THE CRYSTAL HOUSE

¶Mareike¶

Mareike bounced her toes in delight and stood up from her seat, gliding towards the window to her left as she fixed her gaze on the new scenery.

A wide set of small mountains arranged in sets of ascending order danced across her eyes as the vehicle moved forward. Thick blankets of snow covered their peaks, further beautified by streaks of blue dandelions perched on the tops. It reminded her of the cake she had every afternoon at home; vanilla cupcake with a blueberry on top.

Her stomach grumbled in response to her thoughts, and she left the control room making her way up the stairs. She stopped at the lounge to check the time; two a.m. The girls and Femi would be long asleep, so with no one to help her in the kitchen, she picked up a candy bar instead and turned on her heels moving downstairs towards the vehicle main's control in the game room.

She slowly descended the stairs, holding the rails for assured stability. It still felt surreal that the whole house, and all its parts could stay the same even as it glided between worlds. She did not even know what its outside parts currently looked like, and a small part of her still expected it to crash with them inside it.

She met Tihan rapidly pacing back and forth on the empty platform typing on his laptop with one hand, and she carefully sidestepped him giving a soft smile as she took his seat beside Ace.

"Is there any problem?" Ace addressed her, keeping his eyes on the constant scene ahead.

"No, not really. Are we there yet? I noticed the scene changing a while ago."

She watched as he clicked a green button on the control panel and wheeled his chair to face her.

"Technically, we are. But these are just the outskirts of Meissa. I'll be sure to tell you when we arrive."

He stood up and stretched his arms, giving Mareike a small view of a taut stomach beneath the checkered shirt. She blushed and looked away, the mental image replacing Marcello's in her memory.

"I'm going to get some food. Care to join me?" He offered, smiling down at her.

"I have got this, but thanks for the offer," she replied, holding up the candy bar still in her hand.

She heard her stomach cry out in protest and immediately darted her eyes, covering her face with one hand.

"I'm cooking, if you like."

"I very much like that," Tihan said, dropping his laptop and falling into step beside Ace. He looked at her and added, "You should taste his food, it's so good."

Mareike leaned forward expectantly, "Alright. But who is going to watch the controls while you are busy?"

As they advanced further away from her, the silence quickly overshadowed his voice. "It's on autopilot mo–"

She shrugged and looked around her, marvelling at the sights of the unfamiliar world. The mountain range looked larger now, closer in view from the wide glass panels on each side of the vehicle. It directly towered above them, and would do so for miles, making the flowers on top of the snow covered parts more visible. The star shaped petals of each one spread widely, revealing a single yellow stem within that stood proudly.

In front of the vehicle, Mareike watched as gold specks started to fall outside decorating the front glass and the sides. Immediately, a whirring noise started and she looked on as a wiper cleared them, leaving faint traces of the material.

She looked on in fascination when it happened all over, happy she was awake to watch it. When the others had retired to sleep, the scenery was just the same as it had been when the journey started: thick forests filled with deafening silence and large thickets of bushes. Quite ordinary in everyone's opinion.