It had been a long time since Rose had last seen snow. It was only about an inch thick on the ground, but it was everywhere. Cars, trees and rooftops were all dusted with a fine layer of powdered sugar. It sprinkled onto her car window in a swirl as the wind carried it through the village. She wanted to appreciate it and enjoy the rare sight, but she couldn't right then. Her eyes refused to stay open, and kept closing without her knowing it.
Dave fidgeted beside her. Jetlag wasn't affecting him yet. She would have been jealous if it weren't for the nonsensical dreams invading her thoughts instead. She knew he had a pair of headphones on and she could hear sick beats emanating from them. They were mixed into her dreams and only lead to them being more confusing and infuriating. She wanted to hit him, but images of bodiless tentacles kept her hand at bay.
Further back in the van John was in a deep sleep. He wasn't trapped in a strange waking-sleeping stage like Rose was. Instead, he was allowed peaceful dreams that made complete sense now and he would have the blessing to forget later on. Rose drifted off again before she could pay Jade any mind at all, though she knew the girl was reading one of her graphic novels that she'd brought along for the ride.
"Almost there," Mr. Egbert said through her sleepy haze. She could see him, although he seemed to have taken on some insect form. She shook her head and snapped from the dream, only to plunge into a new one as she continued to listen in.
"I can't wait to see the house," Jade said.
"It's a nice place," he assured her. "Not too big, but it will manage to fit all of us."
"Yep! And if not, John can sleep just about anywhere. We shouldn't have any trouble finding him a bed." She giggled.
"We won't have to worry about that," he said. "There are five beds, enough for each of us to get a decent night's sleep."
"Still, the offer stands."
Rose opened her eyes enough to see Mr. Egbert turn the car onto a small neighborhood road. There were neat houses on either side, each surrounded with walls of varying sizes. The walls contained yards smaller than what she believed the average American home would have. She found the change pleasant.
Mr. Egbert stopped the car. "We're here," he said. For the sake of seeing the house for the first time Rose opened her eyes and forced them to stay that way. A wooden gate and two large, leafless trees blocked most of the house from her view. What she could see was the brown roof and a bit of blue wall with a window nestled in it. "Dave, help me open the gate." Mr. Egbert got out, and Dave, after removing his headphones, followed. They rolled it to the side, revealing a stone brick driveway. Mr. Egbert got back in and drove the car inside, shifting the view so that Rose could take in the whole house.
Going in, the driveway was on the right side of the house. There was a simple garage at the end. A small square of grass and a porch were in front of the house. The living room, at least what she assumed would be the living room, had a wall of windows facing them. Curtains or shades covered every window. She couldn't see inside at all.
Mr. Egbert turned off the car and got out. Jade was already climbing over the middle seat to get to the door, so Rose unfastened her seatbelt and stepped into the chilly air. Mr. Egbert stood in the back unloading suitcases and taking care to not let the whole mess come crashing down on him. Rose took the handle of her bag: a simple yet large black rolling suitcase. She pulled it over to the deck and hoisted it up the stairs. It bumped along the wood until she stood in front of the front door. Dave came up behind her, followed by Jade and John. Rose's mother came up behind them still caught in a drunken stupor, and finally Mr. Egbert approached the door, carrying both his and his girlfriend's suitcases. He set them down beside him, and while he dug around in his pocket for the key Rose surveyed the door. It was large and made out of dark wood with thin windows on either side. The house was dark inside, and she couldn't see anything. Mr. Egbert unlocked the door and pushed it open, allowing the group to enter for the first time.
Rose's eyes scanned over the living room only long enough to notice the two sofas and a dining table. As she had notice from outside one of the walls was made up of windows.
"Here we are," Mr. Egbert said. Take a look around. The bedrooms are that way," he pointed to the left, "and up the stairs. You four can figure out sleeping situations now or later. I don't care how you do it, just don't get me involved."
Jade took off, her suitcase bumping along behind her. Rose followed at a slower pace, observing the kitchen as she passed through it. There was another table here. It was piled with documents and letters, some of which she could read, many of which she couldn't. She passed under a bookshelf on the ceiling and passed another door that she had missed from outside. Then she turned right and came upon a wooden spiral staircase. Hefting up her bag, she took great care with each step. She had no wish to tumble backwards onto the hard floor below.
