The house was brand new.

It  rooms were  full of bright light from the uncovered windows,  it’s hallway walls were covered with beige and green striped wall paper that still smelled a little minty from the past on it’s backside and the wall to wall carpet  still crackled a little when you walked across the floors.

The new House was surrounded outside by freshly planted full grown  trees and it’s lawn had only arrived from the garden center almost a month ago.

Today the House was as eager and ready as a bride walking down the aisle to her groom on her wedding day.

Truthfully, if the House had feet, it would be honest to say they were a tiny bit cold, but not much.

To pass the time and soothe it’s nerves, with the help of a little talking black box on it’s kitchen counter, the House clicked it’s own lights off and on, it opened and closed it’s own windows and  it ran the faucets in the bathrooms. It also played some music over it’s sound system, but it switched from one station to another without really hearing a note coming over it’s speakers.

Had the House been built with a pair of hands, it would be chewing it’s nails because today was a day of firsts.

Today the house would receive it’s first family, it’s first dog. A key would actually work it’s lock and the door would swing open and the house would have a family that would call it, ‘home.’

And then it happened.

Just before nine o’clock the House heard a car pull up, it’s garage door hummed and then swooshed up into place.

The front door opened and the house’s very first family walked through the door.

Gus was the Dad, Lindsey the Lady of the House, her 10 year old daughter Camille and Gus’s 15 year old son Buck.

They were a little dusty, a little rumpled  and the House wasn’t sure it liked them, nonetheless they were here and ready to make the House live.

From that point on, the inside of the house buzzed with voices and it’s walls echoed footsteps and the air filled with real smells that real people make – fast food, coffee and body spray.

Furniture and boxes sprouted up in the rooms, the dog peed on a few potted plants and wondered outside and sat under one of the  trees and then it curled up and fell asleep.

The House was taking in each of these  firsts when the Lady was heading up the stairs with a painting in her hands.

Lindsey was upset because someone in her family had hung it in the living room. She had insisted it be hung in the hallway near the loft because it ‘spoke’ the clearest from that spot.

The House was surprised. It hadn’t heard the painting say a thing, but today was a first so maybe it had said something and the house had missed it. Besides when Lindsey had started in about the painting, the House was holding a closet door shut- it was just a game it had decided to play with Buck.

New houses like to play tricks like ‘sticking doors’ and ‘wobbly towel rack’ so it was a little distracted when it did hear something.

The House heard thudding and crashing and crunching- it  hadn’t heard a racket like that since the day it’s roof was put up.

Curious, the House let it’s closet door swing open and it turned it’s attention to the bottom of the stairs where the  Lady of the House was tangled up with her painting still clutched in one hand.

Her neck bent at an unhealthy angle gave the impression she was scowling into her family’s stunned faces.

The house shivered to it’s foundation- today was a day of firsts.

It’s first family had moved in, it’s rooms were being furnished for the first time and there were curtains being hung in it’s windows for the first time.

And now the House was about to get it’s first ghost.

Inspired by: MLMM Photo Challenge #335