Deeper Blue

IV

Edgar really had a lot of plans for the house. He intended to spend the whole day thoroughly cleaning it. There was so much dust, dirt and grime piled up that after carefully crossing the building's detached threshold, he immediately choked on the scratchy, unpleasant air. How did his plans turn out? Basically bland, or at least not as he had planned.

It started with problems with the coachman. For the boy, it was logical that since the man got money for transporting Lynx and his belongings, the man would help him carry the things at least to the terrace. Not only did the man not intend to help, but he ostentatiously pulled out a pack of cigarettes and watched the boy's struggles while smoking one cigarette after another.

It took him quite a while just to carry the stuff home. Carrying loads on a hot day was a really exhausting task, and the boy was not used to even such a seemingly simple task. In doing so, he had to be careful not to drop any of the packages. While carrying things from the dirt road to the house, he took short breaks to catch his breath and gather strength for further struggles.

After bringing things inside, he was already hot and tired, which did not herald the imminent completion or even the start of work on the house. Of course, the provisions had to be arranged in places out of reach of the sun, so that these could remain fresh longer. Unfortunately, as a matter of fact, regiments and creaky old cabinets also needed a decent scrubbing. The boy's motivation to carry out his plans thus diminished with every passing moment. He delayed the realization of his duties for several minutes, strolling around the building. He also used the time to open the windows and let light and fresh air in. However, as much as he didn't want to do what he had imposed on himself, he knew that the longer he delayed, the harder it would be to get everything done before nightfall.

The boy knew that today he definitely had to clean at least the kitchen and the bedroom. After all, he didn't want to pile food on tons of dust and dust. Nor did he want to wake up the next day dirty and bedraggled after sleeping in a dusty bed. He consoled himself that basements are mostly always dirty anyway, so he would be able to treat this place with a pinch of salt. As for the living room, this one was modest in size, so he decided to take on cleaning it the next day. There was, of course, also a small bathroom. Edgar figured that since it was in a remote area, he might as well wash up in a bowl of water outside. Moreover, the bowl was, for obvious reasons, much smaller than the bathtub. Less space, equaled less water, and this in turn minimized the possible chances of slipping and drowning, or in a more optimistic version, choking on the water, the excess of which the boy was running away from.

After a few hours, as the sun began to approach the horizon, in the now tidy kitchen Edgar managed to stow most of the foodstuffs in the cabinets. Now the room looked much more accessible, cozier. The daunting kitchen was even asking to start preparing meals in it. Edgar was looking forward to breakfast prepared in the polished kitchen. Before that was to happen, however, there was still a lot of work ahead for Lynx.

He wasn't entirely satisfied with his pace of work, especially since his initial assumptions were quite different. He was already supposed to spend the evening on the terrace, sipping a cup of slightly cooled dark tea. Meanwhile, he still had to clean up the bedroom, which he knew he would not escape from. So he set off up the steep stairs to the top and immediately set about scrubbing the bedroom floor and wiping the dust from the furniture with a damp cloth. Tonight he would sleep without a quilt, since he didn't want to sleep in unwashed sheets. This one he intended to brush out in a bucket of water early tomorrow morning. The weather did not herald that any rain would fall soon, and in the hot sun the laundry should dry in no time.

After some time, the lynx was relieved to sit down on the floor and wipe his sweaty forehead. While the whole room looked relatively good, Edgar himself was now covered in dirt. However, this was a measurable price that the boy was willing to pay without a second thought. With each movement of the broom, with each new layer of dust wiped away, the cozy echoes of home were revealed before the young adult. Almost half of the work was already behind him; he was to finish the rest after he woke up.