Savanna

Chapter 21

We were there in no time. Jake's house was exactly like I remembered it - not that it should have been any different. The building in the middle of the forest in the center of a small circle-shaped clearing wasn't very big, having more height than width. It seemed to have only two floors according to window placements, though I wasn't sure as the house looked a little higher. Probably an attic or something, I thought. The clearing around the house was pretty much empty, no decorations or even trees closer than the thick line of forest surrounding it.

I noticed that in some ways Jake's home reminds me of Rudy's. He, too, lived in a seemingly abandoned area in the middle of nowhere. But his house was a lot bigger. Also the land around it, where you could fit God knows how many more houses like that. But their garden was empty, too, which I had found weird at first, considering the large family and children. I wondered if it had something to do with them being a family of zebras. Maybe they needed space to run freely or something.

Jake parked his car next to his mum's little silver Audi, which suddenly felt so worthless next to the Chevrolet. After stepping out from the car, we headed towards the front door, me keeping close to Jake as if fearing another hyena attack. The door wasn't locked when Jake opened it, so I assumed we weren't alone.

And I was right. "Jake?" I heard Claudia call out from the room to our left as we stepped through the tiny front room and into a humble kitchen. As you could guess from the outside, the rooms weren't very big. Even the windows seemed kind of small, leaving the house dim-lit. But otherwise, the place looked very homey; it had this warm feeling to it. It didn't need any expensive decorations or furniture.

"Who else," Jake called back casually. He motioned me to go on and as I did, I realized the kitchen was connected to the living room. That was where I heard Claudia's voice come from.

"Your friends came by here again," she said. I saw her sitting on a small couch in front of the TV. At that moment she turned her head. And when she spotted me with Jake, the expression on her face was suddenly turning into fear and concern.

"Um, hey," I spoke up quietly.

"I already met them today," Jake replied to his mom as he came next to me. Then he, too, noticed how Claudia was exchanging looks between us two. Realization hit Jake and he explained, "Me and Selina are getting along just well. She agreed to come." He paused. Then, "I have good intentions."

I recognized then what he meant. As far as Claudia was concerned, Jake had wanted to kill me. Maybe she didn't know yet that things had gone better, somehow. I nodded to confirm Jake's story.

His mother nodded, too, slowly, but remained concerned. I couldn't even imagine what a mother would feel, knowing what her son is capable of.

"Come, let's go upstairs," Jake told me, turning around. I saw the staircase at the far corner of the kitchen. It was in a small room of it's own, behind a door frame without a door. But even so the little space was much darker than the dimly lit kitchen.

Before we headed over there, though, he suddenly stopped in front of the sink. Sticking his face under the tap, he began drinking the pouring water as if he'd been thirsty for days. At that moment I thought maybe at his own home, away from humans, he might show more of the animal that resides within him. Maybe I shouldn't feel so calm about coming here? When he pulled back, he smiled, seeing how I was staring, and signaled me to follow as he continued towards the stairs.

I was calm. I couldn't explain it, but I was.

Second floor had a semi-long corridor, reaching all the way to the other side of the house as I could tell by the window at the end. I followed Jake past the few doors until he came to a stop in front of the one in the far end. He opened it, and I immediately noticed this was the largest room I'd seen in the house so far. A bedroom. Most likely Jake's. The walls were a dull creamy colour, no posters, no pictures. In the far right corner was a bed, a little bigger than a usual single person bed. Under the window at the right side wall, next to his bed, was a table which only held a laptop, nothing else. The left side wall was covered in shelves. I saw loads of CDs, some books, small stones, and a lot of stuff which seemed to hold no meaning, like small wooden figures, feathers, interesting craftwork, trinkets and so much more. There barely was a free space. A little closer to the door stood a small closet and a cupboard on which was a tiny LCD TV. And only one thing left to mention. Something that definitely wouldn't go unnoticed - a huge crooked tree root in the far left corner of the room. It was all scratched and damaged.