Rose did not look like a witch or a fortune-teller.
"I thought she would look scary," Mishka told herself while she smiled at her hostess from where she stood at the door.
Rose was smiling at her and her round cheeks were flushed pink. Her eyes were twinkling in a friendly way.
"Come in, dear. You say that you are Myrtle's granddaughter?" she asked, still smiling.
"Yes," Mishka responded, returning the smile.
She followed Rose into the lounge area of the farmhouse which was situated at the end of town, just bordering on the countryside.
"Your name is Mishka, isn't it?" Rose remarked as she gestured for Mishka to take a seat by waving her hand at a couch.
"Yes, did my grandmother tell you?" Mishka asked as she sat down on the end of the couch which was soft and comfortable. She looked at Rose with big eyes.
"Oh, she's always talking about you and your brother," Rose replied with a serious look in her eyes at this point.
"She told me about your music career, for instance and your brother's career in fashion design," Rose responded as she also sat down.
"Oh, that's good to hear," Mishka responded with her eyes stretched wide in surprise.
"Oh, grandmothers always talk about their grandchildren's achievements," Rose replied with a smile. She studied Mishka's face as she looked at her.
"Oh, I suppose you're right," Mishka responded with a cough. She was not sure about how to respond to this unexpected news. She had not expected to hear that her grandmother boasted about her or her brother.
"Where do I start with my questions now?" she wondered with her heart pounding heavily in her chest.
"So, when are you gonna join a group or go on a solo tour?" Rose asked with a warm smile lighting up her face again.
"Uhm, I'm not really thinking about that yet, since I'm so fully involved at my Dad's business," Mishka responded.
"Oh, but look, you should be saying that it's your family business, since it's not just your father's business," Rose said with her chin raised challengingly.
"Yes, I suppose so, but I am going to leave at some point. My brother is already gone, so then, it's only my dad who will be left there," Mishka replied, shifting her feet around uncomfortably.
"But you're busy making an investment there, so it's still your company because you can come back at any time that you want," Rose remarked as she slowly began to rise from her seat by pressing onto the armrest of the couch for support.
"Do you mean in case I don't make it in my music career?" Mishka asked with a sharp intake of breath as she stared up at Rose who was now standing.
"Oh, you don't have to come back if you don't make it and if you do make it, you can still come back just to check on progress at your father's company," Rose responded with a sincere look in her eyes.
"So, you want me to feel a sense of ownership towards the company?" Mishka asked with an uncertain smile on her lips.
"This conversation sounds so safe and ordinary. How am I gonna ask uncomfortable questions now?" she thought to herself silently.
"Most definitely because, just as you should feel proud of your vocal abilities, you should be just as proud to be a part of your family's technology firm," Rose responded, holding her head high as if she was talking about her own assets.
"It's just that my music is my thing alone. I'm alone in it and so I figure that the same applies to my father's firm. It is his only. Like his baby," Mishka replied with a shrug.
"But now, you don't have other, so-called babies. Your father does though, in you and your brother. So then, his business is also your baby," Rose responded with a triumphant smile on her face.
Mishka frowned at this statement in confusion. Did this mean that she was bound to her father's firm for life?
"Anyway, I have some home-made scones in the kitchen and some home-made strawberry jam as well, if that's what you like?" Rose asked with her head to the side.
"Oh, that sounds wonderful," Mishka responded in a happy tone of voice because she loved home baked foods.
"Then, come along with me and we can chat further in the kitchen," Rose remarked, making a beckoning gesture with her hand.
She then led the way through a passage which led to the kitchen and a staircase.
"I suppose that staircase leads up to the bedrooms," Mishka told herself. She was not feeling afraid to be with Rose at all, even though it seemed as if there was nobody else around.
Gillian was waiting in her own vehicle which was parked a short distance from Rose's gates.
"So, is it only you living here? Where are your children?" Mishka asked as they walked.
"Oh, I have a son," Rose replied over her shoulder as she turned into the large, cosy-looking farmhouse kitchen.
"How can a witch be living here?" Mishka asked herself. "Well, maybe she can only foretell the future, but not make any spells," she thought as she looked around herself.
"Is he at work?" she asked.
"Well, last time that I heard about him he was supposed to be at work," Rose responded in a lower tone of voice.
"Oh, so you're just waiting for him to show up then," Mishka stated as she stared at the bowl of scones which Rose was placing on the table.
"Yes, you could say so. How clever of you to say it in that way," Rose responded with her eyes lighting up in surprise.
"Why are saying that? Isn't he coming home at any moment now?" Mishka asked with her eyes narrowing in confusion.
"I don't suppose that your grandmother told you about him, hey? Because I don't really like to talk about it. It's been such a long time now," Rose remarked as she stared out through the window at the porch outside.
"I don't understand," Mishka responded with a confused frown on her brow.
"You see, my son did go out to work, as you said. But, he never came back. He was working at sea, you see?" Rose responded with a quick glance in Mishka's direction.
"Oh, was he working on a boat or a ship?" Mishka asked carefully. It did not sound like a safe subject to embark on. Rose did not look so cheerful anymore, so Mishka held her breath.
"He sailed out one day and never came back," Rose responded as she took out the bottle of jam from a cupboard. She turned around and walked back to the table with her mouth corners turned down miserably. She suddenly looked years older.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Mishka responded. She did not know whether she should hug Rose or not.
"I don't really know her long enough to hug her or to ask what happened next," Mishka thought nervously.
"Yes, I don't know whether he's alive or not. If he is then he's definitely suffering from memory loss in some other country that he drifted off to, because he won't just stay away if he's alive," Rose remarked as she began to boil the kettle.
Mishka remained silent while Rose placed some cups and saucers onto the table.
"Apparently there was a shipwreck, but how do I ask her about it?" Mishka asked herself.
"But then, if he did wash onto shore in another country and is suffering from memory loss, he could one day regain his memory and find his way back home," Rose stated with her eyes brightening up again.
The color was now back in her cheeks as she smiled at Mishka.
"I suppose one should always live in hope, yes," Mishka replied with a nod and a quick smile in response.
"What made her mood change so quickly?" Mishka asked herself in confusion. The scones, butter and jam looked very inviting in the warm afternoon sunlight which was coming in through the window, but she was feeling really nervous now.
Mishka quickly took her phone out of her bag when it beeped. It was a message from Gillian.
"She must be wondering why I'm in here for so long," Mishka told herself inwardly.
"Is that your grandmother? Didn't you tell her that you were coming here?" Rose asked with her brows raised curiously.
Mishka felt her heart beat in her throat with fear. She could not tell Rose that her visit was a secret. Not without a very good reason.