I pulled out the box which was tied up with a very dirty, faded piece of white ribbon. It had a label on top which said, ‘Wedding Dress 1996.’ I dragged out the photo album and flicked through the photos. There were brown, black and white and coloured photos. Why would anyone want to hide these things? I looked at the box. I untied the ribbon and pulled it from around it; I lifted the lid and shook it gently. The bottom of the box thumped onto the floor. Inside there was a fold of black tissue paper. I gently parted the tissue, and inside I saw a little satin bag and what looked like a wedding dress. The dress was made of soft, shiny white material which was now quite yellowed. I lifted the dress out held it up to me and gazed into an old, cracked mirror which was in front of one of the book shelves. The gown was beautiful. Layers of petticoats puffed out the skirt and tiny covered buttons stretched down the back while rows and rows of tiny pearls adorned the front and the back. Unfortunately, the cupboard was so cold and damp that a musty smell permeated the room. I went back to the box and took out the satin bag. Inside was a coronet of waxy flowers with a gauzy veil attached to it; I placed it carefully on my head. I went back to the mirror. I stared at myself. A ghostly figure stared back at me. Suddenly I lost my nerve.
“What are you doing?” I said aloud, realizing I had unearthed something private; something that was nothing to do with me. I touched someone’s secret world. “How would you feel?” I asked myself.
It was then that I thought I heard a breathy voice say, “Put it back. Put it back.”
Looking all around me I could see no-one. It must be the wind again. I realised how spooky it was up here. Could the wind be sending me messages? I’d been watching too many cartoons about creepy mansions. Then I realised how excited I had become. This was better than staying with a child minder any day. I was going to have plenty to tell Eloise, my best friend at school, after the holidays. Plenty in fact.
But I felt that I may have disturbed something. My flesh started to creep. It just felt wrong. I felt awful at what I had done. I folded the dress and quickly put it back in the box along with the coronet and slammed down the lid. I pulled the ribbon and tied it back round the box. I pushed it back into the cupboard. Whoever had worn the dress had had something happen to them of that I felt sure. Would the album help me to find out? My curiosity was charged. I knew I shouldn’t look inside but I lifted the green leather cover of the album.
It was then that my mobile phone rang. I climbed backwards down the shelves and grabbed my phone.
“Hello, who’s there, its Florence?”
Silence. Nothing Then from faraway a breathless whisper answered me, “Florence, Florence, Florence.”
Then the line went dead.