Chapter 4Strange Nightgowns

Suddenly, there was a loud bang from the basement.

I jumped, my heart racing. “Sister! Are you okay?” I called down, ready to run after her.

“Don’t come in!” she shouted back. “I’m fine! It’s just… ahhh!”

“Did you fall? Are you hurt?”

I could hear her voice, trembling and breathless, but instead of sounding hurt, she sounded… excited.

“I’m fine!” she called back, her voice muffled. “I found them! Mom’s nightgowns! Don’t come down here—I’ll put one on and come back up, okay?”

She told me to stand guard outside the basement door, making me promise not to let Mom catch her in the act.

Before I could argue, she slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside.

An hour passed.

Then another.

I was pacing back and forth, panicking. “Sister! Hurry up! Mom always wakes up early—if she catches us, I’m dead!”

I banged on the door, whispering urgently.

But she didn’t answer.

Instead, strange noises started coming from the basement. Rustling, thudding, and—was that crying?

“Sister? Are you okay? What’s going on in there?”

I pressed my ear to the door, my hands clammy with sweat.

For a moment, everything went quiet. Then, finally, I heard her voice again—weak and trembling.

“I’m fine,” she said, though she sounded like she could barely breathe. “It’s just… this nightgown is too long. It’s really hard to put on. Don’t come in!”

Her words didn’t match her tone. She sounded fragile, almost like she was running out of air.

I couldn’t help but wonder—what was she doing in there?

Curiosity got the better of me.

I crouched down and peeked through a crack in the wooden door.

At first, I couldn’t see anything. The basement was so dark that it felt like staring into a void. But as my eyes adjusted, I began to make out a blurry figure.