YOUTUBE!!!!!!

Hi everyone! I still don't have more of my story! I got tired of trying to figure out the puzzle by myself so I looked up hints and it still didn't work! I think I messed something up and I got so sick of it that I haven't gone back to it yet. SAW makes me hate Sudoku.... =P

Anyways, you know that photo contest I talked about in my last post? Well, I spent 2 hours taking photos and 1 hour editing and then  I entered and WON!!! It was so exciting! I took all of the pictures and I'm the one in them all as well. I have 7 photos to share with you all, enjoy! =D

This one is based off of Danger on Deception Island! I thought it was cute! =D

My least favorite of all 5 of my Phantom of Venice photos...I'm supposed to be a cat. =P

This one is kinda cool. I finally found a use for that pirate costume I had lying around!

I took all of these photos using instagram so the editing isn't anything special. It's really basic, trust me. If it was complicated I would have failed at it.... miserably.

I really like this one! It's currently my fb profile pic! I meant it to be based off of The Phantom of Venice but now that I think about it, it could be used for The Captive Curse as well! =D

This photo is the one that won! It's also based off of VEN but really could work for CAP. I love it! When I showed to my sister she was all, "Where did you get a magnifying glass?!" I honestly have no idea, it was buried in my closet, along with the rest of the stuff I used in these photos. =D

This is the last photo! It's based off of Tomb of the Lost Queen! I thought it was suck an original idea but 2 or 3 other people did photos based off of TMB as well... I really like this one! It looks really old and cool! Haha! =D

Hope you all like my pictures! I might post some of the others I didn't enter in the contest later. I was also thinking of doing stuff on YouTube, what do you guys think? It would probly just be me randomly talking about random stuff... Come to think of it, it would be this blog only video... LOL!!!! Ok, if I post a vid I'll let you all know!

Peace off!
~Sarah =D

Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't posted the rest of that chapter, I've been so busy... You're probly expecting the rest of that chapter, huh? I'm sorry but I don't have it. I was working on the puzzle today and I kept messing up but I'll get it soon! In the mean time, I have some other cool stuff to talk about! YAY!!!

I'm sure many of you have seen this video but it's awesome! It's a video of Little Jackalope demonstrating the "magic mug" It's so cool, I want one! =D

I love Little Jackalope, her laugh is so cute! =D

So if you read this blog a lot you've probly heard of Marissa who runs the Nancy Drew Forever Fan Page on Facebook. She's has contests on fb every once in a while and she just posted about her next one. It's a contest on the best photos based off of a ND game! She's had contests with drawing and editing and stuff like that, that I'm terrible at. I'm excited because I'm a photographer (not professional)  so this is right up my ally! If I get the time I'm going to take some awesome pics and blow her mind! I'm so excited! =D

Well, that's all my exciting news, hope you enjoyed it!
~Sarah =D

Hi everyone! I finally stopped being lazy and wrote a chapter for my story. That wasn't the greatest idea... It turns out the next thing I have to do in the game is solve the monster puzzle. I've everything else. That puzzle takes a while and I wanted to post something today. But I promise you that I will finish that puzzle today and finish this chapter tomorrow! A two part chapter.... haven't had that before! Interesting! One more thing before I stop rambling (And I hope this makes up for my epic fail here.) The cover of TMB was released a couple of days ago! YAY!!! Enjoy! =D

Chapter 25 part 1

           I left to go up to my and when I passed the front desk, Miwako called me over and gave me a package.

           "Thanks!" I said and headed back upstairs.

            I opened the package and saw that it was the monster puzzle from George. It turned out that a monster puzzle is five Sudoku all mashed together. Great... I thought... this'll be a piece of cake, not.

Here's the cover isn't it awesome! Btw it wouldn't let me copy and past so I had to write it out on here so sorry if I messed something up.

Hi! Sorry it's been so long. I actually don't have a chapter for you today. The next day I have a lot of free time I'm gonna sit down and write a bunch of chapters!!!!!! Anyways, HerInteractive has been releasing a lot of cool new info! They have a new still for the new game coming out fairly soon and.... they just released pictures of a new user interface!!!!! Btw, if you have no idea what that is, don't feel bad.... I didn't either until I looked at the pictures, haha! =D

The new main screen:

I'm hoping one of the extras is the scrap book! That was always my favorite part of being able to see her room! This screen is really cool but some people really liked looking at the books so we'll have to wait and see how this turns out.

