Chapter Text
╔══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╗
“Hey! That’s my Nintendo Ds, Emily!”
I wake up to the sound of my younger siblings, Emily and Callum, fighting in the room beside mine. I groan and roll over, wishing for just a few more minutes of sleep. But I know I can't stay in bed for too long. Today is the day my family is going to my granny’s house so that we can take care of her since she’s ill. Great…
You might be wondering why I’m not so enthusiastic about this and might think it’s because I don’t like her, but the truth is that I love my grandma…just that I’ll be lonely in the countryside, and my only source of entertainment will be either staying outside or speaking with my online pals on Myspace.
As I get dressed, I can hear Emily and Callum still arguing over something. I head over to their room and find them both holding onto my Gameboy.
"Hey! That's my Nintendo Ds, Emily!" I say, trying to grab it from her.
"No, it's not! Mom said we could share it!" she protests, holding it tight.
I roll my eyes. "Mom said you could play with it, not take it for yourself. Give it back."
Emily grumbles and hands it over, and I quickly stash it in my backpack. I know I won't have much time to play it at granny's house, but it's still important to me.
After I put my Ds in my backpack, making sure to zip it up, I started walking downstairs to the kitchen, where I was greeted by my mother and father.
"Morning, Y/N!" my mom greets me with a smile. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, I guess," I reply, still feeling a little groggy. "What's for breakfast?"
"Scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast," my dad answers, pouring me a glass of orange juice.
"Yum!" my younger sister, Emily, chimes in, bouncing in her seat. "I love bacon!"
"Me too!" my other sibling, Callum, adds, grinning.
I smile at their enthusiasm, then turn to my dad. "Hey, Dad, do you know where the newspaper is?"
"It's on the counter, next to the fridge," he replies.
"Thanks," I say, grabbing the paper and flipping it open.
"So, Y/N," my mom starts, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "What are your plans for today?"
I shrug. "Not much, I guess. I'll probably just look through granny’s computer and maybe stay outside and doodle something."
My mom nods, then looks at my siblings. "And what about you two? Do you want to go outside and play when we go to granny’s house?"
"Yes, please!" Emily exclaims, bouncing in her seat again.
"Can we go exploring in the woods?" Callum asks eagerly.
My parents exchange a glance, then nod. "No, it’s too dangerous." my dad says.
"Aww, schnutz…” They both look at the ground in disappointment at what dad said.
As we all dig into our breakfast, I can't help but feel a sense of contentment. Even though we have our disagreements and arguments sometimes, I love my family and cherish these moments together.
After we were done eating, we started packing. I took my blackberry phone, my sketchbook, my camera (which was always kept with me), my notepad with passwords for all the accounts I use for various websites, as well as my Ds and the watercolour paints I used for painting landscapes and trees. These were all the things I needed for this trip to granny’s house where we'll most likely spend the whole summer vacation at.
"Let's go!" I call to my siblings as we step out of the house.
As we got in the car, I got my iPod out of my pocket, together with my earbuds and started playing some “My chemical romance” as I waited for the car to start. Once it started, I knew that I’ll get bored on this two-hour road trip.
The road to my grandma's house is a long and winding one that takes us deep into the countryside. As we leave the city behind, the landscape changes dramatically. The buildings and skyscrapers give way to fields and farms, and the air becomes cleaner and fresher.
The road itself is bumpy and uneven, with potholes and cracks that make the car jolt and bounce. I can feel my stomach churning with every bump, and I'm grateful when we finally hit a smoother stretch of the road.
On either side of the road, there are vast fields of green, dotted with farmhouses and barns. I can see cows and sheep grazing lazily, and horses galloping in the distance. The scenery is peaceful and serene, and I can't help but feel a sense of calm wash over me.
As we continue down the road, the landscape becomes more and more foresty, with steep inclines and sharp curves that require my dad to slow down. I can see the trees growing thicker and taller, their branches reaching out over the road like gnarled fingers.
