The Biscuit Tin

'Nana, it's only me.'
Silence.
'Nana, where are you ?'
Lisa put the carrier bag down and shrugged off the heavy duffel coat. It was freezing in here.
She could smell something, cinnamon she thought, she hoped it was apple pie she loved her Nana's apple pies, her Mother couldn't cook and it was the only day of the week she got real food.

"Nana where are you ?" she waited straining to hear something, anything. Silence. She could faintly hear the ticking of a clock somewhere and the faint swish of the odd passing car from the top road. But no one lived in this street anymore they were all boarded up apart from her Nana. Everyone had tried to get her to move but she wouldn't.

"They've no use for you lass when you're old" her Grandmother told her repeatedly "get you packed off to one of these homes where they all sit in a circle pretending they can hear the telly".
"But I love you Nana"' Lisa would whisper.
"Aye I know you do love".
Then her Nana would get up and shuffle into the kitchen for the old biscuit tin, it was a lovely tin, Victorian deep red colour with pictures of smiling children. "They took pride in everything then even Biscuit tins" her Nana would sniff every time she carefully lifted the lid. Nana always had a supply of home made butterfly buns or apple pies or crumbly biscuits and soft fluffy sponge cakes.
Her stomach lurched in anticipation she was starving.

Lisa pushed the kitchen door open and stood surveying the empty kitchen.
Back in the living room Lisa was getting worried, where was she, she had searched the two up two down from top to bottom. Her Nana was nowhere to be seen. The bed was made. It was spotless neat and tidy, but her Nana's coat and shoes were in the hall and the door had been open when she arrived, her Nana never left the door unlocked except on Fridays at five when she knew Lisa was coming.

Then she saw the note perched on the old marble mantle piece and recognised the spidery handwriting at once. I will see you soon dear love Nana. Where was she, maybe she had gone to the shops or something. Lisa went into the kitchen and made a cup of tea then settling into the old stuffed armchair sat sipping it and waiting for her Nana.

Lisa jerked awake hearing a clank as the empty tea cup bounced off the worn carpet, she had been dreaming something about a bird a big black one screeching screaming it had frightened her.
She realised she was sweating despite the cold.
It was dark now and silent. Lisa struggled out of the old arm chair her neck aching from the funny position she'd slept in and shouted once more.
"'Nana".
Nothing silence. She flicked the lamp on and drew the curtains a yellow sickly light hung around the room but it felt better than the dark.
Maybe she should ring home tell her Mum, she was getting worried now, but she had no credit on her phone and she did not know where the nearest phone booth was if there was one round here. Her Nana did not want a phone or a mobile she said they caused cancer.

Eventually Lisa decided to get onto the sofa she could feel her eye lids pulling themselves shut against her will, she pulled her Duffel coat over her self and squinted at her watch 8.00pm she would give it another hour then she would go and tell her Mum, maybe she had had a fall or something.
She didn't know what had awoken or her or how it had gotten so dark but when she opened her eyes she could see nothing.
Blackness not even shadows.
She could hear her breathing and the sound of her heart which seemed to have left her chest and moved up into her throat she felt like she was choking.

It was then that she heard it, softly at first a scuffling sound like old worn slippers scraping along a carpet. "Nana" she squeaked "is that you?" Scratching she could hear scratching. She felt sick now the nausea washing up into her mouth and she swallowed quickly gagging on the bile and acid juice that was in her throat.
Silence again.

She kept still not daring to move in case it awoke whatever was in the room with her.
She felt her feet going into cramp her toes twisting and curling around each other. Gingerly she carefully stretched her legs and as she did so she felt it.

Something was sitting at the end of the sofa a cold soft mass not wet but damp. Her legs jerked back like she had been burnt. The mass was moving now she could feel the weight on the sofa she was sure she had stopped breathing. And the sound of metal clinking. Lurching off the sofa and banging her knee on the coffee table she ran to the door. She could hear the shuffling again scraping on the carpet as it tried to reach her.

Her hands were shaking as she grabbed at the door trying to feel for the lock the key the handle.

A growling sighing sound now behind her, she dare not look round she had to get away.
Suddenly she felt the thin cold metal of the key and nearly snapped it in the lock as she twisted and yanked the door opened. A hand wet and cold clamped her shoulder and she flung her self out into the freezing night air her feet seemed to be sinking in concrete wet and heavy dragging her down.

Headlights full and bright blinding her swerving towards her in an arch of light.
Her Mother's car thank god.
"Mam Mam" She screamed.
"Whatever's the matter love."' Her Mother's face white and shocked. Her eyes locked with Lisas.
"Mam Nanas not there, there's there's something in the house."'
Dad getting out of the car and my brother Jimmy "What's he doing here" she mumbles confused
"Look love come on in."
"But Mam."
"Come on love I'll tell you inside."
I'm not going back in there Mam.
She puts her arms round me and I can see she's been crying, Dad too, I feel fear.

"She was old love and everyone's got to go sometime, it was her heart they said. This morning they found her, the milkman you know, Dave Greenwood he's a good man always stops to chat with her for five minutes, well he said he knew something was wrong and he peeked through the letter box and saw her on the sofa and well....."
"Well come on now we better go and lock up come on Lisa."
Lisa numbly stumbled after them but stopped at the door and waited for the light to go on.
"Oh look Lisa the biscuit tin I see you found that."
And there at the bottom of the sofa next to the crumpled duffle coat was a beautiful red biscuit tin with the note from my Nana on top.

By Teresa Wood