Now my computer is being weird and makes everything I type start in the middle.... not sure how I feel about it.... Anyways, the new difficulty level screen:

 This is cool. It makes me think of the dossier games... I'm not entirely sure why. Honestly, I miss the badges but this is very artsy and I think it's really cool! =D

I don't know how to fix this typing thing! Oh well...... The new options screen:

I love this change! The old options screen (honestly) was simple and kind of bland but this one is really cute, fancy, and just fun! =D

In the last picture you may have also noticed the inventory at the bottom of the screen. All of the items are from the Curse of Blackmoor Manor, haha! I hope this new game is really good and all the changes end up being liked by all of the Nancy Drew fans out there. I've noticed that some are very skeptical of them. I don't blame them, I was very shocked when I first saw this but I'm excited for the change! 

Her has also created a merchandise store on their website! It's really cool, you should check it out! They don't have Koko Kringle bars... yet! 

Here is the screen shot from the game. And with it, I bid you farewell. .... yeah, I'm not going to ever say that again. I made myself think 'what the heck?!' so.... yeah. Bye, I'll try to post again tomorrow! 

~Sarah =D

This is a note at the bottom of the page.

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted for a while! You know how last time I told you about me playing all of the games before the new one comes out? Well I have now finished 9 of them! I have to get a couple of them from the library. My sister told me she might have Treasure in a Royal Tower somewhere in her room but I don't think she's had the time to look yet. I put that game, Haunted Carousel, and Shadow Ranch on hold at the library. I'm first in line for 8 and 10 but I'm EIGHTH on the list for 4!!!! That's insane!!! I have never seen that many people wanting a Nancy Drew game at the library! I have to give it to them though, they chose a really good one!

We have the official release date for Tomb of the Lost Queen (aka TMB)!!!! It comes out on May 8th and pre-orders start April 3rd!!!! I'm not promising to pre-order this one cuz the last couple of times I did that it didn't work out....

I don't believe I told you that I'm going vegan for lent! It's hard but all in all not that bad. I mostly eat apples and pasta but that is something I can live with! Haha!

Here is the next chapter in Shadow at the Water's Edge! This is chapter 24! We're probly gonna end up with like 50 chapters or something ridiculous like that. I guess that's what happens when you're trying to make the chapters short enough to post on your blog! Haha, enjoy! =D

Chapter 24

            After talking to Miwako I went to see Takae for another lesson.

            “Hello Nancy-san,” she greeted me as I sat down, “Today we will be learning Chado, the tea ceremony.”

            “Tea ceremony, what’s that?” I asked.

            “It is much more than just making tea. It is the perfect exercise of balance, and courteous friendship. Many spend their lives perfecting the ceremony, but today I will simply be teaching you the basics.”

            “Sounds great!”

            “ The tea ceremony is foremost a gift. You are preparing a very special visit for friends, and preparing to make certain every detail is perfect. Now there is a lot to learn, be ready. I’ll be asking you questions one I finish.”

            She told me about all the different items you use to serve tea. There was a lot of different stuff and afterwards she asked me to repeat what all of them were called. It took me a couple tries but I  got it eventually.

            “Wonderful, Nancy-san! I would be honored to be invited to take tea with you.”

           

            “Thank you!”

            Suddenly the lights flickered and went out! We both looked around and then we saw the silhouette of the shadowy figure that I had seen before! It walked past the room, outside. Takae gasped. When the lights turned back on I turned to her, to make sure she was ok.

                                                                                                                

            “Are you ok, and what was that?” I asked.

            “I am fine, why would I not be? What do you mean?”

            “I saw something, just minute ago. Something walked by the room outside.”

            “It was the wind, the power lines, and shadows. Nothing to worry about.”

            I decided to let it drop, “I guess so… goodbye.”

            “Good bye, Nancy-san.”

