Tales of Elderbrooke

The Twins' Beginnings

"Does this town seem a little... odd to you?" whispered Alice.

She and her brother were busy unpacking their items after their family's big move from Baltimore. Their parents, Charlotte and Vincent, claimed the Maryland city was getting far too dangerous and crime was supposedly spreading into the neighborhoods. Many other families around their neighborhood had up and left over the last few years and it was time for them to move on as well.

So, sixteen-year-old twins, Alice and Oliver Donacello, packed up their lives and moved across the country to the forested and dreary Pacific Northwest. The house their parents chose was an old Victorian-style home with three stories including a basement. It was large enough for Alice and Oliver to have their own rooms with two additional spare rooms for guests. They did have to share a bathroom but it had dual sinks with a shower and a large bathtub. Charlotte and Vincent had the master bedroom located on the main floor while the rest resided upstairs. The home was located just outside city limits with the nearest neighbor being at least a mile away. A deep, dense forest surrounded the house and tucked it away from civilization. The nearest town, called Elderbrooke, was nearly forty miles from any other population and the town itself seemed to be stuck in a time capsule from the 17th century. Their mother, Charlotte, called it quaint, but the twins referred to it as spooky. Hardly anyone seemed to be around when they drove through the previous afternoon. Their father, Vincent, joked that it must've been a religious town since the previous day was Sunday. The only issue the twins noticed with that notion, was that they hadn't seen any churches. Nonetheless, the family wrote it off and continued on to their new home. Onto their new beginning.

Oliver sat on the couch that was left by the previous owners, exasperated from their afternoon of chores. He and his sister had been unpacking for hours and still didn't seem to be close to finishing.

"It would be nice if Mom and Dad would at least help us with some of this unpacking," Oliver muttered bitterly.

"Like they told us many times before they left, they went to find a grocery store to buy us food. Ya know, the thing that we need to keep us alive," Alice replied rolling her eyes as she opened another cardboard box. They had brought some road trip snacks and made a last Walmart stop in Bellingham for some perishables. On the maps of Washington State they studied during their planning phase, they noticed there weren't many municipal towns anywhere close to where Elderbrooke was presumed to be located.

"I know. But still," Oliver said as he kicked a nearby empty tote, "Who knew we had so much stuff? Like does Mom really need this?" He picked up an item off a side table that was oddly shaped and made out of brass. It was some sort of sculpture that resembled an insect. Oliver twisted it around trying to make sense of the artwork but gave up. He called it junk, but his mother always loved it.

"I do sorta wish Dad would've cut down on some of his book collection during the move," Alice said while sliding the last few encyclopedia-sized texts onto a massive shelf. Two giant floor-to-ceiling bookcases flanked a large wood-burning fireplace in the living room. Both shelves were filled now with texts of different sizes and subjects. Vincent has been an ecologist for the last ten years and studied a variety of plant species over at least twenty. He also fancied history and anthropology in his pass time, so the books he owed and brought with him to the new home, covered a widespread collection of field guides, journals, textbooks, and other non-fictitious literature.

"Do you think they've finally run into someone else who lives here? The shops seemed deserted yesterday," Oliver asked.

"Maybe things close early on Sundays. I'm sure someone will be brave enough to welcome us newcomers eventually," replied Alice, who had now also given up on unpacking, "I just hope the school has nice people worth hanging out with." Alice said as she plopped down next to her brother on the antique couch.