THE MOMENT
Jacob walked into the kitchen with a hopeful determination. The entity had surprisingly behaved itself since he gave it an ultimatum. He'd discovered the entity shortly after moving in, and it took him about a month to gather his courage to demand rent. Today was the final deadline. And yet, a stray sunbeam from the sink window landed on the table as if to highlight how empty it was. There was no envelope of cash, nor any other sort of peace offering.
"THAT'S IT!" he yelled up at the ceiling. "YOU'RE OUT OF HERE TODAY!"
"I have allowed you to live here in peace...," a low, gravelly voice emanated from the walls themselves. "...I suggest you do the same."
"NU UH!" Jacob yelled. "I pay good money every month and I will not allow any freeloaders in my home!"
"When have I ever taken anything of yours?" the voice asked.
"THIS IS MY HOME! You are an unwelcome guest."
"I have yet to intrude on your space...," the voice replied. He sounded almost offended.
"It's the principle!" Jacob replied as he pulled his phone out. He didn't quite yet know whom he was going to call; he hoped it wouldn't come to this. But, he opened his web browser to find a local exorcist. Several minutes into the search he found one that looked promising; but, the doorbell rang. "I'm not done with you yet!" he glowered at the wall before leaving the kitchen.
He was too annoyed and distracted to check the peephole and opened the door. He found a pale teenage girl with long, straight, snow-white hair. She wore a crisp white suit with a red scissor logo on the front blazer.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Hello, Mr. Smith," the teen replied. Jacob had no idea who she was or how she knew his name. "My name is Rhapsody and I represent Sharp Development," she said.
"Oh...," Jacob nodded at her. He didn't recognize the logo right away; but, he was familiar with Sharp Banking services. "...what can I do for you?"
"You can leave," she replied with a broad smile.
"Huh?" He cast a sideways glance at the wall next to him; but, kept his attention on her. "What do you mean?"
"You're being evicted," she handed him a white envelope with the same Sharp logo on it. "Today," she added.
"Why? You can't do that, I've made all my payments on time! No thanks to anyone else in this house...," he said.
"You have," she nodded. "This isn't about that. The owner has decided you're no longer welcome."
"I pay the mortgage! I AM THE OWNER!" Rhapsody smiled at him.
"You've made two payments, you don't own anything yet. Sharp Bank will of course reimburse you, assuming you leave today. Though, I can't guarantee you'll get anything back if you take longer than that. Good luck," she waved at him and spun on her heels to leave.
"You can't do this! There's something living in my walls, they need to leave. Not me!" He felt slight relief when Rhapsody stopped and turned to face him again.
"The contract that you could have read better gives us permission to do this," she nodded at him. Jacob fancied himself an intelligent man; certainly smart enough to read. He didn't need to pay a hefty lawyer's fee just to get a mortgage.
"This place is haunted!" he said. He wasn't sure how it was useful to defend himself; but, she needed to know the house wasn't normal to begin with. But, Rhapsody shook her head.
"Again, if you'd properly studied the contract, you'd know that already."
"Huh?" Did the bank know it was haunted? Her smile grew broader from ear to ear; and, somehow, more condescending.
"You say there's something living in the walls of this house?" she asked.
"Yes!"
"Our client has been gracious so far; but, he doesn't appreciate you trying to oust him from his own home."
"It owns the house??? Why is it living in the walls!?" he asked to try and find some sense in the situation.
"The walls are the house, Mr. Smith. Obviously, he doesn't need all of it, so he let you live in the free space that he doesn't use. However, it is his home; and, you've made yourself into a noisy, unwelcome guest. Please leave."