The Secrets of the Old Lodge

During my high school years, I spent my summers working at an old mountain lodge. Initially, I tried various tasks, but I eventually found my place in a themed maze inspired by classic ghost stories. On my second day, I heard footsteps echoing down the long hallway that suddenly stopped. When I looked, there was no one there. I brushed it off as my imagination.

After a week, my coworkers began to share tales of odd occurrences. There were flickering lights, the jingle of unseen keys, and the sound of footsteps that seemed to vanish into thin air. We began to notice two distinct patterns in these happenings, which we playfully named the Sprites. One Sprite was Encountershievous, darting around and illuminating our paths before vanishing, while the other seemed to wander aimlessly, moving in circles near the old fireplace.

In my second summer, a girl who had run away arrived at the lodge, and it wasn’t long before she became the focus of the Sprites’ antics. She wore a colorful scarf tied at her waist, and it seemed to attract their attention. As she explored the maze, the playful Sprite would shine lights in her direction, while the other would quietly follow her, as if observing her every move.