The Key

It was late September 2012 and my husband and I had just signed the lease to our new apartment. It was a nice little family friendly place and although it wasn't totally what I had wanted, I was still very excited.

I was happy that the landlord was letting us paint the interior with colours that we wanted. He even agreed to let us come in a few days prior to the move-in date to do the painting. He also allowed us to tear up some old carpet.

The same day I went to do the painting and carpet removal, the landlord was there finishing up other renovations as well. He finished up before I did and offered me our key early so that I could lock up that night. The apartment was relatively empty, minus some left behind furniture and decor. I placed the key on an empty dining chair and went on about my business.

When I was there alone I felt like I was being watched. It was so creepy but I figured it was because I was in a strange house at night by myself. The house was equipped with old house creeks and all kinds of outdated furniture/decor that only intensified the situation.

Finally, in the wee hours of the morning my work was done and I could get out of that creepy old house. I reached for the key. It was gone! I had to take a second glance. Sure enough, no key. Surely it would be easy to find in a relatively empty apartment, right? Even though I was SURE I placed it on that chair.

After looking for one hour with frequent trips back to check that dining chair, I had no luck. I was getting paranoid, extremely paranoid. I mean, it wasn't like it was a plush chair with crevices. It was a smooth table chair and it was by its lonesome. There was no other chair near it. No other anything near it realistically.

Once more I went back to the barren chair knowing that no key would be seen. What was sitting there as if it had always been there? THE KEY! I ran. I ran like a little baby, locked up the door, jumped in my car and hit the road.

Later on in life I would find out the previous owner of the home, a man who raised his family in this home, had passed before we moved in and, yes, we still moved in.

The stories I could tell are endless but I'll leave those for another day.