Alex, scared, said to Arthur, "Dude, did you hear that voice?"
Arthur, puzzled, asked, "What voice?"
"Dude, a girl's voice."
Arthur, annoyed, replied, "Man, you keep talking about some girl's voice since we got here—girl's voice, girl's voice. Whose voice are you even talking about?"
"I don't know, but honestly, I heard a girl's voice two or three times."
"Sounds like your ears are ringing a bit too much. Tell me, were you listening to music in your headphones the entire way here?"
"Yeah, but how'd you know that?"
"Man, that's why you're hearing voices! What happens is, when you listen to songs for three, four hours straight, the lyrics get stuck in your head and then you start hearing them like echoes."
"But dude…"
Before Alex could finish, Arthur said, "Forget all that. Since you kept saying you wanted to go into the manor, now that the lock's open, you're standing outside—waiting for some auspicious time? Or waiting for someone to come do your housewarming?"
Alex didn't reply and just walked into the manor. Inside, there were no lights; it was darkness all around, so thick nothing was visible.
As Alex stepped in, he said, "Dude, it's so dark in here, feels like we've entered a city of darkness."
Alex turned on his phone's flashlight. Since he'd spent his childhood in the manor, he knew exactly where the light switch was. In a moment, he found it and as soon as he pressed it, the whole manor lit up with bright light. The place was illuminated.
Arthur looked up at the halogen bulb and said, "Hey, did you notice one thing?"
Alex, surprised, asked, "What thing?"
"That this manor's been locked up for thirteen years, but the electricity is still on—how's that possible?"
Alex thought for a moment, "Maybe the power company never cut off the connection."
Arthur immediately asked, "And why's that?"
"Because they'd be scared of Elysira too, and probably wouldn't come here, so they left the power on."
Arthur didn't reply—he clearly agreed with Alex's reasoning. He started looking all around the manor.
After thirteen years closed, there was nothing but dust everywhere, spider webs woven in every corner. The manor had two huge domes enhancing its beauty. The stairs were made of marble. The hall had massive Bermatic and Bazilium chandeliers. The furniture was all mahogany wood. On the walls, many artifacts were displayed—old swords, ropes, axes, various ancient items, each one looking like it hid its own story.
Arthur, gazing around, said, "Man, this Graveyard Manor is pretty luxurious inside. Even though it's ancient, it looks like it was built just a year or two ago. Say what you want about those English folks, they did solid work—the kind that lasts for years. I just don't get why your relatives kept this gorgeous place locked away for so long."
Alex didn't respond, he was carefully observing every corner, as if childhood memories were coming back.
Arthur continued, "Man, this manor is unlucky. In a week or two, your vacation will be over, and you'll leave again, and this beautiful manor will be locked away once more."
"Why would I leave?"
Arthur immediately replied, "To your city, Boston—where else? You only came here for vacation because you were tired of city life, right?"
Alex with a sad face, said, "I've left Boston, and I'm not going anywhere now. I'm staying here for good."
Arthur's eyes widened, "What did you say—you left Boston? But why? You were well-settled there for thirteen years since your father passed, so what happened that you left everything and came back to the village? You know village life is nothing like the city, and this is Willowbrook, out here you barely get necessities!"
"Yeah, I know, but I've made up my mind. No matter what, I'm staying here now."
"But why? What happened in the city that made you leave everything behind and come back here?"
"Look, Arthur, I'm really not in the mood to talk about it right now. My head's pounding from the long journey, I'm really sleepy—let me sleep, I'll tell you everything in the morning."
Arthur understood Alex's state and, pulling a sad face, said, "Yeah, alright, but where are you going to sleep? This place is all covered in dust; you plan to sleep on that?"
Arthur blew at the dust on the dining table.
Alex looked around and said, "Looks like we'll need to start with cleaning first thing tomorrow. For tonight, I have two blankets in my bag—take one, I'll take the other, we'll just spread out here and sleep. We'll figure the rest out in the morning."
"Alright, sounds good."
Alex pulled the blankets from his bag, and both lay down on them and went to sleep.
...
It was a moonlit night, and Alex was sitting by the river with a girl. Little waves gently touched their legs. Alex's face was clear but the girl's remained shadowed. She was wearing a black gown, her head resting on Alex's shoulder. They were huddled close.
Watching the moon in the sky, the girl asked, "Can I ask you something?"
Alex replied sweetly, "Yeah, go ahead. What's there to hesitate about?"
"You won't ever forget me, will you?"
Alex smiled, "You're not something to forget. You're someone I want to keep with me for a lifetime, in my arms."
He placed his hand on her waist and drew her close.
The girl moved away, "You're quite the charmer, aren't you... Alright, tell me—what am I to you?"
"What do you mean, what are you?"
"I mean, what place do I have in your life?"
Alex teased, "You don't mean anything to me. My life is mine, not yours."
She pouted at his answer, "You mean everything was just an act? All guys are the same—they only want one thing, and when that's done, they turn away."
With that, she started to get up, but Alex stopped her, "Hey, you're already pissed? I was joking, darling! You want to know how much you mean to me—listen carefully then."
