Through the Valley

Greetings

Spring 🌦️

Chapter Four

Along the pounding river was a large and impressive house;  just up the dirt path, away from the village. In the past I was not allowed this far up the mountain- Grandpa always said it was best to stick to the farm and town. I had assumed he feared that bears would make a meal of me but up here the trees were not dense, instead the layout felt open- Nature pushed away when building this home.

Lew had asked me to visit Robin first.

But I was unsure what to expect. Robin was a newer addition to Pelican town- Well- New to me. As far as I could tell the only people left from my time spent in the valley was Lewis, Harvey, Pierre & his family, George & Evelyn and Gus.. Everyone else was long gone.

I hesitated when reaching for the silver handle- A dangling sign on the red door encouraging me to 'Come on in!'. When I did I was greeted by Robin, Standing behind her counter, whittling something she quickly hid under the desk. It was oddly comfortable; warmed with potted plants and a sweet dose of cedar.

"It's farmer Aspen!" She grinned, her hand beckoning to someone in the next room.

Demetrius, Robins husband, was a cheerful man. They had been married for over twenty years and blessed with two children. And by children she meant two grown adults.

Maru was the spitting image of Robin, topped with Demetrius's fine skin. She was enthusiastic to meet me, even wanting to show off her newest inventions. But I assured them I was just making some rounds.

"I doubt Sebastian's coming up mom.. He's in the middle of work." Maru reminded. His name gave me a strange and unsettling feeling in my gut, even though I was positive we hadn't met.

"Well maybe we could head downstairs so you can be on your way Aspen! Don't want to keep you waiting!" Then a small bell rang and Mayor Lewis was waving Robin over. She gave me an encouraging pat and I prayed she couldn't feel the sweat layering under my shirt.

The rest of my decent had only enhanced my anxieties. It was cold and dark; seemingly devoid of life. My knock was met with a groggy

"it's open."

A far cry from Robins welcome, but an invitation nonetheless. I was surprised to see that the room was just as homey and warm. The same wooden beams guarded the walls; a rough honey color that matched well with the simple washed out rugs. I didn't see him at first, just the nauseating sound of a keyboard tapping away and a familiar smell of smoke.

"Oh-" His tone filled with amazement. "We meet again." Sebastian smirked from behind an old monitor. It came back to me; his lips on mine, our tongue melting together.

"Come, take a seat.. I'm almost done for the day." He gestured towards a torn, black loveseat pressed against the wall. I obeyed all too easily, wishing I had started anywhere other than here. In an attempt to calm my bleating heart I drunk in the space.

He seemed somewhat into fiction- a similarity I could not deny. Only as I hoarded books he carried trinkets from what seemed to be movies or games. A small shrine of large headed figures added an extra layer to a man I had not remembered correctly at all.

For starters I hadn't pictured him to be any type of computer nerd- But here he was typing away on an old white monitor; one excavated from prehistoric times. To his left another, only this one was set up with headphones and a gaming controller. It was also dinged; a victim of time with a barely visible label left on its control pad.