At the top of the stairs she looked first to the right, which had to have been the adults' room, and then to the left, where she could see what looked like a bedroom. She walked inside and found herself facing a ladder that led up to a little platform. She walked around it to the door on the far wall, taking care to not step on the large mattress on the floor. She entered a new hallway with a bathroom on her right and kept walking. There was now a door right next to her and one at the end of the hall.
Jade hopped out of the nearer room just as Rose approached it. She raced past into the other room. Rose watched as the other girl gave it a good looking over before coming back out.
"I think you'd like that room," she said, pointing back at it with her thumb. "It's got a nice desk for you to write on and you can see over the rooftops for a while. It's a little poetic, I think." She grinned, showing all of her too-large teeth.
Rose smiled, her mouth just twitching into a pleasant form. "Thanks. Does that mean you want this one, then?" she asked, motioning to the one she stood beside.
"I kind of would, actually," Jade admitted. "I like the colors more, and although a desk's nice, a big table is better."
"All right. It sounds fine to me. I'll take your word on it."
"Great! Thanks, Rose," she said, taking her bag again and reentering the room. Rose peeked in. It was a nice little space. The walls were a faint blue, almost white. The bed had fluffy sheets. There was a white table beside it that Jade was beginning to load some of her work onto. It was nice, though not Rose's personal taste.
She left and walked into the other room. She looked at the desk in front of a window and the dark wood bookshelf still filled with novels. It seemed pleasant. She sat on the bed and looked up at the slanted roof where there was another window. It was blotchy with snow, and even through the occasional hole in it all she could only see a grey sky.
She didn't care all that much. Sitting on the soft bed was making her head feel fuzzy again. She wanted to lie down and fall asleep in the strange bed. She knew it would only further mess up her sleep schedule, but in this state of mind she couldn't hold up a good argument against herself. She tugged off her shoes and, without bothering with her coat, fell onto her pillow. She was asleep in moments, allowing the nonsensical dreams to wash over her in a lazy haze.
Black tentacles wrap around her waist. They cradle her head with the care of a mother holding her child. She can touch the soft skin and it doesn't seem to notice. She rubs her hand along them as they begin pulling her. They lift her up away from Earth (How did she get there?) and pull her through the cosmos with literally breathtaking speed. She watches as planets pass by. Some of them are Earth, while others are not. Pinpricks of stars flash across her line of vision. She sees everything rushing past her. It's open and real and full of flaws. She reaches out. Just ahead, there is a brighter place than the others. She doesn't know what it is, but she wants it. She has to have this one thing. The tentacles pull her closer and closer. She can do nothing but watch as it comes at her, a bright white light in the middle of the darkness—
A hand wiggled her shoulder. Rose groaned and tried to bury her face into the pillow. She heard a soft giggle as Jade shook it again.
"Come on, Rose! My dad's giving us a grand tour of the house right now and you're not going to want to miss it."
"I can navigate the house perfectly well on my own," Rose told the pillow. "I don't need a 'grand tour'."
"Oh, come on!" Jade rolled Rose onto her back. She ignored the glare shot her way. "It'll be fun, and any time that you spend with my dad is good time!"
"I don't see your point." Rose stared at the ceiling as she spoke. She would do anything to show how little she cared about this whole thing.
"He's pretty much going to be your father for the next six months," Jade said. "The least you could do is get to know each other."
"Jade, I've never had a father and I'm perfectly content without one. I plan on living in the same house as him and not extending out relationship beyond that."
"Ugh, fine, don't do it for him, then. Do it for me instead." She gave a buck-toothed grin that Rose couldn't hold back a smile against. "It'll be the first thing we do together as a family: explore our new home! Don't you want to look it over a little?"
"As I said before, I can find my way around on my own…" She watched as Jade's face began slipping into disappointment. "…But I suppose a little look around wouldn't hurt."
