The 6th Sense

"Sarah! Come back with my book!" Matt yelled, running after his little sister. Matt was only fourteen, and his sister Sarah was just eight. They were the children of a wealthy family. Their father worked in a successful agency, while their mother had retired due to her pregnancy.

"Whoaaa, slow down there little missy!" said the father, picking up his little daughter.

"Dad, help! He's after me. Matt's gonna get me!" she replied, giggling madly. Matt came in running, but suddenly stopped when he saw his dad. He was giving him a glance that made Matt feel guilty. His dad looked at the book that Sarah had in her hand, and Matt got a little bit tense at that time. Spirits & The Other World it said on the cover. His dad gave a long stare at it, while Matt was just standing there, knowing that he was going to get scolded for it.

"Matt, what kind of trash are you reading?" his dad said, his tone annoyed.

"I-I found it at the bookstore..." Matt said, in a voice that trembled a little.

His dad put down Sarah and went up to Matt, slowly hitting the book on his other palm. "I don't want you reading such bullshit like this. Never again!"

He threw the book hard, and it hit a vase, causing it to shatter on the wooden floor. Still angry, the father stepped outside to his car, going off to work again. Matt bent down and picked up his book, glaring at his little sister.

"See what you did, Sarah?!" he yelled, and ran up the stairs off to his room.

His mother was outside in the backyard doing the laundry. When she came in, she saw that the vase was broken.

"Matt?!" she called for him. No answer came. "Matt?!" she yelled, louder, and again no sound came. Sarah came in, clutching her doll.

"What happened here, Sarah?" the mum asked.

"Daddy yelled at Matt for reading a book." she said. "Then he threw the book and broke the vase".

The mother knew Sarah and Matt weren't the naughty type, so she believed her. "You go to your room and play, sweetheart. I'll be cleaning up this mess," she said, and Sarah ran to her room without another word.

Meanwhile, Matt was in his room, upset about what his father had done. He couldn't help being interested in books about supernatural things such as life, religion, and magic. But his Dad had never allowed him to read such things, not even the Bible.

Since his dad was gone, Matt could now read his book in peace. He was amazed by the things written inside it.

In the meantime, Sarah was in her own room, playing with her doll. "Mary? Do you think brother is upset with me?" She said playfully, speaking with her doll. Still, she was feeling quite guilty of how her father had scolded Matt.

Evening came, and the father arrived home from his work. The mother was getting dinner ready, and at that time the father was talking about Matt and his 'ridiculous' books.

"How can you allow your son to read such stupid things?" he said, angrily. "Don't you know how young he is? He's reading about dangerous stuff, you know."

"You know that books are meant to be read as long as you're not overly affected by them," the mother replied, smiling calmly.

"But kids his age go to friends' houses and concerts, listen to music and have fun. But look at him! All he does is close himself to his room and read books!" fumed the father, now sounding more confused and worried than angry.

Dinner was ready, yet Matt didn't want to eat. Or perhaps he did, but he simply didn't want to see his father. His mother took his dinner to his room, out of respect for that.

"Sweetie, I know you love to read, but you know that your dad doesn't want these kind of things in the house," the mother said, rubbing his hair to ease his mind.

"I understand my dad denies... but what if they're true? What if it's wrong? Anything is possible, mother," he replied. The mother sighed, and just continued to mutely stroke his hair. After his dinner was finished, she took the leftovers to the kitchen and started washing the dishes.

Night time came, and everyone went to sleep. That night, Sarah was having an unusually vivid and frightening dream.

"Sarah! Sarah, help me! Please help! Please help me Sarah, don't let me go!"

In her dream, Matt was calling for her. The last thing she saw was Matt inside her room, facing his back to the door calling for her.

She woke up and ran to Matt's room. "Brother? Brother?!" she yowled, jumping up and down on his bed.

"What? It's too early to wake up, Sarah, go sleep." he grumbled in a low voice, and pulled his blanket over his head. Sarah was happy that nothing had happened to him.

Afternoon came. Dad hadn't gone to work today, since it was a Sunday. They all went downstairs to eat lunch. The father seemed to be fairly relaxed now, apparently getting over it. Matt seemed calm as well despite the goings-on lately.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I will not bring any more books like those home ever again..." he said.

"It's okay, champ," the dad said, his familiar smile returning. "I overreacted. I'm glad I've got a son who reads so much, anyway."

After lunch, Matt had gone to his room again, and Sarah had headed outside the garden to play with her doll. But without any warning, a loud, thumping noise echoed through the area like a gunshot. Sarah looked behind, but ignored it as if was no less ordinary than a gust of wind. She skipped to her swing and called placidly for Matt to come and push her.

However, no one came to her. Sarah looked towards the balcony where his room was, her forehead creasing in worry. The door was open, the curtains pulled back, so he easily would have heard her. But Matt still wasn't replying. Sarah headed towards the house to get him, wondering if he was listening to music or simply ignoring his little sister.

The door was open and showed the room clearly. There Matt was, lying on the ground with his head covered in blood. Her mother and father were beside her in an instant. When they saw Matt lying there in a puddle of blood, they rushed over to him, the mother crying over her dead son and the father going insane with shocked grief.

The called the ambulance and the police. While the police were investigating, they found a note written on Matt's desk. It was scribbled down quickly, as if he'd had just a sliver of time to write it before he was killed.

Farewell. There's only one way to find out...