Mr. Stanley was old, small, slightly stooped and wears a full dark glasses with a thick frame. Just as how I imagined him to be, he held his head in his hands when he saw me in front of him, maybe he got the idea with my puffy red eyes.
“Please sit down, Miss Morrison,” he said and rose to her seat, I sat on the left chair. His office was simple as the solicitor he was, with brown wooden walls, a tall shelf with thick hardbound books and a huge table that separated me to him it was awkward that I saw myself here at seventeen.
“Do you want something to drink? A coffee, water maybe?”
I waved my hand successively. “I just came here to ask why my dad became like that.”
Mr. Stanley looked like he was surprised but behind that façade, he knew it too well, I don’t need to add more description on that, I want to know why’s that -- he knew the reason my father who’s not my dad decided to be a jerk and dropped a bomb at the worst moment possible.
He rested his back and pulled something in his drawer. “It’s because of this.”
It’s a piece of paper scribbled with words and bear’s my mom’s name and signature at the right end of the paper, the other one was a birth certificate with my name on it and the box for the father was left blank.
“Miss Harriet Morrison, Mr. Richard ask me to compile this beforehand, the first paper is about the will of your mom and the second is your real birth certificate.” He gave me the papers and I reached for them with my both hands.
“I’m guessing he knew about this already and decided to say the truth to you.”
Tears found their way to drop on my cheeks without my consent. All along, I treated him as my dad, I remember he held me as a child in his arms and raised me to the air but because of this piece of paper that moment broke down into many pieces, my mother’s name, Elizabeth Artha Carter was written as my mother, my father was a dash meaning unknown. “I know I should have shown you this before you turn eighteen, but in this case, Mr. Richard consented it, and if you read the first paper on top of that…”
Somehow, his voice became low and I had a hard time listening to him, I can’t digest what he was saying, my father, though he was strict with me after I turned ten, I remember he was present whenever we held a sports day in my school together with my mom, they’ll participate on sack race and we walked hand in hand to the car cheerfully and now I’m seventeen I found out he was not my biological father because mom died.
What will happen if mom’s still here? Will she stop dad from telling me? Was he planning to tell me that as soon as mom died? This was too much for a seventeen-year-old like me, you know. Now I found out the reason why mom hide my birth stories, my twin siblings had theirs with matching scrapbooks and baby clothes and pictures, Andrea’s crib was still in the attic, it was bright pink with a lot of ruffles and red circles, her mini pillow and the dress she wore for her first birthday was still there, mom said she threw mine’s away because that’s a long time ago, seven years wasn’t a long time! Was it because she's afraid that I would accidentally find out about my birth?
“… Do you know about the legendary wolf living at the end of the forest? I believed that’s just about there in that forest.”
The legendary wolf again, I guess the whole town wasn’t an exception to tell tales about it, even Mr. Stanley was hook about that story, my family doesn’t talk about it but I think they had an idea, they know about it, they just don’t tell that story to their children. But now that mom died and I found out that my father isn’t my real father I guess it’s time to hear that story.
“Miss Harriet.”
I squeezed my armchair when Mr. Stanley snapped his fingers at me. “I’m sorry, my dear, I know this isn’t the right time to discuss this with you but I believed there’s no other time to tell, now that Richard broke this out.”
He picked up the paper I believed was on top of my birth certificate but I didn’t bother to look at it and flew it away. “Your mother left you a farmhouse in the middle of the woods.”
That raised my left brow, I looked at the paper and tried to comprehend that it was a copy of mom’s will. Of course, she has one! But wait, she left me a farmhouse?
“Andrea and Ashton will have a portion of the house after they turn eighteen, you, however, will inherit a farmhouse.”
Now I remember, mom was arguing with Richard before she ran out to her car, was they talking about her hoarding or about this?
“Did Richard knew about this?” I gave him a look and he suppress his lips, he reached for my hand that held the paper and rubbed it. The name rolled in my tongue like salted caramel, it has an airy aftertaste, I always called him dad, but now I think I should use myself on saying his first name. Because as he said: we’re strangers.
“I guess they’ve discussed it before? I'm not sure, dear.” He gave me a smile that lowered my gaze to my hand, there was a big thick, and dark key that was comfortably wrapped in my left hand. “That’s the key to the farmhouse.”
