“Are you at your Grandpa’s place? How is it? You didn’t call last night, I almost wondered whether you got lost in the mountains.” Nina's joyful voice continued sounding through the speaker.
“No, I found it. I’ll be staying here for this weekend at least and then see how I continue.” He paused and glanced to the stairs down the mountain. “Say, did you know we have a second path up the mountain? One with stairs, even?”
“Hmm? No, I don’t wander around too much.”
“It was almost right at the beginning. A fork in the usual path to the temple.” They had been there several times already because it was a beautiful spot. She knew the way, as well.
He heard her hum in thought.
“Is it a forsaken road?”1Total nonsense. This doesn't exist, or I managed to think up an actual fairy story without ever having heard of it before.
“What?”
“Oh, it’s a story from home. It’s a spirit road, you could say. A second road that forks off a normal path, that humans aren’t allowed to take. It’s called a forsaken road because only those that aren’t human or not alive can safely walk it. Sometimes people can see it, but most of the time it’s hidden.”
“Are you really believing that?”
“Thinking that everything we know is the only truth is the arrogance of humanity.”
Fel found himself stopping his words. Nina’s words rung true enough, especially with everything he had seen in these past hours. His neighbor was starting to influence her with her mindset. (No wonder, they hit it off quite well.)
Saying that it was impossible only because he had not seen it before, wasn’t that arrogance? Did that mean that only because he had never heard of an animal before, it didn’t exist?
It was true. The world did not work that way.
There was indeed the chance that things were possibly and simply out of the scope of human’s senses, like certain colours were for the sight of animals.
“Alright, am I cursed now?”
“Nah, if you’re still alive by now, then you should be safe. Probably. Hey, what do I know?”
He heard a soft sigh through the phone.
“I have to go to work now, but please write to me once in a while, okay? I don’t feel overly comfortable with you up in the mountains in some freaky house. I know it's your grandpa's, but please be careful out there alone.”
“I will. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Fel hung up with a conflicted heart. He was tired and weary. Honestly, all he wanted was a nap. At that point, his face was already quite pale from exhaustion. Nonetheless he forced himself to press on another number. It rang so long that he almost hung up before the other person answered.
“Sorry, I was doing my nails”, another female voice greeted through the phone. Contrary to Nina, she was clearly annoyed and her voice held a hint of haughtiness that Fel couldn't help but notice.
“Hey Yve. How are you?” Fel drew a smile on his face even though she couldn’t see it.
Despite his gentle greeting, he only heard an irritated huff. “How should I be? You’re on vacation but rather than coming over, you are spending your time in some old house.”
“It’s my grandfather’s last will, Yvonne”, Fel justified himself.
“So, one day, maybe! But what about the others! You should've come over.” Towards the end, her tone changed from annoyance to soft whining.
He knew she was acting. The annoyance was her true mood but she changed it to sound less aggressive.
The fact that she did not realize that she was overdoing it was causing him an even worse headache.
It took hours to drive to the mansion. Hours to get back to either his apartment or his parents’ home, from which it would almost be a whole day to get to her. He wouldn’t have a single quiet minute if he not only went to the house but also stopped by to visit his father - as he had promised ages ago - and then continued on to her.
Not to mention he would be constantly driving.
“I promise I’ll come over during my next vacation. Don’t you have two weeks off next month? Why don’t you-”
“There’s a festival during that time, I can’t leave. Anyway, come over soon, okay? I miss you…” Her soothing, loving voice did nothing to cover up the truth behind her first sentence.
It was one day of fourteen. He knew she simply did not want to pay the train fare and sit in a wagon full of people, even if it meant seeing him and staying at his place for several days. She was like that. She never realized that she asked much more of others than she herself was willing to give.
He closed his eyes and pursed his lips. When he opened them again, it was only a slit to glance at the wilderness before him. A green-coloured blob. “I miss you, too. I’ll try to see when I can take the next vacation.”
Her voice turned happier. “You better! We could go on a trip with my friends.”
“Yeah. Well, let’s talk about that then. Talk to you later”, he responded softly.
“Bye”, she chirped back and hung up.
He stared at the phone.
