My eyes fluttered open as I awoke from a deep sleep. The fire was crackling still, heating the room on this cold winter night. I’d been awoken by the sound of a piano — played ever so effortlessly, so much so that it felt like a dream. My bare feet hit the soft carpet beneath me, and I rubbed my eyes, determined to find the source of this angelic sound.
Benjamin Theodore, my best friend since we were children, had recently acquired a property out in the country. Snow capped mountains and whimsical forests surrounded the house, making it feel even more extraordinary. I’d been here for only a few nights, but each one I had encountered something strangely and uniquely wonderful.
The Theodores were a wealthy family, and anybody of any standing knew that wealth meant access to the pleasures of life. I had encountered everything from a room full of paintings that made your mind spin, to books filled with fables and tales from faraway lands. Benjamin — or Ben, as everyone called him — had rarely sent me letters, nor had he had very much correspondence with me since I’d moved to the city. An invitation to his new home had been the first letter in five years. I’d accepted without question, of course, yet I still wondered why. Why, after all these years, was I the first choice?
As I made my way down the dark hall, further away from the comfort of my warm room, the sound grew louder.
A right, left, right, left, left, right. Through halls and up winding staircases, past small rooms with memories and big rooms with velvet couches, I followed the mysterious music that stirred me so. Every once in a while, I passed a room that emitted a strange series of lights or seemed to be home to something even more unusual.
The music was as loud as ever and I stopped in front of a strong wooden door. My heart skipped a beat, and my eyes were frozen in place. Pushing the heavy door open, my mouth gaped slightly.
An angelic, glowing woman sat at the piano in the center of a room made for entertainment with couches, chairs, and tables in different configurations on all sides. I crept closer, careful not to make a sound I watched, entranced by her otherworldliness.
Her fingers glided across the keys, making sounds I thought were impossible. My thoughts began to drift. The difference between reality and dreams became blurry, and soon my guard began to drop. I sighed too loudly, sat too assertively, and I caught her attention. The woman — if that’s even what she was — gasped suddenly. I realized my mistake. The music stopped, and the feeling of magnificence left me too quickly.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. Her accent was one I’d never heard, and her skin was glowing a bright gold like I’d never seen.
“I — I — um . . . ” At a loss for words, I mumbled and stared.
I couldn’t read her emotions, though it was clear she wanted no more to do with me as she began to walk away.
“Wait!” I called out. She whipped her head around and raised an eyebrow, expecting me to continue. “Who are you?” I asked.
She smiled widely, teeth on display and eyes squinted. The otherworldly woman did not seem like she would be sharing anything about who she was with me.
She began to laugh — a laugh so deep which echoed so loudly that it grabbed my attention. Her laugh boomed. The glow from her skin increased, filling the room with a blinding light, and in an instant she had disappeared.
Flooded by disbelief and coming down from a rush of adrenaline, my body sank to the floor. It all happened so quickly, and yet my memory was already failing me. As the angelic figure disappeared, everything that had led me to find her felt like a distant recollection — a faraway land.
The Theodore residence was one of strange and unique happenings, and never in my life had I had nearly as many questions as in this very moment. And I wanted answers.
Benjamin Theodore, my best friend since we were children, had recently acquired a property out in the country. Snow capped mountains and whimsical forests surrounded the house, making it feel even more extraordinary. I’d been here for only a few nights, but each one I had encountered something strangely and uniquely wonderful.
The Theodores were a wealthy family, and anybody of any standing knew that wealth meant access to the pleasures of life. I had encountered everything from a room full of paintings that made your mind spin, to books filled with fables and tales from faraway lands. Benjamin — or Ben, as everyone called him — had rarely sent me letters, nor had he had very much correspondence with me since I’d moved to the city. An invitation to his new home had been the first letter in five years. I’d accepted without question, of course, yet I still wondered why. Why, after all these years, was I the first choice?
As I made my way down the dark hall, further away from the comfort of my warm room, the sound grew louder.
A right, left, right, left, left, right. Through halls and up winding staircases, past small rooms with memories and big rooms with velvet couches, I followed the mysterious music that stirred me so. Every once in a while, I passed a room that emitted a strange series of lights or seemed to be home to something even more unusual.
The music was as loud as ever and I stopped in front of a strong wooden door. My heart skipped a beat, and my eyes were frozen in place. Pushing the heavy door open, my mouth gaped slightly.
An angelic, glowing woman sat at the piano in the center of a room made for entertainment with couches, chairs, and tables in different configurations on all sides. I crept closer, careful not to make a sound I watched, entranced by her otherworldliness.
Her fingers glided across the keys, making sounds I thought were impossible. My thoughts began to drift. The difference between reality and dreams became blurry, and soon my guard began to drop. I sighed too loudly, sat too assertively, and I caught her attention. The woman — if that’s even what she was — gasped suddenly. I realized my mistake. The music stopped, and the feeling of magnificence left me too quickly.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. Her accent was one I’d never heard, and her skin was glowing a bright gold like I’d never seen.
“I — I — um . . . ” At a loss for words, I mumbled and stared.
I couldn’t read her emotions, though it was clear she wanted no more to do with me as she began to walk away.
“Wait!” I called out. She whipped her head around and raised an eyebrow, expecting me to continue. “Who are you?” I asked.
She smiled widely, teeth on display and eyes squinted. The otherworldly woman did not seem like she would be sharing anything about who she was with me.
She began to laugh — a laugh so deep which echoed so loudly that it grabbed my attention. Her laugh boomed. The glow from her skin increased, filling the room with a blinding light, and in an instant she had disappeared.
Flooded by disbelief and coming down from a rush of adrenaline, my body sank to the floor. It all happened so quickly, and yet my memory was already failing me. As the angelic figure disappeared, everything that had led me to find her felt like a distant recollection — a faraway land.
The Theodore residence was one of strange and unique happenings, and never in my life had I had nearly as many questions as in this very moment. And I wanted answers.