Cecil's Gambit

Chapter V: An adventure around the estate

When I walked back downstairs, Ashley was already there; Mike and Charlie were also inside, sitting by Zoey and Mark, looking at the shots Zoey took earlier. At the sight of this, I grew red in embarrassment;

"I'm sorry, did it take too long?" I looked at them all, as I walked over to the couches, my hands behind my back. Mark smiled at me;

"Nah, it's cool. It's fine. We were all occupied by Zoey's photos. She took some when we went to the previous places like the Statue of Liberty and all that stuff."

My heart leapt in relief and joy at what Mark said. Thank you Zoey, thank you for occupying them; I owe you one.

"Are we all ready now? Nature is waiting..." Mike said, tapping his foot rather impatiently.

Mark stood up and walked over to me, slapping my back in friendly affection, and putting an arm over my shoulders, "Let's go, guys! We have earth to walk on, grass to step on, an adventure to fulfill, this estate to trek!"

They all smiled and stood up from the couches and walked over to us. Mark gave my back one last slap before walking up to Mike, both of them leading the way, like the leaders they wanted to be, them wannabes.

~~~

The scenery was absolutely stunning: the leaves of the maples were beautiful; dry, some red, some ochre. The breeze was crisp and cool, like a fan - only, you put ice at the back. The smell was absolutely beautiful; it was the smell of Nature, giving you a sign to travel around her, luring you to admire her wonders, enticing you to observe the existence that was on her; it was the smell of the earth, the soil, the plants.

We walked down by the cobblestone pathway that was once trodden on by us last night. It was quite slippery with moss, which was visible, now that it was daytime.

We walked to the orchard, which was also more visible and extremely beautiful; all the fruits were much more colorful under the sun, allowing us observe every single one of the different trees on that place. The peaches were peachier, the apples were redder (the raw ones greener), the apricots were much more apricot - everything was more vibrant than it seemed in New York, as well as last night.

I sat on the bench and admired the whole orchard. All was well, I thought, Everything in the world is great. I am grateful to have lived here. Even though she has her flaws and "plot-twists", she still has her own plans to make you happy - and I'm happy...

Despite these admirations and appreciations for the world, and the view in front of my eyes, the thought of the queer notebook I found, earlier in the oak drawer, racked my brain. I was very curious to find out what the diary contained; my hands itched to hold the tattered notebook, vintage though it was, and just devour every single word revealing Cecil's life; I wanted to get a glimpse, a slice, of her life, wanted to read the confessions, her spilling the beans, making her emotions escape her body, her soul, and into the diary through her hand and pen. In short, I really wanted to read the diary; and that was the first I planned on doing once we stepped back in the manor after this little adventure.

Mark and Mike talked again, walking farther away from us, and I overheard their conversation;

"How big is the estate, Mike?" Mark started, his hands behind his back as they walked around the orchard.

"A little bit about 12 hectares... There was a broker who wanted to buy the estate. Of course I refused because, one, he didn't look trustworthy enough to earn and own the estate, and, two, I owned the estate for just two months, then - besides, he would just sell the land again to estate agents, gaining more money from the price he bought it for. Cheats, these brokers are, cheats!"