The Patient

10. IMMENSE

A breeze pushed past her and a rotten smell filled her nose. She almost choked on her next breath. She covered her mouth and nose with one hand  , suddenly feeling sick.
Then the breeze shifted after a time, bringing sweet fresh air and clearing her head and lungs, and easing her queasy stomach.
She looked further ahead for her walking companions, and seeing no one , she looked back and gazed at the cliff far behind her. Then she turned, confused.
Hadn't she already passed the right turn? Maybe she was distracted by the marine sights and the flowers and butterflies and didn't notice her companions turning right awhile ago... She started to backtrack the way she had come . A small trail appeared between the ferns and led around and over the cliff   farther up the coastline.She followed it slowly, cautious of  the uneven ground she'd  been travelling on. There were no footprints on the trail, and her mind reeled. How long could she had been climbing up this trail? How much farther must she go to find people? What if she fell? What if nobody could hear her?
Only when her arm brushed against the worn wood that she noticed the fence built along one side of the ascending trail, and went halfway around a tight grove of trees.
It was when she came out of the Grove that she faced a sight that made her stop on her tracks.
A grandiose mansion stood beyond the trail ,  spread out in what she could imagine used to be old world opulence. It was badly faded and nearly falling apart, with a railing that only had a few rungs left. Various spots in the sidings had broken away completely, leaving crumbled splintered piles of wood framing its foundation.
But it was the view that amazed her completely!
The majestic building stood on cleared section of the land, facing the Pacific coastline, with almost a 360.degree view of the.glorious ocean.
From it's  current vantage point, the cliff was considerably lower, and a wood and rope trail could be seen at the edge , as if the climb down to the beach was merely a few minutes stroll...
Weenie's heart was beating hard as she had become giddy with excitement.
The massive house was incredible and so obviously abandoned. Perched between the ocean and the woods, like absolute perfection..
To imagine gazing out at that panoramic coastline every sunrise and sunset, at the Hillmark cards like view was like a dream she can never fully conceive.
Only now, it blazed in her mind and surged through her veins. Her head reeled as she realized the implications of her thoughts...
" But I've  been to this place before!
I was here, "
And then in her mind, she saw her parents holding hands and looking up at the same hulking structure once upon a time... But when had she herself been here before? She hasn't even been conceived when they left from this ancestral home...according to their cousins...as told by their cousin's parents.
Then a vision of two lovers  in a tryst hidden among the grove of trees came to her once more.
Then a dizzy spell caused Weenie  to topple slowly down unto the clump of grass where she previously stood.
And this was where Mindy and Keith found her a minute later, sitting and gazing wonder eyed  at the vast ancient mansion.
And Mindy and
Keith gazed in awe, too, and together  exclaimed, " Wow! Soo--IMMENSE !
(*£*)