By: Connie Cao

It was the dead of night, and everyone had gone to bed. Not a single leaf rustled in the wind, not a single car drove by, and there were no sounds of kids playing—just peace and quiet.

A forceful gust of wind swept through, causing the streetlamps to flicker and casting eerie shadows that danced across the pavement…

A man wearing a tall bowler hat and a long black cloak swiftly approached house 29, looked around, then placed a red envelope at the doorstep. With another swift movement, the man disappeared as quickly as he had come, leaving the neighbourhood as eerie as before.

Kaylie woke up with a start when her mother squealed in glee from downstairs.

“Kaylie!” she called. “There’s something here for you!”

“Good morning,” Kaylie said, smiling at her mom.

“You took a long time to get ready,” her mom said impatiently. “Here, check this out.”

Kaylie’s mom handed her a red envelope, and Kaylie took it in her hands, slowly turning it around.

The envelope felt peculiar. It wasn’t like the average envelopes you would buy at your stationery store. It felt almost rough. Kaylie noticed a bloodstain on the side of the envelope, though it had been covered in a rush.

“How weird.”

She pretended not to notice it and opened the letter.

Dear Kaylie,

58 Avenue House 45. Urgent. Will explain when you get there. If you win, I’ll give you a large sum of money.

Good luck,

Rel

Kaylie’s heart raced as she read the words on the page. Her mind raced with a flurry of thoughts, each a combination of excitement and skepticism. ‘Urgent?’ she mused, a hint of curiosity lacing her thoughts. ‘What could be so urgent? And who is this Rel person? And winning money… Could this be the solution to my problems?’ Her fingers traced the edges of the blood-stained envelope as her mind whirred with possibilities.

“Guess I’ll have to find out.”