“The sun had passed its peak for the day but still blazed gloriously, filling everything to bursting with heat and colour. I gazed down the beach to the sea and watched Susan’s distant figure leaping and twirling in the surf.

Turning back to the house, I tried to ignore the rasping sound of Melvin’s breathing behind me. The house glistened in the sun, as the last remnants of the storm dripped and trickled from every surface. Lazy droplets fell down like so many ticking clocks, impossible to ignore once heard.

I was trying to fend off the hypnotic effect when movement above caught my eye. I glanced up to one of the upstairs windows but too late so that I was left unsure as to what, if anything, I had seen. A cold spot formed in my stomach as I played the moment over.

Had there been a figure at the window?”

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