That ends my meeting with Mr. Stanley, he gave me a copy of mom’s will and a map of the town with the forest that has an ‘x’ mark within a bunch of trees.
I don’t know if I should go home, Richard doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore, his snide remarks tell how much he wants me out of the house. So, I was left wandering, I passed my school and the road where mom had her accident, there wasn’t anything but a yellow tape around it that indicate there was an accident here before.
I guess behind me, I want to give what Richard wanted and lived in the farmhouse I inherited, I guess mom was nervous that as soon as she died, Richard would tell me to leave so I got a place to stay.
But why at the end of the woods? This town; even though it’s a little old and dramatic and always cold, has all the things a community would need to prosper. Apartments and little houses. I couldn’t remember mom telling us that she has a farmhouse in the middle of the woods. Heck, I wouldn’t even know she has a will prepared if Mr. Stanley didn’t tell me.
I pulled the map from my pocket and stashed the paper away from my bag, I studied the ‘x’ mark and trailed it out with my pointing finger to where I was, I just passed the school, now, I need to go to the forest, I walked mindlessly from left to right until my pointing finger reached the ‘x’ mark.
I raised my head from the map and was astonished by the huge house in front of me.
It’s like a mid-century modern home with a lot of landscaped plants and shrubs around it, the roof was color grey and has this fresh look that’s like it was renovated recently, a steel thick metal was horizontally inclined to the house, like a nineteen-sixties two-storey home with stucco finished and a lot of wood designs. I don’t know if it's because of the elevated porch or the two pivot doors waving at me to come that I decided to lift my foot on the ground and walked up to it. Was this the farmhouse I inherited from my mom? If so, I’m in love with it!
I passed the front porch steps and followed the pavement that leads to the front door. I pulled the key that Mr. Stanley gave and twist the knob open.
“Who are you?”
I pushed my head back and whispered the same. “Who are you?” I tried to take the image of the man in front of my face, he was taller than me and has curly hair, a square jaw, and amber eyes. I squinted my eyes and gave him a knotted forehead. “This is my house.” “No, this is obviously my house,” he said in a serious tone as if he was lecturing a five-year-old who doesn’t understand a candy cost money and trespassed on his property. I blinked and pointed at the knob with the key. “But the key fits, I opened the door, this is my house.” He looked at me appraisingly for a moment, The man was about twenty-five and looks like a rugby player, his stature towered me so well that I can hide in his strong muscly body comfortably, it didn’t compare to my fragile little one. “Look here, Miss.” “This is my house.” He kept on staying firm with his words. Playing tough, eh? “I inherited this from my mother who just recently passed away,” I pulled the paper I got from Mr. Stanley and showed it
The lady was wearing a mesh pink tutu skirt that almost touched the floor and white ballet flats, a loose white shirt was tucked in the skirt and she wore her black hair in a high ponytail, her cheeks were in a shade of rosy pink and her upturned eyes look sharp with mascara on. “My name’s Harriet, my mother left this house to me," I said in a dignified tone. She might have not believed me because her pink lips twitched but her sharp expression doesn’t change. I offered my hand and she looked at it for a second before accepting it. "Hello, then." “Blake?” The door swung open and the man that talks softly earlier gazed at us. “Yes?” “You’re still here.” He just didn’t ignore Tiffany's answer, but he pointed at my presence like it was a big joke for him that I’m still here. I gave him a frown and straightened my posture. “Why should I leave? This is my house.” The man closed his eyes firmly and ran a hand through his wavy hair before seriously looking at me. “I already told you
Over a cup of coffee, I watched Tiffany as she told me a story about the legendary wolf with her hands. She looked like my Math Teacher who instructs with both of her hands, as if agreeing also on what she’s supposed to teach, her expression told me that she teaches the lesson already for years, she got a firm and steady eye as she talks and a loud high-pitch voiced that show confidence and never falter. The difference between Tiffany and my math teacher was she doesn’t want to be a math teacher, she failed the entrance exam at a known university in another city and falls into a private college instead, she entered the only available course there and became a math teacher, her demise did well on her in the end when she landed a consistent paying job but the people she knows and her closest friends and family laughed at her secretly as she walks, she’s just another stupid girl who thinks the world revolves on her, but alas! She was slapped with the truth; no matter how much time you c
