In Your Clutches

Part 30: High-Five!

AMELIA

The clock was about to struck midnight. This meant that the whole house was silent. This also meant that everyone was sleeping, except for me. I was wide awake, and I didn't know why. I missed my dad. Yeah, that could be the reason. It had been ages since I last saw him. It felt it so. And the last time I did see him, we couldn't even talk, or hug or do anything that we used to do.

I couldn't understand Asher. It seemed to me that we were on quite good terms after that dinner date, and I hoped for it to be the same. But, ever since that night, I had hardly seen him. From what I assumed, he would wake up early and arrive home late.

But tonight, I'd intended to have a talk with him. I was going to ask him to give me the right of talking to my father. And why would I even ask him in the first place? It was my right. But I had to ask him because my husband was very different from other husbands.

Getting up from the bed, I aimlessly strolled through the long and gloomy corridors of the mansion. I walked past the huge balcony. It looked beautiful at the night. It seemed as if balcony grew from the walls of the house as generous arms from a host, or perhaps those of a mother to cradle her infant child. The metal had a patina of ocean greens and blues, or perhaps it was more the hues of a mossy forest floor in softened moonlight, yet either way it was beautiful.

I reached the end of the hallway and then down the stairs, walking past the kitchen into the living room. It took a moment for me to realise that I was still walking and had reached a wooden door in front of me, and surprisingly, it was open. Rufina came out from inside the room, carrying a large stack of boxes in her hands, struggling with the lock of the door. What was she doing in this late hour?

"Need some help?" I asked.

She flinched. Hard. And the boxes fell, the items from a few of them spiraling out. I couldn't see clearly in the dark, but it looked like cloth, shiny rolls of cloth, probably silk.

Ooh, so that was why all of her dresses seemed so unique. She got them custom made.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, Amelia, sei tu! Non sgattaiolare mai più su di me in quel modo."

(Trans: Oh, Amelia, it's you! Never sneak up on me like that again.")

"You scared me, child." She whispered, wiping her forehead and smiled, and knelt down to recollect her stuff. I bent down to help her but she did it quicker than me.

"Uhh... do you need some help?" I asked her again.

"No, it's fine-actually, yeah, do you mind locking up this door while I keep these boxes up in my room?" She said, handing me the key.

"Oh, I'll do it right away." I replied but she was already on her way up the stairs. I was about to lock the door, but then my curiosity got the better of me, and instead of simply locking the door, I went ahead. I turned on the light switch and entered inside.

It was dusty and looked old. It looked like the only room that didn't feel as if it were a part of the lavish mansion. I wondered where Rufina got the silk rolls of cloth from, in this dusty place. Moonlight streamed in through the large glass windows, allowing me to make out my surroundings.

The first thing I saw was a dresser, the items on it caught my attention. A large vase-it was made of clay, handmade, with lots of intricate patterns on it. It was cracked, from the bottom.