Chapter 3 - Valerie
Carlisle met me in the kitchen. We both pulled our shoes over our feet, straining as our fingers guided the shoe over our heels. I look up, seeing him tightening his belt, I walked over to the counter to pick up the glass of water I poured earlier. Picking up the glass a took a big gulp after I wiped my mouth and spilled the remaining clear fluid down the drain.
I turn around and Carlisle was checking his hair in the mirror moving tiny strands like a perfectionist.
"Come on!" I ranted with a tone of boredom in my voice.
"Hold on!" He said pulling out a lonely hair and blowing it from his white hand on to the black linoleum floor.
Carlisle pulled his blue jacket from the back of the dining chair and slid one arm in then the other. As he walked towards me, he zipped up his jacket, pinching a banana from a bowl above the sink.
Walking out the door Carlisle turned to lock the old wooden door that was hanging loosely from its hinges which dad said he would fix a few months back. I continued walking out of our gravel driveway, I turned to see Carlisle catching up slowly looking at his phone.
"Come on! I want to be home before it gets dark." I said hurrying him along!
"We have ages!" He relied in a sarcastic fashion.
"Still, hurry!" I concluded.
Still walking we met the start of the bicycle track that runs over an old railway track. The building which once was a train station is now a guest house owned by a women by the name of Valerie.
Valerie is a kind women. I used to visit her with a close friend of mine. Val we called her. My friend and I used to walk around a field with her and her dogs! I loved watching the dogs just run free through the field full of different crops each year. Her garden was full of beautiful flowers of different colours of the rainbow.
We were just about to start down the cycle track but we were stopped by a croaky voice from behind.
"Long time no see!"
Me and Carlisle turned round simultaneously.
It was Valerie! She was wearing an indigo floral dress which was blowing majestically in the breeze. Her long silver hair mimicked the movements of the dress.
"Yes, a very long time indeed! I agreed.
"How has everything been going?" Carlisle added.
"Gosh, everything has been going fine. Enough about me, how big both of you have grown!" She said like we haven't seen each other for ten years.
We both laughed.
"So how are your parents?" She asked.
"Well, they've gone on another surprise holiday!" Carlisle said with an angry tone in his voice.
"Hmmm. Well if you need a place to stay, we have some rooms free!" She offered.
"Thanks Val!" We both said happily.
Me and Carlisle said bye. We then started strolling up the cycle track to the nearest village, Shallow-Hall. Shallow-Hall was just five minutes down the track by foot.
Carlisle and I were skimming stones across the river Fennel which flowed just alongside the track as ducks retreated to the safeness of the blue cloudless sky.
We followed the track passing a small abandoned building which Val had told us its old use, an old control room for night guards of the railway. It always looked creepy because of it's unkempt condition, the mouldy grey prefabricated concrete slabs, flaked with moss and smashed windows.