Quieter than usual

Next morning, Ann woke up by soft chirping of birds like music to her ears which brought a smile on her face. Opening her eyes, she looked at the right side of the bed and noticed Adlina was already gone. Ann's eyes moved to the clock, it was past seven thirty in the morning.

Stepping out of the bed she padded towards the window, streching her hands she opened the window and greeted by bright and warm sun rays. Unlike yesterday, it's a bright sunny day with clear sky.

Going to left corner of her room, behind the wooden divider where the bathtub was already filled with fresh water, she took a quick bath. After taking bath, she slipped in a long dark grey dress & left her wet hair undone.

Reaching downstairs, she noticed her father is home and was sitting on a chair, his legs crossed, near the window sipping tea while reading one of the many postcards laying down on the table. Going to her father, Ann greeted, "Good morning pappa and gave a quick peck on her father's cheek. She asked, "When did you returned home papa?"

Smiling at his daughter's usual gesture, Edmond replied, "I left from Jame's house early in the morning and reached home by seven" and asked Ann, "Did you had good night sleep dear?" knowing about her habit of reading till late night.

Ann replied, "Yes pappa, I did. You must be tired from the journey you should rest for a while." and her father nodded in agreement.

Hearing her mother's voice from outside, Ann leaned towards the front window and saw her mother talking to their neighbour, Mrs. Miller like every morning. Going out, Ann greeted her mother & Mrs. Miller, "Morning mamma! Morning Aunty!"

Hearing the crackling sound, Ann looked behind and saw Adlina enter through the small wooden door which is aligned with the boundaries of the house! Curiously Ann asked her sister, "Where did you go this early in the morning?"

Pushing the door backward, Adlina raised her right hand which was holding a transparent umbrella with small pink flower printed on it while she walked towards her sister before replying, "Ahh... I forgot your lucky umbrella at the farm yesterday, so I went to fetch it up for you as today might be your first day at work!"

Smiling at Adlina, Ann said, "Yes but first I need to talk to papa about it", to which her mother replied, "I have already talked to Edmond and he is delighted to know you found what were looking for".

Unable to hold her excitement, Ann's face brightened up and she said, "Then let's go to the Antique's Shop after breakfast to talk to Mr. Herondale". Althea and Adlina chuckled at Ann's excitement.

After breakfast, Picking up her brown bag and umbrella, Ann remarked, "It takes about forty minutes to reach Mr. Herondale house so we shall leave now Adlina!" Her father nodded in agreement. Althea and Edmond wished Good luck to Ann before bidding goodbye to their daughters.

On their way to Antique's shop, Ann made a quick stop at the church before continue walking. Adlina said, "Ann, Why is the town seem so quiet today?"

"Isn't Haselburg always quiet?" Ann stated the obvious.

Rolling her eyes, Adlina countered, "Well yeah but it's Sunday for god's sake Ann, there should be atleast a little hustle bustle in the market".

Looking around Ann thought in her mind, "Haselburg does seems quieter than usual today!!"

Upon reaching the Antique's store, Ann and Adlina were greeted by Matthew, "Ms. Anneliese! Ms. Adlina! it's nice to see you both". Looking at Ann Matthew asked, "Are you here to look at the antiques Ms. Anneliese?" Knowing about the girl's interest in historic artifacts.

"Ahh No Mr. Matthew, we are here to talk to Mr. Herondale!" Ann politely answered.

Matthew acknowledged with a nod and said, "Father will be here soon till then why don't you both look at the store! I went to the Capital city and brought some new Antiques which were stocked yesterday."

Hearing this Ann's eyes lit up and she turned to her sister. Giving a mischievous glance she said to Adlina, "You should go look at the Crystal section Adlina, Mr. Matthew can help you find the stone you were looking for! You know for your the pendent you wanted!!"

Before Adlina could protest, She heard Matthew, "This way Ms. Adlina" gesturing towards his right.

Ann decided to roam around the shop while waiting for Mr. Herondale. The store resembled a small bookstore, the only difference is, here, the wooden shelves are stocked with different variants of antiques instead of books. Taking her time, Ann's feet moved across the rows, each separated by the next shelf. One after another, Her crystal blue eyes looked at the antiques with an expression of Aww. Her feet paused when she noticed an unusual book. She has never seen a book like that before. The book had a brownish metal cover with a small blue pearl at the center and a blue stone at the middle right corner. Unable to hold her curious mind, She reached for the book and lifted it up in her hand. Fascinated, Holding the book in her left hand, she moved her spare hand over the book feeling its unusual texture. When she touched the blue stone while lightly pressing it, The stone went down startling her! Her eyes narrowed before widening as the closed book started to illuminate blue light resembling the colour of her eyes!! Hurriedly she place the book on the shelf and the book stopped illuminating blue light. Ann stared at the book with astonishment when she heard a voice, "Ohh it's you Anneliese!" She turned to her right and saw Mr. Herondale standing at the staircase, She stared at him and wondered if he saw what just happened!! Realizing she has been staring at him, clearing her throat Ann bowed at him before saying, "Good morning Mr. Herondale. I'm here to talk to you about the job you offered!"