The house on Chestnut Hill had stood vacant for over a decade. Ivy crept up the weathered siding, reaching with sinewy fingers for the second story windows. The yard was overgrown, tall grasses and weeds choking out what was once a meticulously manicured lawn.
Inside, the house was dark and dusty, filled with the ghosts of memories from happier times. In the kitchen, faded wallpaper curled at the corners, and the sink was stained from years of leaky pipes. The living room fireplace mantel hosted only cobwebs now. Upstairs, the floral bed sheets in the master bedroom were neatly made, awaiting occupants who would never return.
On the mantel sat a framed photo of a smiling family - a mother, father, and two young daughters. The family portrait captured a moment in time before everything changed. Before the unthinkable happened.
It was the younger daughter, Annie, who convinced her parents to buy the sprawling house on Chestnut Hill. She loved the big yard where she could play. Her older sister Lucy liked reading books up in the attic nook that overlooked the street. Their parents saw it as the perfect place to put down roots.
Annie disappeared on a sunny Saturday afternoon in June. She was playing out front while her mom pruned rose bushes along the porch. No one saw the car pull up or Annie climbing in. The only clue left behind was her beloved stuffed rabbit abandoned in the grass.
The weeks and months after were agonizing. Annie's face was plastered on flyers and milk cartons, but there were no leads. As her 10th birthday came and went, the family began to lose hope they would ever see her freckled smile again.
On the year anniversary of her disappearance, Annie's mother opened her closet, hugging Annie's outgrown clothes to her chest as she cried. She decided then that they needed to move on. Staying in this house with reminders of Annie around every corner was too painful.
They listed the house for sale, but no one made an offer. In a small town, news travels fast. No young family wanted to move into the tragic place where a little girl went missing. Eventually, the house sat empty, as the family moved into a tiny apartment on the other side of town.
Over the years, Lucy drove by the abandoned house whenever she came to visit her folks. She felt haunted somehow, like Annie's spirit was still there, waiting to be found.
Now 30 years old, Lucy found herself back on Chestnut Hill. She stood across the street, staring up at the decrepit remains of her once-happy childhood home. The 'For Sale' sign had long blown over, paint peeled and wood splintered.
Lucy wasn't sure why she felt so strongly compelled to walk up to the front door. She turned the knob, half expecting it to be locked, but the door creaked open. Her footsteps echoed through the empty first floor. So many memories flooded back. Lucy's eyes filled with tears.
She made her way upstairs to Annie's old bedroom. The floral wallpaper was now faded and peeling. Her hand-carved wooden nameplate still hung crookedly over the doorframe, the A-N-N-I-E carefully spelled out in a child's handwriting.
Lucy sat on the edge of the bed, swiping at the dust on the nightstand. She opened the drawer and gasped. Inside was a child's sparkly hair clip. Annie's favorite possession, always clipped in her strawberry blonde hair. But how could it be here after all these years?
Heart racing, Lucy searched the rest of the room, flinging open the closet door. Hanging there were Annie's clothes, still neatly arranged. The floral dress she wore for family photos, the overalls she played in the backyard in. It was like Annie had never left.
Lucy's hands shook, tears streaming down her face. Then she heard it. Humming coming from down the hall. A child's sweet hum, the song Annie always sang while she played.
"Annie?" Lucy whispered. She inched down the hall, following the familiar tune. The humming led her to the attic steps. She peered up into the darkness.
A creak on the steps, and then a small bare foot came into view. Lucy collapsed to the floor in disbelief. A wisp of strawberry blonde hair appeared, then a freckled nose. And then, after 30 long years, her darling sister Annie emerged from the shadows.
She rushed into Lucy's arms. They clung to each other, both weeping. Lucy kissed Annie's hair and felt her solid, real body.
"I knew you'd come back for me," Annie whispered. "I missed you so much."
Lucy had so many questions, but they could wait. This moment was all that mattered. After decades of heartache, her family was finally whole again.
The house might be broken and abandoned, but within its walls, a lost treasure had been found.