As we get closer to my grandma's house, the road narrows even more, and the trees grow even denser. The air becomes cooler and damper, and I can smell the musty scent of fallen leaves and wet earth.
Finally, we turn onto a gravel road that leads to my grandma's house. The road is steep and rocky, and I can feel the car struggling to make its way up the hill. But as we round the final bend, I catch a glimpse of my grandma's house, nestled in a clearing surrounded by tall trees.
The house is a big old farmhouse, with a wraparound porch and a red roof that looks faded with age. It looks dark and spooky from the outside, but I know that inside it's warm and cosy, filled with the love and laughter of my family.
My grandparents moved here after my grandpa gave up on his dream of making a series for TV…at least that’s what my father always told me. He says that I’m just like my grandpa and that maybe someday I could continue his legacy of making art. Well, I am indeed going to art school in a few months after the summer vacation, trying to get a degree to make animations, so it might be true in some way.
I never got to meet my grandpa, since he committed suicide a few months after moving to the farmhouse, leaving my grandma to be a widow, and raising my aunt Gracie, my uncle Bill and my father.
"Wow, it looks just like I remember," I say, staring out the car window at the old, white farmhouse.
"Yep." my dad replies, pulling into the driveway.
As we step out of the car, I'm greeted by the sound of birds chirping and a gentle breeze rustling through the trees. The air is crisp and clean, and I feel invigorated by it.
My grandma is waiting for us on the front porch, a smile on her face. She looks frail and weak, but her eyes are bright and alert.
"Hello, my dears!" she says, hugging each of us in turn. "It's so good to see you all."
"It's good to see you too, grandma," I say, giving her an extra-long hug.
“Please, come inside. Mr Whiskers is probably waiting for you. You know that he’s very fond of you, (Y/N)!” The older lady laughed. I smiled at her as I entered the house.
As I step into my grandmother's farmhouse, the first thing that strikes me is the feeling of warmth and cosiness that permeates the entire space. The walls are made of rough-hewn wood, giving the place a rustic charm that feels both inviting and comforting.
The living room is the heart of the house, with a large stone fireplace dominating one wall. Over the mantel hangs a collection of family photos and heirlooms, reminding me of my family's rich history. The floors are made of wide planks that creak underfoot, and there are plush sofas and armchairs arranged around the fireplace, inviting me to sit and relax.
On the armchair, there sat Mr Whiskers, granny’s tabby cat. He looked chubbier and older, probably due to all the years that passed by. He was after all, 13 years old. I could still remember when my uncle, Bill, brought the cat on her 56th birthday. I was only five, but I could still remember all the fond memories I made with Mr Whiskers.
“Hello, Mr Whiskers!” I greeted the cat as I began petting under his chin. He let out a small meow as I was petting him, which made me giggle.
“Granny! Could we play Super smash bros Brawl?” Asked Callum as he got inside, taking off his baby blue tennis shoes.
“Of course!” I heard granny say as she entered inside. “Why don't you go upstairs while I finish cleaning?”
We all agreed to this, and as soon as my little siblings disappeared upstairs, I quickly walked to my auntie Gracie’s old room, which was now renovated to an average 90s kids’ room, where my siblings were playing on the Wii. I quickly walked to the big bulky computer granny bought for me and my older cousins to play neo pets on when we were over. As I sat in front of my computer, the screen flickered to life and the dial-up modem began its familiar whirring sound. The internet was still a relatively new and exciting place for me, so I spent most of my time on it.
I opened up Internet Explorer and eagerly began searching for whatever came to mind. I played various flash games on New grounds, and occasionally search for information on a particular topic or subject, using search engines like Yahoo or Google. I would read through forums and online discussions, fascinated by the wealth of knowledge and opinions available at my fingertips.
I quickly got bored of doing this after a few hours. My siblings were already done playing Super smash bros brawl, and they went outside to play tag or something.
