Relic
The car journey had lasted for a while and the scenery did not change much between the skyscrapers and the large residential condominiums.
Until that moment.
Suddenly, everything gave way to vegetation. There were still the poles, but the world beyond their light was darkness. The road was now going up, they had entered a hill zone.
After a short tunnel, the car turned to an even darker and deserted path. It was narrow to the point of the vehicle threatening to hit some branches of the trees at the side of the road. The air was colder.
Soon they began to pass by a large stone wall, taken by vines, and the road ended in a large iron gate. The car did not have to stop because the gate had opened.
The wheels made a soft sound as they roll over the gravel pathway of the courtyard of the three-story mansion, with an imposing European architecture of the redish front, with large white windows. The illumination that came from them, plus the lamp posts along the way, brought relief to the pitch black that surrounded the place.
The car stopped in front of the main entrance and the driver quickly got out of the vehicle and opened the door for Homura. Madoka barely had time to remove her seat belt and the man had already passed behind the car and opened her door.
The door of the house opened and two men in suits and ties appeared and went straight to the trunk to pick up the luggage. Women in maid clothes spied on what was happening from inside.
Madoka watched all that and Homura, who was beside her in silence, avoiding eye contact with everyone.
Another person came out of the house, a short woman. She wore a formal dress and high heels of dark green color, matching with her eyes and well combed short hair. The makeup was heavy, with red lipstick, but the white roots of her hair denoted she had some age. She stopped in front of Homura, smiling.
Madoka noticed that Homura had glanced at the woman and read her lips moving with hesitation, saying a name.
"Chi... haru..."
The woman slowly wrapped her arms around her and rested her head on the girl's shoulder. Her face twitched in an almost weeping expression, followed by a long sigh.
Meanwhile, Homura remained motionless.
"I came to think that I could never do that again," said the woman.
Homura asked, "Where's he?"
The woman pulled away, straightened her posture, and replied, "He will come tomorrow."
Homura clenched her fists.
The woman noticed the tension in her body, but she looked at the other girl.
Madoka hesitated a little before smiling. "Hi?"
"You must be the daughter of the Kaname family." The woman went toward her.
It was not only the voice, Madoka could feel a soothing fragrance coming from her. "Do you know about us?"
"We try to know to whom we will send our letters." She nodded. "But say your name."
"Madoka Kaname."
She bowed. "We are grateful to have taken care of Homura-san, Madoka Kaname-san." Then she said as she stood up, "I am Chiharu Nishimoto, the keeper of this house, please, which luggage is yours?"
Madoka pointed. "These two."
Chiharu looked at the men with the bags and they entered the mansion in a rapid pace.
Madoka heard the sound of the engine and the car leaving.
Chiharu clasped her hands together. "Let's go in? It's not healthy to be in the cool of the night."
They passed the great door and were in a room lit by a great chandelier. There were beautiful paintings on the walls and even on the ceiling, of Christian church themes. However, it was rather small compared to what had been seen from the outside. No more curious maids were there, but it was possible to hear the movement through the house.
Nothing compared to the sound of Chiharu's heels as she closed the doorway. "Kaname-san, we already prepared a room for you, accompany me."
"So my sister is alive."
The girls looked at one of the doors of the room and there was a boy leaning against the view. He was taller and appeared to be older than Madoka and Homura. His black hair was messy, its tips discolored, and he wore earrings and a chain around his neck, both silvery. The makeup turned the skin of his face like porcelain, and the long-sleeved shirt accentuated his slender body.
"Udo-san!" Chiharu scolded him, "you should not talk like that."
"Sorry..." With his hands in the pockets of his pants, he walked toward Homura, smiling. "How should I react to someone who stayed more than a year without giving any sings they still existed."
Madoka saw that Homura had lowered her head even more and her gaze did not know where to go.
"Hmmmm..." The boy leaned his face closer to hers. "You haven't changed since the last time I saw you, perhaps taller... How's your heart? Did the hospital staff treat you well? Daddy paid a lot."
"Udo-san..." Chiharu glared at him.
"What now? What did I say wrong? Or don't you care with the period she stayed in the hospital?"
The woman folded her arms and said, "Then choose your words better."
"Tssss..." He shrugged and turned his attention to another girl as he smiled again. "But you're the biggest surprise. How should I call you?"
She looked into his eyes, they were purplish as Homura, a little darker, evidenced by the mascara of his eyelashes. "I'm Madoka Kaname, a friend."
"Friend?!" The boy looked back at Homura. "Congratulations! You're making friends again. I knew it! I knew you could do it."
Homura turned her face.
Madoka was so focused on observing the other girl's visible discomfort that she barely noticed that the boy was in front of her after he took a big sidestep.
"I'm Udo Akemi, the brother she never told you."
"Eh?" Madoka did not have much to say about that truth.
Udo had. He leaned over and covered his mouth with his hand as he whispered, "She told you she's an orphan, right?"
Facing another truth, Madoka looked down, but then his fingers stroked her fringe.
Udo winked. "It's okay, I don't have hard feelin-"
Chiharu stepped between him and Madoka. "Udo-san, they've had a long journey and they're tired."
