Luna Norwood is 22 years old. Each chapter will always have both Luna's and Brahms' point of view. As for the dates, I simply decided the release date of the movie was when Greta began working as the nanny and she left in March. Seven months later, Luna purchases the home and this is the story from then on.
September 18, 2016
It was early afternoon and the second day in her new home. She had awoken early to unpack her belongings and place them in their rightful place. After her shower, she had dressed in a blue sweater dress, black stockings, and her Mary Janes. It was during her investigation of what she'd deemed 'Brahms Room' that she found clothes for the doll. Something which had pleased her and she had dressed him in a blue sweater vest over a white button up shirt, black slacks, and his black dress shoes.
"Well, don't you look handsome?" Luna teased the doll, gently tapping its porcelain nose before placing him back on her bed. Her morning had been taken up with her unpacking and she had had no time to eat breakfast. Which explained the rumbling that emitted from her stomach as she piled another box on top of her closet.
"Alright already! You'll be fed so cease your incessant growling," Luna muttered, her lips turning down into a pout. She exited the closet and began making her way out of her bedroom. However, Paramore's 'Ain't it Fun?' began playing from her bedside table where her phone had been charging. Recognizing the ringtone, the brunette hurried over and flicked her thumb over the screen.
"Naomi!" she cried, the delight evident in her voice as she held the phone to her ear and picked up Brahms in her arms.
"Afternoon to you too, Luna! How are you settling in?" the familiar British voice asked. With a smile on her face, Luna left her room and trekked down the stairs to the kitchen. She gently sat Brahms in one of the chairs around the island.
"I had the best night sleep, Nay. This place is so peaceful compared to my family's house. And so beautiful, too," she replied, pulling out a few eggs along with frozen waffles and strawberries. She had just been about to close the refrigerator when a letter taped to the freezer door caught her attention. Her brows furrowed in confusion, hazel eyes scanning the words printed on the page.
"Hey Nay, I'll call you back in a few minutes, okay?" she absentmindedly told her friend, cutting her off from whatever she had been saying before she hung up. Placing the phone in her back pocket, she pulled the paper off the door and placed it on the counter in front of her.
BRAHMS RULES
1. No Unannounced Guests
2. Never Leave Brahms Alone
3. Save Meals in Freezer
4. Never Cover Brahms Face
5. Read a Story
6. Play Music Loud
7. Clean the Traps
8. Keep the Library Well-stocked
9. Brahms is Never to Leave
10. Kiss Goodnight
"So, Brahms has his own rules?" she asked herself, gently folding the letter and placing it in her front pocket, "Alright then, breakfast time for both of us!" It was a little strange for Luna to prepare a meal for someone who wouldn't even eat it, but she couldn't ignore the feeling of contentment she felt as she cooked for them both. She placed the lightly beaten eggs into the pan and the frozen waffles into the toaster. Taking a knife and the cutting board, the brunette sliced the strawberries and placed them into a mixture of Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and granola. As she was plating the omelettes and waffles she grabbed two bowls and added the yogurt mixture inside.
"Here we are then!" she sighed, sitting down beside Brahms with two cups of soy milk. Luna ate in silence, her mind occupied with the rules she had just come across. She didn't know what to think of it, but she knew from experience not to ignore the weird. Her life would be incredibly dull if she did, so she would humor her curiosity for the time being. After all, no harm could possibly come from following a doll's rules, right?
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She was fascinating to him. It was entirely unsettling for him, to always be comparing her to Greta, but he couldn't stop his mind from doing what it wanted. Ever since he'd begun to reinvent himself his mind had been working overtime. Almost as if it were trying to make up for lost time.
Luna was an enigma. Greta had always been cautious in his home, but Luna walked around with ease and comfort. She seemed at peace as she cooked for them that morning, and he had been honestly intrigued when she hadn't even questioned his rules. There were minor changes to them since Greta; he knew that restricting a woman would only have her seek an escape. And he wanted Luna to stay so he had compromised.
Brahms, the real Brahms, watched as the young woman raised his doll into her arms after having placed his breakfast in the freezer and left the kitchen. She seemed quite taken with his creation, and he was becoming increasingly curious about the brunette that now shared his home. Everything she did was not as he expected.
He eased himself from an opening in the wall, removing the food from the freezer before making his way back into the walls. The man walked along the dim passages, his food on a tray that Luna had kindly placed inside the freezer. He sat on the edge of his bed, slicing a bit of the omelette and chewed on the food. It was good, better than anything he had been able to make. While his intelligence and mannerisms had matured, his cooking skills were still below mediocre. So it was with relish that he devoured the meal Luna had prepared for him.
Her hair was up in that bun he had first seen her with, a few stray curls rested on her neck and cheeks as she sat on a chair in the library. He had watched her that morning, adding her own books to his family's collection on the shelves. It was a pleasant surprise to see the amount of tomes she possessed, and he was anxious to get his hands on the knowledge she had brought into his home.
"Would you like to me to read aloud to you, Brahms?" she asked. The doll was sitting on the chair opposite hers, his head slightly tilted to the left in a way that looked innocent and curious. Luna's lips turned up into a smile, her eyes lighting up with unadulterated childish glee. Had he looked that way before? Despite his age, he had been incredibly like a child mentally. However, his need for survival had awakened the scholar hidden within him, and he was immensely overjoyed to see that Luna shared his new-found passion for the written word.
