THE SOUNDS

Eunice Huang

-- 11 --

Words Checked: 4368

Words in Oxford 3000: 95%

-- 22 --

The Sounds

Written By

EUNICE HUANG

-- 33 --

Contents

About the Author………………….. page 4

Synopsis……………………………..page 5

Chapter 1 Change……………….page 6

Chapter 2 New Environment…...page 11

Chapter 3 What’s the Sounds?....page 19

Chapter 4 Contact………………page 27

Chapter 5 Truth…………………page 38

-- 44 --

About the Author

Eunice Huang (1989- ) was born in Chia-Yi City

Taiwan and lived there until she came to study at

Wenzao. While she was writing this book, she

was still a student. Although she is major in

English, she still doesn’t have confidence in

English. This is the first time she wrote a novel.

‘The Sounds’ is a different kind of ghost story.

Difference in that it is not frightful at all. The

writer tried to deal with some significant events

like the love between parents and children, and

morality. The language in the story is simple, but

their ideas convene within the story important

meanings.

-- 55 --

Synopsis

The Higgins was a poor but satisfied family.

They owned a small restaurant in suburb. But

one car accident brought the only man away, and

the wife and son had no support. They closed the

restaurant and moved to an old house in a small

village. However, it seemed not the final disaster.

There were some strange sounds at night. What

could it be? And would they find happiness again

at the end?

-- 66 --

Chapter 1 Change

It was like any other day, but something

seemed to be different.

At nightfall, it was not the time to knock off;

all customers left and there were still some plates

on the tables waiting to be washed. There was a

loud sound of laughing from the kitchen.

‘Honey, it’s perfect that today our revenue is

more than ever!’ said David happily. ‘Maybe we

should celebrate! I think it is time all three

should go on vacation.’ The wife didn’t say a

word, but just smiled and nodded. But the child

was so happy that danced with Lucky, their dog,

-- 77 --

and kept saying all the places he wanted to go.

Everything seemed to be perfect. Actually,

their restaurant was very small in the suburb.

David Higgins was the chef and his wife, Helen,

was the only waitress. As everyone could see,

they were not so rich, but they still had happiness.

They believed to being together was more

important than anything else.

Early in spring, the snow started to melt

and it would be the time coldest. No customers

came to their restaurant. This would be miserable

for most restaurant owners, however, David and

Helen thought that was the time to have a rest

-- 88 --

and decided to go on vacation. In fact, the

vacation didn’t really like other peoples. They

just went to a park downtown and took a walk

there. But they still had a lot of fun. They didn’t

have so much money, so they couldn’t afford to

stay in a hotel. David decided to go home early

because it would be dangerous driving at night.

On the way home, because of the wet and

slippery road, David drove very carefully

although he felt a little sleepy. However, no

matter how carefully he was the car’s brakes

suddenly not to work. He tried to calm Helen and

himself down, but Helen began to cry and

-- 99 --

shouted,

‘Oh no! Stop! Stop! Please!’

Their son, Harry, didn’t know what had

happened, and was still sleeping deeply.

Suddenly, a dog ran out into the road,

David dodged it but the car crashed into a grove

beside the road. For them, the moment was static

and quiet, father’s blood gushed across every

corner of the car, and also on Harry’s face. Helen

was like a sleeping beauty, “sleeping” quietly

and lovely wearing a bright red dress, laying

beside David. Harry was completely frightened,

though he couldn’t say a word more. He didn’t

-- 1100 --

cry or he might just too shock to do reactions.

The world suddenly seemed motionless to

Harry. The sound of ambulance siren became

louder and louder. That was the only sound Harry

could hear.

-- 1111 --

Chapter 2 New Environment

It was originally a happy and memorable

trip. And actually it was really unforgettable.

David died in the car accident and Helen held a

simple funeral for him. She wept in silence for

him. That day was a sunny day, but for her and

Harry, it was a cloudy and grey day. Harry stood

outside the restaurant and looked up at the sky

sadly. ‘Sweety, come in!’ Helen called him. ‘I

just wanna tell you, everything will be all right.

Daddy he is just tired, and wants sleep a while.’

Harry still hadn’t spoken since the cars accident

and just looked at her sadly. They embraced each

-- 1122 --

other and burst into tears, although Helen tried

not to cry in front of her son. She wanted him to

know it wasn’t the end of this family.

A restaurant didn’t have a chef, and a

family didn’t have a man as a husband and father.

Her husband’s death distressed her greatly. Helen

had no support, so she closed the restaurant and

decided to leave the sorrowful place in order not

to recall all the beautiful and unforgettable

memories with David.

