"This book," Rosemary tapped on the cover, "it's not on the list. I checked it twice and it's not. Let's see if there are more."
She placed the newly discovered publication on the coffee table and found three more. Unless someone had put them back, which wasn't very likely, we were right. The books did exchange.
"No one put them there. Not you, not me, Carmen left ten days ago and the community will not, I should say cannot enter the house uninvited."
"Uninvited? What do you mean?"
It was the first time I heard about the impossibility to enter a house.
"I told you about the house... It was here before Carmen moved in. She was invited, so am I and you, well you are invited by Carmen. All the others can only get inside if Carmen, I, and I assume you invite them. Without an invitation, they have to remain outside."
Suddenly I remembered how the carpenter waited on the patio.
"Why you, why are you invited, and by whom?"
"I'm not sure. We lived here long before Carmen, the house...I told you it was a gift from the mother. Perhaps she wanted a caretaker? I never made any thought about it."
"You've been inside. The bookcase, was it here?"
She frowned, thought deep, walked around it, and through a part of the house while I waited for her answer.
"The house, the original house...it's the front door, the portal. I assume you noticed what it looked like as you arrived. How the trees and the bushes..."
"I know, I know, I remember it well. Better tell me what's new."
I felt annoyed she kept walking around, took steps, counted, stood still with closed eyes, and inhaled deep. What was she doing? Was it so hard to tell what had changed during...
Suddenly her eyes flew open and she stared at me but her eyes looked different. As if they turned into silver luminous balls. Did she see me at all or only turned her head in my direction?
"Don't push me, child, you have no idea about how much time passed since the first day I set foot inside of here. At that time I was still me. The me I will be soon again."
Her voice sounded ominous while she whispered and her eyes kept that strange look.
"I'm sorry, please forgive me my impatience," I mumbled.
Again I felt ashamed about pushy me.
I sank on the floor and promised myself I would wait. Told me I could, since it was something I was good at. I don't know why I behaved the way I did, was it because I felt the bookcase was the key, or did I need something more in my life? Some adventure? Carmen left and the days, although busy and without a moment of boredom, seemed to bring me nothing new. The only thing I could do was searching for the wanted information, looking for Atlas, and waiting till the dark days were over. Inside I felt like crying. This was my home. It felt like it from the first day I set foot inside. The owls and other animals made it complete. It was a blessing we provided in our own need. The own well, trees, herbs, vegetables, and grain fields but it was not enough without Carmen. I felt abandoned as Rosemary told me she was here long before me. She walked through the house with her eyes closed and counted her steps. Why did she count them?
"I remember it", she said," how could I forget. I walked through this house so many times. You know I lived here before Carmen arrived and I still was me. The me I will be again soon," she smirked. "Life is great, it was at that time and it still is. The mother took care of me and my people. We survived it all."
She rambled on just like she had done so many times before. It was as if she totally forgot what she said to me earlier.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you sitting there like a punished dog? It's tea time."
She sang while she made the fire and hung the kettle on its hook.
"Bring me your cup dear."
As I gave it to her she said, "this is a part of the old house. It ends right behind the table. The portal, the hall, the area around the fireplace, and the room, the small room."
She stood in front of the door but did not open it.
"It confused me a bit because of the changes. Counting steps helps. At that time I counted each step I took."
I sat at the kitchen table and studied the text on the blackboard. Did Carmen hope Rosemary would stay with me during her absence? I was not sure how to respond. Rosemary's mood swings scared me today. It had been the first time. In some way, I felt she changed in more than one way.
After she gave me my tea she sat opposite of me.
"Perhaps you should wipe out the blackboard and make your own rules or notes like you call it. You are old enough to do so. Soon it will be your birthday again."
"How do you know?"
I felt surprised she mentioned it.
"I just do or perhaps it was the little bird telling me."
"Little bird? What little bird?"
She pointed at the window behind me. As I turned around I saw a little bird in front of it.
"What is it doing?"
Without making any thoughts I repeated the question I asked years ago as I saw the first bird behind the very same window.
Rosemary shrugged her shoulders.
"You could open the window and ask or wait and see what happens next."
I turned my chair, watched the bird, and waited. Did it return from somewhere? Most animals left long ago and the picture of the dead pigeons was still fresh in my mind just like the lessons about bacteria and viruses.
I drank my tea, watched the bird, and asked myself what I wanted for me. The days turned into weeks and Carmen didn't return. By now she was out of biscuits and tea. Most likely she still had her aid kit and one bottle of the 'in case of need'.
Was our recipe different from Rosemary's or did the result depend on who you are and what you suffer from?
Rosemary didn't interfere with my thoughts. She went to the living to check the books again. The volumes on the coffee table didn't show up as an extra but were exchanged for other publications. The number remained the same.
As I entered the living she read a small book about herbs. I told her goodnight and went to my room.
Carmen left, Rosemary and her community would leave too. Not now but shortly. The carpenter had instructed them how to build cabins between the trees. Each one of those little creatures would grow from now on, each one of them except for the carpenter. He let out he felt fine the way he was. For now, the property was big enough for all of us but if they all grew.
'Many people together make sick, are the reason for epidemics' was what Carmen told me. That time would arrive.
Rosemary had shown me how she lived. It was a solitary life. Each community member had a place of his own. They only met outside. Their life together was outdoors. Inward was the place to rest, think over the day, and for making plans.
What did I know so far?
The house was a gift of Mother Nature, it was there long before Carmen arrived.
Rosemary had even lived in it as she came. The house had been smaller at that time and she had been taller.
The front was called 'the portal' by Rosemary.
The bird that can't sing returned.
The bookcase exchanged books.
While I laid on my bed I asked myself what these things had in common. The only answer I could think of was there was a good reason for each one of them. The house gave shelter to those who needed it, the portal was protected by nature herself and a door to?/Rosemary's clan, and the bird... signs of better days ahead, the end of the dark days? Those days had to end one day. Nothing remained forever and the bookcase...
The mystery about the bookcase and who put it there wasn't solved but we proved the books swapped or... someone exchanged them. From now one I would check each one of them and read the new ones. The answer, the answers I looked for would be hidden inside one of them.
By now I learned who Atlas was and had the privilege to meet his family, they even welcomed me.
Basil believed in a secret land, the story he overheard. He would definitely try to find it. Atlas' offspring changed and so did time. The wars fought today weren't those people fought in the old days. At least that was what I thought.
------
A restless sleep came over me.
I knocked at our door but it kept shut.
"This is a safe house," a voice behind me said, "you cannot just walk in without an invitation."
I knocked for hours but the door remained closed. It was late and there was no other place to go to. I hid in the bushes and tried to stay warm. Next two young men showed up.
"Give the club a chance if you don't like it you are free to go."
The younger boy didn't seem very excited about the visit.
"What if they don't let me in?"
"They will, you are with me, " the eldest reassured, "no worries the door will open."
He knocked and it exactly went the way he foretold. The door flew open, both stepped inside, and right after them, it closed again.
I stood outside and felt abandoned, an outsider without a place to go. Why did that door refuse to let me in?
Total amount of words of this episode: 2410
The addition of that portal makes the story a bit more exciting, also the growing titans. Would be sad for isa to eventually be left alone