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I wasn't entirely sure what exactly it was that pulled me out of my sleep, whether it was my alarm or the gentle yet persistent knocking on my front door, but whichever it was, it did a marvelous job.
Darkness surrounded me; not because it was still night outside, but because I had closed the curtains so that not even a single sunbeam was able to enter the sanctities of my bedroom. Not that I wasn't fond of the sun or anything like that, I did in fact cherish warm weather & bright sunny days, but for some reason waking up was a slow & almost exhausting process for me & I simply had to take my time every single morning. The last thing I needed was a sun eager to blind me before I had even opened my eyes.
I sat up straight in my bed & looked over at my nightstand where my phone would usually spend the night, the more bewildering the fact that my phone was nowhere to be seen. My already tired & still sleep-stained eyes narrowed in confusion as I turned around to search my bed, lifting several silken blankets & pillows only to find the book I had been reading the night before:
How Falling In Love With A Vampire Saved My Humanity
I grabbed the book & flipped it in my hand a couple of times like I was seeing it for the very first time.
Why was I reading this again? Surely not because I was so into blood-soaked romance, aka vampire stuff. It was probably the title that had caught my attention when I had first stumbled upon it in my local bookstore during my search for books about philosophy, metaphysics & human psychology. There was something to the human mind & the way it worked in general that intrigued me, especially since my own mind had been tested & transformed in the process plenty of times throughout my life. The idea of changing as an individual by falling in & out of love was nothing new to me, however falling for an entity that was much closer to being an animal - if not even what others liked to call a 'monster' - than to being human & suddenly questioning one's own humanity while doing so was such a bizarre yet not unrealistic concept. It always brought me back to the infamous saying ' those who seek the light have to face the shadows first ' which certainly a lot of people could somewhat identify with.
I literally jumped in my bed when another episode of rhythmic knocks on my front door pulled me out of my thoughts. My ridiculously short attention span never failed to amaze me; I had already forgotten about my 'surprise visitor'.
" Coming! ", I shouted with a still sore voice, tossing the book aside.
Crawling to the edge of the bed I quickly adjusted my night dress before grabbing a bathrobe from the hook on my door, throwing it around my slender frame. The second I opened the door to the hallway I was greeted by the sun thanks to all the other drapes in my house being wide open & froze for a second, blinking away the remains of slumber. The scent of warm old timber filled my nostrils; it was something I wasn't quite used to yet but enjoyed nonetheless.
Stumbling forward like a half-blind mole I placed a hand on the railing as I made my way down the stairs to ensure I wouldn't fall in my drowsy state & within a few seconds I had already reached the front door. When the realization that I was barefooted, with ridiculously messy hair & probably still pale as a corpse like pretty much any morning struck me I had already unlocked & opened the door. It was quite the brave act since the person outside could've been anyone at this ungodly hour, moreover, given that my house was located outside the city caution should actually be one of my top priorities. Some part of my subconscious apparently still believed in the good in people & in the good only...
I shrieked when instead of another person I found myself eye to eye with an unusually big fox as well as a gigantic pair of deer antlers, almost tripping over my own foot while drawing away from the entrance .
" What the--?! "
" Sorry, ma'am. Sorry!", the little 'fox' replied with a nervous voice shortly before a human face emerged from in between the antlers, smiling at me in an apologetic manner.
" I know it's still early, but we were just on our way to school & passed by your house like so many times before so, ehm... yeah, we decided to finally say Hello! "
I pushed a strand of hair out of my face before stepping closer again, blinking against the sun. Upon closer inspection I recognized the fox to be a taxidermic one, although so well preserved that it looked still very much alive. The set of antlers happened to be just one of those 'trophies' I remembered from my uncle's house who had been a devoted huntsman for the longest part of his life, resting in the arms of a young boy who smiled at me like there was no tomorrow, probably to make up for the little scare from earlier.
" Our grandpa sends his regards... or his little dead 'friends' to be more specific, heh... "
" Oh, how... very mindful of you... Thank you! "
It was rather obvious that I wasn't quite sure how to respond; of course I was touched by the kind gesture & the good intention behind it. If only I could say the same about the gift itself...
" You don't have to take them, ma'am. We'd totally understand! We told grandpa that this is not much of an appropriate welcome gift, but he insisted... If you want we can dump this stuff somewhere in the forest or —"
" No, no! It's fine, I'll... I'll take them...
A gift is a gift after all! " Slowly but surely a grateful smile began to blossom on my lips as I reached out to accept the peculiar gifts, much to the young boy's delight. Once the antlers were in my arms I kind of began to understand why; they were insanely heavy.
