Defeat of Sybaris

The Sighting

The meadows shot past the window of the car. I sat at the right side of the car and my brother at the left. Normally we would fight, except this time, we did not. There were two reasons, one explaining the other.

There was a big pile of luggage packed between us and we were nervous. 

We were moving to our new house. My brother and I both had not seen the house yet, but my parents have visited the house multiple times now. When they announced that we were going to move they had already transported some of our stuff, so we saw it coming.

I'm excited to move. I had the smallest room in the house.

The landscape changed. We drove into a landscape filled with hills. We drove past meadows and farms filled with flowers and crops. There were pine forests in the distance. There were few houses spread across the countryside.

The twilight began to rush over our heads. The road before us glowed white in the car's headlights.

'Are we almost there?', my brother asked my mom.

'Yes almost.' She answered.

Finally. We had been driving for almost three hours without breaks.

'How long?', I inquired.

'Ten minutes.' My dad said after checking his phone.

Ten minutes. That is do-able. I just have to entertain myself for ten minutes. I return to looking out the window. Normally I don't complain as much as I'm doing right now. Usually I love looking out the window, listening to the low humming of the motor and daydreaming. However I was tired, and I had been woken up by the low quality of the pavement several times.

'We're here kids!' My dad exclaimed.

The car took a right turn into a lane with bushes on the side. The car stopped in the middle of a path of pebbles. 

There were two houses. The first one was white with vines growing on the sides. It was difficult to see in the dark, but the roof had orange rooftiles. From what I could see the garden was filled with plants. White roses on bushes and burgundy red flowers grew everywhere. I could see a simple wooden fence in front of the garden. The second house looked like the first, except the garden was grey and withered. 

'This is our new home', my dad said, proud. He was pointing in the direction of the second house.

Great. I thought. 'Looks pretty good' I noted, which wasn't a lie. I just hated the garden.

We grabbed our first load of luggage from the car and walked towards the house. We still had a lot to unpack. 

We followed the gravel path to the dark green door of the house. My dad opened the door. The inside of the house was empty, as the moving truck would arrive tomorrow morning. 

I stood in the hallway with a moving box full of my possessions, waiting for my dad to open the door to the living room. My brother stood next to me, a box in his arms as well. My dad opened the door. There were boxes on the wooden floor, a lamp without lampshade in the corner and the walls were painted a soft yellow. 

I went upstairs and into my new room. After I turned on the light I put down my box and sat on the mattress next to the radiator where dust was gathering. With my pocket knife I opened the box and took out my book. 

I put down the book. I did not have the concentration to read. I was tired after the car ride and it was late. 

I walked towards my window and looked outside at the house on the opposite side of the pebble glade. 

A light came on. 

That was the first time I saw her. The love of my life.

A girl was standing in front of the window.  She had short blond hair that fell just to her shoulders. She appeared to be talking to someone and had her back turned to me. The girl turned around and her eyes met mine. She smiled and she waved. I carefully waved back. Then the girl looked over her shoulder and back at me. She smiled apologetically and signed that she had to leave. The girl waved one last time and then the girl was gone.