From Place to Place

Chapter 2- The Paradoxl Problem Of A Place

By the time I woke up we were traveling down a dirt path. Ruby laid at my feet, and Ebony kept her eyes on the road, gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white.

"Almost there," I heard Ebony say. "This is a one-way road, and some people fly down here."

I nodded and patted Ruby's head as we went around a corner.

"That's our house, up there," Ebony pointed out, "it used to be used a long time ago, but it is fairly large."

I was blown away by its magnificence. It almost looked like a cottage out of a fairy tale. From where we were I could tell it was almost fully surrounded by plants, and vines were creeping up trellis hugging the blue wall.

Before the car had fully stopped I had jumped out, Ruby close at my heels to admire the front.

The car sat in a gravel pathway that gave way to dirt. The dirt had stepping stones of it, and that leads to the front door. The door was curved and red, with a circular window like those on ships.

The path splits, however, and after stepping around small hedges, one side was a vegetable garden and the other hung an apple tree with a swing attached.

Although it was still far too cold for anything to be growing, I could see flowers springing up out of the ground, and little sprouts in the vegetable garden. Beneath the windows were wooden planters, covered with snow.

Ebony came and stood next to and laughed, a sweet short laugh.

"A bit much, isn't it? Chloe certainly loved her flowers." Ebony paused. "Doesn't garden much anymore."

I could tell that it was a sore subject for her so I walked inside the door. I was hit with the heat of a radiator right by the door. I hadn't even realized I was cold.

Ruby ran along the wood floor, her nails clicking until she reached the circular carper. There was a double-wide sliding door, that I assumed lead to a closet. Shoes were neatly stacked against the left wall. I slipped my worn shoes off and placed them carefully in an empty spot.

A staircase leads to a carpeted upstairs. I continued down the corridor, into the kitchen. There were two other doors, a living room, and a study.

In the kitchen, there were plants everywhere. Papers were strewn across the island counter. The island also holds one of those fancy ovens that are displayed all over town.

The counters were all blue with marble tops, and the cabinets were blue as well. The fridge stood like a guard protecting its post.

"Your room is upstairs. Chloe is up there, I think." Ebony interrupted my thoughts. "Tomorrow we can go buy some clothes, for now, you can borrow Chloe's."

I walked up the stairs. Each door was closed off. Pictures hung on every empty space. The first door I looked in held a bathroom. The second a small closet. The third was a laundry room. It held a large dumbwaiter.

As I walked down the hall, I realized that there was another stairway. Coming to the last door, opening it and seeing another study, I figured she meant all the way.
I walked up the wooden stairs, these ones spiraled. The floor was carpeted up here, and there were three doors. The first one I looked in, at the end of the hall was another bathroom. There was an opening that looked similar to a trash chute, although on further inspection I realized it was a laundry chute.

I peaked in the door on the right. I saw a girl sitting on the bed and figured it was Chloe. Rather than introduce myself, I shut the door with a soft click.

I collapse on the soft sheets of my room. I barely take in the large bay window, soft pink walls and desk littered with plants and a laptop.

The soft light of the snow falling and the click of Ruby's feet tells me she's coming lulls me to sleep.

*            *            *

"She hasn't done anything worth interest."

"Have patience, intern. Tomorrow."

"I've been an employee for almost 10 years."

"Yet first mission."

"What do I have to do?"

"You'll see."