I was to lazy to proof read this beyond what my computer caught, hope it's ok.... =/

Hi everyone!!! Sorry about not posting for the past few days. So much awesome stuff has happened so I decided that no matter what else I have going on I just had to post today! First, last night I went to the Father Daughter Dinner Dance that we go to every year. My sister and I switch off each year and this time it was my turn! It was sooooooo much fun!!!! It started as a very formal Dinner but by the end of the night my dad, a couple of our friends, and I were dancing like a bunch of crazy people with balloon hats!!! It was awesome! =D

HerInteractive has been doing some small contests lately. They post pictures of their employees and we get to caption them and whoever comes up with the best caption wins!!! There's always some fun little prize. This time it's an iPhone case. There's something else if you don't have and iPhone but they haven't told us what that is yet. I hope I win this one! I think I came up with a good one! =D

Are any of you trying to play all of the games before the new one comes out? A lot of Nancy Drew fans are and I'm one of them! I think HerInteractive should give like half off the new game when it comes out to everyone who does it. I started on Monday and I'm already on Ghost Dogs! I had to skip Treasure in a Royal Tower cuz I don't know where that game disappeared to. I asked my sister cuz she thinks it's in her room but she hasn't had a chance to look yet. I did play Secrets Can Kill Original and Remastered so I've played 7 out of 26 so far!!! There really are 26 games out already but it only seems like 25 cuz of SCKR. I prefer the original one. I wasn't a big fan of the art work in that one.

And now for something random!!! POKEMON THEME SONG!!!!!! I have my iPod on shuffle while I'm writing this and that came on. It's like one of my favorite songs so I just had to incorporate that some how! Haha! =D

This post is really long so I think I'll keep the next chapter for the next post! Teehee!  Oh! My brother got a new car! ... yes random but since I'm sharing excting news! It's awesome! I think it's like a Sonata or something like that...

Hi everyone! I hope your all having a wonderful day! It's really cloudy and windy here. It's pretty gloomy, but I don't mind! A couple of awesome things happened today! First, my dad made beer bread! I know that sounds weird but it is sooo good! My Aunt Jody brought a mix of dry ingredients back with her when she went on a trip to... somewhere. I don't remember where! The only thing we had to do was add beer! My dad had some handy (He always does! haha!) so we finally made it today! It's definitely not something you can just by itself because it had a very strong flavor bu with something to drink it's pretty good! Wow... that is more than I have ever wanted to talk about beer on here.............. Moving on! Second awesome thing that happened today was that my sister gave me an old iPhone that she got from our Grandpa! She used it for a while but then she got a new one for Christmas so I got this one! It's a first generation and it has a huge crack on the screen but I still think it's really cool! I'm not using it as a phone, just as an iPod. And I just remembered a something else that was awesome that happened today! (I can't believe I almost forgot about this one!!! ) Someone I know from HerInteractive's Facebook page posted something awesome today!!! It's a cover for the next game! It's NOT the real cover for the game (as far as we know) but it's really awesome and she made it herself! I'll post a picture of it at the bottom of the page. Today's chapter starts out really funny but then we go and talk to Miwako..... I hope we don't get stick in the depressing part of the game again. You never realize how big that part of the game is until you have to write it. Anyways, enjoy! =D

Chapter 24

            I called Bess and George while walking up to my room.

            “Hi Nancy. Good News! We met Ryuichi, the creator of the Suki cats. Thing is he won’t give away the secret phrases unless you buy one of the cats,” said George.

            “Alright, thanks for trying.”

            “But the guy told George – for such a captivating, beautiful, gorgeous girl he’d be willing to make an exception,” said Bess, “You’re turning red – Nancy she’s turning red!”

            “Am not!” said George, “ Anyway, there’s a catch. He only shares secrets with ‘the like-minded’. He gave me this monster puzzle to solve, but I’m too busy with expo stuff to solve it right now. Any chance you could take a look at it?”

            “Sure… Anything for such a captivating, beautiful –“ I joked.

            “Enough! I’ll send it right over to you at the ryokan”

            I laughed, “Thanks! Talk to you later!”

            “Bye Nancy!”

            Right when the call ended my phone rang. Yumi had sent me more pictures! They were awesome, per usual!

            While I was in my room I thought a bit about what I should do next while waited for the puzzle from Bess and George. I wondered what a ‘monster’ puzzle was. I was soon to find out. I eventually headed back downstairs and went to talk to Miwako.

            “Hi,” she said to me sounding very sad.

