There is stray, vacant house that lies close to the neighborhood Mateo resides in. No streets lead to its front yard, only woods that surround the vicinity. It has been around 5 years since he last made a visit, and the house was showing signs of neglect. It must either be completely worn down or repurposed by now. No one in town talks about it, and whenever the topic was brought up around the police or estate agent, Mateo was met with agitated dismissals. He was curious, it looked nice from what he could tell and the demand for homes was high. More questions and curiosity piled as Mateo lay in his bed wondering about the fate of something that really should be none of his business, nor would it benefit being any of his business, but he was bored as hell. Taking a peek wouldn't hurt, would it?
"Maybe it will take the boredom away..." Mateo thought as he jumped into his car. After a 5-minute drive, he finally arrived. When Mateo had pulled into the gravelly driveway of the house, he began to fixate his gaze at the structure. The house looked completely abandoned. Two out of 6 windows were still intact while the rest were cracked or completely shattered. The exterior paint was peeling off, with some sections harboring fungi and mold. The roof looked as if it was about to cave in, a few shingles missing around the indentation. It truly looked like a haunted house, and the door was wide open. He steps in the foyer to note that house is not vacant at all, as Mateo notices a coat hanger holding a few personal items: A coat, purse, and an umbrella. They were all strangely in pristine condition, given that the house was deteriorating terribly. Compelled to check the purpose why the items have remained in their current condition, Mateo begins checking everything: a photo wedged in between one of the umbrella’s ribs and a key in one of the coat’s pockets. The photo… There was a family of three: two parents and one girl. All of their faces are blurred as if the picture was taken with a filter that blurred the faces into obscurity.