One look at the house and I knew I wouldn’t want to live there. A huge iron gate stood before me and in the centre was a small keyhole. Thick branches and brambles hung from the bars and reached out as if I were trespassing private property. Behind the gate, was a tall black building and the only sign of it being a house was the triangular roof that sat on top of it. A shiver ran down my spine. This was not what I had expected. This house had been empty for years and it was my job to explore it and see what I could find. I fumbled for the key the locksmith had given me before pushing it into the keyhole and turning it slightly. The gate creaked open. Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside. As I walked to the front door along the dusty path, I felt as if someone was watching. Waiting. There was silence. It made my heart pound faster so I pushed the wooden door. I hadn’t used much force to do it but still it crashed into the wall, revealing a dark narrow corridor with a wooden staircase at the side.

I looked around, taking in what I could see. The door had now closed as if wanting to block out the sunlight from outside even though the sun had failed to brighten up the house. I felt for the light switch before realising there wasn’t one. Whoever had lived there, obviously didn’t know about technology or hadn’t kept up with the advance of it. I reached into my pocket for a torch. As I turned it on, I noticed all the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and the amount of dust it had endured.  I took a few steps forward until I stopped at a door. Something about it made me want to go in. It looked like a normal door, yet, it was so mesmerising. Without thinking about it too much, I went in. If it had been a normal house, you would expect it to be a living room. Though of course, it wasn’t a normal house. There were more cobwebs than before and a slight burning sort of smell. The strange thing was that there were several black cloaks on the floor. This mystery was not getting any easier. But before I could write down any notes in my book, I heard a noise that sounded like a door locking.

I spun round and tried to pull the door. It wouldn’t budge. My palms started to feel hot and sweaty as I carried on pulling at the door knob. Nothing. I was pretty sure the humidity of the room had risen which wasn’t really helping as I made a few more attempts. I looked around the room but there was nothing useful in sight. I sank to my knees and started to sob when I remembered something. Quickly, I pulled out a hairpin from my head and started to work out how to unlock the door. After a few minutes of fiddling with the lock, I managed to free myself from the room. Thinking that I had had enough adventure for one day, I began to make my way to the front door, when I heard a sound like a footstep coming from upstairs. There was someone else in this house, but who?

Curiosity took over me before I could think further and dragged me to the stairs. When I looked up, the stairs seemed to go on forever, winding and coiling upwards. I hesitated. Was it worth the risk? But something inside me told me that only cowards would flee and perhaps this was my destiny? I began to walk up the stairs, pacing each floorboard with care. It seemed to be an everlasting journey until finally I reached the top. There was only one way to go, for in front of me was a doorway with no door, which led to a single room.

I peered inside. In a corner was a dusty wardrobe. Nothing else. I walked over to it and opened the doors. Dust flew everywhere, making me cough and gasp for air. As I fanned the dust away, I saw what was inside the wardrobe. I let out a squeal. Inside was an unconscious man, tied to a chair and a handkerchief around his mouth. Quickly, I untied him and reached into my backpack for water. I opened his mouth and poured some water in. After a few minutes he opened his eyes and let out a cough. He looked up at me and grasped my hand.

“Run! Run while you can! He’ll get you, just like he got me!”

I must admit, at first, I thought the guy was demented and must’ve hit his head hard somewhere.

“What happened to you? Who tied you up?”

He just looked at me with wide petrified eyes and then over my shoulder. He screamed and collapsed right there.

“Why, this is a pleasant surprise!” came a deep voice from behind me.

I had heard that voice before but it felt like ages ago. I turned around. There, standing before me, was a hooded man in a cloak just like the ones I had seen downstairs. He smiled at me but there was something sinister about it that made me want to run. He had ghostly pale skin and a long face with a mop of wild black hair on top.

“It has been a long time, Jane,” he said

“How do you know me?” I asked. Yes, his voice was familiar but not his appearance.

“You don’t recognise me? Well, the last time we met was 22 yrs ago.”

“You still haven’t told me who you are!” I exclaimed.

“You’re just like your mother. Very persistent. I’m your father.” He announced.