            “I know what happened to your mother,” I told her. It was going to come out eventually. I couldn’t think of anything to say to make her feel better and she was probably just going to get mad at me again. But it was what had to be done to solve the case.

            “I told you to-“ she started.

            “It was an accident. I think you, all of you, blame yourselves.”

            “It wasn’t an accident. But since you won’t let it drop. You want to know why we all blame ourselves, Nancy?” she asked me sounding angry and hurt. Yep, I had done it again.

            “Why?” I asked, wary.

            “Because we were all here. We were ALL here that night. And not ONE of us helped her. We all just let her die, alone.”

            “But you didn’t know-“

            “Leave me alone, Nancy,” she told me. Her voice didn’t waver. This time she wanted me to leave her alone for good.

Check out her page on Facebook!http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nancy-Drew-Forever-Fan-Page/228945947171585 Thank you Marissa for letting me post this!!! =D

Hi! Something really sad happened today! My desk chair died!!! He just kinda fell apart... I got like 5 years ago, used, from my aunt. He was a good chair... I am excited to get a new one though! My dad said that I'd finally get a nice desk chair!! Right now I'm borrowing one from the office. I had some trouble while writing this chapter... My computer was being weird so I had to use task manager to switch from Microtsoft Word to the game. And then it started freaking out and just kept switching from one to the other!!! It was crazy but it finally calmed down and I got it to work again. Oh, and my computer is trying to restart to complete some updates so I had to deal with that... Anyway, enjoy!!! =D

Chapter 23

            “I saw some of the guests leave, they seemed pretty spooked,” I told Rentaro.

            “Yeah. Those poor people…” he said.

            “What happened?”

            “Who knows, they were too upset to make any sense. But I took care of their room after they left. I admit, it was a little spooky. Everything was torn up, like someone had taken the whole ryokan and given it a shake – and the shoji had turned this dark ash color – something weird happened in there.”

            “Do you know what scared the other guests away?”

            “Silly superstitions. I don’t get it. We have ghost hunters who come here to find ghosts – and if they think they’ve found something they panic and run away. But I don’t know… these superstitions are seeming more like truth lately…”

            “When did the ryokan get a reputation for being haunted?”

            “A few summers back. We were fully packed – it was festival time, there was this terrible scream coming from the baths. Next thing I knew, the paramedics were there. This woman had seen something and gone into shock. “

            “What had she seen?” I asked eagerly

            “She never said. A lot of people asked, trust me. But whatever she saw – or thought she saw, everyone else wanted to see it too. People started coming and pretended they could sense spirits or something. But a few of them…”

            “A few of them what?” I asked. I could barely stand the suspense.

            “Ah… nothing. Never mind, it’s nothing.” He said.

            What a wonderful dead end that turned out to be. But I had to wonder, was that thing that that woman had seen the spirit of Kasumi? I guessed no one would ever find out…

            “Do you believe that the ryokan is haunted?”

            “I don’t believe that anything is haunted. Ghosts are just what happen when guilty people let their imaginations run wild.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Think about it. Why do ghost always want revenge? They’re what people invent when they feel guilty. If that wasn’t the case then ghosts would want all sorts of things – but no, they always want revenge.”

            Interesting point… I noticed something behind Rentaro. “ What are you building there?” I asked.

            “Oh this? This is the Rentaro 4000. I sorta got inspired got Suki.”

            “What’s it going to be?”

            “A  robotic dog. Or, maybe just a robotic dog’s leg. I’ll be honest, I had no idea how long these things take to build. But then again, a dog’s leg is not a good gift without the rest of the dog, sorta borders on creep, come to think of it.”

            “Is it going to be a gift for Miwako?”

            “Oh definitely! She’s my robotic muse! Well, she’s not robotic. Not that you’d think she is,” Rentaro sighed, “And this is why I work with machines, they’re totally oblivious to awkwardness.”

            “How are things going between you and Miwako right now?”

            “You know how in romantic movies, the couple is only really happy together for like a minute at the end?”

            “I guess so.” I said, I had never really viewed it like that…

            “That’s sort of how our relationship is. Except the movie restarts every week. Honestly, it gets a little tiring some times.”

            “Miwako seems to really like Suki!” I said, trying to make him feel better.