He drew her back and, looking in her eyes, said, "You're the H2O of my life."
She asked, puzzled, "H2O?"
"It means you're the water of my life. You quench my thirst. You're my oxygen—I want to breathe you in."
He leaned so close that if he moved even a little further their lips would have touched.
She sighed, "So why'd you stop? Go on…"
"You're my beautiful dream, the one I see every night. You're my peace, which I can't find anywhere but your arms. You're the piece without which I'm nothing—the truth is, without you I don't exist."
Without knowing how, his lips touched hers; they stuck together like a bee on a flower.
As they touched and held each other, a shiver ran through both their bodies, and they embraced tightly. They didn't even realize when they rolled onto the sand. Alex was tangled entirely in her black gown—nobody would have believed she was wearing a gown at all; it was as if they were wrapped under a sheet together. Every inch of her body touched his, and they became one. Fire seemed to course through both of them. Alex held her so close he could hear her heartbeat racing. He had no wish to let her go; using all his strength, he held her in his arms.
With effort, she pulled away, lay Alex back on the sand, and began to unbutton his shirt, one button at a time. Alex surrendered himself to her, letting out sighs as he lay there.
She finished unbuttoning his shirt and began kissing his forehead.
As she kissed his forehead, she said, "You won't forget me, will you?"
Softly, Alex replied, "Never. I'll never forget you."
She kept kissing him, repeating "You won't forget me, will you?" and Alex kept saying, "Never." His body grew hotter—after his forehead, she moved down and began kissing his chest. Alex's excitement kept rising. Sweat coasted his face and body, large drops breaking out as he felt the heat flood through him. Suddenly, it grew so intense he jolted awake.
...
Alex, waking in a shock, said, "Oh my God, that dream again."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead—his whole body was soaked.
He muttered, "God, what is this? Why do you keep showing me the same dream? Who is that girl I keep doing all this with? I've never ever been that close to a woman in real life. Who is she? What connection do I have with her?"
Still pondering, he stood, took a water bottle from his bag, and drank, thinking, "Why doesn't this dream leave me alone? Even in Boston, I had the same dream. Here too. The river in the dream was Wishborne, but who is that girl, and why can't I ever see her face?"
Lying back down, he stared at the manor's ceiling, thinking, "I found the river, maybe I'll find the girl too. If I do, maybe all the secrets of these dreams will be revealed. There must be some connection—dreams like this don't just happen… especially not dreams like those."
Thinking all that, he drifted back into sleep.
Morning came. It was seven. Arthur was still sleeping soundly when the crowing of a rooster woke him. Arthur yawned, stretched his eyes open, and saw Alex up already and lost in thought.
Arthur asked in surprise, "Whoa, Alex, when'd you get up? And what are you thinking about so seriously this early?"
Alex almost thought to tell him about the dream but feared Arthur would call him crazy, so he just said, "Nothing, just sitting."
Suddenly Arthur said, "You still haven't told me."
Alex, surprised, asked, "Told you what?"
"Why you left Boston, what's your reason for being here?"
Alex answered, "I didn't leave Boston—Boston left me."
"I don't get it—will you just tell me straight?"
"It means I lost my job in Boston."
Arthur said, shocked, "You lost your job? How?"
Alex was silent.
Arthur pressed, "Come on, why are you silent—tell me, how did you lose your job?"
With a deep breath, Alex recounted, "I'd only been with the company a year. Everything was going fine—I thought life was set, I'd build a future here. But nothing in life goes as we plan—and why should it? If everything happened just as we imagined, life would be more like a movie."
Arthur interrupted, "Don't go in circles, just tell me what happened!"
Alex continued, "Everything was fine, then they announced the company was in a loss—the finances were bad. To recover, the company decided to lay off fifty employees. When the list came out, my name was on it."
"But how could that be? You were campus-selected, and the package was good."
"Yeah, but you know my field was electrical and electronics, but all the work was coding. They worked you to death, squeezed you so hard most people either quit themselves or got fired for bad performance. You know, companies and colleges have a whole racket together."
"What do you mean, a racket?"
"Look, let me explain—companies visit campuses, the college gets prestige and new admissions, but did you ever wonder who those companies replace every year with all those new hires?"
"Replace who?"
"The employees they brought in from last year's campus selection. That's how the cycle keeps going, and the business keeps running for both colleges and companies. But no one thinks about what happens to those who lose their jobs. A whole year of their life is lost—they'd assumed they'd spend their whole careers with that company."
"Fine, it's the companies' and colleges' fault—I get it. But then why didn't you just apply for another job? It's not like there's only one company in the world—why not try for a government job too?"
"You think I'm an idiot? For the past year and a half I've been trying both, but nothing's happened. Jobs aren't as easy as pie. Even when you get one, the pay sucks. Every penny I saved burned up doing coaching; finally, I had to leave Boston for the village."
"Most people leave the village for a job in the city, but you're the first person I know who did the opposite! So, what will you do here?"
Alex didn't answer.
Arthur pressed, "Tell me, what are you planning to do in this village?"
"I've decided to start a startup here."
"What kind of startup?"