1 The Room of Pictures

With a long chilling squeak, the door opened as its orange rusted handle twisted--the pigments stuck onto my palms. The room was rather large with mahogany walls and brown mucky floor. No doubt, it was a library or a reading room seeing that dusty but polished shelves occupied with cobweb-covered books. Beside them laid a single wooden chair and with no table to pair which seemed a bit odd to my eyes. I went in further to attempt opening the window that sat near it. The floorboards creaked with each step I took making me feel that the corners of the room were watching me with their nonexistent eyes, listening from every hole in them and whispering to each other witch every taps in the walls. a gust of wind was ready to greet me by the opening of the dark framed window that opened harshly and banged itself on the wall outside. If I remembered correctly this was a three storied building and I was at the second floor of it so the landscape of the countryside could be seen more or less distinct; from the birds soaring in the sky to the children weeping inside their huts. I was supposed to come to this place with my 'friends', who I consider as mere acquaintances, but none dare venture with me. The idea of exploring an abandoned mansion from the other side of the lake must have been absurd and unheard of to them.

It was rather a challenge to get inside here as thick thorny vines dominated the entrance but a little work of knife led me through it. I moved away from the window and saunter towards the bookshelves that towered over me. I could not be called a fan of books in any way but I wondered what a book in a forsaken building appeared like. Most of the books were wrecked with spoiled covers and ruined papers that were unpleasant to the touch. It almost seemed as if the book itself would turn into grains just by holding it in my palms. A sepia colored photo dropped from a book as I reached to it amidst the thick cobwebs. A family stood there. A man, a woman and a set of twins. Thick layers of clothes adorned them in an intriguing manner that led to my conclusion of them being nobles. After all, their photo was in a mansion. "December 14, 1883" was faintly written at the back corner meaning that this was taken back in the Victorian Era and also meaning that this building I was exploring was centuries old. I put the thought of this mansion suddenly falling apart at the back of my mind and took the picture of the antique photo and put it back to where it belonged. This added life to my interest. What if there were also things like this in the others as well? I picked out a book in hopes of discovering another piece of photo. Lady luck probably showered down on me with her blessings because to my surprise, there was a photo stuck in one of the pages. The date was again, on December 14 but the year was 1888 which meant that five years had passed since the first one. Three unusual people stood there beside each other. A small girl in a maid's attire wearing a tea cup-shaped hat that covered her entire face; leaving only her small smile out. Beside her stood a woman who was holding a rifle on her right hand and a mirror on the left. She was looking at the camera with her chinned up that didn't fail to intimidate me and finally, a woman in a trench coat who had a raven resting on the side of her shoulders. Except from the little girl, the fact that the other two bore no smile was certain but would it not have been logical to smile since it was difficult to get your hands on a photo in that time? Well I was in no state to judge anyway. Also taking the picture of the photo, I set it back in its rightful place--in the depths of a forgotten book.

I glanced outside. Hues of orange and blue waltzed in unison in the sky indicating that it was late afternoon. Time to go back but curiosity burned in me immensely after I had just discovered the second photo and reckoned myself to stay a tad longer. It would be awesome to find out what more about this place and the things that had happened here. Then again, how was I supposed to do that if there were only photos of them which was the only evidence of their once small existence. I took another book from the shelf, fingers crossed to stumble upon another photo but there was none this time--only the tattered pages of an old hard-covered book that read "The Raven's Vengeance". A gripping name, I must say. The fourth book was no different than the third one--not a single photo or artifact was there. I got slightly disheartened. Would this spell the end of my exploration? I refused to succumb to that thought and picked out a book praying that I would find something. To my dismay, just the ragged papers were there to welcome me. To think of it, coming across two centuries old photos sounded like a million bucks so I could stay content at the end of the day.

Now that I have thought of it, how are they still intact after hundreds of years? Would they not have been perished by now? I sat with my back against one of the heavily dust coated shelves while my thoughts wandered off to how people would have lived here. The mansion would be filled with dozens of maids and butlers; ever so loyal, skilled chefs that made dishes that are out of the world, gardeners who had rough but delicate hands that made the flowers in glee. I took a deep breath and regretted moments later after a huge amount of dust went in through my nostrils that resulted in me coughing out. A strong wind howled through the window making it produce squeaky sounds that echoed through the room--disturbing my thoughts. I looked outside. The sun was minutes away from slumber and that meant that I ought to return to my house now. A little later than this and it would be extremely hard to get pass the lake--mostly because of my anxiousness. I took a flashlight out from my bag and went hastily down to the entrance I used to get in. Realization kicks in as I remembered that I had forgotten to shut the window from the room but I could not care much and thus, continued my way out. I had to take my steps with caution as it was a rather massive mansion and one wrong turn would leave to into trouble. I needed to mark my way the next time I return--hopefully. On my way, I could not help but stare at the furniture that were covered in thin white sheets. They looked like ghosts lurking in my way and watching me from the holes in them. Which seemed odd is that the shelves and the chair in the room I visited were not covered in any sheets but dust and how come were the books still there? It almost seemed as if the mansion itself wanted me to look into that room and which I gladly accepted. Though, it still sent chills down me.