There was silence.

He continued. “I’m the one who sent you a letter about this house, wanting to see you again. You see, even though your mother is a mortal, you’ve inherited my immortality. You are very powerful and together we’ll be unstoppable!” he   conjured up a fire, as if to prove that he was powerful.

“You’re the one that sent me the letter? The one from the Mayor? That I had to explore this house? And what do you mean? I was brought up in an orphanage.”

“Is that where your mother left you? You see, your mother left with you after she found out that I was a sorcerer. But now, you and I will work together to take over the world. After your mother left, I realised how foolish I was to like humans and that they’re nothing but dirt. But you, my dear, has passed the test. You showed intelligence with that locked door and your instincts led to me.”

I remained speechless for a few seconds until I uttered, “Why do you need me? And what did you do to this poor man?”

He let out a cackle.

“The truth is, I am getting old and don’t have as much power as I used to. Yes, this is possible for immortals. But with you….”

“We can take over the world, I know. But what did you do to this man?” I questioned.

“Well, this fellow was trespassing. He came looking for his missing creature and when he arrived, he started looking around and getting too much information. He’s nothing but a nosey parker. And believe it or not after searching this house, he came back the next day with cleaning equipment to clean up the house!”

I laughed. This actually seemed quite funny. And when I looked into his eyes, I saw a man who would’ve found this amusing once upon a time.

“What creature was it?”

“You know, those annoying 4-legged creatures which always say ‘wolf, wolf’ when there is no wolf,” he said.

“Oh, you mean a dog! You know, the man was probably doing that so he could have a better look for his dog. Must care about his dog a lot.”

“Well, I don’t have time to think about human feelings. Will you, Jane, my only daughter, be prepared to take over the world with me?” He asked and although he said it calmly, I knew he was quite desperate.

“I need a minute to think about it,” I replied, looking back at the fainted man.

“All right, just a minute. And so that you have complete privacy…” he clicked his fingers and vanished while a jail door appeared in the doorless doorway.

I thought hard. I had said before I wouldn’t want to live there and who knows if this guy is just some stranger and not my Dad. I’ve never had a Dad before. Would I like it? And would I really conquer the world? But then I thought back to the harsh treatment of tying the dog-lover man to a chair and felt sick. No one deserved that, especially not the innocent man who meant no harm.

All of sudden, the door burst open and my fake/maybe real father appeared.

“Well?” he wants to know my answer.

“I’m really sorry but no. I’ve no proof you’re my actual father and have never had one so don’t know to expect. And after the way you treated this man, I’m not sure I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” I said all of this in one breath and had my fingers crossed behind my back.

The sorcerer’s face turned from pale to beetroot colour. He obviously hadn’t expected this to happen.

“WHAT? You don’t want to take over the world with me? 22yrs trying to locate you so that we could spend some time together and this is what I get? Maybe you have inherited too much mortal blood…” I slowly took out my phone from my backpack behind my back… “You should be ashamed! You’re worse than your mother! I’ve given you a golden opportunity and refusal isn’t an option…” I began to dial in 999… “I’ve done my best to prove to you that I’m your father, what more could you want? Imagine what it would be like to rule the world! You could redesign it any way you like! You could control people and your life would be better than a King’s…” I whispered the address of the house into the phone though my “father” didn’t notice because he was too busy being angry… “And what do you mean the way I treated the man? I gave him what he deserved” he shouted at me.

I stood up. “And now, you will go where you deserve.”

“What do you mean….” His eyes widened as we heard sirens outside the window. The police had arrived.

Two armed policemen appeared in the doorway and took Mr. Sorcerer by the shoulders while two paramedics lifted the man onto a trolley bed.

I quickly recounted the story and the policemen tightened their grip on “father” so hard that he hadn’t enough breath to vanish.

One policemen said “Looks like you’ll be going to court after what you did to the poor man.”

The other policeman laughed as if he would like this to happen to the sorcerer. And without looking at me again, the sorcerer was taken away. And even though I felt a little sorry for him, I knew I had done the right thing, for these kind of people needed to learn a lesson or two!