House Under the Hill
By Anisa Ather, age 13

Ali felt she'd rather be anywhere else than on this spookily-boring holiday in the middle of No-where Countryside. Well that's how it felt. Her parents had rented a cottage for a week, and had infuriatingly thought of activities to do everyday. But there wasn't much in this countryside apart from a lake, woods and a tumbled down cottage under the hill. So after another annoyingly dull day, Ali mooched down to the lake wanting to be on her own. But even here, she couldn't. She could sense someone watching her every move from about 10 meters behind her. She whipped around, her eyes coming to a focus on a boy about a year younger than her, dressed strangely and carrying a fishing rod.

"Hi," he said. "New around here? Haven't seen you before."

She frowned slightly. "Yes. Do you come here often?"

The boy smiled, and put down his fishing rod, begining to talk. Ali though it was nice to have company so listnened to everything he said.

His name was Jack, and he was staying in the tumbled-down cottage. He also came here often.

Ali, pleased to have found someone to talk to, started boasting about her new friend to her younger sister Grace that night. But Grace wasn't listening properly. She had come into Ali's room because she could hear strange noises coming from outside.

Ali Could hear them too, but convinced herself that was just the wind, carrying the horse nays. But even so decided to talk to Jack about them the next day.

"Yes," Jack said. There are strange noises. "They come from our house. It's just my baby sister crying." He suddenly looked sad. "My mum can't look after her very well..."

Ali ran home to tell Grace this. But when she got home, her parents were already talking to the residential owner about the strange noises.

"Yes," she said to Ali's worried parents. "The noises do come from the old cottage. She hesistated. "This might sound a bit disturbing, but the house caught fire over eighty years ago. Everyone inside the house died. The mother and her two children. The boy aged 11 and the other one, a baby. People claim to here her cries even now, though no-one's stayed there since..."

Ali's mouth hung open. "But what about Jack?!"

"He was the boy who died"

Grace looked with confusion at Ali. "But you told me you met him!" she said. All eyes turned to Ali now. But a face appearing at the window suddenly distracted her. A face of a boy that only she could see.

The residential owner frowned. "Ali, why have you gone so pale?..."