My footsteps echoed in an empty hall with checkered floor a fallen chandelier reflecting the sunlight and creating rainbow speckles on the walls. As I was about to take my leave, I grasped a thought. It would be inappropriate to leave without paying my respects, right? After all, I was in an actual mansion. So, I spun around; making my bag on the side hit my back and made a curtsy mouthing, "Goodbye for today", and proceeded my way out.

It was not too dark to the point I had to use my flashlight, which I felt grateful of. I untied my boat, ushered my path to the other sided of the lake, and there I was; in front of the familiar small-scaled forest. Only beyond that was my house so I had no choice but to pass this landscape of trees. The forest was not the one to be crawling with pests and animals and thick trees that would limit my vison ahead. Instead, it was one that was peaceful with tall, slander trees and small harmless animals. The events today lingered in my mind and I debated with myself whether to return to that place or not. I was certain that I wanted to go there once more but my guts told me that this should be the end of my journey. Again, I was never an intuitive person now, was I?

Laughter and giggles of children and the chitter chatters of the adults ringed as I got out of the forest. I wanted to tell the others of what I had accomplished today but as soon as they had heard this, they might have wanted to come along with me and they would just be a hassle so, in the end, I decided to keep today's adventure to myself.

The village was mostly with very friendly and nice welcoming people-- who were also very conservative so I got along with them just fine for most of the time but there were times when I just could not understand the customs here that said men were only to be the breadwinners of a household. Women can do just fine too. But it would have been just a waste of effort to share those thoughts because they were people who had held that tradition for all their lives and the lives before so they would just found me as an outsider who was blabbering nonsense and who was trying to break their traditions and cultures. In the end, as much as I dislike it, I had to get on well with it. It was only a short stay here after all. I walked fast to my great aunt's house; ignoring all the commotions happening around. I was feeling rushed today. It was a lovely two storied stone house that great aunt Margaret lived in--it looked warm and welcoming. The walls outside were surrounded with plants of all sorts that I could not identify. It was like living in a cottage purely from fairy tales. But the reason why I was here was no fairy tale.

"Care to tell me about your adventures today, Marceline?", great aunt Margaret questioned as she added her finishing touches to her all-time delicious blueberry pie that just came out of the oven hot and aromatic. She was a woman in her fifties who had a heart shaped face with wrinkled eyes and mouth and a pointy nose. She was a crafty and gentle person but at times, she could be really strict with bedtimes. "There is no pill better than a night's sleep for the body and soul" she would oft times say with her index pointed upwards. "I went into the forest and searched for the fae", I answered in dishonesty. I did not wish to tell about my exploration to the mansion. "What am I to do with your little energetic soul?" she pondered in a frown as she placed her pie on the table. She knew that there was no chance for her in stripping me from my fondness of adventures and explorations. Especially here in this place. "I am just making my stay here worth it", I chuckled and bit into the  said pie. "Just be careful, you", she sighed with a small worried smile.

Truth to be told, I did not have a clue of how long I was gonna be here. Dad was sent to his grave last year Christmas and mum was in an unfit mental state that appeared to worsen and my grandparents were not confident enough in themselves to raise a child my age properly--at least that was I thoughts. They do sent me gifts and letters from time to time. So, here I was having the said "short stay" with my great aunt. There was not anything to lose, honestly. I did not believe I had a strong bond with my parents apart from my dear friends who I missed gravely.

Night time had fallen shortly after I had arrived back here leaving us with the dim light of a candle that softly illuminated our faces. "Don't stay up too late dearie", great aunt Margaret reminded me as she walked away from the table. "Sure thing", I answered lightly as I took my final bite of the pie.

I stayed at the table with my face rested in my palm lazily; an unfinished plate of pastry laid in front. A small ticklish feeling crept up slowly on my right arm. A glance at it revealed the culprit, or should I say culprits--ants. A trail of them carried pie crusts on my arm and another trail on the table. All worked harmoniously in teams. Just like how families were supposed to be ( according to great aunt Margaret). I kept on watching them. How their antennas collide with each other to communicate. How the bigger ones helped the small ones with the crusts they were carrying. Would I be treated the same way if I were to be one of the ants? Instead, I became a human who knows not a single trace of what a proper family was or how it was supposed to be. I kept being in denial that I was perfectly fine without having a good experience with one but seemed like I had been exposed by mere ants. I wished I understood what others felt when they were with their 'beloved' and 'irreplaceable' ones. I shook away the thought, stood up with the remaining pie in hand to store it in the fridge for tomorrow. The thought of crushing the ants came across my mind seeing them so much in unity. My hand went to them. But before I could have harmed one, I stopped myself. It was ridiculous and irrational to do so. It was time to head to bed.

One of the greatest things about staying here was that I could see the flamboyant beauty of the stars that filled up the night sky that never bored me. I wondered where the people in the photos were right now. Were they in heaven? Had they been reincarnated onto this Earth again? Or were they still in the mansion, roaming as spirits? I guess it would not hurt to pay a visit there again.

An owl hooted in a distance soon followed by the flapping of wings strangely made me felt like sleeping. "Until tomorrow", I quietly mused to the mansion and blew out the remaining light from the candle--making the light of the moon shone down through the window and got my ticket on the train of slumber.