The Monsters of the Mind

Part 24

Rose's POV

Summer 1975

"Hugo! Come on now!" I couldn't help myself giggle at the man's antics, "Can I take the blindfold off yet?"

"Not yet, Rosie," his deep voice tickled at the base of my neck as I felt myself being pulled along up a gravel road.

When the train had started to slow into the station about an hour ago, Hugo had pulled out one of many cloths he had kept hidden in his sleeve for magic shows - using them to bring forth little trinkets as a way to entertain curious children in our cart during the trip from Southport - and tied it around my eyes to keep them concealed. When I had asked why, Hugo had chuckled before saying that it was a surprise for me - a belated wedding present.

Of course, I trusted him when he had asked for me to trust him - I was his assistant after all. I had been cut in half, transferred from one end of the room to the other, swapped places with him from outside a glass box filled with water - it was something that I had learned to do, any magician's assistant had to place trust in the magician during the course of each and every trick, that was the way the magic worked after all.

So, now we were in an unfamiliar place, walking up an unfamiliar flight of stairs and into an unfamiliar building.

I was a little nervous - he didn't go and buy a grand house out in the middle of nowhere, did he?

"Alright, Rosie," Hugo's large hands grabbed me by the shoulders, keeping me in place, "Are you ready?"

I nodded, the fear vanishing into eagerness.

"I need words, Rose," Hugo chuckled, "You need to talk to me, like we always do."

"Yes, I'm ready," I could feel my lips curl into a painful smile - one of joy.

I felt the ties loosen and the cloth fell away. When my eyes opened, my jaw dropped in utter surprise.

The two of us were standing in what appeared to be a grand foyer of a large and beautiful hotel. The early afternoon sun beat down onto the deep colored wooden panelings and equally dark hardwood floors. More lights from large lamps and the singular chandelier cast a warm glow all around us, the sensation of home filling my spirit for the first time in many years. Leather upholstered chairs and a loveseat sat near each other along one wall with a small reception desk in the far corner, a large cabinet filled with different keys hanging on hooks behind it.

"Well, Rosie," Hugo's voice brought me back, "What do you think?"

"It's absolutely beautiful Hugo!" I turned to face my husband, "But, I'm a little lost on how this is a belated wedding present."

"Oh Rosie," Hugo came forward, pressing his nose against mine, rubbing them together affectionately, "This place is to be our home now. The previous owners were old friends of my mother's before she died last year. I had stayed here on a few occasions as a boy when both of my parents were traveling about and wanted me to remain in school - to study. The owners reached out to me shortly after our marriage and had asked if I was interested in the hotel business. I figured, as I had intended on applying for a position at one of the local schools anyway, this was perfect for us.

"It has a show stage, so we can still do performances for the public - if you still want to perform magic of course. The coast is plenty busy during the summer season, so the place will always be filled with visitors and sightseers. The grounds are large enough for our guests to enjoy themselves here - and we can always make a little bit of a profit of the place."