Jean was petrified for a moment, as a cold chill ran down his spine.
What surprised him the most, was the fact that the lighting device was able to illuminate every nook and wall of the entire room despite being placed on the wall closer to the entrance. He expected several of such devices to be on at least each of the four corners of the room, in order for the room to be completely lit up. That was not the case in this matter, but the result was the same.
'What is that thing? How did she manage to light it up? And what a coincident. The camouflaging walls of the store and this room.'
At this point, Jean might have been right with his guesses. This is because, the map that was used to locate the entrance to the ancient room was picked by Natalie from the storeroom, which was similar in terms of camouflaging walls.
"Mom, wait! I have a question."
Turning in Jean's direction, Natalie seemed restless.
"What is it?"
Jean lingered for a moment and glanced at the lighting device with a grim expression.
"That thing… what is it and how did you manage to light it up?"
Jean asked while gesturing at the only source of light in this ancient looking room
Turning in Jean's direction, Natalie gulped.
"Oh, that…. It serves as a lamp. It is sensitive to ones' touch. So, I only touched its base for it to light up. It was your grandpa that created it. "
She then paused for a while.
"Just to add on, this part of the house is older than the rest of the house. The rest of the house was constructed when this part was already in existence. This was not the official home for your grandpa though he acquired this land earlier during his time. He only built this section of the house to harbor him whenever he could visit this land. During those times, the city was just on the rise."
'So, grandpa was a scientist? How I wish I had a chance to meet him. How could he be able to create such a mysterious device by himself? This tour was indeed worth the wait. Who could have thought that things like this could come up?'
With that, Jean glowered at Natalie before letting out a frustrated sigh.
"What fuels this device?"
Natalie took a few steps deeper into the empty mysterious room. And without looking, she answered in a gallant tone.
"Those are among some of the things that we need to discuss with you once we are done with the tour. There are a lot to be learnt, we are just getting started, boy."
A little bit embarrassed, Jean assumed a reserved state and continued studying the room.
Jean's grandfather – the former owner of the house they were currently in, bought the land in these parts of the country, when Kili city was just on the rise. This confirmed that Kili city was one of the recent towns within the city. The modern designs of structures and buildings explained everything.
Jean's grandpa preferred a high-breed kind of structure. Its design was a mixture of olden and modern designs. He built this house some years after he had acquired its land. By then, he had already constructed this section of the house.
What bothered Jean the most, was the fact that his grandpa had such resources at his disposal yet him and his family was struggling to survive in Celta village.
'I can't wait to hear the reason of hiding such information from me. Maybe I can come to understand this.'
Shifting his gaze across the room, Jean hesitated for a moment.
This section of the house indeed looked battered and old. Its walls and floor were dented at different points. Despite all these, the section still stood strong.
'Only if it could get a few renovations of its walls and floor.'
When they were done with inspecting the room. They left the right wing and headed for the stairs. By this time, Jean's mind was flooded with questions that demanded answers.
'Let this end quick so that I can have a chance to ask her questions. There are more that I need to know and understand.'
Brimming with impatience, Jean followed Natalie as the two ascended the staircase. They were on their way to inspect the upper floor, and this would probably mark the end of the first phase of the house tour.
'I can't wait for this to end.'
Jean thought deeply as the two entered the first room on the upper floor.
Approximately twenty minutes later, the two were descending the staircase. They were done with the house tour of the upper floor.
Taking the last step off the staircase, Jean stopped for a moment. His eyes were fixed on the wall-clock. The time read 11:33 AM.
'Almost lunch time. No wonder I am feeling some signs of hunger. If I could have taken enough breakfast, I wouldn't be feeling like this. I think I need to hurry and so that I can spare myself enough time to inspect what lies behind the narrow gate.'
With that, Jean moved forward and turned to the right. He was on his way to the exit door.
Suddenly Natalie who had just entered the dining area, resounded.
"Where are you heading to?"
Jean froze in place and slowly turned around to face Natalie.
"The outside tour... I thought that was our next step."
Natalie snorted as her eyes narrowed. A glint of exasperation evident in her eyes.
"I think you are forgetting something."
"What is it, mom?"
"The inside tour which is the first phase of the house tour is not yet over."
She then paused for a while and added:
"You haven't visited the kitchen yet."
Jean gulped and blinked severally.
"But I was there when I took the dishes in, mom."
Natalie straightened her hair and stared at Jean, a deadpan expression on her face.
"I know already that… If I may just ask you. Do you know where every item and appliance are located in the kitchen? As if you even know the name and the work of every appliance. This was one of the main reasons of conducting this tour. You must understand every necessity of this house, in order for you to find life in this house easier than it should be."
Jean's understanding of the house was crucial at this point, simply because, soon, Natalie would be leaving for work and she won't be there to assist Jean whenever he would be stuck. So, Jean had no other choice but to take every step seriously.
'This thing won't end!'
Jean faked a cough and followed Natalie, who was now heading for the kitchen.
When the two entered the kitchen, Jean was astounded to have a clear view of the kitchen. When he brought the dishes on the first time, he managed to study it. But since he was in a hurry to start the house tour, he didn't manage to notice some things that lied on the shelves and drawers of the kitchen.
This was the right time with the right person to make him understand what he wasn't sure of. In the next twenty minutes, the kitchen tour was over.
This tour took a longer time due to the headache of Natalie having to explain and demonstrate to Jean how some of the kitchen appliances worked.
When Jean was about to exit the kitchen, Natalie called him back.
"Don't tell me you have forgotten what we agreed on before we started the tour."
Jean glanced at Natalie and shook his head, slightly puzzled.
"What…!"
Pointing at the heap of dishes in one of the sinks of the kitchen, Natalie spatted.
"The first phase of the house tour is over, and I think it is the right time for you now to wash them."
With a stifled smile, Jean turned around and approached the heap of the dishes.
"I can do it… it is just that it escaped my mind."
Jean said as he moved to the sink heaped with the dirty dishes.
When Jean started washing the dirty dishes, Natalie on the other hand started preparing their lunch.
On seeing this, Jean's anger faded away and it was replaced by joy.
'One of the reasons I find it hard to hate her. She just does things at the right moment and time. I was wondering how I was going to manage the outside tour with this looming hunger. She just answered that in the perfect way. I think this is the perfect moment for me to ask her this stinging question.'
After a few moments, Jean cleared his throat, trying to get Natalie's attention. Natalie responded by glancing at him questioningly.
"Mom!"
Natalie blinked for a couple of times.
"Yes."
Jean lingered for a moment and gulped.
"My grandparents in Kelb village are your parents, isn't it?"
With a subtle curiosity, Natalie stared at Jean.
"Yes, but I thought you already know that?"
"Yes, I know. But I have a question on the same matter."
Suddenly, Natalie seemed startled for a bit. She stopped chopping the onions she was chopping and spared Jean a curious look. This made Jean to look away.
Sighing heavily, Jean continued,
"This new grandpa – the former owner of this house, is he your parent, too?"
In an instance, Natalie was petrified. She struggled to regain her composure as she dropped her head and faced down.
Jean was in a maze, after noticing Natalie's weird reaction to his question.
'If I am right, something seems to be out of place.'
Jean thought to himself.
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