Two Worlds, One Girl (on hold)

{C h a p t e r 3}

Her happiness seemed to be rubbing off of me because I felt my lips curving into a small smile as I heard her mumbling to herself about her forgetfulness. I nodded to her and she left me standing outside with the smile still on her face. She seemed to be a genuinely nice person, but I was glad to see her go because it gave me an opportunity to explore this grand mansion a little more by myself. 

I opened the huge door and my jaw dropped.

An enormous, beautiful living room was before me. It was clean and oozed a comfortable, cozy vibe that brought another small smile to my lips. The walls were painted a hunter green with sparkly ivory flowers  on them. Six lyptus wood frames with sublime paintings in them hung around the room. Cozy brown sofas adorned with dark green pillows occupied the middle of the room surrounding around a royal purple rug. Atop the rug stood a small table with an elegant vase full of flowers. When I looked to my right, I saw a black grand piano with pieces resting on the music rack. My hands itched to play it but I didn't want to anger my aunt. Behind the piano was a charming window with purple and ivory curtains tied to the sides with hunter green ribbons. A vase full of flowers sat on the sill of the window.

Even my mother with her artist's eye would have said that the person behind all of this decoration and colors would have had the potential to be a great artist.

My heart wrenched at the thought of my dead parents who had loved me so much and made my life so perfect. I hated the fact I probably wouldn't be able to attend their funeral to say a last goodbye to them because of my aunt. In that instance, the grand house immediately did not seem as spectacular and perfect to me at the thought of my aunt somewhere in this house, but I kept exploring the house.

In front of me lay a curtained door that lead to what seemed like a party room. Strolling towards the entrance and peering through the curtains, I spied what was indeed a party room - a pretty one at that. To the right of me was a grandiose spiral staircase with red carpeting leading to a glimpse of the second floor of the house. I peered beneath the staircase trying to see if a hidden room existed, like many that I had read about in various novels. Indeed, I saw a hidden door the same color as the wall its doorknob was hidden by a tall table with flowers on it. I only guessed that it was a door because of an imprint of a door hinge on the right of it. I wondered what that door was for and why it looked like it hadn't been opened for quite a long time.

Suddenly I felt a desire to see the second floor so I took tentative steps toward the staircase. On the third step, an alarmed voice echoed in the room.

"You are forbidden to go up there, your aunt ordered this." I turned back and saw a lady in her forties who was beckoning to me, as if signalling me to come to her. 

As I descended down the stairs, she said to me "Come over here to the living room and lets sit on these chairs. No one is allowed to sit on the sofas unless there is a party or any gathering of the sort, your aunt is a little overly strict." 

I sat down on the chair that the older lady had offered me and watched as she sat on one opposite from me. Pouring me a glass of water, she said with a smile, "Hola, nina. Me llamo Anne, the head servant of this place and Madam told me to orient you to this place's procedures before handing you to one of the other thirty servants around her. I think it is Betsy Sullivan, you know, the one with blond hair and beautiful blue eyes."

My jaw dropped. "How in the world are thirty servants needed to run this house?" I asked, forgetting my manners.

"As you can probably see, this is a big house and your aunt has a big family that needs to be taken cared for. She has 5 children, Anna, Isabella, Mira, Peter and Samuel. You'll be introduced to them soon," Anne replied.