"Hello?" I asked, not expecting an answer, "i-is there anyo-one here?" My voice was causing me to studder because of the cold, not fear. "OK, I guess not." For some reason, I began to hum with glee even though I was not the least bit happy. As I looked around, I saw nothing but a huge room with a couch, a couple of chairs, a rug, a few pictures, and some books. "Hmmm… this place is pretty normal compared to what I've heard." The smell of chocolate was thick in the air. "Well, they got the chocolate part right."
I continued to hum as I walked along through the big room. I had no clue what I was humming, just a mixture of thoughtlessly composed notes that seemed to sound fairly good when put together. It was dead silent, which scared me slightly. Then, I heard a door open behind me. I wanted to hide behind something, but quickly ran over beside the door to look like I just came in.
A man then appeared in the doorway. He was dressed in a maroon-like dress jacket that went down to his knees, black pants and black shoes, and a strange top hat that seemed to complete him in a sort of way. In his hand, a cane, that it seemed he couldn't stop twirling. "Now, what have we here?" he said in a rather inquisitive voice, "a visitor! Now isn't that exiting?" I stayed perfectly silent as he seemed to be examining me. "What brings a girl like you all the way… er… to my factory?"
"Well, you see sir; I was walking along and…"
"Ah, I see."
"But sir, I didn't even get to finish my…"
"I know, but I haven't the time to listen to your little stories. Now, your parents are probably worried about you. Why don't you just run along home?"
"I cannot go home, sir."
"Well, why ever not? Did you forget where it is? Did they change the names of the streets? Did it disappear? Did…"
"No, sir, it's just that, well…"
"Yes?" he asked, rather curious now, "what happened?"
"I… I don't have one, sir."
He seemed a bit dismayed by this comment, and pondered it for a moment. He turned away and looked as though he was going to leave, but then quickly turned around as though he just came up with a great idea. "I know!" he cried, rather pleased, "you were walking down the street to your home, but then realized that it had been snowed upon so much that it had collapsed and vanished. Now, what do you say to that?" he began to do a sort of dance because he was so happy with what he had just said.
I began to laugh at him, and then he stopped. "Is something funny?"
Giggle "No, i… I was just thinking… giggle about how wrong you are, sir." giggle I found that now that I had started laughing, it was impossible to stop!
"How wrong I am? What is that supposed to mean?"
Instantly, I stopped laughing and became depressed once more, remembering that I had no home. "I haven't had a home for over a year now. I 'live' down the street next to that old Maschanti Restaurant building. I've found it quite cold during the winter months."
The dismayed look on his face grew far more intense. "Come with me," he said, and led the way.