She brought Harry to find her old friends

in a small and peaceful village, Silver, so that

they could find a new place to stay. However,

-- 1133 --

they had all moved away. Helen didn’t want to

go back, so she decided to stay. She tried to rent

a room or house, but no one was for rent.

In the evening, as Helen was almost

giving up, she met a man. Mr. Rice, a houses

seller, knew her problem, so he recommended

some inexpensive houses which a little away

from the village. ‘It’s already night so I want one

near the village,’ Helen said. ‘Oh… I see, you

have a child. Alright! If you don’t mind a house

that is old and a little damaged, I know one that

is very cheap, ah… No. It’s free!’ Helen was very

grateful but she wondered why it was free, so she

-- 1144 --

was indecisive. ‘It’s nothing! It just hasn’t had a

master for a long time. I heard some people had

lived there, but maybe they earned enough

money, and moved away. And I heard now it’s

empty again,’ he explained. Helen nodded to

agree although she was still worried.

After saying good bye to Mr. Rice, Helen

brought Harry to their “new” temporary house.

On the way, Harry still wouldn’t speak; he was

just in no mood to do so, so he just followed his

mother.

The house was really big and old. It was a

three stories villa and had many windows but

-- 1155 --

most of them were broken. It looked especially

more ghastly at night. However, Helen had no

choice. She had to have the courage to go inside,

so Harry would have a place to call home.

Helen looked at all the rooms inside. She

found the house was very elegant, because there

were many rooms for different occasions. But

most of the costly things were gone, perhaps

even stolen. But that was not the point. Helen

quickly choose a room and cleaned it. At this

time, Harry and Lucky, his pet, were strolling in

the house. Harry found there was a locked attic.

He tried to break the lock, but no use.

The house was big and old; it looked especially more

ghastly at night.

-- 1166 --

-- 1177 --

“Sweety! Where are you? I’ve been looking for

you for a long time. Come here!” Helen found

him and brought him back to the room. Harry

tried to talk about the attic, but Helen was so

tired that she pulled him fast as she wanted to

go to bed early. Harry therefore felt angry, so he

decided not to tell her about the attic, nor even a

word! He held Lucky in his arms and went to sit

in the corner of the room. Helen tried to let him

sleep on her bed, but Harry just as usual, didn’t

say a word. Helen didn’t know what’s wrong

with him; however, she couldn’t let her son

keep in bed mood. She gave Harry a hug and

-- 1188 --

put him to bed. He wept himself to sleep, even

though Lucky was also sleeping beside him.

Although Helen was sleepy, she still waited him

fall asleep, and that was almost the morning.

-- 1199 --

Chapter 3 What’s the Sounds?

The problems haven’t finished, their money

was less and less. Helen tried to find a job.

However, it was not easy to find a job in a small

village. So, she decided to go to the biggest farm

and tried to request a work. The owner’s name

was Catherine, a very beautiful lady. She owned

the large farm after her husband died. When she

heard Helen’s story, she was sorry and quickly

promised to give Helen a job. Helen was also

good at cooking, so Catherine let her do the

cooking, clean the house and also for have a

person to talk to. Helen was very thankful, so she

-- 2200 --

worked hard, and she always came home late.

Because of this, Harry became more lonely and

reserved. The neighbors’ children laughed at him

because he didn’t have a father like the others did.

So, Lucky was Harry’s only friend, always

beside him to protect him. Harry didn’t want to

be laughed at any moment so he stayed home all

day with Lucky. Most of the time what he did

was playing with Lucky or just sitting in the

living room missing his father and crying.

The sadness caused him to forget about the

attic he had found the first day. One day,

Catherine held a big party and invited lots of

Lucky was Harry’s only friend, always beside him to

protect him.

-- 2211 --

-- 2222 --

people Helen had to stay that day to prepare for

at this. She asked Harry to come, but he refused.

He didn’t want to go because he knew he would

see the other children. Therefore, that night only

Harry and Lucky were at home. Harry went to

bed early. However, he was so scared that he

couldn’t fall asleep. The night was very quiet; it

seemed no one was alive in the world. Then he

started to think about some beautiful memories

he had had with his father. He always did this, as

it helped him not being so afraid of the loneliness.

