painted picture or painting and gardening utensils.

The old lady showed Hailie to the living room and sat her down on the fluffy sofa. At once Hailie just collapsed in it, surrounded by soft material. The old lady went to the kitchen, leaving Hailie to look around a little bit more. She smiled, seeing a pair of binoculars, laying on the table by the window. The old lady was spying on all of them. No wonder she knew about the demons. She was practically living in the front of the Bloody Mansion. She probably saw a lot of things that were taking place there.

She came back after a few minutes with a tray full of cookies and two cups of jasmine tea. Hailie was warmly welcomed, even if she used to think that the old lady was unfriendly and annoying.

"My name is Leah. Nice to finally meet you, Hailie."

"You too." Hailie felt like Leah knew more about her than the other way around. "So, you know about the demons living in my house?"

"I know. I used to live in the house that is now yours."

Hailie's jaw dropped open for the third time today. The old lady was once the inhabitant of the Bloody Mansion? And she was still living, so she must've been in good relations with demons. But what happened? Why did she move out and decide to live in the house that was so close to her previous place of living? It all felt too complicated.

"What-What happened?"

Leah smiled politely, but there was sadness written all over her face. She didn't say anything for a while, thinking about the old times, about her entire life that was full of ups and downs. And it all started with that house.

The house of both misery and happiness.

"We moved in five years after the end of World War II. The previous inhabitant was a soldier, he committed suicide at the attic and for more than few years the house was empty. It changed when my mother got married again. My brother and father, both of them died during the war. We were left with nothing, but the thing was, my mother was a really beautiful woman. She found herself a proper husband, the one she didn't love, but he had enough money to take care of her, me and my younger sister. He bought this house, so all of us could start a new life there. At first, we didn't even know that someone killed himself there, or about the other crimes. It was just an ordinary, old and breath-taking house."

Hailie always liked the look of her house, but nobody ever actually complimented the inside or the outside. Everybody called it 'old' or 'haunted'. Leah was the first person to call it 'beautiful'.

"How old were you?" Hailie asked timidly.

"I was 18-years-old." So now she must've been almost ninety. "This house was always a place different from others I've ever visited. You could feel it the second you walked in. There were strange things happening, but at the beginning we weren't so alarmed by them. We had too many troubles to think about the ghostly things that couldn't be considered real for a serious, intelligent man like my stepfather. It was the worst time in my life and it all started with my real father and brother's death. The man, whom my mother wed after that, didn't seem like a good man to me, because he stopped loving her after some time. He had his time of fun with a beautiful woman, but then she just wasn't enough. He was bringing other women to the house. He was cheating on her and he was so harsh. They were fighting all the time. The house was full of their screams every day and night. They've begun to fight about everything. She couldn't take being treated the way she was. And we all missed our family so much."

"So at first you didn't know about demons?" Hailie thought that they made their presence clear quite fast, just as it was with her.

"No, it took me almost a year to find out. Neither of us knew, but they were always there. My mother, she was feeling on edge so many times, couldn't take it any longer."

"Did she?" Hailie got scared and thought about the worst scenario.

Leah shook her head and replied, "She was thinking about it, but there was always a voice inside her head, saying that she has to be strong. Saying that she should be proud of herself, because of taking so good care of her daughters. This voice kept her going, making her believe in herself."

"This voice belonged to Pride."

The old lady smiled and continued her story, "I didn't know it back then, but demons were in a state that could be called a war. Pride swore her allegiance to the people. And most of others kind of just accepted it, like they wanted to make up for the harm she has suffered in the past. They didn't do us no harm, but everything fell apart anyway. My one-year younger sister couldn't stand living in the house. She believed it was haunted and she was terrified, besides, she hated the atmosphere. All the screams, negativity, sadness and anger. This house was making her feel things she didn't want to deal with. When the opportunity arose, she decided to get married and move out. By this time, I already knew about the demons and I accepted them."

"What about your mother and stepfather?" Hailie had a feeling that they didn't leave the house. She wasn't sure how she knew that. Maybe it was the look on Leah's face.

"Demons feed on negative emotions. My stepfather was led to his death by Lust and Wrath, as I remember. And my mother, there was a sickness that took her." Leah took a tissue and wiped her eyes. She always thought of her mother as an amazing woman, who would do anything for her daughters. It was so unjust that she was called to the afterlife so soon. "Never give up, she said to me on her deathbed."

Hailie caught the old lady's hand, trying to comfort her with this little gesture. She knew many things, but not loss.

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

Leah needed a minute to calm down, before saying more.

"I've stayed in this house for a few years, but life keeps surprising you. Anyway, I moved out and had so many years of love and happiness." She didn't give the reason behind this decision and Hailie decided not to ask. This must've been something private, considering that Leah didn't want to talk about it. "Never got married, because, oh, back then it wasn't possible." She looked at the photo that Hailie didn't notice earlier. It showed Leah hugging with another woman, both of them smiling cheerfully. "But it always felt like this house was calling me. It was always on my mind. That's why after my dear Lizzie died, I've decided to come back. It's been ten years since I've moved into this house. I feel like this is the place where I belong, but I never had the courage to walk in there again." She nodded at the Bloody Mansion. "I've changed a lot, so the demons don't know about me. Please, don't tell them. It's better this way." There was a spark of fear in her eyes that quickly disappeared. "But there is one thing you could say to Greed from me."

Leah leaned to Hailie and whispered to her the message for one of the demons. Hailie's eyes got wider, but she slowly nodded, when Leah stopped whispering. Everything about this house and the demons kept surprising her. How many secrets more there were?

"I didn't know."