"Great!" The warm smile returned as Jade bounced out of the room. "I'll be waiting in the hall!" Then she was gone, and Rose was left to get up by herself. She pushed herself up and looked around the room once again. Nothing had changed except for perhaps a ticker cover of snow outside and a shade darker clouds. She shed her thick black coat and climbed out. She smoother the bed sheets and left the room.
As she'd said, Jade was waiting in the hall. They walked back downstairs together. Mr. Egbert was waiting for them in the kitchen. Dave stood behind him, while John was nowhere to be found.
"Hey, glad you girls came," the older man said. "If you're ready then we can get this grand tour started."
"We're ready!" Jade said. She looked around and cocked an eyebrow. "Where's John?"
"He's asleep upstairs," Mr. Egbert said. "He's already been here once before, so I don't think he needs to be shown everything twice."
"Oh, okay. Lead the way, then!"
"Right." He turned around and walked into the living room. The three kids followed. "This is the living room. As you can see we've got a TV cabinet over there," he pointed to the closest left corner, "and an aquarium that way." He pointed to the further corner. "We've promised to care for their fish while we're here. I'll show you how to do that later. There's also a piano if anybody besides John knows how to play. Let's go back to the kitchen."
They turned around and walked back in. The rest of the tour passed by in a similar fashion. Mr. Egbert introduced them to the kitchen table, the pantry and the refrigerator. He lead them to the office after that, where Rose saw the two desks and a book case. After that there was the downstairs bathroom, the laundry room in the basement and the spiral staircase. Jade remained animated the whole time.
"I think it's great!" she said as they walked up the stairs. "Living here is going to be really fun!"
"It'll be pretty chill," Dave added. "Nothing to get too excited about, but I like it."
Rose agreed. It was a small house, but cozy. She liked the smell of it as well.
They reached the top and saw another bathroom and their parents' room. They walked left into the hallway-bedroom where Mr. Egbert explained that two people could sleep here. There was a snore from the loft indicating that John had made himself comfortable. There were bookshelves with miscellaneous trinkets on every wall and a glass desk with an old computer sitting on top. There was also a window through which Rose could see the driveway.
Finally, they walked down the hall and passed yet another bathroom plus the girls' rooms. Jade explained that they'd already chosen their sleeping spaces.
"That's good to hear. Jade since there's no closet in your room, you'll keep your clothes in here." He waved his hand to a few small cupboards lining the wall.
"Really? They're outside my room?"
He put his hands up in innocence. "I didn't design the house. If you have to you can put your clothes under your bed, but I wouldn't suggest it."
"I think I'll pass." She looked at the cupboards again before retreating into her room. "I'm going to get back to unpacking. Thanks for the tour, Dad!"
Dave turned and walked away. "Yeah, thanks. I've gotta go piss."
"Thank you for that, Dave. I'm sure all of our lives have been changed by that profound statement."
He gave her a thumbs-up before disappearing into the bathroom. "You know it," she heard.
She turned to Mr. Egbert before she had to listen to the sound of escaping urine. "Thank you, sir," she said. "I'll be going back to my room now. See you later."
"Great, I'll be downstairs if you need me." She didn't respond as she walked into her room and shut the door.
She didn't move for a moment. When she did it was to sit in the nice black desk chair that had passed by her notice earlier. She stared out the window watching the snow fall down onto the little town. The rooftops seemed strange and magical and a little romantic. It made sense. France was a country known for romance, wasn't it?
She looked at the white walls. They were bare. She had brought a couple posters with her, but she didn't know if she would ever hang them up.
Her suitcase was still on the floor beside her, untouched. She knew she would have to take care of that soon. This was her home for now. She needed to treat it like so. She needed to put her clothes in their proper places and find a place to store all of her books. Her toiletries had to be put in the bathroom, and her shoes lined up under her bed. It all had to be done. She knew this, but she wished she didn't.
Flecks of light were beginning to dance in front of her eyes again. Her head felt heavy, as if her neck was made of rubber. She was tired, so tired. She folded her arms on the desk and laid her head down, just for a moment.
Dreams flooded her mind, and she welcomed every one.
Thank you for reading the first chapter! Critiques are always welcome, as I'd love to improve my writing in any way that I can. I hope to have chapter 2 out… soon! That's the best I can offer for now. Thanks again!