Holocene

The Bestfriend

How the house was described from the website did not give justice to the magnificence of the place, at all.

It's a 20 hectares' beach front property a small cottage that was big enough to accommodate a family of 5 or six. Even with its size, the house is not overwhelming at all. One could easily see that instead of impressing with size and extravagance, the owner is most concerned in making sure that the occupants will feel at home and at ease with the place.

The property is well kept, the flora and fauna in the garden has all the kinds imaginable and much more. And don't get her started on the beach, it indeed has the perfect view of the sunset – her favorite part of the day. She could spend her whole day just lounging at the beach and she will never complain for the rest of her life.

If Dei was at awe with the pictures from its website, she fell in love with the actual place. Only if it will not cause a serious dent to her savings, she does not mind staying there for a long period of time.

With a place as beautiful and as peaceful as this one, Dei does not need a couple of weeks to recuperate. But hey, beggars can't be choosers. She was given two weeks break and she is milking it for all it's worth.

"So here are the keys to the house and to your bedroom. The property has a total of 3 guest rooms all with their own bathroom. The master's bedroom as you have read in the website is off limits, but the rest of the house is accessible." The kindly housekeeper handed over to her the house keys. "The sunroom opens directly to the garden while the library is overlooking the beach. The fridge is fully stocked, should you need anything else you can use the intercom, I'll be staying at the cottage a few meters down the road."

Dei was not really listening though; she is already busy plotting in her head all the activities (or non-activities, like err sleeping) she could do for the next two weeks. She could spend her days in the beach soaking the sun, then she can probably go explore and admire the beauty of the garden, her nights can be spent in the library going through all those wonderful collection of books that the owner has amassed.

Or maybe not have a plan at all; she's on a vacation so she should stop all these planning. Now, she's just really excited to get this whole thing started.

"Thanks Joseph! This place is really beautiful. Those pictures from the website does not give it justice at all."

Joseph was the elderly caretaker of the property. They didn't have much time to talk yet but from the short time that they got to know each other, she found out that he has been with the family for decades now.

When the owners left, he was tasked to take care of the property where they vacation to from time to time. That's until 3 years ago when the old Faulkerson couple had passed away from old age. The only living heir then decided to rent out the house for vacationers like her.

"Thank you. The owner is actually very hands on with keeping this property spic and span. He used to spend his weekends here from time to time whenever they are here in the country. But he got busy with work, 'it would be a shame not to use the house' he said, so he decided to open it to public – or at least a part of it." Joseph wistfully said, "OK, I'll leave you be. I'll just be at the cottage a few hundred meters away from the house if you need me."

Dei's eyes followed Joseph's outstretched hands that are pointing to this quaint cottage where he spends most of his time. It's not too far from the house but far enough to give the occupants of the house the privacy they need.

"Sure. Thanks Joseph!"

//

After settling down and taking a quick nap, mostly because the 4-hour drive exhausted her, Dei immediately proceeded to the beach front and laid her things in one of the lounge chairs but the shore. She left the book she brought and beach bag by the small chair before taking a dip in the water. She spent most of the afternoon by the beach, and only decided to go back when the wind started to get a little bit chilly.