“Today is awesome, my Sixteenth Birthday Party. Ever. Just for me, my very own. And I’m wearing my favorite red dress”, I (Ayesha) whispered to myself with an enthusiasm that every teenager holds on his/her birthday.

Yeah, that was the day of my unforgettable sixteenth birthday.

Outside, the day looked bright and sunny. Cars are getting stuck up and down beside where I live. Please, nobody get hurt. I remember this sixteenth birthday when my mom said that I’m like the moon at night. I watch everything around me. She invited some neighbor kids to come to our home.Mom wanted me to have my birthday with lots of friends. I don’t have many, since it was only a week we moved in here at that time.

The kids downstairs were cheering and made a horrible racket. I had to get back to the party. I don’t like it when there’s too much noise. We’re wearing party hats and trying to bust balloons. Mine was a red one because its my favorite color.“You need to smile more,” mom kept nagging. After a while mom showed me off to her adult friends. I think mom wanted some adults around because they help her a lot. Sort of cheering her up when she gets sad. Like I do, sometimes.They even brought their kids.

Mom is a single parent because she had to leave dad. I then hoped that we don’t have to keep moving around. “Thank you, thank you,” kept popping out of my mouth all day.My party was fun, but at night I’m tired. Before I fell asleep mom gave me birthday hugs. Then I told her “I love you”. I sat down to open my gifts a stack of wrapping paper and ribbon is all over.Boxes too. ”Today is the best day of my life. I might even decide to stay sixteen years old forever” , was what actually went through my mind then unaware of the coming spooky things that were about to happen.

Well the gifts were like any other girl of my age would receive for a birthday,except for one that stayed at the corner of the room. I clearly remember that it was an old wooden box with a shiny fancy ribbon tied on it which was too new to match the old box.There was no card on it and as I opened it, there was a shiny gold coated skull laid on a purple velvet cloth. The skull seemed to be real because it had the size of an average adult. At that time i didn’t care if it was real or fake because it attracted me and I always admire antiques and things that might have a touch of antiquity. Anyway i placed The Golden Skull with the velvet cloth under it in the showcase that was in between the hall and the staircase.

Not even a day had passed already, weird things started to happen. The next morning mom complained to me that she was unable to sleep because she heard someone rushing through upstairs for hours together. Every time she checked, no one would appear.She also complained that she heard horrible screams at times. Well, I said her to keep calm and not to worry about me too much because she cared too much for me and it was not easy for her to forget the harassment of my father. I thought she was stressed out too much. Days passed by and I could see my mom’s condition becoming worse and I was worried.

One day I decided to sleep with my mom to find out whats was actually going on and all though these days i always suspected the golden skull but reassured myself that it couldn’t be the reason because I loved the gift too much. It was fifteen minutes past twelve and my eyes drooling but my ears sharp enough to notice the slightest sounds around. It was then that I heard the sound of the heavy footsteps climbing the staircase,my mom held me tight with her frightening face hidden in my lap. As I listened carefully the steps moved closer to the room and then went back again to the staircase. This continued till five in the morning and all this time i was afraid to open the door to see what it was actually. Such was the fear of the sounds it made and now I knew that my mom was experiencing hell for past one week.

Early in the morning I decided to visit Mr.Robert Downes who lives beside our house. I surely know that he would be some help to us because he is skilled in the practice of voodoo and also a scientist who studied human body.I heard my friends at school saying that he had a lot of human skull collection in his lab.There was also a rumor in the city that he was on a thesis of spookiest things that could happen when the remains of the dead are disturbed. So, “How could I now stop myself from dashing into his house for help”?

[ Readers stay tuned...this is just the beginning. There are much more scariest and spooky things yet to happen in the story. Hold your breath for the next part of "The Golden Skull ". Until then keep guessing the plot and events that are about to happen. Enjoy the story....Thank you! ]