"Okay, forget about that cat for now. Let's focus on this mysery video of ours. We can do it, you know? What with Mishka already working in a technology firm, we can have all the help we need to make it look professional. Then there's your input. You seem talented for this kind of a thing, you know? You're so spontaneous about it," Gillian responded to Milla's fears.
"Yes, she is creative," Mishka agreed while she was running her conversation with Lyle through her mind.
"Does it mean that he is still going to be at Bruce's house for a while yet or is it perhaps Bruce who wants me to visit?" she asked herself.
"No, it can't be because Bruce doesn't even know that it was me who visited his place today. Lyle has never seen me before, so he can't be thinking that Bruce would know me. So, why does Lyle want me to visit?
Can it simply be because he likes the way that I work? Does he perhaps want me to go and work for them exclusively?" she wondered in alarm.
"Yes, that can be the only reason why he's inviting me over just for a courtesy visit," Mishka thought. "But why would I leave a big company like my Dad's to go and work for a fashion designer?" she asked herself.
"No, he can't be serious. It doesn't make sense and it's not as if I complained to him about not wanting to work for my Dad? Well, maybe he's just taking his chances," she decided before turning her attention back to what was happening around her.
"Which video camera are you using?" Milla asked. She was standing right in front of Mishka, looking into her face. Mishka realized then that Milla must be repeating herself while she herself was lost in thought.
"Oh, the cell phone video camera," Mishka replied. She quickly glanced at Gillian and noticed that she was observing her with concern.
"But, you've got a proper camera from work. Why don't you use that one?" Milla asked, shaking her head and frowning in confusion.
"Oh, I forgot about it. I'm not so sure whether it's in my bedroom," Mishka replied.
"Should I go and look?" Milla asked.
"No, I can bring it along next time. Let's just come up with a story and maybe we can just briefly rehearse for today," Mishka responded.
"Okay, then. What can the story be about, Miss creative director?" Gillian asked, smiling at Milla.
"Well, she already mentioned a phantom down here," Mishka remarked.
"Yes and so, he could be an old spirit. One that has been here for ages, like when the house was first built?" Milla remarked with a serious frown between her fine brows.
"You mean he could have been here even before the rest of us lived here?" Mishka asked.
"Yes, that could be intriguing. But then, how did he get here so long before everyone else?" Gillian asked.
"He could have arrived with the oldest member of your folks, like your grandma. Maybe he's an old uncle who had an unfortunate accident here and died?" Milla suggested.
"Oh, my goodness! That sounds like something that could be true except for the fact that it isn't, fortunately," Mishka responded with a smile.
"Go on, Milla, you do have a good imagination," she added.
"Well, we could say that he knew about a dangerous secret and that someone wanted to shut him up," Milla continued.
"So, it's a murder mystery involving a family secret," Gillian remarked with her eyebrows raised in admiration.
"A murder mystery," Mishka repeated with her eyes narrowed in focus. "Then who's the murderer, do you think?" she asked.
"We can pick someone from any one of your surviving relatives," Milla remarked, frowning and tapping her foot in concentration.
"So, it's a family mystery involving this family then?" Mishka asked while she tried to focus on the story better.
"Yes, since we're using this basement as the scene for the drama," Milla responded.
"So, where does the dance part come in?" Gillian asked as she observed both Mishka and Milla.
"We could have dancers upstairs who hear the phantom's chanting by accident one day," Milla replied. "The cat can also be involved somehow," she added as an afterthought.
"So, we're gonna have to involve dancers in the acting," Mishka remarked contemplatively.
"Yes, for the entertainment factor," Gillian responded.
Mishka looked at her with a frown.
"Does she remember that we're actually busy investigating Grandma for real? Why is she so taken up with this little drama? Is she really so afraid of reality now? " Mishka asked herself.
"So, who's gonna be who in the drama?" Milla asked.
"We can work it out on a script as soon as we have the story set up," Gillian responded.
"In the meantime, we can find out where the actual stray cat comes from," Mishka remarked.
"I think it comes from the woods? It could be anywhere now, maybe outside?" Milla responded.
"Anyway, the cat in the story can be the phantom himself in cat form?" she suggested.
"Wow! That's complex and really intriguing," Gillian responded. "Maybe you should voice record everything onto the phone and then Mishka or I can type it out as a script?" Gillian suggested.
"Okay, then let's make sure about everything we're going to do before Grandma comes back because then I have to go and help with unpacking groceries," Milla responded with excitement in her eyes.
"Oh, they could be coming back anytime now," Mishka remarked in a panic. She briefly glanced at the small camera which was on a shelf just opposite her.
"We have to get rid of Milla quickly so I can place that camera back in its original spot," she told herself.
"Yes, so, your Grandma could be one of the characters who knew the phantom because she's been around for the longest," Milla commented, looking at the table in front of her intently.
"Yes, but she wasn't living here way back long ago," Mishka remarked in response.
"But she could know the phantom character and maybe she was here even before you were born and then she left again?" Milla suggested with a shrug.
Mishka looked at her sharply at this. She had never entertained the idea that her grandmother could have lived in their mansion before she came to help out after her mother's death.
"Great, so, as soon as I'm done with helping with the groceries I'm going to take my time with recording the story in as much detail as I can," Milla remarked with a smug smile on her face.
"Yes, try to remember all the details we discussed now and you just need to ask us if there's anything we have to remind you about," Gillian responded.
"Gosh, this is going to be so exciting! I will really have something important to think about now while I do my chores," Milla remarked with a broad smile.
"It's just gonna be a different feeling when I come down here alone to clean up from now on, though," she added with a concerned frown on her brow.
"Do you think that you're going to be afraid to come here alone?" Mishka asked.
"You could ask someone to come with you," Gillian suggested.
"But that would cause suspicions because I was never afraid before," Milla responded, looking at Mishka for an answer.
"Well, I can come with you for a few times until you're not afraid anymore," Mishka offered.
"Then you will have to miss out on dance classes," Gillian commented.
"Don't worry. We will figure something out," Mishka responded with a shrug and a smile.
"We will have to tell your grandma about the drama because we'll be using her workroom," Milla remarked when she heard some sounds upstairs. It sounded as if the shoppers were back from town.
Mishka shot a quick glance at Gillian.
"Okay, but not just yet. We have to figure everything out properly first," Gillian remarked as Milla began to make her way out of the nursery.