Celestial Worlds

Chapter Seven

The ride to Northern Heights is about an hour.

Jonathan drives the pick-up truck and Debby says she ride's 'shotgun' but I've learned that it means you ride on the passenger seat.

I'm still not used to Mortal slangs.

When we pull up the driveway, I open my eyes and rub the sleep from them. I turn to my right and see a huge house. Not Grand Monarchy huge, but Mortal house huge. There's a huge gate that has been covered with vines. The house doesn't look creepy. The house looks new and freshly painted. There is a wall that runs around the perimeter of the house and I can only see the house through the tiny gaps of the barrier. The house towers over the gate far behind so I get a half overview. The house is charcoal black and marble white. Debby parks outside and she goes out. She opens my door and lets me out. I hurry over the gate and clutch the bars, wowing over the huge, amazing mansion. I scan the surroundings from left to right. They all look different but they are equally breathtakingly beautiful. In Angel Country, the buildings are made of marble. The floor are made of marble, the pillars, everything. It is amazing to see colour again. Suddenly, I'm aware of the beautiful boy standing next to. I turn to him and find him smiling at me.

"You like it?" He says looking to the house and me.

"It's not like it's mine. But, in case you are wondering, yes. I like it very much." I want to live here, I tell myself, but that's asking for too much. I frown at myself. I let go of the bars and walk to Debby. I envelop her in a bear hug. She hugs me back and we stay like that for a moment. "Thank you so much for letting me stay with you a while longer," I say clutching her tighter.

"You can stay here as long as you want. I told you, I'm cool with it." I finally let go and thank her for one last time. I run back to the bars and clutch it again. I inhale the sweet wet smell of grass.

"No hug for me? I own the house too you know," Jonathan says jokingly, clutching his heart for dramatic effect. I laugh at that and step toward him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He's stiff for a moment, but then he relaxes. "I was only kidding you know." He says while smiling. Jonathan is amused. I let go and leave five feet between us.

"Oh." I laugh nervously and hide my face in my hair, hoping he won't see my face turn into a tomato. Debby steps in, shattering the awkward steam in the air. She holds two boxes that stack up in her hands. She fiddles with the key so I grab the first box so she can see clearly. She smiles at me and she successfully unlocks the door. We follow her to the front door that is brown and has a lion knocker attached to it. We enter and I'm surprised I haven't dropped my box. The inside is much more beautiful than the outside. It bursts with class. The walls are covered in cream paint and the floors are covered with red carpeting. The walls are covered with paintings of people, places, and other things. I think about the Orion painting they had retrieved from here, it was signed at the back in dirty brushstrokes 'Carl'.

I also need to find that person and retrieve a painting that I can hang up on my dorm walls.

I rush to the paintings and brush them lightly with my fingertips. Jonathan and Debby are already upstairs; probably unloading whatever was in those boxes. I admire the thick strokes in the canvas. The strokes, if looked closely, were painted carelessly. But when you see it as a whole, it makes perfect sense. It looks so impeccable even to the naked eye. Am I like a painting? I sift through the other contents of the walls. There are masks, native probably, and frames. I rush to the fireplace, unlit, and look through the picture frames. I see a young Jonathan with the same silky hair and those forest eyes. I also recognize Debby who looks like she's fresh from a 1970's painting from a museum. I also see a man who I don't recognize. He must be Jonathan's father. He possesses those green eyes that Jonathan inherited rather than Debby's grey ones. Although Jonathan inherited his beautiful hair from Debby rather than the gold hair his father had. They could be mistaken for a royal family. They look so happy, so comfortable, which, for a moment, makes my heart ache. Why couldn't I have a normal family? Can Mortals really miss something they never even had? How would it feel when you had a mom who'd buy you clothes or brew you bitter-sweet coffee, or a dad who would crack jokes and try to braid your hair? Someone to tuck you in at night or someone who'd tell you bedtime stories...it threatens my eyes to cry.