It was late afternoon when they arrived at the valley of Fories. Skies were painted with red and the sun took his leisure time setting down between the alps. Street lamps were already lit as the last rays of the sun crept out of the village.
The car was parked outside the village. The Greya's took a special pass that same day just to drive Lev to his new home.
Lev didn't take notice of the houses and the details that were around him, he was too busy covering his head and looking down at the soil trail. A few minutes later, they arrived at a wooden house that was situated at the end of the village.
The house was quite small. It was one-storey with brownish-red walls. The wooden framed windows were shut closed and shining through it was a yellow dim light, giving off an uncanny feeling. On the front of them was a screen door that was guarding the porch.
They entered and rang the doorbell and what followed next was a high-pitched voice, it was almost comparable to a banshee's shriek.
"What is it?" The voice asked.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Quick footsteps could be heard coming from inside. The door opened and a lady in her late thirties came out. She was tall and thin, long curly hair, eyes that were squinting, sharp and protruding cheekbones, and a long pointy nose.
Lev stared at her, imagining what she would look like if she wore a pointy hat and a broom. He read a lot of fairy-tales, and the lady that was standing right in front of him had almost the perfect resemblance to that of a witch.
"Hi Lola," Honey greeted her with a beautiful smile.
"Well, hello there Honey Greya, my beautiful sister that was blessed by the heavens. How nice of you to come to visit me," she grunted. Her inexpressive face clearly wasn't pleased on her sister's visit.
Honey reached out her hand and grabbed Lev's arm, pulling him closer beside her. "I have a gift for you. I thought it would be nice if he could stay here with you, to keep you accompanied and to help you take care of the household chores. We adopted him," she said as she presented Lev.
Lola forced a smile and pretended to be delighted. "Oh my! How thoughtful and caring of you. What perfect timing! I needed someone to help me clean the house. I could do it myself but I just came from work and my whole body is aching," she said with a monotone voice.
She swiftly grabbed Lev's arm and pulled him inside the house. She shut the door right on her sister's face and locked it.
Lev was surprised at what she did. He didn't quite understand the meaning behind her action.
Inside, Lev saw that every piece of furniture was made of wood. Cobwebs can be seen on the edges of the house, dirty dishes were left unclean on the kitchen, leftover foods were dumped on the table. The one thing that looked okay was the fireplace that was quietly burning.
What a mess... As if a storm passed inside and threw everything up... Lev lampooned as he inwardly shook his head.
"Go sit on that chair," Lola pointed on the chair that was near the table.
He went and quickly sat down. Horrible stench was all over the house. Lev wasn't sure if this was the new life that he wanted.
Multiple footsteps could be heard outside, leaving. Lev looked at Lola, who was just creepily standing there as if she was waiting for them to leave.
"Can I say goodbye to them?" Lev asked.
She raised her eyebrow and looked at him with a deadpan face. "No."
Lev felt chills going down his spine. He turned his gaze away and tried to look calm. Lola slowly walked closer to Lev. Each step made Lev's heart beat faster. This was his first time experiencing real fear from a stranger. He didn't know what to react or what to do in that situation.
Lola stood in front and stared down at him. Lev's head was staring down at her feet, he didn't dare try to look at her. He could feel her gaze penetrating in his very soul. It made him so uncomfortable and awkward. He wished that he should have never come to this place. He regretted every decision that he made that day and he wanted to run away from that house.
"Starting tonight, I'll be your mother. You will do everything as I say. Do you understand?" Her high-pitched voice was piercing Lev's eardrum. Lev noticed a shadowy aura that looked like a cloud of smoke while looking down. He felt that the smoke was suffocating him.
"Y-y-yes," He clearly stammered.
Lola walked around Lev. She crossed her arms over her chest while commanding him, "You will clean the entire house first thing in the morning. Not even a speck of dust should be seen when I return back from work. I don't care if you want to go to school. Just do your job.
"Also, if you're wondering what you will eat, then I'm not sorry to disappoint you but you will eat the leftover foods that I ate. You will do the dishes, do the laundry, do everything. You will not live here for free. And if you decide to run away then don't bother coming back. I won't give you a second chance."
Lev nodded his head.
Lola walked toward her room. She reached out her hand, grabbing the doorknob, but she stopped midway. She turned around and said, "You are not allowed to enter my room. Don't even dare to peek."
Lev heard the shutting of the door behind his back. He slightly turned his head over his shoulder, spying if she was still standing behind him. After making sure that she was gone, he finally took a long, deep breath.
Lev looked at the wooden door and noticed something strange: black smoke seeping out on the edges and gaps of the door.
"That's weird. Is she really a witch? Performing some weird ritual?" Lev whispered.
He stood up and maintained a distance away from that room. He roamed around the house, finding a place where he could sleep.
I guess this house doesn't have an extra room or even a spare bed... How unlucky of me... Lev sighed. He thought that this was the luckiest day in his life but it was actually the opposite: it was his unluckiest.
He unlocked the front door and inspected the porch. Unlike inside, the porch was 'smoke-free' and cold air blew past the screened door and the screened window. It was really cold but luckily for Lev, his jacket did its job and kept him warm enough.
He spotted a bench on the porch.
Better than sleeping on the floor... Lev thought. He lay down on the bench, his feet hanging on the edge, and slowly closed his eyes.
.....
In a forest, a furry creature materialized. It was wearing a white-silver cloak. His cat-like eyes scanned the surrounding, carefully observing the village that was on the front of him.
He then decided to look around the village if he could salvage anything that was edible. The creature walked on 2 feet, and when it was close to the village, its body started to shrink. The cloak merged into his skin, modifying into a fur. It started walking on 4 feet and started running. The creature transformed into a cat!
After reaching the end of the village, he noticed that something was off in the last village house. It sensed that darkness was being nurtured inside. But apart from that, he sensed an odd feeling within him.
"I guess Fate is telling me to stay here," it sniffed. "Fate is really weird," it sat on the grass, "telling me to hide in plain sight."
The creature was just sitting there, deep in thought, when it finally decided to walk in the direction of that house. "Hiding in plain sight, I guess that works too," it tried to comfort itself.