Ellie Parkinson

“How in the lord’s kingdom is it possible!” he exclaimed in a deep voice, which made his sparkling white perfect teeth visible. He began walking towards the car as Judy and I stared at him with sheer intimidation with a mixture of fascination. But before he could reach us, Alex and Matt pushed him aside and we drove off. There was something massively weird about that young man, I sensed some sort of familiarity in his brief presence around me, like someone inside me was perfectly aware of who he was but was incapable of conveying it to me. An inexplicable sense of familiarity developed inside me, endeavoring to make me recall something which had long been elapsed or forgotten.

We turned right into a path, more like a clearing in the woods, and moved straight for about a mile. It was exceedingly perplexing that each route that we took felt ridiculously familiar, as though I had passed through those paths innumerable times previously. A large pair of wrought-iron gates emerged at the end of the path which was being enlightened by the sunlight that brightening unhurriedly on the horizon. As we reached the gates, they creaked creepily, as though welcoming us with a gesture. Matt moved out to open the gates which had been already unlocked.

Matt’s ancestral mansion was quite medieval; a two-storied typical English house, with two enormous chimneys on the main roof and four windows, lined up on the second floor, with twin sections attached to the main building facing each other. The mansion looked corroded and palely colored, but still possessed the essence of luxury that medieval mansions generally portrayed.

“So this is it, guys. Welcome to heaven!” announced Matt snobbishly, pushing the tanned doors of the manor house wide open, clearly proud of his ancestors.

The interior was opposite; the walls were painted in gleaming gold which didn’t require light to illuminate. A sharp aura of grandeur was emitted by the place; large portraits of Matt’s ancestors were hung all over the house who appeared to be medieval landlords. Flamboyant seventeenth-century furniture was to be found all over: royal sofa sets placed in an orderly manner, multi-colored curtains enveloping the windows as the interfering sunlight irradiated them, hence, creating a vibrant effect. On the other hand, the fireplace lay unlit and gloomy, but that would be achieved too I thought, enlivened just by the sight of the resplendent place.

“Matt! You do have a splendid ancestral house,” I gasped, mind-boggled totally, as Matt blushed thoroughly while managing a ‘thanks’.

“Yeah you sure do dude,” said Alex in absolute agreement. I hope the bedrooms are equally splendid,” he expressed, winking at Judy as she threw him a glowingly seductive look. I rolled my eyes while nagging the love birds to assist me with the vast luggage.

“Matt, how come you don’t have a caretaker or a guard for this mansion?” I enquired thoughtfully, as I carried my luggage upstairs.

“Well, to be frank, my parents never really cared about this house. I came here only once when I was twelve with my parents when my father was going to sign a deal, selling this property to a wealthy businessman,” he conveyed in a mysteriously uneasy tone.

“What happened?”

“It seems, the businessman died of cardiac arrest that same night when he stayed here. Since then, no living soul has been ready to guard the house or take care of it. There is a legend that one of my ancestors who lived here died a horrific death and his spirit roams around the place and guards it. But that’s a pile of utter rubbish if you ask me,” he announced with finality but left my skin crawling at the revelation.

I had packed quite a large bag as our stay was planned to be a week’s. We placed our luggage upstairs which provided us with an opportunity to explore the place further. There were numerous rooms upstairs, and all alike with approximately the same size and shape, likewise, they all contained similar king-size beds and other furniture. The rooms evoked an aura of utmost grandeur and luxury; the rooms were undoubtedly spacious enough to contain a baby elephant along with a family of three and the furniture. Furthermore, the beds looked cozy enough to provide a lovely snug.