Breathtaker

Chapter 3

The old, unstable staircase wobbles under our feet as we make our way to the second story of the house. Outside the sky is a pale orange, highlighted with pink strokes. The dinner bell will ring any minute, we had to be quick.

“This is a horrible idea.” Leigh comments as we continue upstairs, carefully stepping on the fragile stairs.

Rosetta rolls her eyes. “We’re just checking it out Leigh. Don’t be such a baby.”

Leigh opens her mouth to reply, but I give her a stern look. She catches on and decides to concentrate on the stairs instead, her eyes trained on her own steps.

We know better than to argue with Rosetta. We’re pretty much used to her comments by now and we’ve come to accept it. It is part of who she is. Plus we also know that most of the time she hardly means anything by it.

When we reach the top of the staircase, we all pause for a while, observing the long hallway in front of us. There are about five doorways, all leading to separate rooms. We decide to check out the first one.

It’s smaller than the usual rooms, dark and gloomy. A partially broken table balances itself on three legs in the middle of the room. On one of the bare walls hangs a skew family portrait, framing a picture of a little girl and her parents.

Her blonde locks are braided and fall over her right shoulder naturally. Her blue eyes are making direct eye contact with the camera in a challenging manner. Her eyes hold a hint of mystery, as if she knows something no one else did.

“Guys, take a look at this.” I whisper, without knowing exactly why. It is just something about this house and the belonging in it that demands respect. Almost as if we are standing on sacred ground.

The other three come closer to get a better look.

“It’s the same girl from the story.” Leigh says, confirming our questioning thoughts.

“This must’ve been before the accident. She still looks happy here.” Marilyn comments, tilting her head as she studies it.

Rosetta pulls a face. “It’s sure doesn’t look like she’s a nice girl. Look at her eyes, they look like ice blocks… and that facial expression?”

“And yours is so much better?” Leigh asks; disapproval in her eyes.

Rosetta doesn’t bother to answer, just turns around and walks over to the bookcase. Leigh gives me a knowing look and I just shrug in response. We are used to Rosetta and her ways by now… but it still causes conflict sometimes, especially since her manners go against what Marilyn and Leigh believe in.

Marilyn always sees the good in people, not believing in bad intentions. Leigh is factual, believing a person should get to know someone before judging them. Rosetta tends to skip that path and directly tells someone how she feels, without blinking.

I am pretty much the middleman, not on either side. Not on Rosetta’s side, because she tends to take things too far. I’m not on Leigh’s side either, because she has a tendency to take things too serious.

“How come they didn’t take these books along with them? It’s quite a collection, must’ve been worth something.” Marilyn says, standing next to Rosetta as she slithers her fingers around a book and pulls it out.

She brings it over to me, already paging through it. The thick book is covered in brown leather and printed on it was a single word from a foreign language. Hechizo.

“What does that mean?” Marilyn asks, pointing to the title. Her green eyes narrows as she reads it over and over, but there doesn’t seem to be the faintest sense of recognition.