Wild Creatures

Chapter 138

A-Yuan goes to put the ball back on the porch before they leave, and Wei Ying watches nearby, waiting for him. Heathcliff is nowhere to be seen, and yet he gets a sense of what the owner was talking about before, about the house being semi-sentient.

Not like a spirit as such, but just a presence that doesn't really want things to change, and Wei Ying feels a kinship with it. He thinks the house might not mind small changes that align with its upkeep.

The ball rolls into its spot, tucked away in a coiled green hose.

From this distance, the exterior of the house looks like a face, with the two broad windows resembling eyes, and the main door was like a nose. The porch itself represented a mouth and to Wei Ying, it felt like a warm smile. It was rather endearing.

Wei Ying remembered watching a children's film a long time ago called, Monster House, and this whole situation reminded him of that. This house didn't seem to be malevolent or sinister in any way, though. In fact, one could say the house was reaching out to them.

"We're definitely coming back," Wei Ying murmurs, giving it a little wave with his fingers.

There's a sudden breeze and out of nowhere, one of the vivid pink pansies growing in the hanging basket floats towards him, all by itself.

How cool...

**************

Lan Zhan expertly reverses their car and drives upon that narrow path, immediately noticing how much smoother this exit was than when they had first arrived. Nevertheless, he heaves a sigh of relief when they return to the country lane.

It feels as if they had entered some kind of time warp, where inside that bubble containing the house that had captured Wei Ying's heart, time had been reluctant to move on, and all remained at some kind of standstill, struggling to shift forward. Now that they were back in the real world, everything chugged back into its own space like a wind-up toy gathering momentum.

"So, what did you think of Heathcliff and his house?" Wei Ying asked Lan Zhan, when the children appeared to be distracted enough not to notice what the adults were speaking about.

Lan Zhan takes his time to answer.

"It's a nice house. It certainly has character."

Wei Ying snickered.

"I liked Heathcliff. He was quite straightforward. Honest. I think we should go back soon." Lan Zhan continues. "But we forgot to exchange numbers."

"I think that part was on purpose," Wei Ying says, looking out of the window. "You know how sometimes you can meet someone and instantly, there's a connection? Not like us," Wei Ying hurries to clarify, reaching over to hold Lan Zhan's hand. "And I meant the house, about the connection. I can't explain it, but I think it would be a very good thing to go and live there."

"Mn." Lan Zhan is surprised to find himself agreeing. "Before my change," he keeps his voice low enough so that the chattering children behind them can't hear him, "I would have found it difficult to believe anything of what we just experienced."

"And now you do?" Wei Ying's tone was full of approval.

"Mn. It is good. To have one's eyes opened, to not see things just on the surface but deeper."

While the whole spontaneous meeting of the man and his home had been odd, the strangeness of it wasn't bad, but rather welcoming.

"We should go back soon." Wei Ying squeezes his hand.

"Mn. Maybe tomorrow."

The rest of the drive is uneventful until they park in the underground parking area. Both of the adults are nervous as they walk into the courthouse, parents on either side of the children, all holding hands.