The sun felt warm on my neck, as I stood tired in my kitchen and stared into my boiling eggs. I took a sip of coffee, as I considered for a moment how lucky I was to be able to eat my breakfast in my garden wearing nothing but a robe, reading the newspaper and enjoy the sun in peace and quiet, remote in my own secret Eden. I leaned back on the counter, carefully watching my beautiful wooden kitchen, absorbing it's warmth and smell. Four children I thought to myself. A wife and four children would fit in here.
But that was the Condition. Only one person could be here, inside the house. The past 30 years I had carefully manipulated my life so I'd be alone. I worked as an electrician, and could only afford paying taxes on the house because of it's location. If the house needed work, I did it myself. If I was unable to fix it myself, I hired someone and left the house while it was being repaired. I had detached myself from everyone, what little I had of family included. It was all planned perfectly, and had worked for three decades. The eggs were done. I briefly scanned the freshly washed dishes for a clean plate when I heard a sound I hadn't heard in four years. Several knocks on my front door.
I froze and swallowed nervously, preparing several lies and reasons in my head for whoever it was to leave me alone. Again, more knocks. I slowly walked through the kitchen into the living room, with each step feeling heavier and heavier, when I noticed the outline of a head through my living room curtains. Who the hell could that be? The person waved at me, the option of pretending not be home was now out of bounds. I unlocked the door, and opened it just enough for my head to peak out.
"Hi there, I'm Bill and this is Cathrine, we've just moved here so we figured we should get to know our neighbours!" They looked young, early thirties perhaps. He was a skinny, tall and weird-looking guy and the woman was a beautiful brunette, way too beautiful for him.rich, filthy rich I thought to myself, looking at his warm and inviting smile. I stepped outside and closed the door behind me.
"Very well, I'm Stephen and I'm very busy at the moment" I said.
"Oh, we didn't mean to interrupt anything, we just wanted to get to know you and invite you over to our house for a barbecue Saturday morning. We've invited Jimmy and Leona too."
"I'm travelling this weekend, can't do" I lied, but they wouldn't know the difference. I stay inside during the weekends either way. Who Jimmy and Leona were, was still a mystery. Might be some other neighbours, since they assume I know them
"Oh, I see. But still, if you want to come, we could perhaps reschedule to next wee-"
"Look, I don't want to come." I interrupted her mid-sentence. "I'm not interested nor willing nor do I have time, so goodbye!" As my hand reached for the door, the smoke alarm went off.
"Oh my god" Cathrine said, "I'll call 911"
"NO!" I yelled, unable to control my voice. "STAY THERE!" I knew what it was.
I ran through the living room and into the kitchen and saw my frying pan on fire. The eggs, I forgot the eggs. Luckily, it wasn't a huge fire, but it had filled my kitchen with smoke which had triggered the alarm in the living room. I immediately picked up the pan and threw it into the sink, and quickly covered it with a fire blanket I kept nearby.
"Are you okay?" The source of that voice was close, too close. I shivered, and for the first time in many years, I was scared. I slowly turned my head and looked at the worrying frown of Bill, and his wife watching from the kitchen door. The room went quiet. Despite the grease still boiling from the sink, it was dead quiet. My warm, cozy kitchen suddenly felt cold and grey.
"Stephen, are you okay?" he asked again. A cold chill went down my spine. My eyes intensely moving around, expecting something to happen.
"Y-y-yes."
"Good thing you keep a fire blanket nearby, that could've been nasty." he said in a strangely comforting voice. I felt a little better, but I was still unsure what was going to happen.There was only one condition to follow, which I had agreed upon. I had never asked the spirits what the consequences were for breaking the rule. Bill laid his hand upon my shoulder and looked at me with a crooked smile. "Hey, look on the bright side. Now you'll never forget.."
Her head slammed into my wooden floor as she collapsed. "CATHRINE!" Bill yelled and ran towards her. He fell down over her. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I watched his chest for any movement, but there was none. They were both dead.
My knees felt weak, and my eyelids felt heavy. The dizziness was overwhelming.I closed my eyes and felt something gently touch my back, something familiar. It was my beautiful wooden kitchen floor.
A soft voice, more like a breath, whispered into the inner part of my right ear; "You violated the Contract."