Haven

2. Fresh Start

Sunlight pierced her eyelids and Norah rolled over, opening her eyes.

She’d forgotten to the close the curtains the night before and she squinted, seeing the cliffs in the distance. She’d been exhausted as she lay down last night, she’d drifted off before she could worry about unpacking the car. It was the best sleep she’d had since the Daniel incident. She couldn’t decide if it was due to exhaustion or the adulterer bed being so comfortable, but she wasn’t about to complain.

Rolling out of bed, she walked over to the window, stretching the kinks from her neck and looked outside. The large cliffs were the first thing she saw; intimidating, they reached their peak at the ocean line and then slowly descended back down towards the road. The forest covered the top and it was at least a five storey drop to the beach. Long grass grew in the area between the house and the cliffs, the different shades of green creating a pretty collage.

Looking further left, the grass stopped and gave way to golden white sand. It was filled with contrasting black rocks which seemed to accumulate closer to the cliffs wall. The sound of gentle waves was calming and a small smile began to form as for a brief moment, her worries faded away.

Opening the window, the salty air wafted in and she walked into the kitchen, opening the window above the sink which had the same view as her bedroom. Upon further exploration last night, she had discovered that the bedroom sat opposite the bathroom which was tiled from the floor and halfway up the walls which were a faded white. A large old tub stood near the far wall, a shower head protruding from the wall. The wall opposite the tub was a large glass block window, the natural light ridding any need of overhead lighting during the day. Norah was desperate to have a shower but the tub needed a little maintenance before she dared step foot in it. Much of the house was in need of cleaning and so she decided to put the shower off until the house was more tolerable to live in.

The laundry was in a small room just outside the back door and she was grateful she wouldn’t have to buy a washer and dryer. A large cupboard lined the wall near the backdoor and it had a few changes of linen which smelt mouldy. Everything would be getting washed today. At least she’d brought some linen of her own so she would have a clean towel for her shower later.

Walking out to her car, she started the long process of dragging everything inside. It took an hour to pile her belongings on the small kitchen table and by the time she was finished, her body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Grabbing a suitcase, she took it to the bedroom and changed into some clean clothes. She felt better, after wearing the same clothes for three days. If she was going to mingle with the locals, she didn’t want their first impression to be that she smelt disgusting.

Spraying half a can of deodorant over herself to mask the lingering smell of sweat, she tied her brown hair in a knot at the base of her neck and finding a notepad in the kitchen, took stock of what she needed to purchase. At the top of the list was cleaning supplies and she added some food, only writing down the essentials. She’d worry about filling her pantry once she was settled in. Once the list was finished, she grabbed the home phone to ring Alice. She’d shut down her mobile account, afraid Daniel would be able to track it, so now this phone would be her only life line to the world.

Finding Alice’s number from her emergency contact list, she dialled the number. She knew Alice wasn’t fond of her being without a mobile, but Norah wouldn’t be deterred. On the fourth ring, the call went through.

“Ray Jones speaking.”

Norah smiled at his mannerism. “Hello Ray Jones, speaking this is Norah Jacobs speaking.”

“Norah!” He sounded relieved. “Alice will be annoyed she missed your call. She’s just gone to the library. Did you have a safe trip?”

She played with the phone cord. “Yeah, there were no problems.”