            “I know! Which is great, because that girl is really hard to buy for… and it’s been sorta a gift heavy year. Either she’s getting crazy sensitive, or I’m becoming a real jerk. Hmm, hard to say. It’s definitely one or both of those things.”

            “Is Suki supposed to be so… protective?” I asked.

            “Took a swipe at you, huh? Oh that’s one of her modes, don’t take it personally. It’s actually really clever – there are these command words you say, and then Suki chages into that mode. She’ll be protective, or aloof, or silly!”

            “Really, do you know the commands?”

           

            “I did… I can’t remember where I put that paper. Nope, sorry.”

            “Thanks anyways. See ya!”

            “Peace out!”

            I walked away. I was going to call Bess and George soon and see if they made any progress on finding the commands for Suki.

R.I.P. chair.... 

Hi everyone! This chapter is a good balance of the creepy feeling you get while playing this game and the laughter that comes from talking to Rentaro! This chapter and the next one will both be talking with Rentaro. Enjoy! =D

Chapter 22

            I went to bed, woke up and went to the school. After another long day of teaching, I went back to the ryokan and graded some papers. When that was done I called Bess and George.

            “Nancy! How’s it going?” said Bess and George together, in perfect harmony.

            “I’ve run into quite a few dead ends and was hoping you guys could help. Have you seen the robotic cats they have here?” I asked.

            “I love those!” exclaimed Bess, “I don’t know if they’re cute or creepy, but I love them anyway.”

            “Miwako has one, it’s cute… but it’s a little aggressive.”

            “It’s in guard mode. There’s a way to over ride that, some sort of code word or something,” George told me.

            “Right, I need to figure out what that is. Can you guys help?”

            “Hmm, I bet if I check around the expo I can find someone who knows.” Suggested George.

            “That would be amazing! Thanks!” I told them.

            “Anytime, need anything else?” they asked.

            “Nope, that’s it! Talk to you two later.”

           

            “Bye!”

            While Bess and George were working on that, I thought maybe I’d go and pay Rentaro a visit. He was the only one who wasn’t currently upset with me. Not that I knew of at least…

            “Hello,” He said to me as I walked into his shed.

            I hadn’t seen him in a while so there was a lot to talk about. “Thanks for repairing my screen. That was pretty embarrassing,” I told him.

            “No problem! Easy fix, just took a little steam to loosen the paper, little new glue – no one will ever be able to tell. Just don’t do it again, or at least wait until the paper cuts heal. Ugh, I think thinking about paper cuts is worse than getting them. Why did I bring it up?”

            “Do you know what happened to the mirror in the baths?”

            “Oh that thing… I sorta hit it a few years back and put a little hairline crack in it. It’s days have been numbered for a while.”

            “Sorry about breaking it.”

            “Oh no, don’t worry. I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt. Mirrors can be very dangerous when they’re breaking. In more ways than one.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Oh, shards of glass and such. Not stuff to mess around with.”

            “Something weird happened… When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t see my reflection.”

            “Aha!” he exclaimed.

           

            “You know what happened?” I asked.

           

            “You’re a vampire! Seriously though, that’s pretty messed up. Maybe you need to get some more rest. This place might be getting to you.”

            “What do you think of Yumi?”

            “She’s pretty much the older sister you want to have. She’s cool, she’s adventurous, she’s a pain, but no matter what she’s got your back. Although MAN can she be bossy! I’m betting she’s already put you to work.”

            “A little…” I admitted.

            “That bossy thing is just her special way of saying – I am your boss now do what I say!”

            “So you grew up next door?”

           

            “My dad and I moved here when I was about seven.”

            “Why do you spend all your time here when you live just next door?”

            “Never got my room decorated right. Plus, this place has always been more fun, and Miwako’s here. And I have my work shop…”

            “Miwako seems a little frustrated lately.”

           

            “Why wouldn't she be… the way guests have been filing out. But maybe she’ll finally come to her senses and move to the city with me.”

