Aria Hart drove her car over the gravel driveway; though the sound was masked by the rain knocking against the vehicle's roof. She hardly remembered how the fog rise from the forest threatening to engulf the tiny area of Wolvesbane Hollow at all times. It surfaced that as she was approaching the town, its adorableness did not help to release the lump in her chest that had been growing steadily. This was not the homecoming she was expecting, it was not the sweet and happy coming back she thought it would be.
The home of the Hart family was located ahead, its Victorian exterior was barely visible through the vine tendrils that covered the house and dark, wet, brickwork. Aria received this house from her grandmother but the inheritance was accompanied with unsolved grief. She pulled the car over and then tilted her head back to take a deep breath, The smell of raining pine dance in the air .
The door of the old house opened with a loud noise and Aria entered into the house. Inside, the air was thick with the dust and the subtle, slightly sickish smell of lavender, her grandmother's perfume. After that Aria had no choice but to enter the room and she stood on the doorstep for a few moments before her eyes got used to the lack of light inside. Light came in through the filthy windows and on the floor and walls stretched shadows. It was as if the house let out a sign – welcoming her in or telling her something she never wanted to know as she stepped in.
Aria started her journey in the attic that she rarely visited for several years. The narrow stairs groaned under her weight, and every step made a loud sound. When she got up the stairs she nearly screamed because there was dust and cobwebs on trays of old trunks and boxes that had been packed and closed from years ago. Fine particles of dust danced warmly in the light that came from the tiny, high, dirty window in the roof space.
She glanced her eyes on a small wooden trunk which was closed by a lock and located in the corner. It was a cumbersome old wooden thing with beautiful engravings on it, an item she had always wondered about, which sat in her parent's home unused for years when she was a kid. First of all, Aria went to it with some level of fear and excitement. Her grandmother had been rather close-mouthed and the chest contained all the unknowns she had in her.
Hesitatingly, the girl moved the pile of papers and useless ornaments and finally find the key. It took much longer than she estimated, she finally grabbed a small, fancy key that looked as if it have been made for that lock. Up, the lid of the old wooden chest gave an eloquent groan, and Aria could only take in the smell of the leather and the aging of the papers which were stored inside the chest. She was tense, her breathing became rapid as she dared to look inside.
In the chest were letters that were written on papers and now they looked like yellowish paper that could crumble to dust at the slightest touch and a sequence of pictures in different stages of sepia tone. But what attracted her attention was a small black velvet purse among the things. She carefully open it and inside it was a necklace with a depiction of a Wolf, which looked as if it was made by otherworldly hands. The pendant looked like it could be made of shiny metal with some sort of interference that was almost opalescent; Aria could feel a prickle at the back of her neck as she took the pendant.
Holding on to the pendant, her thinking and focus was stopped by the sound coming from downstairs. She in the end did not answer immediately but her interest has been aroused, however everything was too quiet and she felt that her steps' sound was too loud. With a sigh she descended the attic and went back to the ground floor, the pendant stowed in the pocket.
Shortly getting tired of going through her grandmother's items, Aria drove to a local café called The Willow's Embrace. It was a warm shelter from bad rainy day and mysterious vibes of the town. It was the warm air with orange fragrance filling the house that she noticed first after locking behind her from the cold rain outside.
The barista who was young woman with beautiful looking eyes and a type of smile that made one relax as soon as you stepped into the café; she greeted Aria. "Hello, what would you like today?"
"A coffee please" Aria replied her shoulders hunched and her voice shaky. "And perhaps some juicy news if there is any around here".
The barista smile broke into a slight frown. "People usually don't come here, What are you doing here, anyway?"
Aria slightly pause before she continued after realizing she did not know this woman enough to completely trust her, yet kept some information to herself all the same, "I have come to sort out the estate after the death of my grandmother. It has been quite a while since I last came here".
The barista looked at Aria and her eyes lingered for some time but she did not prod any further. "Well, let's all hope that it goes well. Let me know if you need anything"
Sitting next to the window with the coffee mug in her right hand, Aria observed the raindrops as they continued to pour down the glass wall. The ambiance of the café was such that there was gentle murmuring sound of people talking and the occasional sound of dishes which added a certain comfort to the situation. However, the town outside remained in the mist and it was still not cleared of some mystery.
While gazing gently through the window, Aria had a glimpse at a man who was standing under the nearby streetlamp. The figure of the tall man appeared mysterious and enshrouded by darkness constantly observing the café with what seemed to be fixation. Their eyes met for a few minutes before he looked away and walked away into the fog. Instantly a coldness of the spine came over her but she put it into account as just an imagination or an effect of the mist.
Aria sighed deeply and put her cup on the table before heading back to the Hart family home. The pendant feel laden in the pocket, serving as a symbol of the secrets still unsolved. She stepped closer to the house and the wind seemed all the more keen declaring something important to her from the trees.
Back inside, Aria placed the pendant down on the table and she stared out the window at the sky getting darker. The forest which was situated behind the house looked even scarier at night as the darkness made the trees shift and change. A shiver ran down Aria's spine as if the forest ready for an action, ready to reveal a secret that was buried deep within the woods.
This caused Aria's mind to be filled with a lot of things following her discoveries. Her grandmother's past and the strange looking pendant seemed to be just the beginning of it all. As she was about to sort the house again, se sensed the answers she seek could be hidden in the darkness of both the town and the forest.
Whatever secrets her grandmother had kept, Aria knew one thing for certain: They were not just some old family folklores. They were real and they would soon alter her life in ways s
he could not yet begin to contemplate.