THE CRYSTAL HOUSE

¶Adoption Tales¶

October 22nd, 2021

Eryk

Eryk woke to the sound of music. He glanced around his room, where his roommates, Mareike and Ingrid, snored lightly. Outside the window a few inches above him, bright stars lit the dark clouds and shone on the wet window sill. Dew didn't start until the early hours of the morning, so he must have slept through the rain only to be woken by a light melody playing upstairs. He wore the thick coat provided by Mr. Han and padded his way up the stairs, ready to admonish the cause of the disturbance.

At the lounge upstairs, he met Priya in a position he would later describe as 'private'. She faced away from him towards the kitchen, her ears covered with headphones connected to the stereo beside the wall TV. She wore a T-shirt over a bumshort, slightly more conservative than her regular outfits, and gyrated to the beat of the music constantly changing her moves.

The longer Eryk stood and watched her, the more he forgot what he came upstairs for. By now, he had forgotten to tell her about connecting both devices properly so it wouldn't disturb anyone else. Sleep was pushed to the farthest corners of his mind, leaving space for one thing: the oblivious girl dancing to an audience of one. In a way, she reminded of the times when Grace's mother constantly danced to please him but one move of Priya's was far more interesting.

She pumped her arms and legs occasionally jutting them forward, she rolled her head in her hands, she flung her hair wildly, and at a point she moved her waist so much that Eryk recalled the Indian movies he had seen. If her way of speaking and manner of approach confused him, her dance moves certified that she was an Indian girl.

When the music finally stopped, Eryk was still staring at her so he had no chance of escape when she turned to him. Eryk knew a shocked face when he saw one, most of his employees had that expression when he announced he was downsizing but their faces didn't hold a candle to the girl's.

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, the sparkle of her honey brown eyes illuminated by the white light in the room. She folded her arms and took a step back, watching him carefully.

"How long have you been standing there?" She finally asked, cocking her head. Her facial expression and the calmness in her tone didn't fit at all, but the combined effort now had him feeling guilty.

"A while now." He shrugged. Eryk tried to convince himself he wasn't wrong for watching, after all he didn't ask her to back the lounge door from where anyone could walk in.

"So you saw me dancing?"

Eryk nodded, and looked on as she quietly disconnected the headphones and kept them on the stereo. She moved to the kitchen and sat down on a stool, busying herself with staring at the guy opposite her.

He took that as an invitation and moved forward, sitting across her.

"I can't sleep during the rain, and tonight I couldn't sleep afterwards so here I am." Priya offered.

Eryk looked at her, he saw no trace of anger or annoyance for him at all. Still, he had to apologize for intruding.

"I'm sorry for walking in, and not letting you know. That was rude, but the music woke me and I came up to see why it was playing so late." He explained, offering her a bag of chips as a sign of peace.

"I don't really like this flavour, too bland." She dropped it into the box beside Eryk, and picked one with a red bag. "I didn't realize it wasn't properly connected, sorry. I just wanted to work myself to exhaustion."

Eryk smiled. "It looked like a good workout, you seemed to be enjoying yourself."

At that, she made a face. "I was, until I remembered Mother."