My plans of going to the mansion are now wrecked—well, soaked. It has been raining heavily since the morning until this late afternoon and I had not a single clue of when it would stop. It was not the kind of rain where it gently fell to the earth with a melodious 'pitter patter' along with an orchestra of frogs and animals dancing in it. It was the kind of rain where it crashes to the ground in a fierce roar and vigorous wind following it. Not an animal would dance in it—rather, they would avoid it. It was like being poured with a pitcher of piercing cold water from over your head that numbed your brain.
Buckets laid in almost every corner of the house that were filled with icy water that dropped through the ceiling. Some were clear and some, a color of dirty yellow that stunk. The damp smell of earth enveloped the house like a thick blanket in a winter night. With every hail of wind, came a force of rain that banged against the dogged windows every now and then. Great aunt Margaret day beside a misted window; grasping a scarcely lit candle in a possessive manner. Wax dripped down to her fingers but she seemed like she did not care or notice it at all. Her expression, somber and heavy. She must have hated the rain or had unpleasant memories with it.
This gave me a thought.
What were my dislikes?
As far as I was concerned, there was not really anything that I found myself hating it. Was it 'families' that I distasted? No, I just felt a void of emptiness whenever I had thought of it. So, it was not the case.
I guessed I was just a neutral and boring person with no taste who would spend a boring a life and pass away in vain.
The thought disgusted me to the bones. I certainly did not want to be a person like that.
With my one answered being answered, I asked pass great aunt Margaret and took a seat beside the kitchen counter. I did not have to continue wondering about what my likes were. I already had a clear vision in my mind.
Old things of all sorts. Old trees, antiques, old buildings, you name it; even some old people. Maybe this was the reason why I wanted to explore the abandoned mansion. It just seemed to me that ages things had a certain aura and ring to it. The way they looked, they way they feel, the way they talked, their manners were resonating the last times and I enjoyed seeing it. I enjoyed the waves of nostalgia.
I stepped away from my chair and went to the window. The haze, disturbing my vision. I reached towards the chilly glass and wiped the fog out so that I could see the view outside. The rain was still there; ever so strong. True, it has reduced a little but it was in no condition for me to return to the lone mansion. The forest would be intimidating to pass and my boat could be sent to the wrong direction because of the almighty wind. I wondered if parts of the mansion would still be intact after this storm had gone.
I was suddenly reminded of not shutting the window from the reading room yesterday and got horrified. The wind and rain would have definitely got in there soaking io everything. Or worse, tear them apart. What if the entire mansion got flooded?
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. My mind was getting ahead of me. I let go of the breath I was holding and reassured myself that it was going to turn out fine in the end.
I jumped in surprise as a wet and freezing sensation landed on top of my head. It travelled down to my forehead, leaving ita trail of liquid on my head. I looked up at the leak in the ceiling as another drop fell into one of my eye; blurring my vision and making me hop back at the feeling of a cold foreign matter in my eyeball.
I took another glance at it and saw that a stream of water was dripping down onto the floor making a puddle of brownish yellow on it.
"We need another bucket here", I informed great aunt Margaret who never seemed to move an inch from her place. She looked at me with startled and clueless eyes but regained her composure quickly. "What was it again, my dear?" She inquired as she faced one of her ears to me while looking at me from the corner of her eyes. "The ceiling's leaking here, we need another bucket", I responded. Of course, I could have just grabbed the bucket on my win but I did not know where she had kept them. "You can tell me the place, I'll get them", I smiled. She reluctantly smiled back. "It's okay dear, I'll be back", she replied as she walked off to her room, leaving the dying candle on the table.
Come to think of it, I was not familiar with the house at all except for the living room, the kitchen, and my room upstairs. The thought of going into her room or the others had never crossed my mind. I did not want to either. I did not want to be seen as a curious, unethical intruder to her eyes.
At this point, the puddle on the floor got larger. I put my palms underneath it for the time being— I hated wiping the floors. Another thing to hate. The rain gained its strength and continued pouring down to the ground beneath and I felt like we were in the cycle once again. The pouring rain, the endless leaks and rusted buckets. Great aunt Margaret came back in a hustle with a shabby bucket with dents all over it. I felt her wax coated fingers brushed over mine as she handed the object to me and I could not help but felt like living with a lifeless figure. I quickly shook of the thought and placed the buck over the puddle. The water dropped in there with every single sound. "Looks like it's the last one I have here", she grunted with her hands in her hips. "Let's hope this is the last leak", I remarked. "Anything you want for dinner?" She asked me softly. Dinner? I thought we just had our lunch just not long ago. I checked out the sky. It was dark since the day started due to the storm clouds but this time, it was dark as in "nighttime dark" with hits of the puff of grey clouds that were releasing their anger on us. "I'm fine with anything, really", I smiled. A juicy steak sounded delicious but I did not want to tire her. Her bakes were not bad at all. I could go with that for the time being. "Well then, how does a fruit tart sound?" She proposed with warmth in her voice. Even though I was pretty neutral about tarts, her voice made it sound like it was the most heavenly thing in earth. "Sure, I can't wait!", I mused.
