Back in room 315 Melanie awoke to the sound of a woman crying; she got off the bed and lay her ear against the wall. The woman in the next room was sobbing so badly that Melanie knocked on the wall. “Are you okay?” she asked loudly. The crying turned into wailing and Melanie could not help herself. She opened her door and entered the corridor. She stood in front of room 316 and paused for a minute as the crying slightly eased. Melanie knocked on the door and it creaked as it slowly opened.
“Hello?” Melanie called out, entering cautiously. “I’m from the room next door!” she shouted. As Melanie entered, confusion filled her mind. The room was basically empty, the carpets were ripped up and she was standing in dust from walls that had been sanded down. A photograph hung lopsided from a wall and a few ruined chairs lay scattered within the room. Only her footprints were visible in the dust. She was clearly the only one that had entered the room. She turned to the bathroom to find the bath badly stained. The smell of mould and dust choked her as she studied the state of the room. The room is a mess, but where did the crying come from? she thought.
Melanie spun around as she heard something behind her. A woman dressed in the same black staff uniform as the men downstairs stood before Melanie with a peculiar look on her face.
“Can I help you?” she asked a startled Melanie.
Melanie smiled, “I thought I heard someone in this room,” she explained, as the woman put down her cleaning materials and brushed some dust off her black pencil skirt.
“This Manor is very old,” she explained, as she walked over towards the old curtains. Dust filled the air as the woman yanked open the curtains. She turned back to Melanie, “you will hear all kinds of things in Ravencroft Manor,” she said smiling. Her blue eyes were mesmerising.
Melanie smiled as the woman continued, “You would swear the Manor had a life and soul of its own, with all the moaning and groaning it can make.”
Melanie put her hand out, “I’m Melanie,” she introduced herself, as the woman shook her hand.
“I’m Antoinette,” she smiled, “but everyone calls me Netty.”
Melanie frowned. “You are the only other staff member I’ve seen, besides Peter and Stuart,” Melanie said, as Netty laughed.
“Sometimes it feels like there are only a handful of us here.”
Melanie walked back towards the door, “I’m so sorry for interrupting you,” she apologized.
Nettie’s thick curly brown hair bounced as shook her head, “Not a problem at all,” she assured Melanie.
“I’m sure I will see you around,” Melanie said as she walked out the door.
For some reason she felt a slight chill up her spine when Netty replied, “I have no doubt.”