Lucy and Tom were tired of rainy English summers. This year, they wanted something different. While looking on a travel website, they found the ideal holiday – a house swap opportunity in California. The owners, Mark and Anna, seemed friendly in their messages. The house was large and modern, with a big pool in the garden. Everything seemed perfect.
Lucy imagined sun, beaches, and long evenings on the terrace. Tom just wanted a break from work. They agreed quickly, packed their suitcases, and flew across the Atlantic to Mark and Anna’s luxury home.
The Californian house was exactly like the photos—white walls, big windows, and a pool in the garden. It was bigger than their house in England. “It’s beautiful,” Lucy said, opening the curtains to the sea view.
But on the first night, Lucy woke suddenly. She thought she heard someone walking upstairs. Tom checked every room, but there was no one. They laughed nervously and went back to bed.
The next morning, they went shopping. When they returned, the front door was unlocked. Tom was sure he had locked it. Inside, nothing was missing, but Lucy noticed the chairs around the dining table had moved.
“Maybe it was the wind,” Tom suggested, though he didn’t believe it himself.
That evening, the phone rang. Tom answered, but there was only silence on the line before it clicked dead.
On the third day, Lucy was watering the plants outside when a neighbour waved. “You’re back early,” she said with a friendly smile.
Lucy frowned. “Sorry? I think you’ve made a mistake.”
The woman looked surprised. “Aren’t you Anna? You and Mark told us you’d be away for a month.”
Lucy froze. “No,” she said slowly. “I’m Lucy. We’re just staying here for a house swap.”
The neighbour’s smile disappeared. “House swap? That’s strange. I saw Anna in the supermarket yesterday.”
Lucy’s stomach turned cold. She thanked the woman and went inside. “Tom,” she whispered. “The neighbour thought I was Anna—and she says Anna was here a few days ago.”
They stared at each other. If the real owners were still in California… Who had been emailing them?
That night, Lucy and Tom sat in the living room, too nervous to sleep. Suddenly, a shadow crossed the window. Then, the back door handle began to move slowly.
Tom grabbed a heavy lamp. “Who’s there?” he shouted.
The door opened, and a man stepped inside. He was tall, with dark eyes and a calm smile. “Relax,” he said. “This isn’t your house.”
Lucy’s voice shook. “Who are you?”
He ignored the question. “You should leave. Now.”
Fear took over. Lucy and Tom didn’t wait. They grabbed their passports and ran to the car. Tom started the engine while Lucy looked back at the house. The man was standing at the window, watching them.
They drove through the night to the airport and bought the first tickets back to London. They didn’t care about the money—they just wanted to be safe.
Back in the UK, Lucy and Tom tried to forget what had happened. They told their friends it had just been “a holiday that went wrong.” But at night, Lucy often woke with the memory of the man’s calm smile.
One morning, a letter arrived with no return address. Inside was a single photograph. It showed Lucy and Tom standing at the pool in California. They hadn’t noticed anyone taking a picture.
Lucy dropped the photo on the table. “Tom,” she whispered, “do you think… he knows where we live?”
Tom didn’t answer. He just looked at the photo, his face pale.
That night, Lucy thought she heard footsteps again—this time in their house.
📒 Key vocabulary
- swap – exchange, trade one thing for another
- terrace – an outdoor area next to a house, often with chairs
- nervously – in a worried or afraid way
- unlocked – not closed securely
- frown (frown, frowned, frowned) – move eyebrows together to show confusion or worry
- handle – the part of a door that you hold
- shake (shake, shook, shaken) – move involuntarily due to fear
- calm – relaxed, not worried or excited
- pale – white, without colour
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