The Circle of Secrets

Chapter 2: No Place Like Home

I took a seat next to the huge, tinted windows and noticed every crack and cranny. To say that this house was old was an understatement, it was beyond ancient. And that was it's charm. It was old and yet if you let it, it would consume you totally into it's embrace. And yet it was incapable to embrace my flaws and my thoughts into it's open arms. I felt like a stranger in the same four walls that were supposed to be my safe haven.

I forced my body to get up with all the strength I had left from the tiresome night. As I strolled down the large hallway, my fingers caressed the pinkish wallpaper and the realizations of being a kid were flooding back into my thoughts. I remembered running down these same hallways whilst my dad chased me. My dad used to be so loving and caring, but then one day he just woke up and acted as if I were just another stranger. Maybe he realized that it would've been easier for me to hate him than to love him. I mean, he left anyways.

I stopped by the last window right before the stairs and thought of the last time I saw him. It felt like he was really there. I approached the window and caressed it as though it were my father.

He was one hell of a man.

My eyes were getting weary and soon tears were falling. I hadn't noticed them before, but now that I had. I was angry. I was so angry. I was angry with myself, with my dad, with the world.

Why did he hate me and why did he leave so quickly?

This anger has always been in me, ever since that day my dad woke up and forgot about me.

As for my mother, she had always been the same. She never smiled, she never laughed, she never was happy.

To her, having money was everything and if you had money, you had status and power. To my dad, it was a weakness and maybe that's why they were so good together. She kept him in check and he did the same. They were like glue and stuck to one another no matter what.

They were never happy at home, but out in public they had to put up a show because of their reputation. Oh, the things reputation makes us do.

The window had always been a crack open and let out a tight breeze from it. This hallway has never seen warmth, even during the summer. Even on the good, lively days it was cold and dry. No one would ever come up here, except grandfather and I. To be frank, all my good memories of father were in fact in these hallways and I was the only other person who would even come up here.

When my father forgot about me, these hallways would bring me pure bliss and joy,and fill up my heart in the place where everyone else thought was the empty, cold side of our ancient home.

This window has always had some charm to it that always drew me near it. Even before my dad's change in behavior, after it, and during his death. I was up here nearly everyday, but now I feel this is the only connection I have to my father and it makes me want to throw something through the glass and shatter it into a million pieces. But, then I think about my dad and how he lay in his bed and I just want to bring the window close and hold it so tightly to my chest. And forget about everything else. 

My raspy hands went over the outline of the window once more ... "ouch" I half screamed as red color gushed out of my finger. Red Col- "Blood, it's blood... wait, how am I bleeding." I moved my hand out of my way and saw drips of blood on the brown window seal. I was a little shocked that I had been so careless and deep in thought to not notice a prick of sum sort.

All of a sudden my blood started moving around. I don't know if I was seeing things or if I was really going crazy, but the blood that had dripped on the window seal was moving. First it was going around in circles and then it went it all four directions as though it was blood running through someone's veins. It had a mind of it's own. I rubbed my eyes continuously, just to make sure if I wasn't seeing things. Because I often saw unusual things, but this seemed so insane. After it was done roaming around the whole window seal, it went up the window all coming from different directions, and then all of it fell into one big pile in the center of where it all started.

My feet acted on their own and moved back as though possessed. But, my mind wanted to see what the hell was going on as I approached the window again. A loud thud, caught me off guard. And I jumped back at least two feet from the starting point.

As I averted my gaze to the window, something else caught my eye. The wall next to the window started moved and I was really double questioning my insanity right now. It was slowly moving aside and there was an opening to something inside as though it was a secret passage leading to somewhere. I moved forward into the darkness and found my self lost in it. Utterly and completely without knowing if this was reality or not.

I stepped into the unknown and feared the worst.