He was desperate. After being kicked out of a lease by his landlord, he needed a place to live. Any place would have done. As he drove towards work the next day with most of his belongings in the car, he found a sign to rent a house for cheap.

Cursing under his breath, he pulled over and started to dial the number to rent the house. Just as he held up his phone to his ear, a woman came out of the house. She was running toward him.

"Sir!" she called out, waving her hand. He ended the call and replaced the phone in his pocket. "Are you looking to rent?"

"I am, but-"

"I will take any offer you make. I need to get this house taken care of, so I can... leave," she informed, a little nervous at the end.

"Well, my old rent was around seven hundred," he began.

"I'll rent it to you for six hundred, no deposit," she added, holding her hand out. Reluctantly, he shook it and agreed. He was homeless at the moment, and it was a chance to have a place again.

"Alright, deal," he smiled before giving her his number. "I need to go to work now, but I'll be back around four, if that works for you."

"Perfect, perfect," she answered before rushing him back into his car. He was surprised about the urgency she had, but he drove off again, realizing that he was going to be late.

After work, he came back to his car and he sighed. It had been a rough day, but it wasn't awful. Then he remembered that he needed to talk to his new landlady. He drove over to the house, and the rent sign was gone, much to his relief.

He grabbed a box from his car and walked up to the door. He knocked, but there was no response. After a moment, a paper fell from the wall. Picking it up, it was a note from his landlady.

Something came up. I'll give you a ring later. Rent is due at the end of the month.

He sighed, trying the door handle. The door swung open, revealing the dark hallway towards the stairs upstairs. He stepped in, calling out for someone. No one answered.

The man walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. It flickered on to reveal a small outdated kitchen, complete with working appliances. The room was cleaner than he had expected. He guessed that his landlady had cleaned before he came over.

After moving all the boxes from his car, he started to unpack his dishes. He would call the storage unit management to bring his furniture and larger items in the morning. 

As he looked in the kitchen window, he noted that the sun had set already. As his vision focused on the reflection of himself, he saw a small girl peeking from behind the doorway. He whipped around to see no one.

"Hello?" he called out. He was sure that he had seen a little girl, but there was no sign of her.

After searching the house and property, he could find no one had ever been there other than him. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head.

As he opened his eyes again, he saw a shadow dash behind another door frame. He narrowed his eyes and grabbed a rolling pin from the box near him before investigating the shadow, in case it was someone other than a child.

Turning the corner, he saw nothing. His phone rang, nearly stopping his heart. He answered.

"Hello?" he whispered.

"Oh, good! You answered. Are you at the house now?"

"Yes, I hope that's okay."

"Oh, that's perfect. I'm glad you got in just fine. I did want to talk about some things before I come over tomorrow with the lease."

"Oh, uh, okay." He walked around the living room, looking for the owner of the shadow.

"I wanted to give you the history of the house. Have you experienced anything strange since being in the house?"

"I think a child got in, but that's it for strange."

"Oh, so you've met her."

"Her?"

"Years ago, there was a family that lived here until their little girl drowned in the nearby river. From what I can tell, she never left."

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe in ghosts."

"Fair enough, I didn't either. You may change your mind about that after tonight. Regardless, if you are fine with staying at the house with the knowledge of the history of it, I'll be over tomorrow with a lease."

"Perfect, I'll be here," he sighed before ending the call. 

After quietly walking around and finding no one, he sat on the stairs. He ran a ran through his hair, wondering if he was going crazy or if his landlady was right. 

He walked back into the kitchen and continued putting his things away. Glancing back up at the window, he saw the same small girl he saw earlier. The man stared as the little girl leaned further from the side of the doorway to lean closer.

She put a finger to her lips as she smiled, then motioning for him to come find her. He would have thought that there would be malice or malevolence in the smile, but it was kind and playful. 

Then she ducked behind the door frame and he heard a light laughter. She wanted to play hide and seek, from what he could understand. Although, he was sure that she knew that she would win, because she could stay forever hidden.