She wasn’t the prettiest out of her friends and not the most successful, either. Out of all of them, she had the most stable relationship, though.
Six years.
He treated her well; much better than her friends were treated by their respective boyfriends. He was always watching out for her, was a gentleman and carried her in his hands. He was always focused on making her happy and ensuring she wasn't bothered by anything.
It had worked very well, back when they were still living in the same town. He hadn’t felt that there was a difference in what they were giving each other.
Then she moved for her job.
With both of them having well-paying jobs, neither wanted to move to another place and they agreed on it. But in time, her demands for what he had to give up for her grew and grew alongside her unhappiness of being compared to her friends. She wasn't the prettiest, or most intelligent, or the richest. But Fel had always thought she didn't need to compare herself in that way at all.
Fel’s heart ached. Watching their relationship twist and change like this was painful, but he couldn't find the heart to end it yet. Maybe it could change. He locked his phone.
“We are not that different, Dad”, he muttered into the wind and placed it away.
Rubbing his face, he stared at the sky growing brighter.
“I should get some sleep”, he grumbled, walking back inside. Next to the office were private quarters that looked very normal and, fascinatingly enough, looked freshly renovated. Nothing looked used at all.
“Even the bathroom is modern”, Fel said to himself as he stepped inside to brush his teeth. He felt like in a hotel. It kind of was.
For a while, he worried about being unable to sleep, but once the curtains were drawn and he was curled in a blanket, his consciousness faded away easily. Too much had happened these days and his body was welcoming the rest with open arms.
He slept soundly. The only dreams he had were vivid colours forming pretty swirls around him. When he woke up, it was sometime noon.
Better rested, he stretched and made his way to take a shower. Possibly Areus had even placed out soft towels, and the huge bath was like an oasis. Fel dragged his shower endlessly, relaxing under the hot water. Only after that, when he was fully awake, did he leave his office to go find Areus.
“Slept well?”, the cat greeted him amicably. He sat in what was like a little living room. Judging from how the visitors had behaved, this was a private area for the owner and invited people.
“Unexpectedly, yes. I just woke up.”
“And came here right away? What’s up?”
Fel joined Areus on the sofa and leaned forward to rest on his knees. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. “In… In the story that this show is playing, what is the explanation of that Gatekeeper?”
Areus’s ears twitched. They were longer than a normal cat’s, a bit like a squirrel’s.
“The mansion that is a station between the worlds needs someone to manage everything”, Areus began slowly. “Accepting guests, like you did. Be the owner. Originally, that did not need to be a human. In the beginning, it was open all the time and only once in a while would the owner need to check on things. Someone else was doing the main work.”
“The Gatekeeper?”
“Yes. There is one for every waypoint. However, the Gatekeepers are their own persons and have their own thoughts. The one living here… Well…” Areus' whiskers flickered. He licked his paw and dragged it over his face.
“What happened?”
Only after a long silence and a deep sigh did Areus tell him the truth. “Frankly speaking, one of the previous owners pissed him off so he stopped working. That owner is long dead, but it seems he hit a huge sore spot. We don’t know too much about it. He still refuses to talk to me or the owners and throws out anyone else.”
Ooh. He was getting a bad feeling.
“You mean I have to convince a very angry man- ...person- ...whatever without knowing the original issue?” Fel pulled a face. This wasn’t going to be very easy. Especially not if he didn’t know how the other thought of humans.
“It will be fine?”
“I… don’t think it will be.” Fel rubbed his temples and thought about it. The Gatekeeper was the only one who could take his place in working. If he wanted the mansion, he couldn't leave it alone. According to the gameshow setup, if he did not use the mansion as a hotel, he wasn't allowed to keep it. That was an unacceptable thought and frankly speaking, he really liked this place. There weren't many options. “Can I try meeting him once? To get an idea on what he’s like?”
“We can try if he’s willing to see you”, Areus replied after a short, thoughtful pause. “I would have waited another while for you to get used to everything, but then again, there's no difference now or later. Besides, he still lives here. Did you notice that there is a way to access the attic?”
Fel shook his head. Areus meowed, then jumped up and moved towards the stairs.
Thank you
Thank you for the chapter.