Suddenly, there were some strange sounds. It

seemed like someone was walking in the living

-- 2233 --

room. At first, Harry thought that it could be his

Mom. She might have forgotten something and

came back to get it. About ten minutes later, the

sounds stopped. While he was almost falling

asleep, there were some different sounds coming

from the living room again. This time Harry

heard crying. Harry was very scared and hid

himself under his blanket. The crying sound

lasted a long time and even became louder and

louder. After an unknown time, Harry was woken

up by Helen in the morning. When Harry saw his

Mom, he hugged her tightly wailing. He told her

about the sounds he had heard last night, but

-- 2244 --

Helen just smiled at him trying to calm him

down by saying, “Sweety, don’t be scared! It

may be just mice or cats. I won’t leave you alone

home again! OK?”

After this event, Helen tried to finish her

work quickly so she could come home early. But

she was always so tired that she slept very early

and deeply. And the sounds came out again.

Harry said it many times, but Helen never heard

the sounds. So, she thought Harry just needed

extra attention so she just tried to come home

earlier.

However, the work was not so easy. Helen

-- 2255 --

tried to finish quickly, but sometimes there

would be some problems. Catherine’s house was

very big; so many places were needed to be

cleaned. She also needed to cook lunch and

dinner for Catherine. Helen worked very hard

well before; it was because she spent lots of time,

and always went home late. Now she worked

very fast. Some places would not be so tidy as

usual and the food she cooked became simpler.

Gradually, she suddenly realized what she was

doing, and apologized to Catherine. She thought

Catherine might have already known about this

problem, so she wanted to recover it.

-- 2266 --

She worked harder than ever; of course, and

so she started to come home lately again.

Fortunately, Harry no longer seemed so scared

and went to bed early everyday. So, it seemed

like nothing had happened before.

-- 2277 --

Chapter 4 Contact

Days after days, the strange sounds didn’t

appear again. Helen still came home late, but

sometimes Catherine would let her off early.

Harry still couldn’t make friends, so he only had

Lucky as his friend.

One night, Helen as usual, didn’t come home

yet. Harry was sitting alone in the sleeping room,

and Lucky was in the living room. Suddenly,

Lucky started to bark. Harry didn’t mind that and

continued to think if his father was alive how

great it would be. About ten minutes later, Lucky

stopped barking. Harry thought that it might be

-- 2288 --

his mom coming back, so he left the sleeping

room and went into the living room. When Harry

stepped into the living room, he found there was

a person sitting on the old sofa, and Lucky was

gone.

‘Mom? Mom? Is that you?’ Harry was confused.

There was no reply from the person. Harry was a

little bit frightened, and walked slowly toward

the sofa. ‘Who are you, boy?’ The person started

talking. It sounded like an old man, and someone

who was a little bit angry to him.

‘I am Harry Higgins, and…’

‘Ok. Come here!’ The old man said not waiting

-- 2299 --

for Harry to finish speaking, and raising his

finger pointed to the sofa. This meant for Harry

to sit. Harry was scared of him, but he still sat

down with the old man. Harry looked him up and

down. The old man’s face looked very tired with

no vitality. He wore an aged and a little dirty

brown overcoat. Finally, he found that the old

man had only one leg. Harry was shocked for a

while, but soon his emotion turned to sorry and

sympathized with him.

‘What are you looking at, boy?’

Harry quickly lowered his head. ‘Sorry! I am not

deliberately. I just...’ The old man interrupted

-- 3300 --

him again. ‘Ok. Go and never come back!

Otherwise, you had better watch out!’

‘What? This is my home! My mom, Lucky and I

have lived here a long time.’ ‘This is not your

home.’ Suddenly, the old man disappeared, and

Harry began screaming after him.

‘Mom! Mom!...’ Harry woke up shouting on

the bed in the morning. Helen was sitting beside

him and looked worried at him. ‘What happened,

Sweety? Why did you sleep on the sofa last

night?’

Harry couldn’t stop crying. Helen gave him a

hug, and tried to dry his eyes. After a while,

-- 3311 --

Harry told her about the old man he had seen last

night. Helen just smiled at him, and told him it

was just a dream. However, Harry was very sure

what he experienced. He felt scared and

persuaded her to move away immediately. Of

course, Helen didn’t believe him. She pacified

him and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

After she finished cooking the breakfast, she

called Harry to come to eat. But Harry was angry

with her and ran to sit in the corner again. Helen

tried to ask him to come to the table, but it was

no use.

‘Sweety! It was just a nightmare, don’t be so

-- 3322 --

scared! I really have to go now, or I’ll be late!’

Harry didn’t reply and looked at her unhappily.

Helen put some bread and fried eggs on his plate,

then put it in front of Harry. ‘Don’t make

yourself hungry over the small things! I’ll be

back early!’ Helen then went off to work.