I went over to her couch and laid there listening to the booming noise of the rain. My mind still lingering around the mansion. It would have looked otherworldly if it was not in ruins. What if it got worse after today? Once again, there I was, overthinking about how the mansion would crumble into pieces by tomorrow's dawn. I laid my head on one of the pillows and went though my phone. It was such a shame that I could not have a contact with my friends back in my city just because this place had no connection. What do there people even do without any internet? I put my phone away and placed another pillow on top of my face allowing myself to see nothing but darkness.
A thunder boomed in the sky. Waltz music following it. I was in front of a massive building with lights lit in every corner of the architecture. Behind me was a water fountain with a statue of a woman pouring down water from her hand; a dagger on the other. Lights from carriages could be seen from afar. I looked at the building again. Some parts were identical with the mansion that I had ventured in. Was I dreaming about this place? I took a steps towards the stair that led me to the huge entrance. It felt too real. I did not seem to want to wake up either. A horse behind me. From the carriage, stepped out a man in a blue suit with a silver mask with sequences and after him, followed a red haired woman clad in a sophisticated white ball gown that paired with a black mask with golden lacing.
I was suddenly at the entrance of the building as the man bowed and the woman curtsied to me. "Lady.....", they said my name but I could not catch my last name. What was my last name? I was sure I had a last name but despite my efforts, I could not remember it. Then, man rushed out in worry as if he was searching for something he had lost. His eyes widened as they landed upon me. "Mistress.....!" He shouted in relief. Mistress? Again, I could not decipher the name he had said. He ran towards me and started lecturing me about how I should not be staying under the rain and proceeded to push me inside the familiar mansion. Before I got inside, I saw a glimpse of a raven with piercing eyes and wings that illuminated the full moon's light. The waltz music from earlier came back again. Now, I was in a black gown that I had never seen and was walking down the aisle with everyone's eyes on me. They seemed happy to see me rather than question me why I was there. Now, the raven rested on the chandelier as it let out its voice.
I was yanked to the top of the stairs by an unknown force but no one seemed to notice it. Their eyes never leaving me nor the smiles on their faces. I felt my mouth move but heard nothing. The crowd beneath me nodded their head in delight and began to dance to the beautiful and alluring music of the orchestra. Ball gowns swayed in elegance with each motion. All were wearing masquerades of all sorts and colours. I wondered if I was wearing one now.
I reached to my face and felt a smooth fabric with tiny jewels on the mask place over my eyes. As I was about to put it off to inspect it further, a hand stopped me. A brunette woman in a bold voice spoke out. "You ought not to be removing that, did you not know?" Mockery laced her voice. I said nothing. The raven was now resting on the handle of the stair behind her gazing into me.No one seemed to see it. Why was it following me? "Seems like I have put some sense into you", she continued. There was a pause. She started to chuckle, "Welcome back, dear...." she mused out. I was sure she said something after that but again, I did not catch it. The next thing I knew, I was spun around. There, a small girl stood with her hands folded behind her back. "Welcome back, dear....." she said in mischief. Welcome back? Frustration overwhelmed me at this point. Why was I keep missing out words? The little girl appeared to be talking but I could not figure out a single word of it until the name, "Marceline". "Yes, that's me!" I blabberer out finally regaining the ability to speak. The girl started laughing, the woman from earlier following suit— also calling out my name. A voice from one of the guests echoed. "Marceline" they said. Along with others who had smiles plastered on their faces. "Marceline! Marceline! Marceline!" They chanted in unison until I got to the point of despising my name. The only thing I could tell mine. The voices continued on this time, along with the raven's gurgling croak. From that, it turned into a subtle "Marceline"— a name I learnt to hate just a few moments ago. Just like that I was yanked out from the ball room to outside of the the manor and to the couch I was sleeping in by a strong force.
"Marceline!" Great aunt Margaret shouted.
"SHUT UP", I unintentionally shouted to her mistaking her with one of the guests from the ball. The look on her face told me that she felt betrayed but again, she hid it well. "Oh aunt Margaret, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-to...", I stuttered upon my own words. "It was a-a nightmare", I blabbered out. "It's quite okay, dearie", she gave me a closed eyes smile. "I was going to tell you that dinner's ready", she softly murmured.
I went into my room—the sweet taste of pastry still in my mouth. I could not stay calm after the dream I had had. It had felt too real and the mansion partially looked like the one u had visited yesterday. There came a tap on my window. I ignored it thinking that it was just the wind. Then, came another tap. I was not frightened but felt uneasy. I slowly crept towards the window and opened it only to find nothing but the splatter of the rain on me. As I was about to close the window, a small paper scroll dropped into my palms. It was tied with a red string that had a black feather stuck with it. This reminded me of the raven I saw earlier in my dreams. I felt skeptical but decided to open the letter anyway. Now, the words in there genuinely scared me. "Welcome back" was written in black ink that was smudged by my fingers which indicated that it has not been long since this letter (or words) was written. It also reminded me of the two females in my dream who had also said the same thing. I stood there with my mouth agape. Were they spirits from the manor? Or was this just a coincidence. It felt too real to be just a coincidence.
Only a thing was certain to me.
I will not go back to the mansion.
Ever.