Colourful trees blurred past my window and dusk melted over the small town of Elderwood like ice-cream in summer.
Summer, I really miss summer. Everything was so much easier then. I could sleep until everyday and never worry about school. Those were the days.
Which brings me back to the present. My dad, the big shot New York lawyer guy, decided it was time to move. So, here we are, being tailed by three U-hauls in dads shiny BMW, carting our old life to a small town that I didn't know existed.
I sighed aloud as the song on my iPod switched, the dimming November sky overhead.
After a few more minutes of driving, dad turns into the driveway of a big Victorian house. It was like something out of a Gothic novel, royal purple wood, white lace trim and black shutters. There was an abandoned old swing on the wrap-around porch and a giant, ancient ash tree on the front lawn. It was pretty elegant and definitely expensive, because dad doesn't settle for anything less. I liked it.
I wrapped my ear buds around my iPod and dropped it into my jacket pocket. I opened the door and stepped out into the cold crisp air.
"What do you think, Liz?" Dad asked getting out of the car. "Think you'll survive?" He joked.
I smiled back at him."I think so." I think so.
…
After a solid two hours of dragging boxes into the new house, something shiny in the corner of the windowsill caught my eye. I walked over to investigate, almost tripping on a crooked board in the process.
Turns out the shiny thing was a ring. Just small enough to fit on my finger and stay there. It was silver with a tiny diamond cut sapphire on top.
"Finders keepers." I mutter to myself admiring the treasure on my finger.
Suddenly, something black and fuzzy hits my shoulder. I didn't see where it came from and I didn't realize what it was, until it sunk it's teeth into my hand, that is.
I hissed at the pain, and shook my hand as if that would get rid of the sting, as the cat skittered under the porch.
"You alright?" Dad asked pausing mid step when he saw me glaring at the ground, our stereo system in his arms.
I lifted up my hand to show him the bite mark. "Some cat, it ran under there." I shrugged and pointed toward the gap where the cat had disappeared.
Dad chewed on this for a moment. "Maybe we should take you to a clinic or something, just in case."
I nodded. "I guess so."
Then I picked up my box and went on my way, following dad into the house. I paused and looked at the steep large staircase and bet myself that I would most likely fall down it before the week was through. I just have that much coordination. I looked at the walls in the hallway, noticing some faded spot were pictures must have hung one time.
My new room was quite large and had a fair sized closet. It was a pretty decent room, not too big, not too small, but the wallpaper was dreadful. A faded yellow colour, now beige with age, with grape vines and flowers in an odd pattern across the walls. I sighed aloud, that definitely had to go.
My dad and I finally finished unpacking most of the important things around 10 that night, and I immediately took to my bed. After lifting all those boxes, up the stairs of doom no less, I was exhausted. I fell asleep fairly easily, but I had the weirdest dream.
I was standing still in front of a door, just standing. Not blinking, maybe not even breathing. I Couldn't open my mouth, couldn't scream. There was thick white fog surrounding me, coating everything, and all I could see was this large door.
It was made of what looked like a sturdy, heavy wood, maybe oak. There were at least 15 old fashioned, heavy brass locks on it, the kind that needed a key the width of my index finger. There was no doorknob either, just a massive brass knocker. It was shaped like a hydra demon, the heads were perfectly spaced so that fingers could fit in between them.
The scene then changed, fading like a movie screen. I was now looking at a large pile of bronze keys, none of which were big enough to fit into the locks on the door. None of them, but one. It was at the very top, just laying there.
In the back of my mind, something told me this would be important later, so my dream self desperately tried to remember every detail.
I woke with a start as my phone blared, signaling someone was calling me. I dug through the sheets of my bed, following the noise. I found it tangled in the blankets around my feet.
"Hello?" I said groggily, sitting up and stifling a yawn. The time on the clock said 11:17.
"Hey Lizzie, I figured I'd call or else you'd never get up." My father greeted. I yawned in response.
He chuckled. " Anyway, I'm checking out the new office and doing interviews today. I don't know how long that will take, so I left some money on the counter for food, we still need to go grocery shopping, by the way."
"I see, have fun with your interviews! Call me when you're done, I'll pick something up for dinner, alright?"
"Alright, thanks sweetie. Bye."
"Bye, dad."
I heard the dial tone, pressed end call and hopped out of bed. Time to check out the bathroom.