Chapter III: The Haunted Mansion

Victoria woke up from a very odd dream where she was in a robotic hair cutting factory. Several middle-aged women sat on a conveyer belt and were getting their hair cut with a look of euphoria on their faces. The metal hands of the robots were cutting their hair at the same time, making several snipping sounds. Even after she woke, she could still hear that noise.

She glanced up at the clock, it's glaring digital numerals reading five o'clock. "Ugh, five? Five?! You've gotta be kidding me, there shouldn't be one of those allowed in the morning." Poe stirred slightly from her ranting. He opened his eyes slightly while putting his ears back and looked annoyed at her. She pet him until he stretched, and with a yawn he went back to sleep.

She decided there was no way she was getting back to sleep after the creepy dream and noises. I must have dreamed the noise, but then again it's usually outside noises that affect my dreams. She shrugged it off, realizing that she had slept better than she had in a very long time.

She got up, turned on some lights, and had breakfast. When she felt well-caffeinated enough she got back to unpacking. Eventually she got to the point where she couldn't do much more until after painting and getting the furniture in. She took a quick shower, got dressed, and walked outside with her hair still dripping.

Looking at the moving truck, she frowned. Great...I have to drive that beast into town and find parking for it. I can't wait for Vincent to bring me my car. The truck wasn't huge, but she was used to her small car. Vincent's brother owned the moving company, and thankfully she was able to use the truck for free. When he showed up with her car, he would take the truck back with him.

She got into the truck and drove down into the town. At the end of her street she paused, looking at the stone wall and remains of a wrought iron gate. That must be the road up to the castle. The gate's door was nowhere to be seen, but just past the arches were thorn bushes. They were so thick she couldn't even see the road past them. She glanced up and down the top of the wall, seeing the tops of the thorn bushes beyond them. Well that's going to make it a bit difficult to get in. She wondered if there was a way to get in from her backyard. She had been able to see the wall through the trees behind her house, and thought she probably could just climb it.

She turned left off of her quiet street and drove through the town passing the idyllic little townhouses, many of which were awful pastel colors. She found the strip mall where she would be working and parked in front of a storefront that said 'Espress Yourself'. She chuckled, it was completely corny, but weren't most coffeehouse names? She walked up to it and peeked in. It was full of boxes, but the decorators had already been there and painted. It looked very similar to the one she was used to working in. She was comforted by the fact that at least her job would be familiar, when nothing else in this town was.

She walked over to the hardware store and went right to the paint display. After looking at many horrible samples she found a nice combination of a light sage green and dark chocolate brown. She approached a young blonde clerk who was wearing some very eighties looking makeup, and an oversized name tag reading 'Betsy'. Giving her the samples she asked for a gallon of each. Betsy raised her eyebrows at the colors she had picked out. She asked her if she was sure while she smacked her gum loudly.

"We do have a sale on our most popular colors; 'Angels Breath', and 'Rose Petal Bliss." She pointed to the samples on display near the cash register. One was off-white and the other was a mauve.

"Well, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit." She said it before she could stop herself.

The clerk's mouth dropped open in a little O of surprise.

"Um...heh heh... no thanks. I don't want to paint my walls with anything with the word 'breath' in the title. Whether it's an angel or a dog's breath...I don't want it."

Betsy's eyebrows went up even further as she frowned. This is just great. The first local you talk to and they think you're a psycho. Good job. The flustered clerk mixed up her paints while Victoria gathered the rest of the supplies she needed and returned to the register. Betsy rang her up as fast as she could.

"You know you can't bring that back for a refund after you realize how bad its going to look," she said as she handed her the change.

"Not a problem, Betsy." She smiled as she took the bags from the clerk, who was currently rolling her eyes, and left the store.

After one more stop at the grocery store she was finally back home and painting. A few hours later her house looked brand new. The stained yellowish walls were transformed; her color choices looked beautiful paired with the natural wood ceilings. She stood admiring her work with her hands on her hips. She laughed...That awful color I just got rid of was probably 'Angels Breath'.

"I think I deserve a break," she announced and walked to the kitchen. She made herself a cherry bomb ice cream float, and headed up the stairs to her beloved balcony. She grabbed her cello along the way and walked outside, leaving the door open in case Poe wanted to join her. She smiled at her handiwork from yesterday. She had successfully recreated her solar light garden that used to comfort her so much at her last apartment in the city. She much preferred the soft luminescence of solar LED's compared to the harshness of the electric ones. Now that she lived surrounded by trees and grass, rather than buildings and concrete, she didn't need it as much, but she loved it so. The lights just started to really shine as the night got darker. She sat down sipping her drink and gazed at the mansion on the hill. Again she saw movement in the same window as before.

She took her phone out of her pocket and pushed a couple buttons. The phone rang a couple times and a pleasant older voice answered.

"Hello; Anne Sullivan's office."

"Hi Anne! It's Victoria."

"Oh, hello darling! How have you settled in? Was your drive OK? You didn't have any problems on those awful potholes in your street did you? Oh! I meant to have a welcome basket waiting for you but that darn Timothy Frank said he doesn't deliver on the weekends. But don't you worry dear, you will have it tomorrow. Oh! How do you like the town? It is our little slice of heaven, and we just got a new-"

"Anne!...Anne!" She had learned from the many phone conversations to interrupt Anne, or she would never get off the phone. "Everything is fine, and honestly, you don't have to bother with the basket."

"Oh, no dear, it is my pleasure! You are brand new to the town. We don't get that many outsiders moving here."

Well isn't that great...just call me Ponyboy. "Anne, I have a question about that mansion on the hill. Is it-"

"Oh! Don't even tell me that you got cold feet! The paperwork has already gone through! You just can not pull out now! Don't listen to what the townspeople say! They are all just too superstitious. They let their minds get carried away. And those old folks who lived in your house before?....well they just thought that they saw things. It is not haunted!!"

"Whoa! I was just wondering if it was abandoned like I thought you had told me before; or if anyone owns it now," she said wide eyed. There was a long pause. "Anne? Are you still there?"

"Well of course I'm still here." That must be what it sounds like when someone's foot is in their mouth. "No, no one has lived there for decades. It was built by a wealthy inventor, but he died of a heart attack

almost a hundred years ago. It's such an ugly place that no one wanted to buy it afterward; so the state owns it now. And of course the gossip and rumors about the place make most people afraid of it. Well, dearie, a client just walked in so I have to let you go. Let me know if you need anything else. Bye sweetheart. Welcome to the neighborhood!"

The phone clicked before she got a chance to ask about the rumors, or even thank Anne for her time. She finished her drink quietly while petting a sleeping Poe in the chair next to her. Haunted? This is starting to get interesting. Now I will have to ask around and hear what the local legend is about this place. She always loved a good ghost story. She pulled her eyes away from the eerie scene of the castle with the waxing moon peeking out of the clouds just beyond it.

She bent down and took her cello out of its case and started to tune it. She had the Azure Ray song 'November' stuck in her head for days and decided to play and sing that one first. She absolutely loved to sing...in the shower, in her car, in the solitude of her own house; but never in front of anyone. Playing her cello was a little bit different. She had required recitals that she had to perform while learning it; so having an audience didn't bother her that much. But singing was different, it seemed so much more personal. That was another bonus of her new house; no neighbors. She started the song to an audience of glowing dragonfly lights, trees, ...and a very appreciative being who was hidden by shadows.