The Music Box



Not too long ago, there was a very poor man named Sebastian who lived in an old abandoned building. One night, after he came home from his evening stroll, he went into the kitchen to have a snack. He most often would make ham and cheese sandwiches since he had nothing else to eat. As he took a bite of his sandwich, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his teeth, he went into the bathroom and looked into a mirror.

His hair was a mess, his eyes were blood-shot, his clothes were dirty, there were blood stains on his face and the teeth he had left were horrendously dirty. He looked where the pain came from; a piece of ham was stuck inside his gums where his molars are. Of course if he were smart, he would've pulled the ham out, but instead he took out a syringe needle in one of the drawers that had clear fluid inside, placed it in his gums and slowly injected the fluid. Then he grabbed pliers from the same drawer and began yanking at his tooth. He kept yanking and yanking and yanking until he pulled it right out. A pool of blood ran out of his mouth and drained into the sink. He looked at his tooth with wonder thinking about where he wanted to keep it, but this was nothing new. He placed it in a small tin box with the other lost teeth.

Later, he was reading a ghost story at the kitchen table for about two hours. Afterwards, he was beginning to feel tired and wanted to go to bed. He placed the book down and was heading upstairs... Until he heard a quiet tune coming from his basement. He grew curious of what it could be. Pausing, he turned around and went back down the stairs to investigate. He opened the basement door, turned on the flashlight and explored. He could faintly hear the music, but he continued on. It got louder on every step he took, and soon, the sound seemed loud enough for him to be in the same room with it. He stopped. He looked at an old white queen-sized bed which where the music was coming from. He approached, feeling the need to satiate his curiosity.

He was getting really nervous. He bent over, quickly pulling back the sheet and looked downward. His eyes widened when he saw a small music box with an open top. He reached over and closed the music box and took it upstairs. He placed on the kitchen table and examined it. He didn't understand what it was doing down in the basement, and more so, why it was open, but he didn't question it. He opened the music box and it was playing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'. He looked surprised when the song played. It reminded him of how when he was a kid, his mother would always sing this to him as a lullaby, then his small smile slowly turned to a wider grin.

Immediately, the music stopped. He lost his grin and started to worry, At first he didn't understand why it wasn't playing anymore and finally he thought that the batteries were dead and began looking for new ones in the kitchen. He looked in every drawer and cabinet until he finally found new ones, but when he looked on the table the music box had mysteriously went missing. He slightly began to panic and started looking for it. As he was looking for the music box, the power suddenly went off. Now he was really frightened. He quickly grabbed a flashlight in one of the drawers and turned it on.

Then he heard the music box playing upstairs, and he was nothing short of terrified. He slowly walked upstairs to find the music box, and as he made it to the top steps his flashlight started flickering and turned off. He was banging on the flashlight for it to turn on but gave up, as it didn't seem to be working. When the music started to play in one of the rooms, he swung the door open. As he opened the door the melody suddenly stopped. He looked into the room and there was nothing but pitch black. Then he heard the music again and walked down the hall. Listening carefully, he tracked down the source, but once again, the music stopped as he opened the door, and just like the first room, it was pitch black and there was nothing there. Finally, the music was coming from the room at the end of the hallway. He walked slowly to the room, paying special attention to stay quiet.

The floors were creaking with every step he took. As he opened the door, the music didn't stop this time. The room wasn't pitch black, but a stream of moonlight from his window shone on his bed where the music box was sitting and the top was open, just like before. He slowly walked towards his bed and picked up the music box. He felt relieved, lighting a big grin. As the music was playing, he heard the door slam behind him, but he was too scared to turn around.

Then he heard footsteps coming towards him. He quickly turned around. The footsteps stopped and no one was there. He looked back at the music box, the footsteps getting louder again. He turned once more, and again the footsteps stopped and no one was there. Again, he looked back at the music box. This time, the footsteps got even louder and closer than ever. Now, the footsteps stopped almost right behind him. Then the music stopped.

He became so terrified, he held his breath. He slowly turned his head... But again no one was there. The music quickly turned on, giving him a shock. And he just HAD to look over his shoulder.

He loudly screamed. The deafening sound echoed throughout the entire room.

A few days later when someone else went into the abandoned building, Sebastian was gone without a trace, aside from a few things filling the cabinets and shelves. However, they did find a music box sitting on his bed, open, and playing a familiar childhood melody... Perhaps they should take it with them?