Immigrant girl

Chapter 10. Anya.

"Welcome home, Princess. A.D."

Home? Is he completely out of his mind? God, give me the strength to endure these three days. I took another look around the bathroom, maybe this joker left more "sweet" notes for me somewhere else? It seems there's nothing. Alright, it's time to find the bedroom. I think it will take me a long time because the guesthouse was really huge. The entire first floor was occupied by this luxurious bathroom and a bright, spacious, modern kitchen connected to an equally bright living room with two large sofas, four armchairs, and a large dining table.

Exiting the bathroom, I looked to my right and saw a staircase. So, the bedroom is probably upstairs. I slowly climbed to the second floor, and the wooden staircase creaked slightly under the weight of my steps. Upon reaching the top, I found myself in a long and wide corridor with numerous doors. Damn it, what's this, Fort Boyard? I began to open the doors one by one. Behind the first door was a library, with many built-in bookshelves, large and soft armchairs, and a small fireplace. I went further. Behind the second door, I discovered a billiard room with a perfectly stretched green cloth on a custom-made billiard table with massive wooden legs. Beautiful wooden cues hung on the walls, and billiard balls were neatly arranged on narrow shelves. Living in style, no doubt.

The next door revealed a not-so-large bathroom, a toilet, and a spacious shower with a glass door and a large square showerhead. Where is that darn bedroom, my God? Wait a minute, in such a big house, there can't be just one bedroom, so I think I can occupy any, I'll stop in the one I find first. And just behind the next door, I found a cozy, small bedroom. Well, there you go, problem solved. I walked in and closed the door behind me. I looked around, and my gaze fell on a mirror above the dresser, with a note. 

"Wrong choice, princess. Keep looking. A.D."

That bastard! Inside me, a hurricane of emotions raged. I was angry with him for deciding to play games with me, but on the other hand, I was intrigued. Until now, my life had been boring and joyless, filled with monotony. I was just trying to survive in this big, dangerous, and unfamiliar city. Now, I stood in the guesthouse of the Russian mafia boss, reading his notes on the mirrors. Up until this moment, I hadn't even realized how much my life had changed. Just one evening had turned everything upside down. It's so damn strange. From the very first day I arrived in this country, every day spent here was a struggle just to live normally. And now, perhaps the moment had come when I could relax a little. 365 days of continuous struggle, hadn't I earned three little days of rest? Maybe I should just pretend I came to a spa, sleep, eat, and, of course, make use of this indecently large pool. My mood improved. Well, let's play along, Dovlatov, since you started it first. I swiftly left the bedroom and continued my search. Two more doors led to bathrooms. Why on earth were there so many bathrooms? Were Alex's guests so dirty that they couldn't clean themselves up? I laughed out loud.

Opening another door, I found myself in bedroom number 2. It was decorated in dark tones, and the curtains were drawn. It was so dark that I had to squint to see anything. There was a large double bed on high legs, a writing desk, a big television, and a dresser with a mirror. Well, the designer of this guesthouse didn't excel in creativity. Maybe, in the past, they had worked on projects for expensive hotels. On the mirror, I noticed another note. My heart started to beat faster. You are very spoiled, Anya. I took the note in my hands and brought it closer to my eyes.

"Princess, the search continues. A."

Alright, Mr. Mafia, let's keep searching. There aren't many rooms left. I felt silly, but I even enjoyed it. There were only two doors left. I went to the one that was farther from me. Stopping right in front of it, I froze. Was this the end of the game? I pulled the handle and opened the door. Bright light hit my eyes, and for a second, I even had to shield them. When I found myself in the room, I gasped. The brightness came from the panoramic windows that offered a breathtaking view. Through the windows, I could see all of Los Angeles at my fingertips. In the room, there was a large bed surrounded by sheer white curtains, bedside tables with tall crystal lamps on either side. Across from the bed, there was a massive floor-to-ceiling mirror that almost covered the entire wall. The floors were wooden, a beautiful dark red color. In the corner of the room, I spotted a round table with a vase of beautiful dark red peonies, a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries, and a note leaning against the vase. I walked over, looked at everything, and couldn't believe that all of this was arranged for me. The note had "To Anya" written neatly.