“What should I do now…” I huffed, trying to find something to entertain me. I looked through my notepad with various emails and found my myspace profile’s email and password. Bingo, this should entertain me!
I quickly opened Myspace and entered my email and password. As soon as I hit login, I was met with my page which had Caramelldansen by Caramela Girls playing in the background. I saw that I had a new message from someone.
I opened my messages and saw a message from my good friend that I met on a forum years ago. Her name was Candi, and she was very passionate about scary stuff, like creepypastas.
“CANDYC0R3: Heyyaaa Beztie! I remembered that ur lazt name was Prescott or smth. I waz looking through more of thoze scary lost TV showz that were forgotten and I found thiz archive zite 4 thiz one show called “Welcome Home”, and the show waz created by some dude named Benjamin Prescott. I remember that u mentioned once that your grandpa’z name was Ben or smth. I just wondered if you knew anything about it :P”
What? What the fuck is that even? I quickly began typing on the keyboard to answer.
“EM0dollz: Zorry but nope. Wtf is the zhow even about? My grandpop’s name waz Ben tho, zo it must be a weird coincidence ಠ_ಠ”
“CANDYC0R3: U should totally check out the archive zite! I’ll zend u the link btw :3”
A few seconds after she said that she sent me a link to a site. I immediately clicked on it, curious about the site. This site Held a friendly and warm appearance. It was as if I time-travelled back to the 70s. Everything was very saturated, yet the colours still looked pleasing. I was first greeted by this yellow puppet character with blue hair that looked like Elvis Presley’s hairstyle. The rainbow letters “Welcome Home” complimented the saturated colours from the background, and so did this yellow puppet’s character design. The person who must’ve created the characters was very good at making designs.
As I was looking through the website, I noticed that the yellow puppet’s eyes kept following me. That’s weird…It must’ve been intentional so that it can attract more people who are obsessed over creepy old stuff like Candi.
As I was scrolling, I kept wondering “How the hell did I not know about this show until now?” Sure, it must’ve been from the time my parents were children/teens, but it was still weird that I never knew about this show’s existence.
As I scrolled, I found another link to the archival images. The images were fairly innocent, with just shots from the show and even toys that were sold in the early 70s. I wonder if they’re still sold on eBay, or if people completely forgot about the show and the puppets.
As I was looking through the photos, Candi sent me another message.
“CANDYC0R3: BEZTIE LOOK! I FOUND THE PICTURE OF THE BEN GUY. HE KINDA LOOKZ LIKE U!”
Huh? What does she mean by that? I opened the link she sent, and there were some pictures with the creators of the show. I looked through each one, just seeing the black and white images of some people having fun sewing puppets, and then there was one image, with the creator of the puppet “Wally Darling”...He looked kind of like me. We had the same eyes, same nose, and same smile with dimples showing. What was weirder is that he had the same last name as me. “Prescott”.
I immediately went back to the Myspace tab and started typing.
“EM0dollz: WHAT THE FLIP? HE DOES LOOK LIKE ME o_O”
"CANDYC0R3: U should ask ur grandmama about the show. She must know something about it! (゜-゜)”
“EM0dollz: Yuh. I’ll go ask her brb.”
I got off the chair and walked downstairs to where my grandma was watching soap operas like usual.
“Hey, granny! Could you tell me more about pops?” I asked as I flopped on the sofa next to her armchair, as Mr Whiskers jumped and ran away.
The older lady began giggling. “Oh, you remind me a lot of him! He was just as curious as you are. Well, he was a man of few words, and we first met when he made a puppet show at our old high school. Nobody liked his shows, as they deemed them “childish”, but I was always his number 1 fan.”
So…he did make puppet shows…interesting.
“Was there any puppet show project that he worked really hard on?” I asked her.
“Yes…you see when your father was just a child, he wasn’t too fond of what he saw on Tv. Your grandfather had the idea to create a TV show with every aspect that your father loved, but it didn’t work out in the end.”