" Thank you so, so much for the sweet gesture... uhh........? " I raised a brow at my opponent, my spine slightly crooked due to the massive weight of the antlers.
" Sam, ma'am! My name is Sam. Sam Emerson! We live with our grandpa & our mother five minutes away from here, in the house on top of that hill over there! "
He pointed to the left & my eyes followed his lead yet I couldn't see all that much since the antlers were blocking most of my vision.
" We heard you moved here two weeks ago but somehow never managed to introduce ourselves, so we decided to be a little 'bold' today. We apologize if we woke you up though... "
" No need to! I had to get up early today anyway. You actually saved me a lot of trouble. Getting up at such an ungodly time isn't really my strong suit to be honest ~ "
I bent a knee & let the presents slide down my arms to carefully place them onto the porch, stretching my limbs once I got up again.
" It's nice to meet you, Sam. My name is Lilyora-Fay Hella , but people call me Lily. Feel free to do the same. Ma'am makes me feel so... old. Older than I actually am... "
Sam grinned as he extended a hand for a surprisingly strong handshake, his blonde hair glowing in the morning sun.
" Nice to meet you too. Again, I would've come over at a later time, but my brother wanted to do it right after breakfast... Speaking of which, where on earth did he go?! "
Sam turned around mid-sentence, peering over to the white van a few steps away which I assumed belonged to his brother. He stepped away from the porch, straining his neck like a giraffe while trying to overlook the area.
" Mike?? MIKE! Get your slow ass over here & say Hello! What are you doing there anyway??"
Not even five seconds later another, much taller & visibly older boy appeared in my line of sight, emerging from the shadows of the nearby trees & making his way across the front yard, in his right hand a bunch of what appeared to be freshly picked flowers glowing in vibrant colours.
The closer he got the more I shrank in my spot; he was one hell of a handsome person, not quite someone I would consider my type yet he possessed a level of natural beauty that was hard to deny. He was tall with an athletic & mildly muscular body, brown curly hair & gentle but masculine features.
Once he arrived at my porch & our eyes met I could feel the increased blood flow in my cheeks, my face heating up within seconds. The beautiful bouquet of flowers that he handed me while blessing me with an award-winning smile didn't necessarily help the cause.
His eyes appeared to be a fair shade of green, although it was hard to tell due to the bright sunbeams dancing around us. Oh boy, green eyes were the best eyes...
" Good morning, Miss. My name is Michael, I'm Sam's brother. It's wonderful to finally meet you! "
I responded with an amused smile as I accepted the flowers, feeling like a ridiculous teenage girl for the split of a second. I wasn't easy to impress, let alone to 'allure', but a sincere attitude combined with a beautiful smile & profound eyes was a strangely powerful tool.
Thankfully the confident woman in me took over again & I settled for a stronger posture, although not breaking the eye contact for even a second.
" Pleasure to meet you too, Michael. You may call me Lily. Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers & — ", my eyes drifted to my feet where a dead pair of fox eyes happened to peer back at me, " ~ of course the other gifts as well. I'll make sure that little foxy here is going to feel at home in my tiny wooden castle. "
" Christ ", looking down Michael heaved a sigh, shaking his head at his brother.
" I can't believe you seriously gave her these abominations, Sam... "
" What was I supposed to do, Mike? Grandpa was runnin' all over me when I told him that we were gonna head over & say Hello. Be grateful I managed to convince him to pick the fox & not that horrifying beaver he caught last summer! That thing gave me nightmares, remember? "
" Everything gives you nightmares, Sammy. You may thank your crazy comic books for that.", Michael replied ever so nonchalantly, patting his little brother's head with a grin.
" I apologize for our grandfather, Lily. He's a little...nuts, but deep down inside he truly means well."
" Well...", I reached down to gently poke the fox's ears. " I like nuts. And gifts are gifts, no matter in what shape or form they come in. "
As a vegetarian I obviously preferred animals alive & roaming the wild, but neither did I want to be rude nor was I interested in seeing things go to waste. He clearly had put a lot of work into preserving this animal & deer antlers were always nice to look at.
My Norwegian heart couldn't help but admire their raw & primeval beauty. In my eyes they were like crowns made of bones...
" I only wish I had something to give you in return though... "
" Don't worry about it, this is not about reciprocity. We want you to feel at home here, especially since Santa Carla isn't exactly known as the town that dreams are made of ~ " Michael placed an arm on Sam's shoulder to lean against him, one corner of his mouth curving up into a smile.
He didn't even have to further elaborate on his words, for I already knew what he was implying.