So it was only Harry at home. He ate his

breakfast and then suddenly realized Lucky was

gone. He started to look for him. He couldn’t

stay in the house without him, because Lucky

was his only friend and Harry was afraid of

solitude.

After a long time, Lucky still didn’t show up.

-- 3333 --

Harry became more frightened, and he recalled

he hadn’t gone upstairs, to the attic. He quickly

went up the staircase. Lucky was there. However,

he was hanged and dead. Harry screamed and

cried seeing the awful circumstance. He ran

down the staircase immediately and hid under his

blanket. Wrapping in the blanket, he cried and

kept calling for his mother. Eventually, about one

or two hours later, he fell asleep.

It was at nightfall when Helen came back.

She told Catherine about her son’s problem.

Catherine then gave Helen two-days off and

promised she would still get paid. Helen woke

-- 3344 --

Harry up because she wanted to tell him the good

news. However, when he woke up, he told her

the bad news right away. Helen then went up to

see if it was real or not. She was shocked. She

pulled down Lucky and gave him a kiss. ‘Rest in

peace! My dear!’

At the midnight, Helen still couldn’t sleep,

but Harry slept deeply. The night was silent.

Suddenly, she heard some strange sounds coming

from upstairs. It was like someone was plodding

wearily up there. She was scared, but she still

picked a broom to protect her and went up. There

was no one there, but there was a locked attic.

-- 3355 --

The lock was very old and fragile, so Helen got

in easily. In the attic, there were some old but

luxurious furniture and an old man was just

standing beside it. The old man looked just like

what Harry had described. He was staring at

Helen angrily.

‘It’s you who killed my dog, right? And

frightened my son, right? I tell you I am not

afraid of you…’

‘Stop! Don’t blame this on me! I’ve told you to

go away. This is not your home!’

‘What? Why didn’t you tell us while we just

moving in? Why should I believe you? I, I…’

-- 3366 --

Helen hadn’t finished what she wanted to say but

suddenly felt dizzy. She fell down in a swoon.

The night was silent again, and the night was

almost over. The sun rose slowly.

The old man looked just like what Harry had described.

He was staring at Helen angrily.

-- 3377 --

-- 3388 --

Chapter 5 Truth

The sun shed light and warmth on Helen’s

face. She woke up and thought about what had

happened last night. She trembled out of fear, so

she woke Harry up right away. She asked him

about the old man he had seen. After she

confirmed the old man’s appearance, she brought

Harry out immediately.

‘Where are we going? I wanna sleep for a while,

please!’

‘Sweety! Let’s go out for a walk! I, I also want to

visit our neighbors. We have lived here a long

time, but haven’t visited them. It is not polite!’

-- 3399 --

Helen said very fast and a little bit nervous.

While they left the house, Mrs. Gibson was

passing by the house Helen seemed to want to go

faster by.

‘Hi! Good morning, Mrs. Gibson!’ Helen quickly

went in front of her. However, Mrs. Gibson just

nodded and left. It was strange, so Helen thought

there would be some problem with the house.

She decided to visit other neighbors to ask them

about what was wrong with the house. First, they

visited Mr. Brown who lived on their right side.

He was middle ages, about forty or more, and he

was single. When he opened the door and found

-- 4400 --

out it was Helen and her son, he welcomed them

to come in. Harry felt scared of him, because Mr.

Brown was always had a nauseating smile.

‘Thanks! But I just wanna ask you some

questions about the house we live in.’

‘Oh! I heard there was ghost in that house.

You’re brave! Ha,ha… Or, if you don’t mind,

you can live with me!’ Mr. Brown changed his

tone in a disgusting way. Helen was not sure

what shocked her the ghost or the suggestion.

Helen thanked him and then turned around and

left with Harry immediately.

After visiting Mr. Brown, the following

-- 4411 --

neighbors they visited avoided talking about the

house. But for sure, Helen thought, the house

must have problems.

It was near noon, and Harry was hungry and

thirsty. He wanted to go home, but he and his

mother were afraid of the ghost. So, Helen

brought him to Catherine’s house to ask for help.

On the way, they met an old lady, about sixty

years old. She first saw them and was shocked

but soon she started to commend them for their

bravery. ‘I know you live in that house. How

brave you are!’ ‘Why, why are you saying this?

Is there some story in that house?’ Helen asked

-- 4422 --

terrified.

‘Don’t you know? Strange! Ten years ago, an old

military man died in that house. He was not the

house’s owner, he was a butler.’