Udo walked away. "Yeah, I'll talk to them another time." Then he leaned over to see the girl behind the woman. "Yo, can I call you by the first name? 'Madoka' sounds nice."
"Sure."
"And call me Udo, you don't have to be polite with me, okay? This house is old, not me."
Chiharu took a deep breath, almost a snort.
"I wasn't referring to you." He went to another door in the room. "I'm going to get something to eat."
"Dinner will be served so-" The door closed before Chiharu could finish saying.
Then there was a silence. Madoka even thought the woman was going after him.
Chiharu, however, turned to the girls with a polite smile, as if nothing had happened. "Let's get going."
They followed the housekeeper to the door where Udo was before. There was a larger room, ending in a spiral staircase.
Chiharu began to instruct, "On this floor is where is the kitchen, the dining room, the restrooms and the library. Second and third floors are for the bedrooms, the second being used by the staff."
They went upstairs, listening to the creak of the wood.
"Kaname-san, your bags should be there by now. While I show you where it is, Homura-san will go to her room."
In this Homura said, "Nishimoto-san..."
The woman frowned. "Huh? Why are you calling me by the family name?"
Homura stopped. Crestfallen, she gathered her restless hands. "C-Chiharu-san, could you show where my room is to Madoka?"
"I intend to do this after I show hers."
"I... would like..." Homura struggled to hide the grinding of her teeth. "... that you do this first."
Chiharu shook her head, not understanding the importance of it, but said, "Yes, of course..."
They continued up to the third floor. Madoka felt the slow and heavy step of the other girl, it was as if at that moment Homura had gone back to being who she said she was no longer. [What is wrong?]
Homura closed her eyes and sighed. [I do not remember where my room is.]
Madoka did not ask any more questions.
The third floor had long hallways with many doors, it would remind a hotel if it were not for the lack of room numbers. They intersected, forming an intricate web where someone without knowledge could end up walking in circles.
It was not the case of Chiharu, who soon found the bag of Homura on the floor in front of a door. "Oh... I forgot to tell you." She turned to the girl. "Your father asked you to keep your room the way it was when you left to Mitakihara. None of the staff got inside but me."
Madoka saw Homura nod, but that news had not left the girl with glasses happier.
"Well, but he should wait for you and not leave your bag on the floor. I apologize." Chiharu gripped the doorknob.
And Homura too. "No. I... I want to enter alone."
Leaving the housekeeper confused. "Didn't you want to show the room to your friend?"
"I wanted to show you where it was."
Madoka manifested, "Ehhh... It's okay Chiharu-san... Can I call you this way?"
"Huh? Yes of course."
The distraction of Chiharu was enough for Homura to take the bag and enter the dark room. "I'll check if everything is in order... and I'll find a space for my bag. Madoka, we'll talk later."
"Yes!I-"
She closed the solid wood door, making more noise than she expected, but the abrupt silence that followed was an invitation to release her anguished breath.
The darkness did not matter, Homura could already feel the weight of that place. Even the subtle scent of stagnant air said a lot. She turned slowly, and the first thing she saw was the light coming from the window, from the illumination of outside. Her eyes quickly got accustomed to the gloom, perhaps too quickly, and she could see her bed just below the window. The nightstand beside bed had on it a music box and an alarm clock.
Strange.
The alarm clock had an old look, with hands and a pair of bells, but Homura did not recognize it. It was not the fact that she did not remember, but she just remembered that there should not be that object in her room. Chiharu would not make such a mistake, so it was clear what that meant.
I don't belong to this time... So even the past contains anomalies.
However, Homura was aware that certain things do not change and never will. On the floor, next to the closet, was a large doll house, empty and lifeless. Whoever lived there was gone.
Shadows began to dance behind the house and Homura felt a chill down her spine. An ordinary person might think it was the branches of some tree in the yard that were coalescing those images. She did not have that luxury.
Then black hats, of various shapes, emerged soon followed by their respective owners, with glassy eyes of faint bluish glow, pale and smooth faces with wide open smiles.
／人◕‿‿◕人＼
Madoka and Chiharu were staring at the door. It had been a few minutes.
"It looks like everything is fine. I was very thorough with this room." The housekeeper came with an inviting look at the girl. "Let's go."
They walked the long corridors in silence. Madoka almost continued when the woman stopped at a door.
"I chose this room because the furniture is in good condition. It's close to Hiroshi-sama's suite." Chiharu put her hand on the doorknob, but then looked at the girl. "Hiroshi-sama is her father."
Madoka nodded.
Chiharu asked, more serious, "Is it true?"
"What?"
"Is it true what Udo-san told you? That Homura-san told you she was an orphan?"
Madoka looked away slightly and nodded again.
Chiharu stared at her for a while before returning her attention to the door and opening it. "It's a lie."
As soon as the light went on, Madoka found herself in the midst of refinement. Everything was made with high quality wood, with swans engravings, very clean and polished. On bed rest her two bags and what was in them barely would occupy the space of the large closet.
Chiharu went to the window and pushed the curtains. Madoka approached and saw through it the gardens of the house, including a large hedge maze. More distant, beyond the top of the vegetation that surrounded the place, it was possible to see the city like a carpet of light, which made a long curve.
