Dear Andrew,
If you have received this letter, I have disappeared. Do not panic, I am sure that I will find my way back. For the time being, I have a list of duties I need to be taken care of in my absence. I trust you with these tasks as you are the most capable of our siblings, please follow my directions and the rules that come with them very carefully. The supernatural is not something to be taken lightly. I recognize your inexperience, but as long as you follow my directions the manor will remain safe. Remember, you do not have the same capabilities as myself, your mortality puts you at risk. If you have found yourself in a position where my directions were not followed, there is a failsafe in my bedroom. It is in my desk in the last drawer to the left, there is a false bottom, you will find it in there.
You must set an alarm for 6:00 am. The first thing you do in the morning will be to check the lock on the linen closet. If it is locked, continue with your day. If it is unlocked, lock it again and continue with your day. In the unlikely event that the closet door has been opened completely, do not enter, touch the lock, or close the door. You must make sure those three rules are followed by everyone in the house. If the door is not shut by the next day, someone has done one or more of those things. Resort to the failsafe.
I need you to take on brewing coffee for everyone at breakfast. You’re familiar with how to do it I assume, however there are exactly 4 red handled mugs and 3 speckled green mugs. There are no more and no less. Never use the green mugs before all of the red handled ones are used. There is no fourth green mug, the set is incomplete as you know. If you come across the missing green mug in the set, carefully deliver it to my room. I will handle it when I return. If you cannot recognize which of the green mugs is the missing one, take all of them to my room. Better safe then sorry. You will know if you did not follow my directions if the coffee tastes like plain water. The failsafe is not necessary, however the coffee must be dumped. Pour salt in the empty cups and do not clean. Deliver all of the mugs to my room.
This is very important to follow perfectly. The rotary phone in the library does not work, just as it always has. At 3:15, when you return from school, pay the phone a visit. If it has not rung and it is 3:20, continue with your day. If it happens to ring within that 5 minute window, pick it up after 5 rings. Do not speak. They will ask for me, do not answer. Remember what they tell you, write it down because I need to see it word for word to the best of your ability. There is a notepad in the drawer the phone is above. Deliver the note to my room. If you speak, pick up the phone before or after 5 rings, or miss the call, there is noise canceling headphones of mine in the drawer to protect you. Please put them on and do not take them off. Resort to the failsafe.
In the back yard, pay attention to how many chairs are present in the gazebo over the security system. If you find an extra chair, spend an hour on the deck. This is most likely to occur from 5:00 to 6:00 in the afternoon. Sit, stand, bring your laptop, listen to music, just spend a little time out there. There is nothing dangerous, they just enjoy the company. They are happy when they get to show off the residents to guests, so make sure your hair is at least brushed. If your lucky, they might thank you.
Last thing you need to do for me is fairly easy. In the game room, the shelving below the TV needs to be organized. Starting on the left, the remote box should have 4 remotes. If it does not, there is duct tape on the correct ones, remove the outlier and place the box on the left. The flowers go next, if the water in the jug is below the marker line I’ve drawn please re-fill it. The family photo goes on the very right. There might be smudges on the glass, if there is anything other than fingerprints don’t touch it, you wont be able to tell what it is even if you think your certain. Your only solution is to carefully wipe with a cloth. Deliver the cloth to my room when done. These objects will never be in the right place when you arrive to preform this task. If they are, lock up the game room. If one of our siblings are in the room before you when this scenario occurs, lock them in the room as well, do not bring them out with you. Resort to the failsafe.
I know this is a lot of pressure, I’ll take one of your chores for you when I get back. I have full faith in you. If something goes wrong, there is always someone looking after you. After all, who could have left you this note if I’m not here?
Best of luck,
Louis