Downfallers: Marcia Skirvin's Melancholy

Chapter One: A strange girl

I was jolted awake suddenly. I opened my eyes and realized I was on my dad's back. We were in front of a big three story-house made of greyish stones and black roofing. To get to the door, we would have to climb a high stack of stone stairs, since the house was on a little hill. To the right of the house, there were neighbours outside gardening or relaxing. Behind the house, an enormous forest stretched for miles.

''Couldn't we have slept in a little hotel or something?'' My sister complained.

''Why? We had this beautiful house waiting for us!'' my dad answered. ''Are you awake, Sara?''

Ann snickered.

''Which one? They're both asleep!''

''No, I'm awake,'' Sarah argued, rubbing her eye.

''Barely!''

''I'm fine, dad.''

He dropped me to the ground. I looked around and saw a little car, some kind of taxi, with our bags in it. We probably used it to get here. I took my handbag from the small car and climbed the stairs. My legs already felt like chopsticks because of the ride, now they were barely strait at all, and the high stairs weren't helping. 

My mom unlocked the door, and we all went inside. The place smelled like new furniture. The kitchen, the bathroom, and the dining room were downstairs, that meant I had to go up another flight of stairs. Damn my life!

I went up and found four rooms and another bathroom. I hurried down the corridor to have the first choice for my room. I finally took the one that was in the back, facing the forest. It had a good bed, a little night table, and yellow walls. I put my bag on the bed and yelled that I'd found my room.

Shortly after, Ann came upstairs and took the room on the left. My parents took the biggest of them all. Since there was a spare one, they gave it to Sarah.

We all went back down and took our bags from the cart. It took a lot of time to drag one bag, climb the stairs, climb some more stairs, put the bag in the room, go down and do it again.

When we finished, everyone collapsed from exhaustion. Dad parked the car in the garage, and the whole family went to bed.

The rest of the week was dedicated to relaxing and exploring the house, but for me, it was texting with my boyfriend when he was too annoying.

We found out that there were an attic and a basement. The people that lived here must have been rich! I didn't know how mom and dad could afford to rent such a vacation house.  Ann ''shot gunned'' the basement as her headquarters, so I picked the attic.

The place was a bit dusty, but it was so big I could stand up and jump all I wanted. The ceiling was pointy, so I couldn't quite reach it.  A round window overlooked the small village and the inlet down the hill.

I played outside with my sister and Sarah sometimes. I read a couple of books and played with the dog. I even did a couple of hidden word puzzles in the newspaper I found on the porch each morning.

The next Monday, mom asked me to run some errands in the village down the road. It wasn't far from our house. 

''There are some bicycles in the garage'', my sister informed me.

I went outside and looked for one that was my height. The smallest one was a bit big, but I hopped on and pedalled down the road.

 It was an asphalt street that forked into two parallel roads, one on the left and one the right. I passed by some little shops, cafes, a cinema, a hotel, and a bank. I stopped there to ask where the grocery store was.