"There is Sagami Bay," said the woman, "if tomorrow we have a clean weather, you will have Mount Fuji on the horizon."
Madoka turned to her and bowed, "I'm so grateful to be here."
"Have you memorized the way?"
The girl nodded slowly. "Yes..."
"Visitors already got lost here, don't be ashamed." Chiharu left the room. "Let's go back, I still have some rooms to show you."
When they returned to the hall, Madoka commented, "A lot of people work here."
"Most will leave tomorrow morning. They were only here to prepare the house for the arrival of Hiroshi-sama. He actually lives in Yokohama and is a man who appreciates discretion and isolation."
They went down the stairs, back to the first floor.
While Chiharu continued, "This house was built when Tokyo was still known as Edo, as an unofficial embassy for foreigners. It resisted attacks and occupations of rebels and also the great Kantou earthquake."
The housekeeper opened the door, showing the girl a modest in size but luxurious restroom.
"In the second World War, it finally turned to ashes along with Tokyo. With the end of the war there was much to rebuild, it was where Hiroshi-sama's father saw the opportunity."
Chiharu opened a double door, showing a larger room lit by another magnificent chandelier, beneath it a round table and chairs. Near the walls stood pedestals with scaled-down replicas of famous European sculptures. "And this is the dining room..."
"So he inherited from his father the company," Madoka said, "it was he who rebuilt this place."
The woman nodded. "It was not just a reconstruction, the structure was modernized and the courtyard expanded. This house was the wedding gift for his wife, who had many memories of Europe."
"Homura told me she died."
Chiharu closed the door and invited, "Do you want to meet her?"
They went to another closed door. This time Chiharu took a bundle of keys so she could unlock it. "When Hiroshi-sama comes, do not tell him you were here."
"Uh-huh."
Immediately come the smell of old paper. It was the library, with shelves that reached the ceiling, but there was also a bar with a selection of distilled or fermented drinks. On a large carpet were comfortable armchairs, all facing an altar with a gramophone and a picture frame of a woman with long, dark hair like Homura's, with a graceful burgundy gaze.
Chiharu whispered, "Come."
They stood in front of the altar. The housekeeper folded her hands together and prayed in silence.
Madoka did the same.
After contemplating for a while the woman's visage in the photo, Chiharu asked a question, "Homura-san... She even told you what happened?"
The girl could feel some fear in those words, but she did not hesitate to answer, "She was murdered."
"It's a lie!"
Madoka pressed her lips together and looked at Chiharu.
The woman was holding her hand on her mouth, sighing and then said, shaking her head, "It's a cruel lie that keeps repeating and repeating..." She composed herself. "When I was young, I met Ai Akemi briefly, but I could see the bold and determined stance she had. I was not surprised by the choice she made."
Madoka looked down.
"Do you want to know how she died?" Chiharu looked at the girl, with a subtle anger in her voice, "she died to give life to Homura-san. That's the only truth."
The two bowed to the altar and left the room.
Chiharu locked the door well. "Remember my warning, be discreet to what you have seen and heard here."
"I'll never forget," Madoka affirmed.
"Very well." Chiharu smiled politely. "I'll go to the kitchen to check if dinner's ready, meanwhile feel at ease. I believe you'll check how Homura-san is."
"I guess I'm a bit predictable." Madoka shared the smile.
"Be careful not to get lost." Chiharu left. "Scream if you need, no one will criticize you for it."
"Thank you."
Already back to the third floor, Madoka was soon facing the door of Homura's room, which was still closed.
And no sound was coming through it.
Madoka gave light knocks on the door and waited for a long time. However, no one opened it, nor a simple answer.
"Homura?" This time, Madoka touched the door with the open palm, feeling the hard wood.
Silence.
With the other, she reached for the cold metal knob and turned slowly.
[Madoka.]
The voice was in her mind, but Madoka felt it coming from inside the room. [Why telepathy? Why don't you open the door?]
[I'm resting.]
Madoka brought her face closer to the door. [We'll have dinner. I believe it must be a very special one for your coming.]
[Tell Chiharu-san that I'm indisposed. She'll understand...]
[But this will make her worried. This is unnece-]
[Madoka.]
The girl at the door closed her eyes and lowered her head.
[I...] There was a long pause before Homura's voice manifested again. [It's too much.]
The hand touching the door went down the rough surface.
[I'll be better tomorrow.]
Madoka took off her hand from the doorknob and walked away from the door. She then lifted her head and smiled. "Right! But if the food is delicious, I'll tell you all the details."
[Enjoy.]
The enthusiasm was soon gone, but Madoka kept smiling. "Good night, Homura!"
[You don't have to speak so loud.]
"I thought you couldn't hear me well," she retorted.
A voice came from the door, muffled but discernible, "Good night, Madoka."
The girl headed for the staircase. She was a little more pleased, but it was not enough, something she did not hide in her expression.
That was when she saw it.
The large window at the staircase showed the stars in the sky, watching over that home under siege of shadows.
And Madoka nodded slightly at them.
Next chapter: Welcoming