The Inconspicious Twist of Fate

C11 - P2

More yelling came before the barking diminished and the door opened again.

"The dog's gone now agapi." Eulalia said, the remnants of a laugh on her thin lips.

"Sorry." Isolde apologized sheepishly as she peeked over her shoulder. "Not a fan of animals."

"So I've noticed." She laughs, her words laced with a greek accent. "Come on in."

Isolde gingerly steps into the warm house and looks around.

It was big, two stories, with enough windows to make it seem like the ceiling was floating. A strong scent of spices and fruits floated in the air. The decor was colorful and lively, filled with pictures, drawings, medals, and certificates to tell the family's story. The overall style was Mediterranean, focusing on the colors white, blue and light wood. Despite the sophistication of the ornamentation, nothing seemed extravagant. The lavish sofas were humbled by years of siblings fights, family gathering and cuddle sessions with the dog, that wore them out. Scribbles could be found hidden in the corners of the walls, on tables and even on the curtain, and if you looked closely enough, you could even spot some cracks here and there.

"Finally!" Atlas appeared down the stairs. From one of the glass sliding doors in the kitchen, came Octavius.

"Hey Isolde!" He smiled at me.

"Show Isolde to your sister's room Octavius. You can drop your bags in there agapi." Eulalia said as she waltzed into the kitchen, reminded by the incessant beeping that she had something cooking in the oven.

"Is the demon out of the house?" Isolde questioned as she climbed up the stairs behind the boys.

"Apollo is in the garage, yes." Octavius chuckled.

"Can't we just throw Isolde out there in the cold and bring the poor dog in?" Atlas perked up, receiving a smack across his leg.

"Don't worry, Apollo has a warm house in there  with enough food and water for the rest of the night." Octavius reassured him.

After Isolde was shown to Marguerite's room and Eulalia made it known that dinner would soon be ready, the bunch headed outside.

It was on the brick of dusk outside, the sky a gradient of navy blue, black and purple at the horizon.

Loud laughing erupted behind Isolde who was too busy staring at the sky. She turned to see Octavius clutching his stomach as he laughed so loud the neighbors peeked out their windows. Her gaze shifted to Atlas, who had a frown on his face, arms crossed. On his head was the ugliest hat she'd ever seen, it's long tip stiffly hanging at the side of Atlas's head.

Isolde started laughing herself, staring wide eyed at the epitome of the grinch standing before her and Octavius. The latter hung onto her, trying his best not to fall over as his breath ran out from all the laughing, and soon enough the two wobbled around the front yard, snorting which only made them laugh harder.

"What." Laughing. "W-what the hell is." More laughing. "THAT!" Wheezing.

The two continued guffawing as Atlas grew progressively as red as the hat on his head.

"I see nothing funny." He stomped his leg against the snow, pointing his nose into the air.  "That's the only option I had left since Salem tore my beanie to shreds."

Isolde had never laughed that hard, especially not over something as dumb as the red hat with the long peak, pompom and Christmas illustrations on its earflaps.

Suddenly, Octavius's face was full of snow and his laughter had ceased replaced by a stupefied expression. Isolde looked up just in time, dodging the snowball aimed at her. Her quick thinking moment was short lived though, as a snowball hit her right in the side of the head. It exploded into tiny particles of snow which found their way into her ear.