I took a cautious step into the old and abandoned house. The house that I had been going to for the past two weeks, without the consent of my dad. I knew that this worried him, but it worried me too. Why was I being drawn to a house that I have never lived in? It doesn’t make sense. That’s why I keep coming here, hoping to someday figure this mystery out.

The floorboards creaked under my shoes. I let my eyes wander around the room before I went any farther. Listening to my own breathing suddenly startled me, as I realized that it was the only sound audible. I took an expansive breath, and then entered the deeper parts of the house. It’s smell consisted of mildew and smoke, occasionally causing me to cough. What I was looking for exactly? I didn’t know, but what I did know was that there was something or someone pulling me to this particular house, and I was so fixated on the source.
I started biting my lower lip as I became more and more apprehensive and fearful. The car is right outside, I can leave whenever I want, and immediately. This thought was meant to comfort me, but it ended up doing just the opposite. I crept further and further into the house, expecting something while at the same time expecting nothing. I convinced myself that I was hearing a low humming in the background of the house, which really shook me. Everywhere I turned, I felt as if I saw someone, or a shadow of some sort. I knew everything was all in my head but I just didn’t believe myself. I kept walking, in and out of each room, until I felt a swift hand on my shoulder. I whipped my head around while pulling out my bat, with no regret. I swung but hesitated right before contact.

“Dad!” I screamed in angst, “What are you doing here?!” He seemed startled by my bat because he jumped back as soon as I turned around.

“I drove here Sara! You didn’t tell anyone where you were going so I suspected that you would take off to this place again,” he explained.

“Well...don’t follow me and just sneak up on me like that,” I barked, while putting my bat away.

“I need to know where my daughter is at all times, sorry that’s just how life works,” he sighed. “Okay, now come on sweetie, let’s go home,” he urged as he grabbed my arm. I ripped it out of his grasp before he could even start walking. This is my time to discover things by myself, not with my dad. He quickly turned to face me. I looked into his eyes and discovered all of his worries and fears. That is when I let myself tone down the hostility, just a notch. I started walking towards the front of the house, just to see him satisfied. I jumped into my car and looked regretfully towards my dad, sitting in the car right in front of me. He couldn’t see me but I knew that he suspected that I was sorry. On the drive home, a million different thoughts swirled around in my head. This continued until I reached a point when I was so distracted that I almost hit a tree. Luckily my dad was unable to see me, or else he would have restricted my driving privileges. The rest of the way home was a way for me and my dad’s tension to cool down and subside. I finally managed to make it home alive, although I was still so preoccupied with that house. Me and my dad stepped out of our cars simultaneously and gave each other a faint smile. We met at the middle when he put his hand on my back and guided me into the house.

“Sara, I have to do some work, do you need anything?”

“No, I’m fine. I have some things to do as well,” I answered.

“Okay,” he said as we parted ways. I walked up the stairs into my room. The dimmed light always made it feel more homey and welcoming. I sat down at my desk, and took a deep breath. Why do I always have to disappear to that house? What is wrong with me? Why do I have to make him get so nervous about me? I didn’t see anything in the house anyway.

I  opened my computer up to safari and typed one word: hallucination. I peered at the word, and then immediately deleted it. Instead, I typed abandoned house in Utah. What appeared was pictures and descriptions of random houses in Utah. I looked through all of them until I discovered a photo that matched the image of the one in my head. I clicked on it and the location read: 4716 Kemper Lane. That’s it! That’s the address of the house! My heart began to race faster as I began to obtain more and more information about it. It said the former owners go by the names of Rebecca and William Coleman. It didn’t give much more material except for the fact that they have a daughter. My strong urge to go to that house meant that I must be connected to these people in one way or another and I was determined to find out how. Although I truly had no clue how I could be attached to these people. I let my hands rest on the keys while I stared at the screen. When I felt that I had imprinted the content into my brain, I shut the computer.

Later that night, at dinner I was so antsy because I was eager to find those people. I could clearly tell that I wasn’t the only one who was aware of that.

“Sara, Sara. Slow down. You don’t have to eat that fast. There is enough food for everyone,” my dad informed me, just as I was shoving a mouthful of food down my throat. I quickly swallowed.

“Sorry dad. I’m just...really hungry,” I lied. After eating to my maximum amount, I excused myself and ran up to my room. That night I laid in my bed feeling restless and eager to do something. I grabbed my computer and as I opened it the bright screen blinded my eyes. I typed in Rebecca and William Coleman. I found their house now and the address. I needed to meet them.

I woke up that morning in a pile of sweat and instantly remembered what my dreams consisted of. All the different scenarios of what the former owners of the house and my connection will be. Most of them did not end up well.

