The drive back home was comfortably silent, with Raymond driving and Hannah sitting in the back seat with Penelope's head resting on her lap, fully awake.
Finally, they arrived at the estate and Raymond stopped the car. "We are here". He said and Hannah nodded. She tried to lift Penelope's head from her lap but she saw Penelope clutching the hem of her shirt tightly.
"Come, Penelope, we have arrived home". Hannah said but Penelope's hands only tightened on her shirt with her eyes tightly shut.
Hannah stopped trying to get her to come out of the car and instead, carried Penelope in her arms and stepped out of the car. Penelope tightened her little arms around Hannah's neck without opening her eyes as her breath quickened.
Hannah pulled Penelope away from her body to get a clearer look at her face and she saw Penelope's eyes closed tightly, forming wrinkles around her brows.
"Open your eyes, Penelope". She cooed in a gentle voice but Penelope refused, shaking her head vigorously. Hannah raised her free hand and ran her hands around Penelope's forehead, trying to smoothen the wrinkles that had formed around her brows.
"Just open your eyes, Penelope". Hannah said gently, trying her best to make Penelope comply. "I promise you will like it". She said and the lines on Penelope's forehead slowly disappeared and she opened her eyes. Her eyes hurt and she blinked multiple times to adjust to the lighting around her. Heaven knows how long she had kept her eyes closed.
Penelope gasps as she takes in the sight of the estate. She looked around with her widened eyes and she began shifting uncomfortably, trying to jump down from Hannah's arms. Hannah felt her movements and she bent and slowly dropped Penelope to the ground and the little girl ran around the estate, pointing at the little things that got her attention. There was no sign of the little girl who was afraid of coming out of the car as she had been replaced by a happy and energetic Penelope.
Hannah felt relaxed as she watched Penelope moving around the estate. She sighed and turned her head to look for Raymond and finally saw him at the other end of the estate speaking on the phone. She spared a glance at Penelope and walked to meet Raymond. Immediately Raymond saw her walking in his direction, he ended the call and walked to meet her halfway.
"Where is Penelope?" He asked, looking behind her. "She is somewhere playing around". Hannah answered and Raymond nodded in understanding. They stared at each other for a while not knowing what to say till Raymond parted his lips to speak but someone interrupted him.
"Good day sir and ma'am!" Came the gentle voice of a female, making the both of them turn their head to see a young lady, clad in a fine business suit, holding a file in her hand.
"Good day". Both of them replied in unison.
The lady bowed slightly as a sign of respect and when her head raised, she plastered a smile on her lips. She looked to her side and another young man ran to her with more files in his hand.
"We are from the company and we want to make sure that you don't face any problems while moving in". The woman spoke and both of them nodded again.
They carried on their conversation, speaking about different things around the estate and suddenly, they heard a sound squeal from the back of the estate. The four of them snapped their heads in the direction of the noise and after some seconds of thinking, Hannah sprinted from their midst in search of Penelope, and the trio ran after her.
Hannah ran to the back of the estate, thinking that Penelope had gotten hurt, but instead, she was met with the sight of a happy Penelope as she laughed while pointing at the different colours of birds and butterflies flying about in the small beautiful garden. Penelope ran after one of the birds, trying to grab it, but the bird flew away from her, making her lips curl down in disappointment. But in the next second, her giggling returned as she ran after another bird, standing on the tip of her toes and occasionally jumping to reach them because of her small height.
Hannah watched Penelope silently as she ran after the birds and butterflies and her heart felt full. At that moment, Raymond and the other two reached her and they all stood there, watching the child.
"Why did she scream like that, I thought that something had happened to her, but here she is, playing with birds!" Raymond said in a tone of disbelief, dispelling the silence around them.
Penelope finally noticed their presence and she began to run to them. When she got close, she misstepped and almost fell but Hannah caught her immediately.
"You should be careful Penelope". Hannah warned her and turned to the people behind her. "Let's go inside". She announced and picked Penelope in her arms once again.
They walked out of the backyard, making their way to the building at the far end of the estate.
They stopped at the door and the lady with them came forward with a bunch of keys and opened the door of the house.
As soon as they entered, they were met with the sight of a gorgeous living room. The view of the living room was a treat to their eyes and they couldn't help but part their lips in awe.
The walls of the living room were painted white, and a beautiful crystal chandelier hung over a round glass table in the middle of the room. Grey curtains were draped over the windows, giving the living room a formal vibe. On the right side of the room was a large floor-to-ceiling window with a long couch in front of it. The ray of light coming from the window fell on the white, smooth and shiny tiles of the room, making it look like it was made of glass. At the other end of the room was an aquarium with many colourful plants and fishes in it and Hannah could already feel Penelope shifting in her arms in excitement. She bent down and dropped Penelope on the smooth tiles.
Immediately Penelope's little feet touched the floor, she ran to the aquarium, pressed her cheek on the cold glass and started running her fingers through it.