This is my avatar for George! Btw, I'm not going to do color all the time... that was a mega fail. =P

Hi everyone!!! I really hope you like this chapter! I think it's pretty funny! Nancy wakes up to do some investigating in the middle of the night and has '1 in the morning/Sarah was bored and wanted to be funny brain'! Also, I just realized that I forgot to do what I was planning to do on Valentines day! I was going to make everything pink, red, and purple! So here is your late Valentines day gift from me! Enjoy the pretty colors!!!! If you guys like it (or if I like it) I might write my posts in pretty colors everyday! Haha! Enjoy! =D
Haha! Just so you guys know I accidentally changed the background color and then changed the color of the words so it was just a block of fuchsia! I fixed though (as you can see) so don't worry! Hehe! =D

Chapter 21

            My alarm went off and I woke up. I went downstairs and looked behind the front desk. I was very disappointed to find that the computer needed a password. I didn’t think it wouldn’t need one; I was just hoping. There were a couple of travel broachers. One was about about the Bavarian Alps, another was about Greece (That one was interesting.), and the last one was about Dread Isle… That seemed familiar. I wasn’t quite sure why.

            The only thing left that looked interesting on the desk was a box. But when I reached for it Suki scratched me! I wondered if there was a way to turn her off… I decided that I would call Bess and George about it later.

            I turned around and found some sort of safe or something like that in the wall. It had an odd lock using some kind of key cards. One was missing though so I couldn’t do anything with that then.

            I went over to a little fire/heater thing that they kept on all the time. I was suddenly over come with the urge to touch the thing that you put the kettle on….

            “Ouch!” I exclaimed, “That fire is hot! Not surprisingly….” I waited to see if someone had heard me but no one came. That was a relief. I wasn’t sure how I would explain something like that…

            Ok, I thought to myself, what have we learned today Nancy? That’s right, don’t touch the fire thingy!!!!

            I wanted to make getting up in the middle of the night worthwhile so I went and tried to go into the cultural room (The room that Takae is always in).

            “It’s locked!” I whispered to myself.

            Next I tried going to Rentaro’s shed. I tried to push the door open but it wouldn’t budge.

            “This one is locked to!” then I pulled the door open, “Oh… never mind.”

            I looked around, that didn’t take very long. The shed was so small I was surprised that Rentaro could stand (No pun intended… maybe.) being in here all day. There was nothing interesting in there. Just some robotic thing that he was working on.

            Well Nancy, you managed to get scratched by a cat, burn yourself, and find absolutely nothing at all, I thought to myself, it’s time to go back to bed. 

Just so you guys know, the smiley face is green cuz that's my favorite color and it's my signature smiley!!! And this is blue cuz it's my second favorite color and I wanted to use a different color from the story! =D

Hi everyone! Today's chapter makes me feel bad... We make yet another person upset with us. I hope we run out of sad stuff to talk about wither everyone. It's starting to get kinda depressing... Anyway, I do something that did not happen in the game. I tried to make it happen but the game wasn't cooperating. In the end I decided that I'm the author of this story and I can do whatever the heck I want! I basically needed to make the chapter longer (It's still pretty short though...) and didn't want to talk to anyone and saw an opportunity! Hope you enjoy my author's independence! AHHHHHHH!!!! oops... it's ok. I was copying the chapter onto here and I accidentally pressed something else and it disappeared! Luckily I had saved it before!!! I would just like to take this moment and thank the Lord that I actually saved something when I needed to!!! I have quite a reputation for not saving my games when I'm playing Nancy Drew and then something happens and I have to start all over again! Anyway, sorry for giving you a heart attack and enjoy chapter 20! =D

Chapter 20

            I left Miwako and went to go see Yumi.

            “Hi! What’s up?” Yumi greeted me as I walked up to her bento stand.

            “Yumi…” I really didn’t want to talk to her about this… “ I’m ready to help with more bento!” Oops… I guess I just got nervous. I made the bento and, as usual, it was adorable and Yumi loved it.

            “Yumi,” I started, “ I saw the article about what happened to you mother-“

            “I’m busy. Maybe you should go.”

            “It said that you were the first one to find her, that must have been very hard-“

            “I said I’m busy. That means Leave. Me. Alone. Now!” She shouted, and went back to work.

            I left and decided I would go to sleep for now and then get up later to look around a bit when no one would be watching me. I didn’t know if I would be able to concentrate knowing that I had hurt Yumi  by bringing up that night.

            By the time I got back to my room it was 10 at night. I went to take a bath but when I got down there I saw the blue banner and realized that I had forgotten that today was men only. I went back upstairs and tried to sleep. The results weren’t very good. Eventually I got up and sat on my balcony thinking about everything that had happened here at the Ryokan Hiei.

