They continue to look for the tom cat.
Eira looked everywhere in the cupboards, but there was no sign of it.
She turned to look at the boys who had already spread things everywhere on the floor.
"They can't have put the cat down, so give up" she said as she looked distressed.
Because they will have to remove things one by one, and then place the things again on the cat, making it very hard for them. So, they can't have done that.
Albert nodded as he agreed to her words.
They stood up and looked around the room to find some signs of the cat around them.
Albert looked up at the ceiling for a while and then his eyes caught a sign of a screw which was not screwed properly.
"I think there is something up there," he said pointing at the screw.
"Hmm, how will we climb up there?" Dash asked as he looked at the ceiling with his mouth open.
"Get the damn stool, Dash" Eira glared at Dash. She was already tired and they had only 3 more minutes to look for the treasure.
Dash got the stool and Albert climbed on it and easily reached the ceiling as the table was tall and the ceiling was not that high.
"Oh boy, there is a whole attic in here" Albert exclaimed as he climbed inside the small hole to climb in the attic.
Eira pushed Dash from her way and climbed up to enter another world.
There were thousands of portraits and books. A rocking chair, a small study table and a candle holder. There was a small window in the corner.
They found the talking tom cat hidden under the table.
"What a good hiding spot" Eira smiled as she looked at the cat.
She climbed down and ran off to the first floor to show them, as there was very little time to celebrate.
Albert looked at the disappearing figure of Eira, then he glanced around the books. They were too written in German, the same pictures of the family were also there. He looked at the images and was in deep thought. He left the attic and climbed down. Dash and Eira were nowhere to be seen, they had left him.
He gave a last glance at the room and walked to the first floor.
The game continued and it was tied. They enjoyed eating snacks and drinking apple juice which they treated as wine and alcohol.
After the feast, they walked back home and came to this building often.
...…..
***Present***
Albert looked at the old building which was still standing there on the same spot.
He walked towards the building, where he had spent most of his childhood. They bunked a lot of the classes and came here to spend their time. Austin then left as he went to study abroad, Ethan too left, Aliyah went next, Dash's family moved out of the country, only Eira and he were left.
A big misunderstanding took place which made Eira hate him, he wanted to make amends with her. But she ignored him. He left her and moved abroad when his mother left him, leaving her alone without apologizing to her.
He walked in the building and entered the bedroom on the second floor, he sat on the ground reminiscing the past. He stood up after a long time. He was about to leave when he thought of the papers and book in the attic.
He climbed to the attic on the third floor, the whole attic was empty, no books, no papers, no pictures.
He was confused. Did the owner of the building come back?
He shrugged and climbed down and left the building.
He entered his penthouse in the centre of the city. He did not want to see his brother. He typed his password for his penthouse and entered.
The penthouse had a minimal living environment, with very little color, furniture, artwork and accessories. Spatially, the master bedroom suite was located adjacent to the kitchen and next to the large terrace and pool.
A translucent headboard was custom designed to screen visibility from the living area and also allow the western sunsets to glow through it at dusk. The living areas were designed as 'greenhouse' structures, open to the urban environment—the urban rooftops were used as inspiration.
The greenhouse structure of the main living area with it's glass walls and ceiling is visually striking; it must be amazing watching the sunsets in this space!
A staircase and upper balconies were constructed of steel and open steel grates reminiscent of fire escapes. Walls were painted in a dark midnight black, sand textured paint to reduce all glare and focus on the exterior views.
Albert sat on his couch and glanced at the city which was quite at the moment, it was 5 in the morning.
He stood up and went to his bathroom to wash himself. He was tired. The situation last night had taken a toll on him as he went through an emotional rollercoaster.
After cleaning himself up, he walked in the kitchen and made a light breakfast for himself and coffee.
He sat in front of the T.V. and looked at the news.
His phone rang, he frowned as he looked at the screen of his phone which showed it was his step-mother calling him.
He picked it up as he rubbed his forehead.
"Albert?" the lady's calm voice asked.
"Hey, good morning" he greeted in a sweet voice unlike his expression at the moment.
"Where are you?" she asked worriedly.
"At my friend's place, last night after the race I crashed at his place, I will be back by afternoon, you don't have to worry," he said.
"Alright, be back soon," she said, hanging up on him.
He threw the phone on the table and clenched his cup which had coffee in it.
He picked up his phone and called Ricky,
"The person you are calling is asleep, please call later" said the voice.
"Don't you dare hang up on me," Albert warned.
"Alright duh" Ricky said, as he heard a yawn.
"My step-mother will call you, just tell her we were at some racing club and I crashed at your place, okay?" he asked.
"Ok, see ya" Ricky said and hung up on him.
Seriously, why was everyone hanging up on him?