♨️ THE NEW HOME ♨️
She knelt down beside her mom's grave saying goodbye as a flood of tears gushed down her ashen cheeks.
Her dad slowly sat beside her and she rest her head on his shoulders.
He wiped his eyes so hard that they were all red and swollen.
Dusk creeped in sooner than they expected.
"Let's go." He dad helped her up.
She nodded and wipped her tears with the hem of her dress.
They got into the car and the driver drove off.
Adele turned and stared at home one last time.
Adele woke up the next morning as the car jecked and stopped.
She took a glance at the time on her wrist watch- 9:47 am.
Her stomach grumbled as she stepped out of the car only to face an enormous ancient mansion.
"Dad." Her voice cracked with disappointment as she noticed the aged environment.
"We're here princess." He also got out leaving the driver to bring out their belongings.
"You're here already." A woman came towards them from the mansion.
She held her skirt with both hands and catwalk to meet them.
"Berg." She said and kissed Adele's dad cheeks.
"You're so grown up now." The woman kissed Adele on both her cheeks.
"Your Aunty Nina." Her dad told her with weak smile.
"I'm sorry. The maids ain't here yet." Nina apologized
"It's not an issue." Berg replied
Adele stared at Nina. Her deep brown hair fell on her pale skin as she kept on talking to Berg.
Adele stomach grumbled loudly and it cut short their conversation.
"Kids." Nina called out as two children came out.
They hugged Berg and waved at Adele.
"Meet your cousins." Her daddy Berg introduced.
"I'm Olive." The girl said with a smile and extended her hands for a shake.
"And I'm Oliver." The boy who stood beside her replied tucking her hands in his pocket.
"You guys are twins huh?" Adele asked sarcasticly and was amused with their reply.
"That's right." They both chorused.
"Let's go in for breakfast kids." Aunty Nina announced taking some of their belongings inside.
The damp atmosphere sent a chill to Adele's spine as they got into the mansion.
The huge sitting room was occupied with a lot of furniture and a fireplace.
Adele frowned as she realized the furniture were dusty.
"I'm sorry for the mess, the house keeper isn't here yet." Nina Apologized quickly after seeing Adele's expression.
"Chill Nina." Berg placed his hand on her shoulders.
She gave a weak smile and nodded.
"Where's my room Auntie?" Adele asked emphasizing on the auntie.
"Second door down the hallway."Nina replied.
"I can show you yunno." Olive called out as Adele started going.
"No thanks." She called out.
The hallway was dark but she still went ahead.
She dragged her box into the room. It was lit dimly by a tall lamp in the corner of the room.
The room was decorated with lights and undulating patterns.
She sighed as she saw a card beside her bedstand telling her to feel welcomed.
'They should try harder.' she said out loud.
They were already half way through the meal before Adele got there.
They were casserole, cereal,oat, Greek yogurt, chicken and sausage neatly arranged on the dinning table.
Adele sat on a vacent chair reserved for her beside Nina and helped herself with some cereal.
"Have some of this Adele." Nina started to dish Adele with some casserole.
" No I'm fine with only cereal." Adele declined
"I'm sure you'd like it here." Nina said smiling at her.
"With the rats? Definitely."A smirk was plastered on Oliver's face as took a sip of the yogurt.
"Oliver!" His mom snapped.
"Sorry." He replied and left for his room.
"Oliver is always a jerk." Olive said to Adele.
"Obviously." Adele replied and also left for her room.
She fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.
The next day, Adele woke up rather too early and decided to explore the mansion.
But before that,she went to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.
She met the house keeper and greeted her warmly.
She sipped the coffee after it was served to her and stole a glance at the house keeper who was doing the dishes.
She probably was in her mid fifties and plump. She wore a white chef dress and a white bonnet that hid all her hair.
"Thank you." Adele told the house keeper as she dropped the mug in the sink.
The woman replied with a nod and kept on with her chores.
Adele went to the end of the hallway downstairs only to find an iron door with basement bodly written on it
On particular section of the wall was coloured differently than the rest.
It stood out like a sore thumb.
She inched close and felt the texture of it. It felt strange.
She then knocked on it. A hollow sound pervaded the empty air of the basement.
Something about that sound immediately put her I'll at ease.
She walked up the stairs as she could hear that same hollow sound echo in the emptiness of the basement.
Adele hurriedly went to the kitchen to get a glass of water when she bumped into Oliver.
"Sorry." She said and started towards the fridge.
She opened the fridge and picked a bottle of water and a tumbler.
"I bet the rats scared you off." Oliver said sarcasticly and bit his Lower lips.
"Or more like the big rat in front of me scare me off." She replied gulping down the water.
"I see you guys are getting along so well." Mr Berg said as he got into the kitchen.
"That's right Daddy." Adele replied and tried to feign a smile.
She walked out leaving the two of them in the kitchen
Olive kept Adele company the rest of the day. They talked about school and girls stuff.
"I'm sure you'll like Sacred Academy." Olive quiver with joy as Aunt Nina announced over dinner that Adele will be going there.
"Don't get your hopes up." Adele told Olive.
"When's the school resuming by the way?" Mr Berg asked Nina.
"Tomorrow." She replied.
"What?" Adele choked
"I've done all the necessary arrangements for your resumption." Nina replied.
"Thanks sis." Mr Berg sighed.
Adele got bored and decided to go help the house keeper since she was all alone.
"You don't have to, you just take a walk." The woman protested.
"It's noon already and I want to help." Adele stubbornly insisted.
"Alright then, help me get the laundry from the basement." The washer and dryer are stored in the basement.
"Alright ma'am." Adele started going.
"You can call me Nanny Sita." The house keeper called out.
" Copy that."
She turned the lights on as she got into the basement.
She tried walking fast but after hearing the hollow sounds echo under her footsteps, she tiptoed to the dryer and grab a basket.
She pulled the laundry and hastily shove them in the basket.
A noice caught her attention.
She became weak in the knees and fell backward when she saw a bit mark up and down the tiny forearm.
As she hit the ground, she expected to hear a loud thud as she landed on the concrete.
Instead,she heard a hollow sound. She looked to see what she had landed on.
A trap door.
Adele summoned strength that she didn't know she had and opened the door.
Below her lay a dark tunnel. A crawl space that could barely fit a person lying on their stomach.
The dank smell wafting upward made her reluctant but curiosity got the better side of her.
She found herself crawling through the darkness towards whatever lay on the other side.
But to her utmost surprise, she found herself coming out of the same door she got in.
She was back to where she started.
"What are you doing down here?" She flinched when she heard Oliver's voice.
"Getting rid of rats, obviously." She replied picking the basket filled with laundry.
"You shouldn't be here." Oliver said
"And why shouldn't I?" Adele asked placing her left hand on her hips.
"Figure it out." He replied with a wink.
When she got to the kitchen, she dropped the laundry on a cabinet and headed to her room.
"Come have dinner." Aunty Nina called out from the dinning table.
"Dinner?" Adele looked puzzled and stare out of the window only to realize that it was already dark.
"But it was noon just now." She whispered looking scared.
"When did you guys got home?" Adele asked.
"We got here by 3pm. Why princess?" Her Daddy asked curious
"Nothing." She tried faking a smile
" The food will get cold." Olive said.
"I'd pass." She replied and walked to get room.
She hurriedly checked her cellphone on the bed to confirm the time.
The phone fell from her hands when she saw the time 8:28 pm.
She quickly hid under her covers and shut her eyes so tight.