            I went back into my room and just about jumped out of my skin! There were muddy footprints on the floor that went right through the wall! Strange, I thought, I hadn’t heard anyone come in. I guessed I was just so deep in thought. Hmmm…. The culprit was most likely someone who hadn’t seen me come in. So, anyone but Miwako. She still could have done, I just didn’t see why she would bother when she knew I was up here. Maybe she didn’t see me come in…  back to square one. I got a towel and cleaned up the mess. Anything to waste a little time. By the time I laid down again it was about 11:30. I was so exhausted. I set my alarm for right after when Miwkao would leave and went to sleep.

This is my avatar for Bess in the game!!! Well, except for jewelry. They don't let you do that part in the mini game on their website. Oh well! =D

Hi everyone! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!!!Today's chapter is interesting! (I say that about every chapter, don't I?) We have an intense conversation with Miwako... that's it really. We'll talk to Yumi in the next chapter. Do any of you have plans for today? I really don't... I think I'm going to the gym and then hanging out with the dog. I might watch a romantic movie. I was think about Phantom of the Opera, Sense and Sensibility, or Beauty and the Beast! They're all fantastic movies!!! Anyway, Enjoy today's chapter! =D

Chapter 19

            I walked downstairs to go see Yumi but when I was almost to the lobby, I heard what sounded like another unhappy customer talking to Miwako.

            “When we first walked in the door, my wife told me she had a bad feeling about this place, but no, I told her she was being unreasonable. But whatever it is that’s going on here, we are not going to put up with it anymore. That thing you left in our room! No one should ever have to see something like that. I want my money back,” shouted the man.

            “There was nothing there-“ said Miwako, trying to calm him down.

            “And I want to see this place closed down! You’d never get away with something like this where I come from!”

            “Sir, please, there was nothing there. No one left anything in your room,” Miwako pleaded.

            “Oh, ‘please’ yourself!” he said as he walked away.

            Miwako started crying. I wasn’t sure if me going to talk to her would help or not but I gave it a shot.

            “Hi Miwako. That was the last customer, wasn’t it?” I said.

            “Yes Nancy, it’s just you now. So, make yourself comfortable, we’re all here for you until something happens to scare you off to,” she said to me.

            “I don’t scare easy.”

            “I’ve heard that before. Look, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be upsetting you with all this. Please, you’re my only guest left, let me at least make sure you have a good trip. Maybe you’ll recommend us to your friends…”

            “I still want to help.”

            “Help? You want to help? Look around you, this place is beyond help. It was spooky and lonely before… everything that happened happened, and now… Why do you think Yumi got out of this place as soon as she could? People come because they’ve heard it’s haunted, they come here to be scared, and even they can’t take it. I’m sorry Nancy. There’s nothing you can do here. Help yourself and find somewhere safer to stay,” she said, and turned away from me.

            “I’m going to do what I can,” I said, and walked away.

I din't have a good picture for this chapter, so... Here's a picture of some cupcakes I made last year!!! (We also ate them last year! haha!) 

Hi everyone! I think it's funny how I say that I'm not gonna be able to post very often and then I post everyday... Anyway, chapter 18 is certainly an interesting chapter... Something that I've wanted to happen for a long time finally happens! Then, something not so awesome happens. If you cry at the drop of a hat (like me) then you might want to have a tissue handy...

Chapter 18

            I headed up to my room so I could call Bess and George and see what they were up to. I went upstairs and was in the hallway when the lights started flickering. The lights turned back on and then all the doors, one by one, opened and slammed closed! The lights flickered again and it was all over. Or so I thought. I walked up to my room, number 24. When I got there the 2 on the door had fallen off! In Japan four is considered to be a very unlucky number, coincidence?

            I opened the door and walked in expecting something scary to happen. Nothing happened, everything looked the same. I guess my nerves were just a bit on edge… or a lot on edge. I sat down and called Bess and George.

            “Nancy! How’s it going?” chimed Bess.

            “I had another strange run in with the ‘ghost’ here,” I told them.

            “What happened this time?” asked George.

           

            “I was in the hallway, and one by one, the doors started to slam…”

           

            “Creepy. Just thinking about that, I’m not going to be able to get any sleep tonight. I’m not sure how you do it,” said Bess.

