This house is old, built on this land three generations before me, secluded by the surrounding pine forest and set back from the nearest road. The pine forest surrounds the large pond on the Sottilare property. As a young child I would feed the ducks and geese on the pond until dark fall. It's amazing to be home and feel comforted by my familiar surroundings. Looking at the pond it has a dark beauty. It reflected the night sky in perfect detail. A small ripple in the pond stirred my thoughts.
Big enough to be sure it was not caused by a small water bug or gnat, I looked closer. The pond water cleared to reveal the peak of the structure. Beneath was a structure still obscured by the muddied water. There's something down there. thoughts start flowing through me. What could this be? Out of the periphery I heard my mom calling from inside the house and it broke the trance-like state
Once there was silence I could tell my parents were asleep. It was time to creep outside and figure out what's beneath the water.
The stars filled the night sky and the moon was bright. There was no trouble seeing my way. There in the bright reflective surface I could see the ripple in the same place as before. Moving around to an angle where the pond no longer reflected the nights sky I could see more clearly what looked to be a peak of a roof. I thought it was impossible but it looked closer than it had earlier. Slowly rising out of the pond was a home. It was midnight by the time the mansion had come completely out of the water and finally I could see it in its full glory. It was a beautiful old brick mansion, slightly covered in algae on the outside.
The details of the home are ornate and stately. Moving as close as I felt comfortable, I could feel there was some danger associated with being so close to this structure that defies physics. I cant take my eyes off of it. Searching around for something that would give me a clue that I am indeed crazy or perhaps sleeping and dreaming.
The windows are covered with drapes so it obscures my vision of the inside of the house. The house was almost completely out of the water. Its grand and stately, more like a mansion than just a house.
I couldn't bare to wait any longer. I started to walk around the mansion. Looking for something to explain this madness. My eyes searching the structure with its stately columns and exquisite trimmings. The walk got faster as my curiosity peaked.
I want to get inside but the water held me back like an invisible shield protecting the mansion from me or me from the mansion. I went back to the front but the gap was too large for me to cross without swimming.
As I contemplated what to do I saw something move in the window to the right of the door. A figure's shadow appeared on the algae covered window and I knew then that there was someone inside. Someone mystical. Someone who knew the secrets of this sunken mansion and the land it was on. The shadow disappeared and I heard clicking, the sound of locks unlocking. Then door opened.