"Alright then!" Her voice reached him, pulling him from his thoughts and to the present. The doll was now in her lap, the book open in front of both of them to see. It was a light green cover that depicted a couple on the verge of what looked like a passionate kiss. Nostalgia wrought his frame, bringing forth the not-so-real kiss he had shared with Greta. And then the woman had stabbed him, intent on ending his life.
"And the next thing I knew I was a baby," Luna spoke, her voice clear and confident as she began reading from the beginning, "So I begin. We begin..."
Indeed, something was beginning to form, he could feel it where it once slumbered in his battered heart. A sensation like a mockingbird's fluttering wings echoed within his chest, leaving behind a warmth he had yet to really identify.
Yes, Luna was very much an enigma.
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"Yes mom, I'm settling in very well. The house is much more beautiful than I remembered. You would love it here!" Luna gushed, leaning her left forearm on the balcony as she held the phone to her ear with her right hand. She had been disrupted from her reading by her mother's call, and she had been a little upset to close the book when it was one of her favorites.
"You always did want to live in the country; city life never quite satisfied you," her mother said, a sad note within her tone. Luna bit her lower lip, guilt beginning to make itself known to the brunette.
"I just couldn't handle the traffic or the noise, mom," she explained, running a hand over her hair. That action only resulted in releasing more strands of brown locks from the precarious bun.
"I know that, sweetheart, but it's just so hard to know that you're so far away. You're still coming for Thanksgiving, right?" her mother asked, and Luna could hear her siblings yelling in the background for their mom to put her on speaker. No doubt the request was granted instantly in hopes of shutting them all up.
"I'm not missing Thanksgiving, mom, and I'm not planning on missing Christmas either," she replied, knowing how much those holidays meant to her family.
"When will you begin your new job at the orphanage?" she heard her brother ask. Her excitement swelled at the question, and she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face at the reminder.
"I got a call from Ms. Annely this morning. I'll begin working at the orphanage next week," Luna sighed, her mind drifting to just what her responsibilities would be.
"That's great Luna! What exactly are you going to be doing while you're there?" her youngest sister asked, obviously ignoring the indignant cries from their brother about her rudely snatching the phone.
"It's sort of like volunteering but I get paid for it. Basically, I take care of the children in Section 9 and will be in charge of cooking, cleaning, teaching, and counseling them," Luna answered. The orphanage was divided into 13 Sections, each one pertaining to different children. Section 9 was where children from abusive homes resided, the ones who still had family members but had been abandoned by them. It was heartbreaking to know that there were people like that out there.
"You'll be like a mother! Ironic considering that you're still a virgin!" her brother teased, causing Luna to flush and push away from the railing. It was a never-ending joke among her family, her being a virgin at 22 that is. While she wasn't ashamed by that fact she didn't exactly like it broadcasted.
"Call me back when you get serious, Ren!" she hissed, hanging up without waiting for a reply. There was no doubt in her mind that her brother was laughing at her expense. With a groan, Luna made her way back into her room and dropped down on the silk covers of her bed. She was hoping the color in her cheeks would fade soon.
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She was upset. That much was obvious from when she'd tossed her phone to the plush chair across her bedroom. Brahms had listened to her side of the conversation, curious about her new job at the orphanage. The only one he knew of was Annely Orphanage, founded and funded by Georgian V. Annely about 50 years ago. Luna seemed rather ecstatic about her job if the smile on her face had been anything to go by.
Brahms had been quite miffed when her device had begun emitting music, startling them both from the book they had been enjoying. As soon as she'd departed with the doll he'd exited the wall and picked up the book. 'Reincarnation' by Suzanne Weyn. It was different from the ones he'd read, the novel centering on two people who continued to find each other in their next lives. It focused on a romance that seemed to transcend time.
Could it be that Luna desired a love that passionate and death defying?
Once again she managed to surprise him. He had rifled through the books she'd added to the library, intrigued and fascinated with both the number of tomes and their varying topics. Criminal Justice, Politics, History, Psychology, Music, Cooking, Government, English Literature, Fantasy, Romance, Suspense, Mystery, Action, Comedy. It was beyond anything he could have imagined. He had chosen a book with a risque cover titled 'Taken by the Night' by Kathryn Smith, and he now stood within the wall of Luna's bedroom as she turned over on the bed.
Her usually pale cheeks were tinted with a rosy hue, her chestnut hair strewn about the light blue sheets, her lower lip jutting out in what he knew to be a pout. And he couldn't help but think that she looked gorgeously innocent. Greta had been beautiful, with a tall and willowy frame, dark hair in straight locks that rested on her shoulders, lightly tanned skin, and blue eyes. Luna, however, was what one would more likely call lovely. She was short with a generously curved figure, brown hair that fell in waves down to her waist, pale skin, and hazel eyes.
Their personalities, auras, appearances, and tastes were different. He only hoped their reactions to his existence would differ as well.
The second chapter! Alright, Brahms obviously had to grow up a little bit if he wanted to survive. He had no one to take care of him, to teach him, so he had to learn everything on his own which he did almost obsessively. All his knowledge is purely from the books and newspapers he's read. Yes, he's intelligent but his mind is still somewhat pure, and he isn't at all modern. Technology is still incredibly foreign to him and it's very difficult for him to grasp. Got it? Great!
~Nyx