            “It is a little creepy, I’ll admit that. I just need to figure out how someone could do it.”

            “Good call. It could be easily automated… I think,” said George.

            “Well, I’ll let you two go,” I said.

            “Bye Nancy!” they both said as they hung up.

           

            Right then I got a text. It was another goofy picture of Yumi! I loved getting those! Then I got another text. I looked and found that it was actually a group of texts from Savannah. They said:

            “Last evening, officers responded to an emergency call from fifteen year old Shimizu Yumi after she found her mother Shimizu Kasumi, 42, who runs the Ryokan Hiei, lying unconscious in the indoor ryokan bath. After arriving, emergency crews were unable to revive the apparent drowning victim. Police are currently treating the case as a crime but have yet to press charges. If this is an accident-“ That’s, it. The article ends there. Logan.

            Wow… I thought. Yumi found her mother’s dead body. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that was like. I thought that maybe it was time to go talk to Yumi. I didn’t want to bring up the past because I knew it would hurt her, but it had to be done to find out what was going on in the present…

IT's just a random picture I got off of Google. I  have no idea what it says...

Hi everyone! Sorry, I was really busy yesterday and didn't get any pictures of the snow and now it's mostly gone... Today I went over to my bro's to hang out with some friends, it was so much fun! We play Star Wars games, it was awesome!!! I loved it! Anyway... I just about killed my hand last night! I was helping my mom make these bookmarks that we're handing out a a dance coming up soon. Let me tell you, tying 75 bows HURTS!!!! My left hand hurt so bad last night! It's better today though, but I get to tie more bows! YAY!!!! (Sarcasm!! =P) So I'm done talking about Star Wars awesomeness and hurting hands... Enjoy chapter 17! =D

Chapter 1 7

            I left the room and as soon as I was in the hallway, I got a phone call.

            “Logan here,” he said.

            “Yes?”

            “Alright. Savannah wants me to translate that article for you. I don’t know what it was you said to her, but whatever you did to get her to talk about that paranormal garbage you need to knock it off!”

            “Excuse me? I can’t promise that.”

            “You really don’t get it, do you? This ghost stuff isn’t a joke, especially not to her. Since I’m the one left picking up the pieces after she gets to wrapped up in one of her cases, I’m telling you. Leave it alone for her sake, and yours,” he told me.

            “What happened to Savannah? Why doesn’t she work paranormal cases anymore?” I asked.

            “It’s not something she likes to talk about,” Logan said with a sigh.

            “I gathered that, but can you tell me?”

            “When we’re travelling, I spend weeks with her touring on buses, long plane flights, we talk a lot. I know everything about her childhood, her best friend’s dog’s name from when she was five, her favorite ice cream flavor, she’s very chatty.”

            “Then what has she told you about-“

            Logan cut me off, already knowing the end to my question, “Nothing, not a single word.

I’ve asked, and when I do, she just goes quiet and excuses herself. She’s never told me to stop bugging her about it, but I can tell that she wants to. That’s why I don’t want you bothering her about it either. Whatever happened when she was writing the second ghost book… it really got to her.”

            “Second ghost book?” I asked. This was the first I had heard of it.

            “Wasn’t supposed to mention that. It’s a secret, and it’s not done so don’t think you’re going to get your hands on it… I don’t even know if she still has the manuscript. She had me tell her publisher she burned it, but I don’t know if that’s the truth.”

            “Well, speaking of her books, I need a copy of the first ghost book she wrote. Could you help me out with that?”

            “Sure! Bookstores are a great start. Or the internet is helpful, but I’m more a brick and mortar person, honestly. I suppose you could also go the books on tape route – TV’s Ralston Popplers does an excellent job with the text… really makes it come alive,” he said, back to the guy who hung up on me… twice.

            “No, I meant, could you send me a copy?”

            “Oh! Nope, but thank you for asking.”

            “Have you finished translating that article yet?”

            “Just about, I’ll have it sent to you as soon as I finish.”

            “Thanks. Talk to you later.”

           

            “Goodbye,” he said and hung up.

Improvising... This is a pic that I took and edited myself. Thought it looked sorta spooky! (insert cute ghost smiley here) =D