“Look,” he pointed and shouted.

“That house wasn’t painted pink and white… it was… ” Michael said, confused. He was sure those colours were not the same as before.

Michael and his wife Ruth enjoyed the rays of the sun. Winter hadn’t been good. It was cold and windy. Fallen, dry leaves had hidden the beautiful view of the land. Ruth, a housewife, always spent more time at home to make it look pleasant. That is what Michael loved about her. She had no time to gossip but she had a lot in a day to be busy with. The previous night, a strong wind blew that made everyone uncomfortable. Everyone stayed indoors except those who had to go to work. Since it was the weekend, Michael and Ruth had swept the leaves off the lawn and decided to relax in the sun.

“I don’t usually notice, was it even pink?” Ruth asked, squinting her eyes and staring at it intently. Michael stood up and walked closer to the fence that separated their yards. His only son Ayanda, a stubborn and quiet teenager, rushed out from their house carrying books. He looked similar to Michael except that he was short and chubby. Ayanda looked angry, as if someone has stolen his chocolate.

“Dad where is my box?” he asked loudly. Michael signalled for him to come closer. Ayanda sighed as if he was bored and dragged himself to where his parents were standing. Ayanda was stubborn but he always wanted to be a good boy. He had his days; sometimes he was moody and sometimes he was cheerful. But he didn’t like to be ordered around or told what to do.

“Dad I need that box,” he complained. Before he got closer, he noticed something different about the house next door but wasn’t sure exactly what. He only wanted his box and he tried not to be concerned about the house.

“Ayanda, tell your mother the house wasn’t like this,” he said, staring at Ayanda and waiting for him to prove Ruth wrong. Ruth hadn’t noticed anything except for the fact that the house was colourful.

”Yes, it’s been like this Dad but…” he tried to search for the words but wasn’t sure what to say. Michael rubbed his shoulder, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

“But what, Mike?” Michael asked, and both Ruth and Ayanda looked at him confused. Ruth called her husband Mike for short but he didn’t like it because he believed the names were different.

“Mike the house was this paint always,” she said, smiling and walking back to the house. It was sunset and she had to prepare dinner leaving the two to argue about a house that no one lived and that no one in the neighbourhood even noticed. The father and son stared at the house for few minutes but then Ayanda suddenly remembered his assignment. He wanted to ask but his Dad beat him to it.

“What’s the box you need?” Michael asked, and walked a few steps. Ayanda told him about his project and his father chuckled.

“Where did you last leave it? Check in the lounge… in the corner.” Then he walked quickly into the house leaving Ayanda by himself.

Ayanda couldn’t figure out what the difference with the house next door was.

“Ayanda! Think, think!” he sighed.

He tried to remember how it looked before but his mind went blank. Perhaps it was not the paint. Perhaps it was something else. Then he saw how messy the lawn was. There were lot of weeds and the plants were dry. Leaves covered the lawn and ground. Some were on the veranda. He kept looking, hoping he would see if someone lived there. He never saw anyone. Or maybe he never checked. He noticed the lights, which were always off except in the evening. Who switched them on and off? Since they moved into their home, they had never seen a person at that house. Maybe he was just insane.

Ayanda recalled his assignment. He walked back into the house to finish his project that was due next week at college.

Tell us: Do you think Michael is on to something about the house or he’s imagining things?