"Nobody knew." Leah smiled. "I understand how hard it gets to live among demons. It's a huge distinction, but at the same time it feels so lonely sometimes. After all, they're not human and I remember this overwhelming feeling of solitude, of being locked between two worlds. If you ever get too lonely there, you can always visit me."

Hailie didn't expect to find a friend in the lady from the window. She still had so many questions for her. Leah must've known so many things, considering that she was living on this street for the past ten years and earlier, when she was a teenager. The woman, who at first appeared unfriendly turned out to be a careful old lady with an interesting past.

"Thank you, but luckily for me, I'm not that alone. I have a roommate, so, there's always one more human in the house. Still, there's more of them," she chuckled, even if it didn't seem funny. She had no idea who her roommate was. What was his true identity? She was so buried in her thoughts about Lucien that she didn't see the confusion on Leah's face.

"Roommate?" she asked, catching Hailie's attention once again.

"Yes, you must've seen him multiple times. The man with black hair? Insanely handsome? Dark eyes and charming smile?" There was no way that Leah didn't know him. She was basically like a camera on this street.

"Oh, and he said his name was?" Leah wasn't sure how to tell her the truth. It was the first time that she had seen such behavior in demons.

"Lucien Tuls." Hailie already knew there was something up.

Leah put the cup with tea on the table and gazed at Hailie with gravity.

"Hailie, I'm afraid you've been tricked into believing in a lie. You don't have a human roommate. The man you described, it's none other than the demon named Lust."

Hailie changed into a statue. She didn't make a move, just as if time had stopped for her. Her gaze was fixed, and the storm was raging inside of her. On the outside she was so calm that Leah became worried about her condition. There was no reaction to the words spoken. It looked terrifying. 

Suddenly her jaw started shaking and tears welled up in her eyes. Hailie put a hand on her mouth. She looked like she was about to throw up, while her whole body was trembling. Leah moved, like she wanted to come and comfort Hailie, but the girl violently stood up, almost knocking over the tea.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled with a trembling voice and ran away from Leah's house, before being stopped. 

The old lady came to the window and sat at the chair, looking how Hailie walks inside the Bloody Mansion. She took a breath and reached for the photo of her and Lizzie. She didn't regret spending whole life with that extraordinary woman, but part of her always came back in memories to the time spent in the house inhabited by demons. She opened up the frame and took out another photo, that was hidden behind the first one. It was an old, black and white photo of her and Greed. They were standing next to each other, smiling like it was the best day of their lives. It was only days apart from Leah's leaving.

"It was never your fault," she whispered to the photo. "But that one you already know."

The day she could never forget, she was sitting at the bench in the park. She loved that place, because it was on a hill, under a tree that casted a pleasure shadow in sunny days. She was coming here to read books and to look at the people walking in the park, but this time she couldn't wait to come back home. She wanted to read the last page of a book of poetry and get going, when a tall man in a suit typical for those times sat beside her. He didn't say a word, staring at some kids chasing themselves in the park. He looked completely normal, some would call him even handsome, but Leah could tell right away that he was a creature from Hell. Maybe she spent too much time among demons or maybe she just expected this meeting, but it was clear as a bell, who decided to give her a visit. Inside, she was shaking with fear, but it was all about appearances. Leah pretended that she was indifferent to this man's presence. She calmly ended reading the last page, even if she was so stressed out that she forgot all about the words read.

"I know who you are, and I know why you're here," she finally spoke, putting the book back in her bag.

Greed didn't keep any secrets from her. They've known everything about themselves. Everything. That's how she knew who was sitting right beside.

"That's pleasant to hear. It's always more absorbing to talk with clever people rather than the ones, who are lacking the intellect." On the other hand, the second category was so easy to trick and doom. Oh, how quickly they could've been bought with promises of their dreams coming true. People had a tendency to sell their souls for things that could've been achieved with just a little bit of effort.

"Is it time, when you're going to threaten me and my family?" She had only a sister. They weren't in the best relations, they've actually haven't talked for a long time, but Leah didn't want her death. Creatures from Hell couldn't directly kill humans, but they've had their ways of achieving the goal.

"I shall not discuss your family relations or rather the lack of them. You should know you have to leave, because otherwise it will be Greed, who shall suffer the consequence."

Leah swallowed, trying to figure out if it was possible. Greed was an original demon. The sin demon. On the contrary to other demons, she couldn't have been killed. She was powerful and hopefully, had the support of other sins.

But maybe he was talking about killing not Greed, but her?

"What can you do?" Leah asked, even though both of her and Greed knew that one day this moment will come.

And then Leah will have to leave. 

"Everything." He smirked. "If you decide to stay, something bad may happen not only to you, but also to Greed. She quite likes living on Earth, doesn't she? What a shame it would be if she had to come back to Hell and be trapped there for eternity."

She didn't have to find out how much power he had. She already knew that.

Greed told her that this is a momentary happiness. There was a day to come that was about to take it all away. The day that they've been most afraid of. The day of their goodbye. She hoped it wouldn't come so soon.

"I understand," she said and slowly stood up, being careful with her every step.

"Let me make it up to you. Whatever you want. Money? Love? Bright future? Power? Maybe all of these things? Name it and I'll give it to you."

She took some time to consider this offer, even though she already knew the answer. She turned around, letting herself to look at the man. The fear creeped into her heart as she saw his burning red eyes that seemed dead and dreadful. They were the only thing exposing he was from Hell. She knew it wasn't his true look. It was just a human uniform so he could walk Earth unrecognized.

"I appreciate the offer," she said, controlling her voice and body language. "But I wouldn't dare to make a deal with the Devil."