I jumped out of bed, got dressed, then headed downstairs for breakfast. I ate quickly and then left.
Sitting in my empty car made me even more anxious than I had already been. I brushed off my fear and pulled out my map. I searched for the circled location, and started the car. The drive was filled with multiple incidents of being lost and stopping for gas, but I was luckily able to find the destination. I pulled up to the driveway and looked in awe of the mansion in front of me. I dropped the map onto the floor of the car. They clearly had a big upgrade from their other house. I hopped out of the car as soon as I was able to grab my bearings, and almost tiptoed over to the front door. I looked down at the address in my hand, took a deep breath and then knocked subtly on the wooden door. After a few seconds a petite lady wearing an apron opened the door. I realized that she was not Rebecca Coleman, so I said,

“Hello, my name is Sara Fine. Do you know if Rebecca and William Coleman are home right now? I want to ask them some questions about their old house on Kemper Lane.”

“Um… Mr. and Mrs. Coleman are not home right now but I’ll tell them you stopped by,” she said while shutting the door. I stopped her right before it closed.

“Sorry, it’s just, would you mind if I stayed until they came home? It’s a very urgent situation,” I pleaded. She hesitated a little bit, but finally said that it would be okay. She then closed the door, for good and I skipped back to my car.

I don’t have anywhere to be so I guess I can just wait for them. How long could they possibly take? I spent my time eating, reading, and thinking. Just as I was about to pop a pretzel into my mouth, my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Sara Fine?” a woman on the other end asked crucially.
“Yes it is, who is this?”

“This is Susan Crawford, I am a nurse at Utah Valley hospital and I am calling to inform you that your father has been in a car accident.”

I ran through the revolving doors of the hospital and demanded that someone tell me the location of my father. I rushed over to his room once I figured it out. There was a doctor with the name tag Dr. Rosenstein, standing outside of his room.

“Hi, are you Mr. Fine’s daughter?” he asked.

“Yes I am, Is he okay? What happened?” I questioned frantically.

“The roads were very icy and caused his to car swerve and crash into a tree,” he informed me.   

“Oh my god, well how is he?”

“Unfortunately, he broke his right arm, and has a severe concussion from which he has obtained some brain damage .”

“Oh... okay, well will I be able to see him soon?” I asked hesitantly, with a tear rolling down my cheek.
“No, I’m sorry you won’t be able to see him fairly soon, we have to complete his surgery which will take about nine hours.”

I creeped away trying to process the information that had been given to me, and entered the first empty room in sight. This space was filled with many available computers. I sat down at the nearest one and took a deep breath. The browser was already on Utah Valley hospital website. There was a long list of the patients. I scrolled down and found my father’s name on the list. I clicked on his name, and all his information appeared. I scrolled down the page. It listed his height, weight, any medical conditions, and his family members. I found the part where it said his blood-related children and underneath it was the word: none. I blinked, wait what? This must be a mistake, it has to be, of course, what was I thinking, it’s definitely a mistake. I got up and ran over to the nearest person who looked like they were employed here and asked them,

“Do you know if these computers with every patient’s information have any mistakes in them?”

“Um, I know for a fact that those computers are very accurate,” he hinted to me.

“Oh… ” I said as I bolted back to the room. I looked further down the page to where it stated, ‘Children (not blood related)’, that is where I found my name Sara Fine. My heart stopped as instant confusion swirled throughout my mind. I sat there staring at the screen, not being able to accept what I had just figured out. After a minute or two for searching for an explanation of this, I made the connection. I made the connection between me and the people whose house I had been to earlier in the day. Rebecca and William Coleman, are my real parents. I am adopted. The reason I was feeling such a strong connection to the abandoned house is because that’s where I once lived, with Rebecca and William as my parents, before they put me up for adoption. I put my hand on my stomach. I had quickly obtained a stomach-ache. Of course I am finding out about this now, right when my dad is getting surgery for nine hours. I thought, as a doubtful tear suddenly appeared on my lap. I have no one to talk to or scream at, no one to confide in or cry to. After sitting there like a hopeless child, I took a deep and trembling breath. I need to go to that house. I immediately thought while a sense of determination appeared in my gut. I got up and set all of my worries aside. I stormed out of the hospital not caring about my “dad” or his surgery. What I was filled with at this moment was rage and courage. I jumped into my car, started it, and drove away. I pulled up to their house with about six hours left of my dad’s operation. Now all of the bravery that I was carrying with me, seemed to deflate onto the floor as I got out of my car. No, not know, I was prepared and confident. I can’t let that just slip away. After a few deep breaths I managed to calm myself down, at least enough to knock on the door.

The door opxened and I saw a face similar to mine. It was the face of my mother.