James noticed the old house first. Holes revealed in its thatched roof and weeds smothered the garden. To hide the fear that advanced through their bodies, the boys kept up a stream of chatter. 

  With a show of bravado, they crept through a gap in the wall and struggled through the tangle of weeds until they stood before the enormous front door. James raised his hand tentatively and tugged on the handle. Slowly, the door creek open.

  With the other boys close on his heels, James stepped over the threshold into a large hall. The boys scanned at the room, not quite sure what to make of it. Instead of the dust they expected to see spread the floor, or the cobwebs they imagined would be swinging from the ceiling, the room was spotlessly clean.

   James and Thomas were scared but also so curious that they decided to examine more about it. When they noticed the kitchen, they saw an old woman eating. The woman looked normal and kind.

James decided to talk to her. “ Excuse me,” he squeaked. “Hi. My name is James, and this is my friend Thomas. We found this house and decided to have a look on it. We are so sorry that we came in without permission.”

The old woman looked surprised but she soon looked calm. “No, it’s my fault that I didn’t lock the door. It’s alright.”

 Tomas said, “I have a question. Why don’t you clean the outside of the house? ”

“Oh, I am so old that I can barely walk. I like cleaning, so whenever my condition is good, I like to clean,” the woman replied. “You can take a look if you want.”

The boys were excited and they answered “Sure!”

There were a lot of rooms, and it looked like the home was too big for the woman. When they finished having a tour of the house, they were tired. They decided to go back to home. “Thank you, Ms......” They realized they didn’t know her name.

“Call me Emily and whenever you are sad or tired come to my house, and I’ll bake you cookies and some snacks.” The boys were surprised and happy. “Thank you Ms. Emily!”

The boys said good-bye to Ms. Emily, and they went back thinking of that huge house. 

                                                         by Ashley Min