THE EYE (on hold due to editing)

PIZZAS

     The next riddle involved the tactile screen once again, I knew that this riddle was for me. I had to prove them that I could do it. I had to solve it to feel a little more confident.

     The odds were apparently in my favour, it was a play on word riddle - just like I love them - and it seemed to be an easy one. Aidan did not even finish reading the riddle that I was already walking forward the screen to solve it.

      Once near the screen, I took a step back realising that I did not have to prove anything to anyone. I got myself here, in that house, which meant that I belonged there already. We were a team, the three of us, we had to solve riddles together. Aidan tried to help me, therefore I could not be selfish.

"Rearrange the letters to make one word: NOR DO WE." 

"Any guesses?" I asked and Aidan smiled at me. As weird as it might be, I knew that he - somehow - was proud of me. 

"Maybe we can count the vowels first." Ambrose offered. "Or count the letters. I can spell a little bit, I can spell my name, but-"

"Or maybe we could let Nolah do it." Aidan winked at her. 

"Wh- Really?" I asked.

     He smiled and nodded. Ambrose agreed too.

     I began to touch the screen and rearranged all the letters to form one word - therefore: NOR DO WE = ONE WORD. 

"Easy as pie." I shrugged my shoulders.

     Sometimes, what happens with riddles is pretty simple. You don't search for the answer, you let it come right to you. Don't think, don't try, let the magic happen and the answer will appear right before your eyes. 

     Aidan smiled once again, standing behind Ambrose with his hands on her shoulders - another feeling of deja-vu made me feel dizzy. I had this weird image of him standing behind a little girl in a school. It looked like she was having her first day of school and he was with her. The image faded away as fast as it appeared. Still, I had this feeling that I knew Aidan from somewhere. I knew some stuff about him, things that there was no way for me to guess. 

     The melody came from the TV once again.

"You've now solved five riddles, a small reward is waiting for you in the basement."

      All right, I have to admit that being happy and excited to go to a basement was a little bit creepy, but on the other hand, I felt safe. I had this feeling that nothing would happen to us if we were to follow the rules. 

     We let go of everything and ran towards the basement. None of us needed a map, we all knew that the door of the basement was in the kitchen, near the fridge. The key to the basement was kept hidden underneath its doormat, but it was always open. The light switch was not inside the basement, but in the kitchen, blocked by the fridge - we had to stick our fingers behind it to turn the switch on. I did not know how, but I knew that it always drove the owners of the house terribly crazy. 

"After you."  Aidan smiled and faked a British accent. 

     I chuckled and walked through the open door. We had to be careful because the fourth stair was almost broken - they were made out of wood and it was old and destroyed by moths. How the hell do I know all these things? I should have asked myself that simple question, but it barely crossed my mind. 

     As I remembered, the basement was a bigger place, but someone hung a bunch of white sheets from the ceiling, considerably reducing the surface of the room. It had the shape of a T, a small hallway leading us a slightly bigger place in the shape of a rectangle. In that small made-out-of-sheets room was a lonely table waiting for us, there were a few pizzas on it.