A Mysterious Man novel Chapter 1

I pulled my old rusty Toyota into the gravel driveway that would lead to my new house. I maintained a steady speed as I drove down the mile-long path. There was nothing around for miles, but I guess the scenery surrounding me made it worth it. The forest was gorgeous, with trees stretching toward the sky, and lush greenery all around.

I had never actually seen my new house in person. When I was informed that my aunt had died I was upset, like most would be, but not as much as I probably should have been. My mom was much sadder, as it was her sister. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I was going to inherit the house my aunt had lived in for most of her life. It was in the middle of nowhere, but my job was something I could do anywhere, as long as I had internet access. I had been sent pictures of the house, and from what I had seen, it looked like a nice house.

When I finally pulled up in front of the house all I could do was stare.

"You have got to be kidding me." To say the house looked different in the pictures was an understatement. The pictures must have been taken years previous, because, while I could tell that the house itself was the same, it just didn't look it.

It was all wood, and a dark wood at that - perfect for a cabin in the middle of nowhere. At least three stories, the very top of it was almost as tall as the trees around it. The shutters were a dark red that didn't match the house at all, and the door was a brighter red than the shutters. I blinked several times until the ringing of my phone dragged my attention away from the house.

"Have you gotten there yet?" My mother's voice came through the phone, making me want to cringe away and hang up. There was no telling what could come out of her mouth - the only person who might have the slightest idea is my dad, and that was only because he had been married to her for more than thirty years.

My cat, Edgar, yowled from the carrier that I had put him in earlier. Throughout the entire trip - a whole four hours - he had kept it up, making his opinion very clear. I had tried listening to music, but he had just cried out even louder. My cat hated me, and everybody else.

"Oh, dear," my mother said, "Edgar doesn't sound very happy. You should take him out of that cage, Jonah." When my mom was pregnant, they decided not to find out the gender that I was, because they had been hoping for a boy. They had chosen the name Jonah, and when I had come, a girl, they had basically said "Whatever. We already chose the name. Let's just keep it." Or, at least, that's what my mom decided. I don't think that my dad had much of a choice in the matter.

"I need to actually get in the house first, Mom," I replied. "But yes, I will take Edgar out of his carrier."

"Good. The last thing you need is to be washing his excrement out of that thing."

The one good thing I could admit about the house was that I would have lots of privacy. But, other than that there wasn't much. The emails had told me that there was supposed to be a handyman or something keeping the property up. Apparently he was slacking, because the grass crawled past my ankles, and I saw maybe two shutters that were hanging by a single hinge.

Taking a grumbling Edgar from the car, I brought him with me as I approached the front porch. The only thing on it was a dilapidated swing, hanging from a set of chains from the… whatever it was called. The porch ceiling thing - I didn't know what it was called.

My phone was shoved into the too-tight back pocket of my jeans as I bent down to uncover the key that was under the welcome mat. At least that was like it was supposed to be. Before entering the old house, I glanced around the front yard one more time. A gleam in the bright sunlight caught my eye, and I left Edgar yowling on the porch as I went to look at it. It was a silver truck - a very shiny new truck at that. My best guess was that it was the handyman's. I looked through the window and saw some trash on the floor in the front passenger side, which made me think he was a slob. The back windows were dark, but not too dark that I wouldn't look through then.

Hopping up on my tiptoes, I cupped my hands around my eyes and tried to peer through the glass. I really couldn't see much, but I thought I saw some clothing. I was too far away to tell if it was male or female though.

Finally Edgar's obnoxious noises were enough to draw me away from the mysterious truck and pick his carrier up to take him inside the house. It took a few minutes until I was able to get the front door unlocked, but I did. When I entered there was almost no light. I decided to keep the door open until I found a way to actually see the house.