‘Just a butler? How can he expel us! He was not

the owner!’ Harry asked confused.

‘Yes, listen, the owner was a rich family named

Walter.’ The old lady continued. ‘They employed

the old retired military man, so he was very

thankful and very loyal. Once, the Walters went

on a vacation and never came back again. I’ve

heard that they were killed in a car accident!’

‘Just like my father…’ Harry said sadly in tears.

-- 4433 --

‘Oh! Little boy, I am sorry to hear this.’ Helen

gave him a hug and then encouraged the old lady

to continue.

‘Ok. After that, the old man, uh… the butler, was

still living at the house and… like… protected it.

One day he died in that house, so the house had

no master. However, I think he is still protecting

it. Some people have lived there, but some died

and some left early.’

‘Really? No wonder no one wants to talk about

this.’ Helen was fearful and apprehensive and

Harry was too. However, he asked Helen to go

back to the house because he wanted to know

-- 4444 --

why the butler killed Lucky. This request

shocked both Helen and the old lady. Certainly,

she refused and then thanked the old lady for

telling her the truth. Following her original plan,

she brought Harry to her employer, Catherine’s

house.

Fortunately, Catherine was so kind that she

allowed them to live with her and she even

suggested that they live with her from now on.

Helen felt an immense gratitude to her and kept

saying thank you. In contrast, Harry was a little

scared because it was the first time he had met

her.

-- 4455 --

It was near sunset and the sky was getting

darker and darker. Helen was preparing dinner.

She decided to go back to pack their things so

they could leave tomorrow. Harry was sitting

with Catherine in the living room. They didn’t

talk to each other; Catherine was just drinking

tea and smiled at him. Suddenly, Harry stood up

and went outside for no reason without telling

anyone. Catherine thought he was just too shy, so

she didn’t stop him. However, this was not right.

Where he really went was to the old house. He

wanted to talk to the ghost in order to ask if his

father was still beside him or not.

-- 4466 --

It was night time, and the house looked more

terrible than ever. He was frightened, but he still

went in the house. It was very dark inside and the

blowing wind was cold. Suddenly, the door

closed, and then a light appeared. It was the old

retired military man.

‘Why have you come back, boy?’

‘I, I know you are ghost, and I also know you are

protecting this house.’

‘You aren’t afraid of me? Yes, as you said. I am

protecting the house, so please go away. I don’t

want to hurt you.’

‘Why? But you took Lucky away from me!’

-- 4477 --

‘You know, it was a warning.’

Harry felt angry but he didn’t dare to blame him.

‘I wanna ask you one thing, and then I won’t

return again.’ ‘Good.’ the old man felt happy.

‘Is my father still with me?’

‘Uh… No.’

‘Why? But you are here?’

‘Listen, boy. It’s different. Your father might

already been in heaven looking at you.’

‘Really? Why don’t you go to heaven? The

house’s owner won’t return, so you don’t need to

keep staying here.’ Harry felt a bit disappointed.

‘You are right but I can’t do this. It’s all about

-- 4488 --

repaying their help. So, now you should go. No

more questions.’ He changed his tone and open

the door. At this time, Helen was outside the

house. She found Harry was gone so she bet he

would come here. After the door opened, she

came in immediately and held Harry and went

back Catherine’s house. At that time, the old man

disappeared. Helen was very worried and wanted

to leave right away, but Harry seemed like he

want to say something. ‘Thank you! Rest in

peace!’ Harry said. When they came out of the

house, there was a reply “hearing” from the old

man in the empty house.

-- 4499 --

‘Thank you, boy.’

＊

The house was empty again. The old man

was still protecting it in the house. Helen and

Harry, this incomplete family, lived with

Catherine, was also a poor woman. The two

women helped and supported each other. Harry

became more active although his father wasn’t

with him. Because he knew his father was in

heaven looking at him, he was not lonely.

Everything had changed again. This change for

Helen and Harry was returning to the happiness

they had known when David was alive.

-- 5500 --

References

Pictures

Cover

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15955251@N04/

2368296452/

P.16

http://www.neonlite.ca/archives/2005/05

P.21

http://www.carolinamag.com/intarsia.html

P.37

http://www.flickr.com/photos/awmjr_magoo/5

13856116/

-- 5511 --

Synopsis

The Higgins was a poor but satisfied family.

They owned a small restaurant in suburb. But

one car accident brought the only man away, and

the wife and son had no support. They closed the

restaurant and moved to an old house in a small

village. However, it seemed not the final disaster.

There were some strange sounds at night. What

could it be? And would they find happiness again

at the end?