" So I've been told. The murder capital of the world is what they like to call it, ain't that right?"
" That's one awkward way to lure in adrenaline junkies, no? I mean, some people would visit a place like this just for the sake of a thrill! " I noticed how Sam's eyes wandered around my yard first, then my porch & the house.
" You've got a dog or something to protect yourself out here? "
I shook my head, tapping against the door frame with my long fingernails.
" Not yet, but I was in fact considering getting one within the next few weeks. It's rather lonely up here which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but having a loyal fluffy companion by my side that I can pour my heart out to doesn't sound all that bad! "
" We've got a dog! His name is Nanook. We need to introduce you to him too sometime! "
" Which reminds me - ", Michael interjected with a raised voice to stop his little brother from jabbering.
" Our mum & grandpa would love to meet you as well, so they wanted us to ask if you'd like to come over for dinner either this weekend or the next. What do you say? "
My heart skipped a tiny beat upon the request, though this time it was caused by a wave of joy that hit me out of nowhere. So much kindness in only such a short amount of time was beyond heartwarming...
The smile on my lips soon turned into a wide grin as I placed a hand on my chest, signalizing deepest gratitude.
" I would absolutely love to come, thank you so much for the lovely offer! I'll take a look at my work schedule later & get back to you as soon as I can.
Would you mind giving me your phone number so I can call you back? "
" Sure! "
And as if he had already expected a positive answer Michael pulled a tiny piece of paper & a pen from his pocket, scribbling down his number before handing it over, eyes sparkling even more now.
" We'll make sure that grandpa ain't gonna answer the phone once you call. He & his quirky attitude would probably get you to change your mind without even being aware of it! "
I smiled, folding the piece of paper before letting it disappear in the pocket of my bathrobe.
" I've shared an apartment with four crazy physics students for almost seven years back in Norway. Nothing can scare me anymore! "
Sam's eyes widened with what appeared to be curiosity.
" So it's true, you're from Scandinavia? That cool country with hundreds of rivers & seas surrounded by mountains where it's snowing almost all year long? Or wait... Scandinavia is more than just one country, or? The vikings used to live there, right? And isn't there some kind of night that lasts for several months? Can you also see the polar lig—"
" Sammy, give her a break. ", Michael dropped in before his brother could ask me into the very ground beneath my feet, sending a subtle wink my way.
" I'm sure she'll gladly tell us more about herself next time. We gotta head to school now anyway! "
" Alright, alright. I'm Sorry...", Sam immediately mumbled but I waved it off, running a hand through my still frizzy morning mane.
" It's okay; I promise I'll answer whatever you want to know next time we meet. "
" Deal! " While Sam was still busy being all excited & talkative Michael had already turned to make his way back to the car, only continuing to converse with me by gazing back over his shoulder.
" We're really looking forward to hearing from you soon, Lily! "
And there it was again; another little skip in my heart. For a moment it felt like I had already known these two for years, that's how familiar our connection appeared to me.
" You have my very word, both of you. Oh, & so does Nanook of course! ", I replied, watching Sam grin from one ear to the other before he too would turn & rush back to the car. Michael was already sitting inside, ready to start the engine.
I paused for a brief moment to ponder in silence, rising my voice:
" Sam!! Tusen takk for gaven. Jeg er smigret og glad å møte deg!
That's Norwegian for 'thank you for the gifts. I'm very flattered & happy that I got to meet you'! "
And here I thought Sam's grin couldn't possibly widen even more, yet it did, the car's engine taking what sounded like a deep breath before eventually jumping to life. Both doors fell shut & within seconds the car had turned to drive off my yard & down the hill. On either side a hand waved Goodbye back at me until the two had completely disappeared behind the first corner.
The second they were out of sight everything fell back into silence again; only the blackbirds were singing in the branches of the trees, accompanied by the gentle whistle of the morning winds. I shivered when a huge cloud covered the sun & dipped everything around me in a dim, grey light. The temperatures dropped in an instant, or so it felt to me. It was strange what a huge difference a single dark cloud in an otherwise perfect sky could make...
I quickly grabbed the gifts & the flowers before heading inside, the quite strong wind that had appeared out of nowhere literally pushing me into the kitchen where I closed the door with a foot. The ancient female vocals & trance-inducing tunes of one of my favourite songs 'Traust' by Heilung filled the air & I peered over to the kitchen table to spot my 'lost' phone, the alarm doing anything in its power to wake me up.
So that's where I had put it the night before... Silly me.
" Well then... " I whispered to myself, tapping the screen & turning off the alarm.
" Time to start the day. "
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