“What was the project called?”
“It was called…Oh, I can’t tell you. His dying wish was for everyone to forget that project in the end. He even deemed it as “the devil’s own work”. Please, never mention this to anyone else, outside or inside the family.” She said.
“Oh, alright…” I said as I started walking away, Before I could head upstairs, I heard granny say:
“But why are you so curious about the project?”
I turned back around, seeing granny looking at me with a concerned look on her face.
“Oh, I just wanted to know what grandpops ever achieved before he died… I’m really sorry that I brought that subject on…” I said.
Granny gave me a small melancholic smile before saying. “That’s alright. Please just forget about this conversation we had.”
I just nodded and headed upstairs, feeling a little bad for opening such a sensitive subject. But, now I have enough information to know that my grandpa indeed had something to do with a puppet show, but I’ll never know if it has to do with anything about this “Welcome home” show.
I walked back to the bulky computer and began writing to Candi.
“EM0dollz: Okay, I did find out that my grandpopz indeed made a puppet show 4 my popz back when my popz waz a child, so it must’ve been made in the 70s. My grandma won’t tell me anything about it tho :( Do u have any ideaz for finding out more about this show? :P ”
“CANDYC0R3: U should search in the attic probably idk. Usually, thatz where horror protags find secretz :P.”
“EM0dollz: Ye, ur right :D! Thx 4 the idea beztie <3”
“CANDYC0R3: You’re welcome, neighbour.”
Neighbour? That’s weird…we are in no way neighbours. I live in Michigan, meanwhile, she lives in California. She’s probably trying to scare me somehow.
“EM0dollz: Nice try at trying to scare me, Candi XD”
“CANDYC0R3: Yeah. Heh :)”
She really is weird. That’s probably what made me befriend her.
I decided to close the Myspace tab and started walking to the place where the attic was. As I climbed up the dusty old ladder to the attic, a sense of anticipation built within me. The wooden ladder creaked beneath my feet as I ascended to the top. I took a deep breath and pulled the string hanging from the lightbulb above my head.
The sudden light illuminated the cobweb-filled space, revealing boxes and old furniture piled haphazardly around the attic. I made my way through the maze of boxes, careful not to disturb the fragile-looking piles.
As I rummaged through the boxes, I felt like a treasure hunter discovering new artefacts. Old photo albums with black and white pictures of my grandparents, vintage clothing, and antique furniture from long ago. I felt like I was transported to a different time and place.
“Woah! This is so strange!” I said as I began opening the boxes, trying to not make any noise so that my grandma wouldn’t be alerted that I entered the attic. She always told me and my cousins to never enter it, but she never specified why.
As I was looking through the boxes, I found pictures of myself back from when I was just a baby, and even my baby toys. this brought me a lot of nostalgia, but I still haven’t found anything about any puppets. Granny probably hid them somewhere very deep in the attic.
As I was walking, I stumbled upon an old trunk that had a layer of dust so thick, you could barely see what was inside. I put my hand on it and wiped off some of the dust, showing the colourful letters that looked a little dull from all the years of being in the attic.
“ ”Welcome home”... wait, that’s what the show was called!” I exclaimed as I tried opening the trunk, but it was locked. I needed a key…But wait! I have a hairpin with me, so I could probably use it to unlock this trunk!
I took a hairpin out of my hair, adjusted it a bit, and put it inside the hole of the trunk so that I could open it. Bingo. It opened.
I raised the lid up, and tried to stifle my coughs. That stupid dust kept getting inside my lungs! But that wasn’t important right now. What was important though, was that there was a lot of stuff in this trunk.
There was a lot of stuff inside, coming from photos to VHS tapes to even puppets! I picked one up. It was the one with the sun head. Her name was Sally I believe… I was still shocked at what a goldmine I just found inside this dusty old trunk.
“I should probably check the VHS tapes later!”
╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