Next morning when I woke up, I stretched my arms and legs and began getting ready to continue my studies. Due to my parent's death, I had taken a break from it and now it was time to return. I had no intention, of running behind. I didn't want to disappoint my parents who had worked hard, to be able to afford the tutor.
I still had two more years to go and I was looking forward to the years I would spend on the university campus. It would be a new experience for me and maybe a chance to make some real friends not that Mrs Pinsles cat, didn't count as a real friend. There weren't any children my age in Lamport. We lived in a retirement community. I didn't go out much. I spent most of my time with the books that my father brought home for me at the end of each week.
I picked up my things, and made my way downstairs, to make myself breakfast. I knew it wouldn't be easy to overcome the emptiness that settled in my heart. My parents were gone and each time I stepped into the small dining room, the wound opened further at the reminder that they were no longer with me.
I closed my eyes, to gather my thoughts. I couldn't let grief cloud my judgement. I needed to prevail and stay strong, for them and myself.
Placing the books on the kitchen counter, the lilies, on the counter caught my eye. The vibrant pink stood out against the other white flowers. I leaned in to smell the delicate scent that invaded my sense, soothing the qualm in my mind and soul.
I reached for the cupboard where we kept the porridge oats, and pulled my nose out of the flowers. They smelled heavenly. Lillies were my mother's favourite flowers.
I gasped when my gaze fell on what was in the cupboard, and stumbled backwards, hitting the table and the chair under it. The scenery inside the cupboard was eerily vivid. Blue skies, vibrant green grass with yellow wildflowers. I closed my eyes and shook my head in an attempt to clear my head.
By the time I opened my eyes, the scenery in front of me had already changed into a meadow with beautiful purple flowers, and their scent wafted through the air invading all my senses. It felt real.
At this point, panic quickly set in, at the realisation that I found myself faced with a challenge. Was I still asleep? Or this was very much real and the world had changed overnight.
Terrified and puzzled at the discovery, I took a step forward and pushed the cupboard door to a close. I lowered myself on the floor looking at the cupboard, wondering. What if it was the house that was causing whatever was happening? That couldn't be right. We'd been living in that house our entire lives and that never happened. Or it did and I didn't remember.
" No" I scoffed at my thoughts and took a deep breath.
I had to give it one more try, to confirm that what I was seeing was nothing more than a figment of my imagination. Maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me, trying to cope with the loss of loved ones. But when I opened another cupboard, the beautiful meadow that lay in front of me earlier was gone and instead of the fields of breathtaking beauty, I was greeted with fields of blazing fire, burning so hot that I could feel the heat burning my lungs whenever I took a breath in.
Tears pooled in my eyes and I pushed the door to a close, once more, sniffling. Apart from the fact that I was terrified of pretty much everything. Now I had to add doors to that list. I had no clue what to do, so I plopped myself on the floor, again, trying to find a way to understand. I pushed myself off the floor and ran towards the front door, I needed to leave the house or whatever my house had turned into.
Cautiously, I approached the door and with a trembling hand, I grabbed the handle, cracking the door just enough, so I could see what is on the other side. To my surprise, it looked very much like the front garden. I could barely contain my excitement as I put my foot to step outside. But before I could do that, a piercing shriek echoed through the air making me pull my foot back inside the house. It didn't take long for the beast that made that sound to appear soaring in the sky flapping its wings, letting out another shriek and with that, I didn't wait to see more and closed the door.
" Crap" I cursed under my breath. Despite, the fact that I was afraid, curiosity reared its ugly head and I wanted to know more.
Was it the house or was it me? It couldn't be me, right?! I asked myself. This had never happened before. I was an average teenager from the small town, of Lamport. There was nothing special about me. My parents were just bookkeepers for various companies in the District. Definitely, nothing more than just a teenager.
I had found myself unable to leave the house. Finding a way to stay alive was crucial, otherwise, I would starve to death, and soon.
I had thought to call someone, but there was only Mr Perry. That was out of the question, he would just send me to live with Mr Kinnaird. And speaking of the devil, that was out of the question. What would I even say? That didn't make me sound like a lunatic. If I would breathe a word about it, they would think that I'm cuckoo crazy and they would throw me in a very nicely padded white room.