I reached the road that got me away from the forest, I walked home with my hands on my back and dared not to look back. It was a nightmare going there, Tiffany kid about me looking like the picture in the tomb. It’s like going to the wrong house was not enough embarrassment. “Why not?” Tiffany raised her brow, the way she spoke was something a bit lower than her usual, it's a bit manly, she went to her bedside table and poured tea on a nordic teacup, “I think they gave you access to the house.” She clasped her hands and walked in front of me with so much authority I could suffocate, she lowered her head to match my eyes. “What do you mean?” I inched back, what was she saying and what’s with the sudden change of voice? Tiffany pursed her lips and give me a scalding hot tea some liquid spilled on my lap, “Exactly the words I said.“ She stood and started to take the kit to my side. “You saw it, didn’t you?” She inched into my side and whispered. “The tomb he worshipped. I believed
Michael Summers likes to play safe. Even before when we were in primary school and decided to play hide and seek. He always hides behind my back and whenever I finished counting to a hundred, we’ll switch and he’ll be the seeker. But as I read his expression right now, I can’t help but judge him. “You followed me?” The words I spouted were full of spite, I can’t even feel I’m me right now, all I could sense was the color black and red. Back when I was a child, I was humming while walking and holding a white plastic bag in both hands, the road to our house was solemn, even though it was just nearing evening. There were funeral homes on the west road before I took a swerve to the right, I don’t like walking home alone but it can’t be helped, Ashton and Andrea were still small and need attention always. "What are you doing Harriet?! You should've searched for your real father, not gone into the woods and disappeared like that!" Michael was mad, and moments like how I handle this was
"Harriet! Where do you think you're going?" Michael roared. But I was unstoppable. I pulled out the bag we used for camping and walked toward the cemented road. "Anywhere just not here, Michael," I shrieked, tears spilling from my eyes. I crunched my nose when I felt Michael's pulling my bag. "Don't you dare stop me, you idiot!" I'm hauling my bag back but he was too, I thought about what the result would be. My clothes will be scattered on the ground.I gave my hardest pull and was ready to march away but stopped when Michael said something that was beyond unreasonable. "Harriet! You could live with me! I love you!" I could turn and face Michael to give a horrifying look but my feet feels like they were planted with stones on the ground. It's heavy, my bag's heavy, and my body feels like twice my weight. I don't like this feeling, I never felt the same towards Michael. I always looked at him as someone that has the same level as Ashton and Andrea. He was a little brother, my st
I know I told myself to forget this rotten house, but here I am. Living alone was never an option, I'm always used to waking up to family, drinking drip coffee with family, and eating with family, at home... Family is the definition of home for me, but now I guess I'll be living alone and going to strive hard to make the farmhouse liveable again. This time, I have to start all over again, I woke up feeling sore all over, the hardwood floor I covered with some of my long clothes was so cold last night that I thought I'm in a dream that only say the words: "come live with me". I must be going crazy who would want to live with me? Surely, my family's out on the choices. I was finding someone to blame, I could only think of them, they made me live here. My mom in particular, but there's no point on blaming the death, wasn;t it?I exerted all my muscles to stand and went to the kitchen. The floorplan was simple, there were two bedrooms on the second floor, a living room and a kitchen and
“I told you, you could stay with me,” he snarled and I almost imagine him transforming into his wolf form with sharp fangs and fiery amber eyes like what the people talked about. I blinked a few times and covered myself with the top I’m supposed to be wearing. I’m just wearing a black bra, what a wrong timing for him to barge at the balcony. “You mean, you’re the one who whispered? I’m not hallucinating?” He steps forward and I almost tore the top I’m holding just for him not to see any part of my body, well, it’s dark, and the moon just gives off enough light for our shadows, but I could still feel his breath fanning over me, it means his already in front of me. I bent back and my feet step on something sharp. As if it was a desperate call to avoid him, I remember I have a rendezvous with Audillon. “What do you want from me?” I faced him with the courage I muster up for years. “The first time we met, you made clear that I can’t take a step to your house forever, what made you thi